Voices

Chapter 11

Quelton sat in his office chair and rubbed his temples. He popped a tic tac in his mouth as he called Kay to send his patient inside the office. He only had three appointments today and that was a good thing because he wasn't in the mood to work. Something kept nagging him about the bruise he noticed on Tamra's forehead earlier which made him uneasy. The greeting of his first patient Mrs. Johnson, an elderly woman dragged him back to reality.

He had only met her once but he liked her extremely especially when she kept asking if he was married.

" Next time I'll take my daughter along to meet you Doc, she's a lovely girl, very educated. She's a lawyer" she said smiling at him. "You two would be nice together, then I would have a doctor for a son-in-law" she added, smiling.

Quelton smiled at her. "I would like to meet your daughter, Mrs. Johnson, I'm sure she's a very beautiful young lady" he handed her the prescription.

"Yes she is, she's a gem that one, my last. Did I tell you that she's a lawyer?"

Quelton laughed. "Yes you did, I'm sure you're very proud".

Mrs. Johnson kept on talking as he escorted her out to the lobby where her son was waiting for her.

" Take care now Mrs. Johnson and I will see you at your next appointment" he shook her son's hand and then went back to his office. He took a sip of water and then rang Kay to send in the other patient.

By the time all three patients left the office,  Quelton pulled Tamra's file. He examined the file closely and he was alarmed. Tamra had gotten a vast amount of stress medication from her previous doctor as well as painkillers. What got him suspicious was a link on her file. He clicked on the link which transported him to a folder that was encrypted which asked for a password.

Something was wrong. Why was this file locked? He tried to guess the password to open the file but after a few failed attempts he called Kay.

When she entered his office she noticed the worried look he wore on his perfect face.

" Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I need your help and this may sound a bit off but I need some information about Mrs. Solomon" he hoped Kay wouldn't get suspicious as to why he was enquiring about Tamra but he had no choice.

"I'm not sure what information I can give other than her data that's in the system. She doesn't talk much, she comes to her appointment and then leaves. Oh, she loves fish, she loved the goldfish that we had in the aquarium. I heard her telling Doctor Daye once that she was naming him Charlie" she laughed.

Quelton smiled at her. "Thank you, Kay," he said.

She left the office with a sheepish grin on her face. As soon as Kay left the office Quelton typed the word 'goldfish' in the box but it was rejected. Since Tamra was the one to name the fish he tried 'Charlie' instead. He still was not successful. He rubbed his temples as frustration crept in but decided to try one final time. He quickly typed in the word 'goldfishCharlie' and the file was opened immediately.

He took a drink of water from the bottle sitting on his desk before he began to read. On the first page of the document were Doctor Daye's notes of his suspicions when Tamra refused thorough examination when asked to remove her clothing.

She was in pain in various areas of her body.

She often wears long-sleeved cover-up clothing and heavy makeup to cover up bruises.

Sprained wrist on more than one occasion resulting in prescribed doses of pain medication.

Refusal to do ultrasounds and x-rays.

As Quelton read, the file got more detailed and revelations were made which confirmed the notes on the first page.

X-ray and ultrasound results stated a bruised rib and pictures confirmed the worse. There she was, Tamra with bruises all over her body. Quelton was in shock. Why would Dr. Daye keep this file hidden? Why didn't he report this to the proper authorities? Better yet Why didn't Tamra? The bruise on her forehead was an indication that she was still suffering.

Quelton's breathing changed from normal to heavy and his head, eyes, and ears flared with anger. Tamra didn't deserve this. She was a gentle, sweet, and loving woman with a passion for life and love for people. Quelton closed the file. He had seen all he needed to so he removed his coat, grabbed his jacket then left the office.

As he drove to the hospital a million things went through his mind. What if Tamra's husband was there when he arrived? Could he keep his composure knowing what he now knows? How dare he put his hands on her? What kind of man does that to a woman, to the mother of his child? The more he asked the questions, the more angry he became. Should he confront her? Did she trust him enough to tell him the truth? Why was she still with him? He gripped the steering wheel tighter at the thought of her husband. He didn't know the bastard but now he wanted to get Tamra and Zyon away from him as fast as possible.

When he arrived at Tamra's room door he took a deep breath and slowly turned the knob. He peeked inside but saw no movements so he swung open the door. There it was an empty hospital bed.

Quelton took his phone from his pocket. "Call Tamra", he commanded.

The robotic voice came through the speakers explaining that the number was out of service.

"Shit!" he cursed. He didn't remember that Tamra's phone was disconnected and he didn't get the new number while he was with her. He stepped out of the room and looked down the hallway. He glimpsed the nurse whom he had spoken to earlier and he quickly moved to catch up to her.

"Nurse!" he yelled and she spun around. She instantly recognized him.

"Doctor Archer, I see you're back" she smiled. "Unfortunately your patient seemed to have disappeared," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I went to check in on her and she was gone".

"You don't happen to know if her husband came by do you?" he asked curiously.

"I...I don't know but she's not here. I hope you can advise her that she needs rest, like I told you before her pressure is elevated and anything can happen. She needs rest and to eliminate the stress".

Quelton smiled at her and thanked her. Just as he turned to leave she called out to him. He turned back to face her and she now wore a broader smile on her face.

" I could uhm...give you a call in case she comes back".

"Sure, thank you" he responded and handed her one of his business cards. She took the hard and smiled as she twirled a piece of hair around her finger.

Quelton walked off with a slight smile shaking his head. He knew she was secretly flirting with him but he didn't care. The only thing he wanted was to find out if Tamra and her son were safe. He could easily get her address from her files but he decided against it. He didn't want to put her in any awkward positions if he decided to show up at her home. For now, he would wait until she called him and prayed that she was okay.