Welfare Check

“Hello Alice.”

“Uh, hello…where’s Beth?’

“Beth’s ill today. The agency sent me.” This old witch is more lucid than I was told.

“But, no one from Regency Care called me.”

“Oh, they should have. Would you like me to call them?”

“You sure don’t look like a nurse.” He’s the size of a lumber jack and his hands look rough and dirty.

“I get that all the time. Nursing used to be strictly a woman’s career, I get it.”

“Yes, everything is changing. My great granddaughter keeps some little pink device with her that she panics over if I ask her to turn it off during our visits.”

“Yeah, my kids are addicted to their smart phones and I-Pads.” This broad’s not anywhere near gone. They lied to me. Said she was close to the end. No one would question her passing.

“I hate to ask you, but could you go to the library room downstairs and bring me up the family Bible?”

“Uh, sure where in the library room is it?” Good place as any to prepare the needle.

“Oh, you’ll spot it easily. It’s on an oak pedestal under the corner arch.” These hands, I can hardly dial!

“911…what is your emergency?”

“There’s a man in my house. He says he’s a nurse…but he’s not.”

“Ok, has he threatened you in any way?”

“No, but he doesn’t belong here. He shouldn’t be here. His hands are dirty.”

“His hands are dirty?” I get all the crazies.

“Yes, nurses have very clean hands. His are dirty and rough. You’ve got to send someone. I’ve got to hang up!”

I don’t think he heard me. Oh God, I wish I could walk. I’m trapped in my own bed…in house miles from anywhere.

“Deputy Rogers.”

“Deputy, this is 911 Operator 15 out of Macon.”

“Go ahead operator.”

“What’s your 20?”

“We’re on Route 10 mile marker 26.”

“I need a 10-42 welfare check at 113 Barrington Road. See a woman about a nurse with dirty hands.”

“911 please repeat…a nurse with dirty hands?”

“Yes, the woman says there is a man in her house who says he’s a nurse, but that he can’t be because he has dirty hands.”

“Ok copy, a 10-42 at 113 Barrington Road we’ll roll out there.”

“10-4 deputy… None emergency welfare check.”

“Greg, go ahead and turn us around. We’ll head out that way. No lights, no noise…this is just a simple 10-42.”

“Isn’t 113 Barrington Road where that giant mansion is?”

“Yeah, it’s about 150 years old, but they say it’s been kept up by members of the same family and that it is as stunning as it was the year it was completed; built by a lumber baron.”

“Here’s your Bible.”

“What’s that?”  A needle Oh, God, I knew it; he’s going to kill me!

“Just a little something to help you sleep.” Bye Beth…hello $50,000.00!

“This is Deputy Rogers at our 10-42.  The woman here is deceased. Looks like we have a 187.”


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