Chapter 55 (Part B) end of chapter


When they arrived at the hospital it was still fairly quiet. A couple of police officers were walking out the door too preoccupied with other business to notice the group walking in. A couple of people were waiting in the admissions room to be seen and a receptionist looked busy filling out paper work.
“This could be difficult…we’re not relatives” Lucille whispered to Haddock.
“What do you suggest?” Haddock asked.
Lucille scanned the area and saw a doorway that led to a stairwell and a cart full of linen.

“Hmm…I have an idea but you three best wait outside. Give me about thirty minutes” Lucille whispered.
“Ok, but I’m coming in if you’re not back in thirty minutes” Haddock warned her.
“Fair enough” she said nonchalantly walking over near the cart full of linen. She looked around the area to see if she was being watched. When no one was looking she grabbed and arm full of linen and quickly disappeared into the stairwell. She saw a closet under the stairs and went in.

It was a small room with a laundry-shoot. She searched through the pile of linen until she found a nurse’s skirt and top that would fit her. There were some white leggings which she found as well. Once she was satisfied with what she found, she quickly changed into her nurse’s outfit hiding her own clothes and satchel in a small cubby hole in the room. She left the rest of the linen lying on the floor near the shoot and made her way upstairs a couple of floors.

“You there!” a voice startled her.
“Yes?” Lucille turned around to another nurse dressed a bit differently.
“Why aren’t you wearing your cap?” she asked bit perturbed.
“Um…I lost mine” she answered innocently.
“This way” the other nurse led her down the hall. She opened a door and pulled out a nurse’s hat.

“Don’t lose your hat anymore, and those men they plucked out of the sea need to be checked on” what seemed to be the nurse supervisor replied. Her voice did not have an Irish accent, but one of that of someone just north of London.
“Oh…um, I forgot where there room is” Lucille said afraid she was going to be found out.
“You beginners don’t pay any attention do you?” she said sternly.
“I’m sorry madam” Lucille apologized.
“Seriously young lady, how do you expect to keep your job if you don’t familiarize yourself?” she scolded.
“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Lucille was trying to think of a reason.
“You’re not used to living here in Dublin yet most likely…I know it took me time. Ok I’ll tell you once more. Go down the hall and make two left and it should be the third door on your right, got that?” she pointed her long finger.

“Yes madam” Lucille nodded.
“Good, now carry on” she nodded and disappeared down the opposite end of the hall.
“That was close!” Lucille thought wiping her brow. She didn’t waste any more time and found the two HM Customs guards’ room. She politely knocked on the side of the door.

“Aachhoo! Come in” one replied in a sniffling voice.
Lucille entered seeing them both in hospital gowns. One of them was tucked under his blanket asleep recovering, while the other seemingly lied there sleepless. Their faces looked pale with rosy noses. Lucille had been in the hospital a few times and even though she never worked there, she knew some of the duties a nurse would perform.
“Here to check your vital signs and take your temperature” Lucille tried to sound like a nurse.

“I just want to sleep” the one under the covers mumbled.

“We got to check on how you are so we know what to give you” Lucille said sounding convincing.
Lucille picked up the instruments that were lying on the shelf and began checking their blood pressure.
One of them made an effort to sit up in bed as she took their blood pressure and temperature at the same time.

“Put this under your tongue and keep it there please” Lucille said professionally.
“So that was a real scare both of you suffered” Lucille commented hoping to loosen their tongues.
“Achooo! Scare? What do you know?” one of them said sniffling.
“I heard both of you washed up on the shore early this morning” Lucille said picking up the clipboard at the end of each of their beds.
“ That’s true, but there was something out there…” one said as Lucille wrote down the readings.
“What was out there?” Lucille asked curiously already having an idea of what she
would hear.
“Jenkins, that’s enough…” the other one began sitting up.
“You’re turn now” Lucille said beginning to take Riley’s readings.

“This is classified information young lady” Riley insisted.
“Hmm… let me guess what it was you saw…Lucille said putting the thermometer in Riley’s mouth.
“Mnot a –ord –enkin” Riley mumbled.
“It didn’t happen to be a green scaled creature with claws, bugged out eyes,
claws hands, and webbed feet did it?” Lucille said matter-of-factly.

“-enkins!” Riley’s eyes became wide thinking he had already told her.
“I swear it Riley, I didn’t tell her anything” Jenkins shook his head.
“It stood up like a man too if I’m not mistaken…oh time to take out your thermometer” Lucille checked the temperature and his vital signs filling out the chart.
“Jenkins! *cough*cough” Riley yelled.
“Mr. Riley, I can assure you that Mr. Jenkins here has not told me one word…I’ve seen it myself” Lucille said candidly.
“Impossible, we killed it” Riley blurted out.
“Did you? Or were there more?” Lucille asked.

“You saw it or another one?” Jenkins asked.

“I did, so what happened to the others?” Lucille finally asked.
“Just who are you anyway?” Jenkins finally asked her suspiciously.
“I’m the girl whom you refused passage to when you left Scotland” Lucille revealed herself.
“What are you doing here?! Are you a spy?!” Riley asked getting paranoid.
“No, I want to find my husband, brother, and their friends” Lucille simply answered.
“Well they got on the Sea Serpent, and Tintin radioed us in a nick of time to go get help, but they torpedoed our boat” Jenkins explained.
“You shouldn’t be meddling in business like this girl, aren’t you afraid?” Riley asked her seriously.
“I’m more afraid of losing loved ones” Lucille quickly responded.
“Well you should be afraid” Riley told her.
“So they’re still on the Sea Serpent?” Lucille asked.
“As far as we know” Jenkins nodded.
“Do you know where they were heading?” Lucille asked quickly hearing voices out in the hall.
“Due south but that is all we know” Jenkins concluded.

“I see…”Lucille said taking a moment to take it all in.
“Lunch time!” a young man came rolling a cart with covered trays of food.
“Well gents, I wish you a speedy recovery” Lucille winked as she nodded quickly returning their charts and moving past the lunch man.
“She was in a hurry” the lunch man said trying to get a look at her.

XXXXXXXXXX

“It’s been over thirty minutes” Ballard said impatiently.
“I know, I’m going to go in and look for her” Haddock said when Cocoa began wagging her tail barking as Lucille came running with her satchel and another sack.
“Why are you dressed like a nurse?” Haddock looked at her curiously.
“Don’t ask…I got the information we needed” Lucille smiled.
“…and?” Haddock prompted her to continue.
“Yes, what I heard was true. Those were the HM Customs men that they found. They look traumatized and sick, but I think they’ll live” Lucille paused a moment as they began walking.

“Y’know ya really look nice dressed like that” Yates complimented.
Lucille immediately took out her lavender trench coat and put it on.
“So what about Tintin?! Where’s Tintin?!” Haddock asked anxiously.
“All they said was, Fenton and the others boarded the Sea Serpent. They ran into some unexpected trouble more than likely and Fenton tried to send them away. When they tried to go for help, they blew up their ship with a torpedo” Lucille finished.

“Kind a like what happened ta us?” Ballard said almost sarcastically.
“No! Not like what happened to us, if it was a torpedo that hit us we’d all be dead numbskull!” Haddock snapped a bit.
“So what do ya suggest we do? We got no car, no boat, no nothin’!” Yates spoke up.
“Thunderin’ typhoons! Would ya pipe down and let the lass speak!?” Haddock shook his fist.
“They said the ship was heading due south. We should hurry to the docks and see what all we can find” Lucille suggested.
“I was already thinking the same thing, let’s find a cab. Maybe we may learn something else?” Haddock said bit hopefully.
Captain Haddock and his party members were able to flag down a cab ten minutes later and return to the harbor. When they arrived, the docks were full of police and reporters.

“Looks like they’re collecting debris” Haddock noticed a ship hauling in some wreckage.
“Well at least we know that neither Fenton nor anyone else was on the ship” Lucille smiled.
“It doesn’t give me much more comfort to know they’re on board the Sea Serpent” Haddock said crudely.
“Maybe we could ask one of those cargo ships for passage?” Yates suggested.
“Yea! Dat be easy ta do” Ballard laughed at the notion.
“Captain! That ship over there!” Lucille instantly pointed.
Haddock looked closely unable to see for a moment then a smile crept on his face.
“Why! It’s the Sirius!” Haddock sounded excited.

The sky was still cloudy and the winds still hadn’t completely died down. The rains had lightened up to a drizzle, but still the droplets were cold. The fog had just about completely moved out, and in the far distance, rays of the sunlight were peeking out as if they were rays of hope.

__________________