Do No Harm

David slid past them and found Yale, who was crouched in Exam Fourteen, his back to the door. A few men in rumpled shirts and ties poked through the cabinets and the gurney mattress. David circled Yale and squatted beside him. Yale was examining an empty blood bag, turning it slowly on the end of his pen.

"It was supposed to be picked up by the blood bank. They came down, but I was in with him… " David squeezed his eyes shut tightly, regretfully. "That's what he smeared all over himself. To make it look like he'd attempted suicide."

Yale nodded. He was chewing gum, something strong-scented and fruity. He pointed with his pen to the severed leather band. "Restraints," he said. "Once you get through one, the other three are a snap."

David stood and regarded the empty gurney. Several strands of Clyde's hair remained behind on the pillow. A crime scene technician was lifting them with tweezers and depositing them in a clear plastic bag. "You can catch him again, right? It'll be easier this time?"

"He never even coughed up a last name."

David gestured to the technician taking hair samples from the pillow. "What about the forensics?"

"We can run a DNA on the hair fibers, but unless he's been arrested and had blood drawn in the last five years, it won't do us much good."

David's voice sounded increasingly desperate. "But you have fingerprints… "

Yale shook his head slowly. "He was wearing gloves the whole time. We don't book them and lift prints until we get 'em transported to Harbor." Yale studied David through a cool, even countenance.

David felt his face go slack.

Yale turned his gum over in his mouth and snapped it once, loudly. "If he was well enough to escape, he was well enough to be moved to Harbor. Now either you're a liar or a shitty doctor. Which is it?"

The blood bag leaked onto the floor.

David felt as if Yale were looking straight through his head, studying the back wall of his skull.

"If you were gonna keep him here, you should have tied down your fort," Yale said. "Made sure the room was secure."

"But I'm a doctor. That's not my job."

Yale looked at him again, the same impenetrable shine in his eyes. "Exactly."

David took a moment to let the roiling in his gut settle. "Listen. Why don't we figure out who's to blame later and focus on finding him."

Yale looked rightly irritated.

"I know my way around this hospital better than you. Better than Security, even."

"Sure," Yale said derisively. "It's your family business."

David stopped short, trying to keep up with a sudden cascade of thoughts. "How do you know that?"

"The building's named after you. Even if I weren't a detective-"

"That's what Clyde said. He said, 'Spier, like the building.' I thought he was thinking of a spire. But he saw the SPIER AUDITORIUM sign by the cafeteria-it looks like that whole portion of the building bears my family name. Clyde's been around the hospital. A lot."

"Not a news flash. He did escape into the hospital."

David's face felt hot. He blurted, with sudden conviction, "He works here."

"You can't say that with any-"

"Come here."

Yale reluctantly followed David into the hall. David swung a nearby gurney over between himself and Yale, and set the brake.

"Try to move this," he said. "Go ahead."

Yale tried to push it out of the way, but it didn't budge.

"Peter said he shoved the gurney at the officer, but if the gurney was left in the hall with a patient on it, it would've been locked," David said. "The foot levers on the new gurneys have to be kicked to the right to release the brakes-that's not common knowledge. You couldn't figure it out just now-imagine if you were running and someone was pointing a gun at you. Clyde already knew how the gurney operated. From working here."

"A helpful hypothesis. But it's time for you to leave."

"That's why he ran into the hospital interior-he knows these corridors and knows where to hide. Or what if it's not even a detour? Maybe he injured himself to get in here."

"We're on it. And this is our job. Now it's time for you to stay out of our way."

"I think we can-"

"If you continue to compromise this perimeter, I'll bust you for noncompliance." Yale pointed down the hall. His face showed he wasn't listening anymore.

David turned and headed for the lobby. A SWAT crew jogged by with two German shepherds straining at the leashes. Through the small windows atop the swinging doors, he could see Dalton interviewing Peter. From Peter's gestures, it appeared he was conveying details of the escape. Across the lobby, Jenkins alternated between shouting at Ralph and bellowing into his portable, contacting officers around the perimeter of the hospital. "Be advised suspect is considered to be in the possession of a police officer's nine-millimeter," David heard him say. "Let's take him down."