Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

Read Mosaic Heart – Part 3

Laurel was alone in the house on Thursday morning. Mrs. Hanley had banking to do, and the others were already out and about. The doorbell rang as she turned the dishwasher on.

Laurel dried her hands and opened the front door. A very tall man with short blonde hair stood waiting on the porch. “Captain Jenkins?”

“Yes, Ma’am, and you must be Laurel,” he replied as his green eyes made contact with hers.

“I am indeed. Please come in. We’re meeting in Mrs. Hanley’s office. She’ll be back in about half an hour in case we need to inform her of anything we’re working on. Can I get you a coffee or water?”

“Water would be great. Would you show me where the office is? I’ll get set up while you grab our drinks.”

“Sure, it’s right through that door. Mrs. Hanley said to make yourself at home. She cleared off the top of her desk and the table to give you space to work.”

“I came prepared to do a lot of work.” 

“Yes, I see that! Laurel replied, pointing to the two large bags he carried. “I’ll be back in a minute or two.” 

Laurel opened the door while juggling a huge tray. The water pitcher started to slide, but she counterbalanced and placed the tray on the corner of the desk. After she poured two glasses of ice water and carried them to the table, she surveyed the wall in front of her.

There were large sheets of newsprint taped to the wall. An array of different coloured markers were on the table as well as a pad of blank lined paper and a pen. She read through the measures they had already agreed upon.

“Constable Perkins told me you know about the patrols and my hourly calls to your switchboard. I trust you’ve memorized these code words?”

“Yes, I have,” Laurel affirmed, laughing. “Constable Perkins was like a Drill Sergeant! After three hours of constant repetition, these codes are etched into my memory.”

Captain Jenkins chuckled. “Yes, he’s had a lot of practice barking orders. We served together in Desert Storm. He was a Drill Sergeant before our deployment. At the end of the tour, our Commander promoted both of us to the rank of Captain.”

“Do I call you Captain at work, or is that a term used in military settings only? 

“No, please call me Mr. Jenkins. None of the guys I work with know about my service in the military, only my boss.”

Laurel nodded. “I can imagine. Not everyone was supportive of the military involvement in Iraq. Okay, where do we go from here, Mr. Jenkins?” 

He turned back toward the newspaper print and continued to write. Every contingency they could think of had a strategic, detailed response in place.

“Remember, do not reveal to your coworkers what’s going on. I don’t need rumours flying.” Mr. Jenkins stated with a shake of his head.

“I promise, I also do not want any rumours churning through the grapevine,” Laurel asserted.

“Good. I’ll be calling your switchboard bright and early Monday morning. Please notify me if something suspicious or alarming happens before then. I doubt that anything will happen that fast. Your ex-husband’s release is today and his brother is picking him up. The Warden and I both agree they’ll all be laying low for a few days. Try not to worry! Spend some time with your family.”

“I don’t have family, Mr. Jenkins.”

“I’m sorry, I forgot. Take care of yourself.” He reached out to touch her shoulder, but seemed to change his mind at the last minute, and picked up his bag instead. With the other bag in hand, he headed out the front door. 

Laurel sighed and looked at her watch. Mr. Klein was now a free man. Her stomach rose up in protest and she grabbed a Ginger Ale from the fridge to combat the nausea. Fear started whispering, but she ignored it and focused on helping Mrs. Hanley make dinner.

The alarm rang at 5:30 a.m., rousing Laurel from a dream. She was at the clinic and Mr. Jenkins had asked her for the third time if she was okay. She woke up thinking she couldn’t remember her code words!

After she showered and dressed, Laurel ran through the code words one more time. She sighed in relief, dreams were such bizarre things sometimes.

After breakfast, Laurel savoured the last swallow of coffee and basked in the silence. Finally, she grabbed her backpack, exited the house, and locked the door.

“Hey Laurel, welcome back!” Belinda called out from the first treatment room, where she was restocking a cart.

“Thanks, Belinda, it’s good to be back!” 

“What happened anyway?” Kyla yelled from the staff kitchen.

Laurel groaned as she put her personal belongings away in a secured area. She turned her computer and printer on and glanced at her watch. Half an hour until Mr. Jenkins’ first call.

“Okay, Kyla….” Laurel started to say as she walked into the staff kitchen. Her words were cut short by a camera flash. Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed a large pan of cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting on the table. There was one large candle lit and it said, “Congratulations!”

“Surprise!” Belinda, Kyla, and Michele yelled in unison.

Laurel stood stunned and speechless. “Oh! This is to celebrate my probationary period being over.” 

“Of course, what else did you think it was? You’re not pregnant, are you?” Belinda demanded to know.

“NO! Of course not!” Laurel laughed.

“Pay up Belinda, you lost that bet!” Michele said between giggles.

“Bet?”

“Yeah, Belinda and Michele were trying to figure out what your ‘personal emergency’ was.” Kyla confided.

“Oh, I hate to spoil your fun, but the emergency was nothing more than a burst hot water tank. There was water everywhere! It took three days for everything to dry out. I replaced the hot water tank with an on–demand system, so that will never happen again,” Laurel lied.

The cinnamon buns were delicious and a quick treat. Laurel returned to her desk and logged in to her computer. She made sure all the patient charts were ready for the day. Satisfied, she grabbed her cordless earpiece and put it in place. Reaching out, she tapped one button and opened the switchboard for the day.

It was 8:30 a.m. on the dot. And on cue, the incoming lines lit up all at once. Laurel ran down the three–line switchboard and put everyone on hold. Grabbing her pen and telephone message pad, she punched the button for line one.

“Thanks for holding, how may I help you?”

“Good morning, Laurel, how are you this morning?” Mr. Jenkins asked.

“Yes, sir, your appointment’s confirmed.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. Have a good day. I’ll check in again in an hour.” 

He hung up, and Laurel moved on to deal with the other two callers on the line. Calls kept coming in a small flurry. It was 8:50 a.m. before she could hang up. As she glanced around the waiting room, she noticed two security guards walking by the clinic. 

“When did security start patrolling our area?” Michele asked as she brought the first patient’s chart back to Laurel. 

“Is this the first day? I was going to ask you the same question.” 

“I haven’t noticed them here before today. Login to the staff portal and double–check the newsfeed. Make sure we haven’t missed anything.” 

“Yes, doctor.”

She humoured Michele and logged in to the staff portal. Laurel clicked on the ‘News’ banner. The screen revealed a security notice posted late yesterday. Entitled, “Security Patrols Extend to Outpatient Clinic Areas Effective Monday.” Interestingly, at the end of the notice, she saw his name: Mr. Taylor Jenkins, Chief of Security. Laurel smiled; he had thought of everything!

After a long day, Laurel was happy to return to the house. As she hung up her coat in the closet, she felt a small hand tugging on her pant leg. 

“Carly! How are you, sweetie?”

“You have to come, Laurel, there’s a surprise for you!” Carly announced, jumping up and down in excitement.

“A surprise?”

Carly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the living room. Laurel spotted a small crystal vase on the side table beside the couch. It held one long-stemmed dark purple rose. A tiny envelope lay beside it.

“Now who could this be from?” she asked aloud while reaching for the card.

“Open it and find out,” Mrs. Hanley said, watching from the dining room entrance.

Laurel pulled the card out of the envelope and read, “Sweetheart, I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” 

Underneath was a tiny picture of a knife dripping with blood.