***Trigger Warning.***

I hate the empty white walls that encase me. I feel claustrophobic and out of place. I shouldn't be here. I didn't poison Roger.

The handsome young police officer with brown hair peeking out from under his hat speaks first. "We appreciate your cooperation. The information you give us will really help us paint a picture of the incident."

The way he's talking to me infuriates me. He's talking to me like I'm unstable. I am, but he doesn't know that. Couldn't he have asked me these questions at my work? It was all very bizarre.

"Look, I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about the situation. The last time I saw Roger he was doing really well. He was slightly confused but pleasant and very alert. I had to check on another patient so I left his room for maybe twenty minutes and then I heard yelling." I fight back the tears that threatened to overflow. "Everything I know, I put in his chart."

I don't like the way he and his older, angrier-appearing partner were looking at me. There is definitely some kind of good-cop-bad-cop scenario happening.

The older cop moves forward and stares me in the eyes. "I'm going to give it to you straight, maybe it'll bring back some memories for you. We're looking at you and Mr. Brexton McGomery as the main suspects in this case. A colleague of yours told us about your potentially romantic relationship with the suspect and it doesn't look good. She told us about him special requesting you and you letting him out of his restraints. I don't want to believe you are capable of this, but I think you should know the evidence is stacking up against you."

Jessica once again has made my life so much worse. I internally panic. I have never been accused of anything before expect having a smart mouth. "I appreciate you 'giving it to me straight' but the evidence is circumstantial at best. I only met Roger today and I had no reason to hurt him, neither did Mr. McGomery. I would never have any sort of inappropriate relationship with a patient so the idea that I was doing anything more than my job is outrageous. Mr. McGomery requested me because that so-called coworker mistreated him and was neglectful in his care. We're actually required to remove restraints every hour or two to ensure the patient isn't having any skin breakdown, which Mr. McGomery was. I hope that clears everything up. Am I free to go now?"

The officers glance at each other, communicating something with their eyes. Maybe my delivery could've been better. I hope they don't hold it against me.

The younger officer takes his turn. They are so obvious with what they're doing. "What you're describing sounds very frustrating. You're right, you don't have much of a motive. However, our other suspect does. He's a suspect in a murder investigation and he even escaped from the hospital earlier today. Who's to say he didn't get out while you were in another patients room and poison the victim? It all checks out. We just need to proof and we're hoping you can give us that."

Unbelievable, they were trying to trick me into throwing Brexton under the bus. It wasn't gong to happen. "Sure, I can offer some thoughts. Mr. McGomery has no reason whatsoever to want to kill an 85 year old man and I think the fact that you'd even insinuate that is very unprofessional on your part. If I were you guys I'd be looking into Jessica Fowler, the colleague that tried to pin the blame on me. She has always strived to make my life difficult, as evidenced by her made up story about Mr. McGomery and I. I'd also look into Jeremiah Brooks, my unstable ex who snuck into the hospital after I dumped him. He was here at the time of the murder. Just a thought."

They're quiet for what feels like an eternity before the younger officer finally speaks again. "Thank you Ms., you gave us a lot to think about. We're going to go talk to Mr. McGomery now, you are free to go. We'll be in touch."

I want to scream at him to shut up. How did things go so wrong, so fast? I thought my life was going to calm down after I ended things with Jeremiah but it's not only not gotten better, it's gotten worse. 

I run to the bathroom and cry after they open the interrogation room doors. I am so mentally and emotionally drained. I am heartbroken over the loss of Roger, his poor family will never be the same. He was so sweet and had so much life left in him. I let myself cry for a few minutes before I clean myself up and head back to work. I have a job to do, I can't mourn yet.

I arrive back on the unit to absolute chaos. Nurses are standing in the hall, gossiping about what happened. They are no doubt arguing over whether I did it, Brexton did it or if we were in on it together. I stare into an empty room 209. They already got him. I don't want to imagine what he's dealing with right now. I wonder if they're saying I told them he was responsible? Would he believe it?

I spend the next hour or two trying to distract myself from this morning's events. When Brexton is finally accompanied back to his room, he looks numb. There is no expression to be found anywhere on his face. What did they do to him?

As soon as they leave, I make my way into his room. The officers are laughing and glancing at him. "Hey, Mr. McGomery."

A small glimmer of life finds it way back into his eyes when he sees me. "Hey Lyra."

I walk over to his bed. "Ready for your afternoon injections?"

He laughs. "No, but you can give them to me anyway."

I smile. I make sure I'm close enough for him to hear my whispers, a habit of ours. "Are you okay? They were pretty brutal."

He rolls his sleeve up, exposing his beautifully tattooed, muscular arm. I stare too long before I look away. He gives me a slight grin. "I'm fine, it's not my first rodeo. How are you?"

I wasn't used to that question. I always feel weird when he asks me that. I'm used to people asking to be polite, but I could tell he was genuinely invested in my answer. "I'm angry. They're looking for an easy answer and it's making them stupid."

He laughs, which does strange things to my heart. Ugh, why am I allowing myself to feel like this? "They acted like I was going to go in and confess to a crime I didn't commit and got annoyed when I didn't. It felt like a waste of breath even talking to them. They clearly already had their minds made up that I did it."

I hold the cotton ball to his arm, clotting the blood. "If it's any consolation, I don't think you did it."

He stares at my hand. "That actually means a lot. Thank you."

I move my hand, wishing I'd had time to get a manicure before he stared at them so intensely. I nod, not sure what to say to make this better. A lightbulb appears over my head. "I think I may know how we can fix this."

He looks at me, hope make his green eyes glow. "What's that?"

I glance back at the security guards to see they aren't paying attention and smile. "What if we start our own investigation?"

He inches closer, intrigued. "Where should we start?"

I take in his warmth and amazing cologne as he nears me. "I have two suspects of my own..the nurse here named Jessica and my ex Jeremiah. Jessica will be the easiest because she's already here, so I say we start with her."

A mischievous look crosses his face. "I like the way you think. I also have a suspect of my own."

I love how much he's participating in me playing detective. "Who do you think did this?"

"Brant." He makes a face like the name tastes sour in his mouth.

I nod. The name has a bad energy around it that makes me afraid. "Okay, we'll look into Brant too. That means you have to divulge some information about him though."

"I'll promise I'll give you all the useful information I know when we investigate him."

I pick up my supplies quickly, just then realizing how long I'd been in his room. "You've got yourself a deal. I'll see what I can find out the rest of the shift and get back to you."

His bright white teeth make me stop moving so fast. "I look forward to it." He smirks and watches me walk out the door, making me almost trip over myself.