Chapter 4 - The Phone In His Hand.
Cal stepped into the hallway before Nina could stop him.
Warren Hale saw him coming and immediately moved closer to the suited man.
The stranger slipped Mara's phone toward his inside pocket.
Cal stopped several feet away.
He did not raise his voice.
"That belongs to the patient in room 614."
The man smiled politely.
"I think you're mistaken."
Nina appeared beside Cal.
"Then you won't mind showing us the lock screen."
Hale cleared his throat.
"Mr. Mercer, this is private hospital business."
Cal looked at the administrator.
"You keep saying private when you mean inconvenient."
A nurse behind the desk lowered her eyes.
The suited man turned to leave.
Nina lifted her own phone and began recording.
"For the record, I'm documenting the removal of a patient's personal property from her room."
The man stopped.
"Turn that off."
"No."
His expression tightened.
Cal recognized the change.
People who relied on authority often disliked being observed more than being challenged.
The suited man reluctantly removed Mara's phone from his pocket.
"It was found in the hallway."
Mara's voice came from the doorway behind them.
"No, it wasn't."
A nurse stood beside her wheelchair, clearly nervous about allowing her out of bed.
Mara wore her neck brace and a hospital blanket around her shoulders.
Her face was pale, but her stare was steady.
"That was inside my drawer."
The hallway became quiet.
Hale forced a calm smile.
"Ms. Ellis, you should be resting."
"I should also have my phone."
Nina extended her hand.
"Give it back."
The suited man looked toward Hale.
That silent glance told Cal everything.
Hale nodded almost imperceptibly.
The phone was returned.
Nina took it first and sealed it inside a clear evidence pouch from her bag.
Cal looked at her.
"You carry those?"
"You call me for bad days."
For the first time that morning, Mara nearly laughed.
The moment disappeared when a security officer approached.
"Mr. Mercer, administration has asked that you leave the property."
Cal looked at Mara.
"Do you want me to go?"
"No."
Her answer was immediate.
The officer hesitated.
Nina said, "Then unless you have a lawful basis, he stays as her visitor."
Hale's patience cracked.
"This hospital will not tolerate disruption."
Mara turned her chair toward him.
"Then stop disrupting my recovery."
A second nurse looked down to hide a smile.
Hale's face reddened.
He turned away and motioned for the suited man to follow him.
Cal waited until they were gone.
Then he crouched beside Mara.
"That was brave."
"That was angry."
"Sometimes they're cousins."
Nina carried the phone back into the room and connected it to her laptop through a protected cable.
The device powered on.
Most of Mara's messages were still there.
The meeting request was not.
Neither was the contact that had sent it.
Nina frowned.
"Someone deleted a single conversation."
Cal said, "Can you recover it?"
"Maybe."
She began running a local backup extraction.
For twenty minutes, nothing happened except the quiet pulse of the monitor.
Then Nina sat forward.
"There."
A recovered message appeared on the screen.
Mara read it aloud.
"Garage C, level four, 9:30 p.m."
Another message followed.
"Bring the Mercer scans. Come alone."
Then a final line appeared beneath it.
Cal read the sender's recovered account label.
His face went still.
May you like
The message had not come from Dylan Rourke.
It had come from Mara's supervisor.
