Chapter 4: Karen Comes Back
Karen returned before noon.
She walked into the hospital carrying the same enormous hot-pink handbag, but this time she wasn’t there to argue about the entrance.
She marched toward patient services.
Walter happened to be walking out of the clinic at the same moment.
They stopped when they saw each other.
Karen’s expression hardened.
“You.”
Walter remained calm.
“Me.”
“I want to know why the staff treated me like I was doing something wrong.”
“You were blocking the entrance.”
“I was having a conversation.”
“You were having a conversation in front of an accessible doorway.”
Karen’s jaw tightened.
“I had every right to be there.”
Walter didn’t argue.
Instead, he said, “I hope whatever you’re dealing with gets resolved.”
That answer seemed to irritate her more than an insult would have.
“You people always act like you’re better than everyone else.”
Walter shook his head.
“No. I just wanted to get inside.”
Karen turned away.
Then she stopped.
Her eyes landed on the folder under Walter’s arm.
“Is that about the appointment?”
Walter looked at her.
“How do you know about my appointment?”
Karen hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Walter noticed.
“I heard you talking at the desk,” she said.
“I didn’t talk about the appointment at the desk.”
Karen’s expression changed.
The silence between them became uncomfortable.
Walter didn’t accuse her.
He simply waited.
Karen suddenly became defensive.
“I don’t know anything about your appointment.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
She stared at him.
Then walked away.
Walter watched her disappear through the lobby.
Later that afternoon, the privacy office contacted him.
They had reviewed the call.
The person who called had not identified themselves.
But there was one detail that mattered.
The caller had been transferred from the hospital’s main line.
Someone had entered the hospital, used a public phone near the entrance, and called the clinic before Walter arrived.
There was security footage.
Walter felt his stomach tighten.
The footage might show who had made the call.
But there was a problem.
The camera facing the public phone had been partially obstructed that morning by someone standing directly in front of it.
Someone wearing a bright orange jacket.
Walter didn’t need anyone to tell him what that meant.
But he still needed proof.
The privacy officer said the footage would be reviewed.
Until then, Walter had one decision to make.
He could let suspicion consume him.
Or he could wait for facts.
He chose facts.
But the next morning, the hospital called him.
The security team had identified the person in the footage.
And they wanted Walter to come in.
