The Street Corner Killer

Chapter 8

Sweat dripped down Caroline's forehead and onto her brow as she pulled on the surgical gloves. Her gown was already on, and various nurses rushed around the room, prepping the patient for surgery. Doctor Murphy was already standing by Gianna, shouting instructions at the nurses.  Richard Wells was right next to him at his monitor, administering anaesthetic. 

"Put her no an IV!" Murphy shouted, and Caroline ran over, diving head first into the action.

"Her blood pressure's bad. This is so, so bad," Murphy muttered to her.

"Has she been given aspirin?" She asked.

"Yes, she passed out before we could do much else,"

"How bad's the blood clotting?" She said calmly, joining him at the table, as nurses yelled orders.

"Her heart rate's slowing down fast. This is the worst I've seen in a while,"

"What caused it?" She was now reaching for a scalpel.

"Stress on the ride over I think. What are you doing?"

"I've had a quick briefing before I came in here, and trust me, there's only a few things we can do. We need to release pressure. Let's open her up,"

Murphy muttered various things under his breath as she made the first incision on her chest. He began to help, and soon they saw muscle, then ribcage, then her heart.

Suddenly there was a blood curdling scream, and Caroline jumped back. Who was that? All the nurses had suddenly gone silent and... then it hit her.

She was almost terrified to even think about it. Slowly she turned her head to look at Gianna's face.

Her eyes were wide open.

The woman let out another scream as she gasped for air, vibrating through the room. How could she be awake? She was on the anaesthetic... right? She glanced up at the monitor.

Anaesthetic level: 0.24

How? Only just now Doctor Wells had been... She looked at the space next to Murphy. Nobody was there.

"Call the police now!" She shouted, looking around in sheer urgency at the rest of the room, "Richard Wells is-"

She was cut off by a long beep, that rang through the room, making the entire room freeze. Looking up at a different monitor, she went pale. Gianna's IV was blank apart from a thin green line in the middle.

Lord can't help us now, she thought, as panic finally gripped the rest of the room.

"Get the defibrillator!" Some one shouted, "Sew her up, we may have a chance!"

Nurses started rolling things away and bringing out various surgical tools, but Caroline was still frozen on the spot. She knew this wasn't an accident. She knew Richard Wells hadn't just forgot the anaesthetic and then disappeared. This was murder.

"Doctor Caroline?" A female nurse placed a hand on her arm, " You need to step back - we're about to-"

"Get Doctor Turing in here to help. I have a call to make," She pulled of her bloodied gloves and ran towards the door.

---

"I told you! I told all of you!" Riley yelled. The men in the room looked guilty and tired as she stormed into the conference room. It was 11pm and the news was just in - Gianna Elizabeth was dead.

"That's not what we called you in for, Detective," Peters shook his head.

"What else would you call me in for?! 'Oh detective Riley, it's not enough evidence. Oh Detective Riley, we can't be sure!'," She said gruffly. "Where's Morgan?" She remained by the table with her arms folded, refusing to sit down.