story Chapter 1

[Caystodd]

For the sake of convenience and comfort the investigators took both Livingston's and Coupard's cars to the hospital.

 

Maria drove with Martin Stone riding in the front seat and Livingston in the back. They all chatted about the case as they drove.

 

When they got out of the car, Livingston waved at the nurse. "They are expecting us. I will have some latitude here with the patient as a professional courtesy. But we should be careful about what we say."

[LaChupa]

As they were pulling up and getting out, Maria asked the question that still lingered in her mind.

 

"Señor Stone, I keep hearing talk of el pájaro negro, the black bird. What is it? Is it a figure of speech or do you speak of a real bird? Why so?"

[DogTheGoblin]

Martin had been raking through the questions that swirled in his head. An insane asylum wasn't on the list of expected places to be this morning. Nonetheless there they were. His eyes were drawn to the clock tower that stood high above, the morning was already closing. 

 

 "Hm?" Martin sounded, his conscious pulling back from the absent thoughts he found himself in. "Ah. I suppose you didn't see it. What with all that commotion, my question to the chairman must've come off queer. Earlier, when those strange patterns did - whatever they were doing - I caught glimpse of this oddest thing. This enormous bird just sitting outside the window, peeking in. It started pecking at the window frantically before flying off. Figured the poor thing must be reacting to the phenomenon poorly. Seems whatever happened was a one-off, if the chairman was being honest." 

 

The reporter smiled a half chuckle, glancing towards the nurse that awaited the trio. "If I'm losing it, I'm in the right place at the very least."  

[matt_s]

Coupard talked aloud as he drove with Malcolm in his trusty Ford. Trusty in the sense it could be relied upon to consume oil, spew oddly colored smoke, and generally exhibit malcontent behavior at every opportunity. But now, the backfiring engine was humming along and they had nothing but chatter to occupy them on the way to the hospital.

 

We'll need to check with the others first to establish a concurrence of course, but I say that leading with the truth, albeit not all of it, is a good start. One of our friends passed recently, and we believe that Ramirez is known to the deceased, so we ought to let her know and see how she is doing. On Broder's behalf, of course. That won't get us any confidential medical records, but my guess is that people in these places are constantly short on visitors, and they won't mind a few people having a pleasant chat to help her whittle away a few hours.  And the less we say, the better.

[Sir Lazeabout]

"Yes, that sounds reasonable," Malcolm says. "It's usually best to let the audience fool itself."

[Butchern]

The small gravel, tree-covered parking lot ran along side a cement walkway that led up to the front of the newest building. The investigators made their way up there while quickly making their plans in hushed tones. When they neared the steps, the young nurse in all white waved again, clipboard in hand.

 

"Good afternoon," she said. "Which one of you is Doctor Livingston?"

[Caystodd]

"I am Dr. Livingston," Livingston said, raising her hand and stepping forward. "Thank you for taking time to meet with us. This is my assistant—" She gestured to Maria. "And these gentlemen are my other associates." She gestured back to the others. "We are all, in fact, the associates of a Professor Abraham Broder at the College of Charleston. He had some relationship with a Ms.  Stephanie Ramirez, a patient here. Professor Broder recently passed, and he left in his papers a request for me to check up on Ms. Ramirez. I'd like to meet with the patient today if possible. We won't be long, nor will be be disruptive to her care, I assure you. Also, I would like to speak with her primary physician while we are here, if it would not be too much trouble. I understand that this is an odd request. We will be out of your hair as quickly as possible, once we have enough information to satisfy Professor Broder's estate that we have done our due diligence."

Edited September 4, 2022 by Caystodd (see edit history)

[matt_s]

Coupard politely nods in assent. Livingston spoke well on their behalf. Perhaps silence here, beyond a few pleasantries he would idly exchange if a conversation was struck up by the staff, was the best course of action for the rest of them. This was after all her element.

[Sir Lazeabout]

Malcolm nods cheerfully.

[Butchern]

The nurse introduced herself as Nurse Rogers and led the group into the building. They passed down a long hallway, past a row of office doors and two massive stairwells, one at the front of the building and one at the back. Nurse Rogers led them out the back of the building and into a small courtyard that was created by the facades of two other buildings and several large hedge rows. She stopped them on a stone patio at the bottom of the back steps. Nurse Rogers waved to another nurse who was on the grounds walking among some patients who were sitting on iron lawn furniture or the grass and enjoying the sunshine. The scene was peaceful if not a little unsettling. The patients out on the grounds—there were probably a half-dozen or so of them—were obviously suffering from a variety of debilitating mental diseases and it showed on their faces and in their behavior.

 

The second nurse approached the group, and Nurse Rogers introduced her as Nurse Wilkinson.

 

"Nurse Wilkinson, this is Dr. Livingston and company. Please show them to Stephanie. Dr. Livingston would like to observe her for a few minutes. I'm going to go get Dr. Boudreaux."

 

"Yes, ma'am," Wilkinson said. This nurse looked older than Nurse Rogers but was clearly her subordinate. "This way."

 

Wilkinson led the group across the lawn to a wrought-iron chair under a sprawling live oak tree. A girl sat on the chair. She looked young, a young teenager perhaps. She wore a thin loose dress without sleeves, and her hair was brushed but still a bit of a mess over her face. She was barefoot.

 

"Stephanie, you have some guests. This is Dr. Livingston. Can you say, 'hello'?"

 

Stephanie did not look up from the piece of paper she was holding in her lap. It looked to be a crossword puzzle. There was a pencil on the ground in front of her.

[DogTheGoblin]

Stone was silent through most of the proceedings. The good doctor clearly knew how to handle the nurses and given how it went with the chairman, he didn't really want to fumble their chances. Instead, his attention shifted to the institution itself. Though the grounds seemed to resemble a scene of peace and tranquillity, those ambience was drowned out by the ever strong feeling of emptiness. A feeling that Martin always had when it came to these types of hospitals. Albeit this is the first he's actually been in, he did manage to eye up the curious odd article about them from his fellow writers. Even in photograph form, the eerie dread still radiated. 

 

The scene before them was no better. A young girl, just out of her pre-teens from the look of her. This was no place for children. Martin's demeanour dropped, his shoulders loosened, his expression slightly bent from frowning. The poor girl. 

 

He bent down, picking up the pencil and held it in his open hand to her. "Morning, Stephanie." Stone had to say something to her. "I'm Martin Stone, Dr.Broder used to be our friend, would it be alright to talk to you?" 

[matt_s]

To the nurses, Coupard says,

Thank you for giving us a few moments with Stephanie. I hope we have not given you too much inconvenience.

Then, he will slowly reach down, pick up the pencil, and offer it to Stephanie. He says,

I see you have a mind for puzzles. I have enjoyed the crosswords in the local paper from time to time as well. If you have any questions regarding one of the clues, simply say so and we will think on them with you, as there are a few learned persons in our company. But of course part of the thrill of a puzzle is working it out for yourself, so if you prefer to solve it that way, I would understand completely.

 

Coupard thinks to himself, Building rapport before probing subjects that are almost surely quite sensitive is likely wise. I wonder where this conversation will lead...

[Sir Lazeabout]

Malcolm reasons that his flamboyance is probably not what a patient at an asylum needs, so instead he turns to Nurse Wilkinson while the others try to engage Stephanie in conversation.

 

"If I may ask, what is Miss Ramirez's diagnosis?" he asks in a hushed voice.

[Butchern]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:47 PM, DogTheGoblin said:

He bent down, picking up the pencil and held it in his open hand to her. "Morning, Stephanie." Stone had to say something to her. "I'm Martin Stone, Dr.Broder used to be our friend, would it be alright to talk to you?" 

Stephanie didn't look up or speak. She took the pencil from Stone and began filling in one of the answers on the crossword puzzle. She held the paper and the pencil close to her chest as though she didn't want anyone to see her answers.

 

"She isn't very vocal," the nurse said. "And when she is vocalizing, she isn't always coherent." The nurse said the words quickly and quietly as though she was hoping Stephanie wouldn't notice or understand the big words.

 

On 9/5/2022 at 12:49 PM, matt_s said:

I see you have a mind for puzzles. I have enjoyed the crosswords in the local paper from time to time as well. If you have any questions regarding one of the clues, simply say so and we will think on them with you, as there are a few learned persons in our company. But of course part of the thrill of a puzzle is working it out for yourself, so if you prefer to solve it that way, I would understand completely.

Again, Stephanie didn't look up. She nodded as she looked at the puzzle and then filled in another answer. She held the paper even closer to her chest.

 

On 9/6/2022 at 6:38 AM, Sir Lazeabout said:

"If I may ask, what is Miss Ramirez's diagnosis?" he asks in a hushed voice.

"You'll have to ask the doctor," the nurse said. And then she pointed up the lawn back toward the building. A serious-looking man in a suit was walking beside Rogers who had fetched him.

"Hello," the doctor said as Livingston approached him. The doctor stopped while he was still out of earshot of Ramirez. "You must be Dr. Livingston. To what do we owe the please of this visit? What interest do you have in my patient?"

Edited September 7, 2022 by Butchern (see edit history)

[DogTheGoblin]

His heart sunk to see his efforts were for naught, though he was glad for her to have her pencil back. 

 

The way she hugged the paper, being so protective of those answers. What was she hiding? "How long has she been here?" Stone asked the nurse, eyeing up the paper. An itch developed in the back of his mind. Without a second thought, he attempted to subtly peek at those elusive scribblings.