Room 414 smelled of iodine and old flowers. Dana, the night nurse, set down the morning chart and stopped cold. Mara was already there, her administrator badge catching the light, her lanyard crooked like she'd dressed in a hurry. In the bed lay Eli Voss, oxygen tube under his nose, eyes half open. "You shouldn't be in here," Dana said. Mara didn't move. "We need to talk before he wakes up."
"Talk about what?" Dana asked, keeping her voice low. Mara glanced at the door, then back. "Eli was about to file a report on this hospital. On me. Three patients got the wrong meds last year, and I buried it." Dana's stomach dropped. The man in the bed was a whistleblower, and her boss had just confessed.
"So why tell me?" Dana said. "You think I'll help you cover it up?" Mara pulled a folded paper from her blazer. "Eli's report. I took it from his bag last night. If it disappears, the investigation dies with him. I need you to shred it."