Cases Uncovered

42 | Beep

"It's like an automated vending machine for canned juice. You'll get what you want so long as you have the money, but... You get nothing in return without it. You can't buy your way into the hearts of others."

- Ai Haibara

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Chapter 42:
Beep

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ZANE

Raine suddenly left without saying where she was going. As Mrs. Hernandez was being given new medication to raise her blood pressure, I saw Raine walking down the corridor, engrossed in her phone.

"Raine—" I was about to follow her when the nurse from earlier stopped me.

"Who are you to the patient?" she asked. "We've been trying to reach the family members provided by the police since last night, but some haven't responded. Others are abroad. Her husband is paralyzed, but he should be arriving soon."

"I'm not related to her," I replied.

My attention shifted to a man being wheeled in, wearing a face mask. Raine was pushing the wheelchair, with Detective Cruz ahead of them.

"It looks like the person you've been waiting for has arrived," I said.

"There are only two visitors allowed at a time, but since it's still visiting hours, it should be fine," the nurse said, focusing on the newcomers.

"We'll stay behind with Mr. Hernandez," Detective Cruz said.

The room for Mrs. Hernandez was quite spacious, with ample distance between her and the other three patients in the room.

Raine was the first to leave, and I quickly followed. "What's the problem? Where are you going? Why do you keep going back and forth?" I asked as we walked down the corridor.

She didn't respond, remaining absorbed in her phone.

"Are we heading home? Clearly, you are the one who caught Mrs. Cassandra's comfort and not Detective Cruz," I added.

"They're there already, Zane," Raine responded.

"Visiting hours are still ongoing, so it's fine if you stay with them for now," I explained, which made her stop walking. She turned off her phone and put it back in her pocket.

"Zane, she won't last much longer," she said abruptly. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Stop it! You saw Mrs. Hernandez was lively earlier, didn't you?" I countered.

"You saw how she barely made it through the night. She almost had a heart attack yesterday, Zane, and it's happening again now," she replied. "So, don't tell her anything until her condition improves!"

"I won't say anything, but what about Detective Cruz?"

She sighed and started walking back. "Honestly—"

When we arrived, we were stopped again by several nurses already in the room. Detective Cruz was near the exit, still with Mrs. Hernandez's husband.

"Detective Cruz, what's happening?" Raine asked.

"Her blood pressure has dropped to 40," the nurse answered.

It was indeed critical. I hoped she would recover. I wanted to see her and her sister together again.

"The doctors said she needs to be intubated to be revived," Detective Cruz said, trying to hold back tears. "But Mr. Hernandez has said no. They had decided on this before anything like this happened."