The Good Doctor

Delusional Disorder

Jim wasn't about to give up investigating Redemption Hospital. People had gone missing, and they all had this hospital in common. Oh sure, the police didn't consider that to be a good lead. Thousands of people in the city had passed through that hospital over the years. But Sarah and Peter had gone missing. Henrich Schneeplestein had claimed they ran off together, and the police had found no evidence of murder, but Jim knew better. Jim could smell a conspiracy a mile away. What better place to hide a pair of murdered bodies than in the hospital? Schneeplestein lost Sarah to his accountant. It was the perfect motive. All he had to do was get back into the hospital and find a way to prove it. That's where the shut-down wing came into play. The hall was being renovated, and was locked with a chain at night from the inside to prevent people from entering. All he needed was a bolt cutter.

Jim had obtained exactly that from his neighbor Billy. He waited for the hall beyond the doors to be clear before he even attempted to cut the chain. He squeezed the cutters with all his might, and he thought he broke the cutters when they finally snapped through. But when the link finally snapped free, he peeked back out the door to make sure nobody had heard him. Oh-so-quietly, he unwrapped the chain around the door handles and slipped quietly out into the hall. It was late at night, so the halls were dimly lit. He made his way down one of the other halls. As he crept along, he began to wonder where he could find some answers. If he could just talk to some of the residents there...

He heard shuffling behind him. He ducked down behind a bed that sat just outside a room, and slipped through the room's open door. He backed up against the wall and waited for the person to pass. A familiar man wandered by. Even from the back he recognized who it was: Schneeplestein!

He watched Schneeplestein pause, then turn. Jim snapped back from view and held his breath. Had he been heard?! He could be in serious trouble if he was caught again. The shadow of Schneeplestein slipped into the doorway.

"Can I help you?"

Jim's breath caught in his throat. Was Schneeplestein addressing him? He braced, ready to run, possibly fight. If only he had something to hit the man with!

"I'm here to help you, silly," came another voice. "It's time for your medicine."

"Oh, so it iz!" said Schneeplestein. "Thank you, Nurse Malki. You're alwayz so sweet to me, alwayz looking after me. A true friend!"

"You're very welcome," said Malki. "Try not to wander the halls too much tonight."

"Of course not, my dear..."

Jim listened to Malki shuffle off, and turned to the shadow cast across the floor, watching it intently. Schneeplestein shifted, turning one way, then another. Eventually, much to Jim's relief, Schneeplestein wandered off in the opposite direction. Jim managed to relax slightly. Perhaps he was in way over his head. Perhaps there was another way he could investigate. Maybe if he talked to security or something...

Jim scooted towards the door. He peeked out very cautiously in the direction Schneeplestein had gone first and found the hall to be empty. Schneeplestein had apparently ducked into one of the rooms. He glanced in the other direction and saw that Nurse Malki was also out of site. Carefully, he slipped his way out, and made his way down the hall. His heart pounding, he told himself that once he got out of there, he would try to find information on Sarah and Peter. Surely there would be records of them in another state if they had simply left and moved elsewhere. It would be a safer bet than sneaking around a hos-

Pain snapped through the back of his head, and a bright light flashed across his eyes. His stomach lurched with nausea as the whole world doubled and swirled. Then it wobbled and tilted up to meet him, and smacked into his face. With the floor smashed against him, he realized had been hit in the head from behind, and was collapsed on the floor. As his vision slowly darkened, he saw someone step in front of him, and felt a hand grab his shoulders.