When Emma got to the Military Hospital, someone told her that Bruno was most likely in the Trauma and Surgical Emergency ward. Emma wandered into the middle of a chaotic place with patients in various degrees of distress and pain lying on beds in the open ward. Young long- and short-coated doctors worked on patients alongside senior physicians. A nurse told her she was supposed to be back in the waiting room.

“I’m looking for—”

“Go! You can’t be in here, don’t you understand?”

Emma went back and found the receptionist’s desk, where she asked for Bruno.

“He’s not here,” the receptionist said flatly.

“Please, do you know where he is?”

“They took him to the general medical ward. You can go there.”

After some confusion over where that was, Emma located it and again asked for Bruno at the front desk. “He’s on the other side,” the receptionist said, pointing behind her and then adding, “but it’s not visiting hours, so you can’t see him.”

Emma ignored her and went looking. They would have to drag her out if they wanted to make her leave. She put her head into each of three open wards and thought she saw Bruno at the far end in the third. But she wasn’t positive. She gingerly approached and looked at the name on the foot panel. It was Bruno. He lay on his back, his shirt off. His face was swollen and almost unrecognizable with one eye completely shut and multiple sutured lacerations. There were black and blue bruises all over his torso. Emma caught her breath in shock.

Bruno opened the good eye and when he saw her, he attempted a smile. “Emma,” he whispered.

Tears streaming, she took one of his hands as gently as if it might break. “How are you?” she said, choking on her voice.

“Don’t cry,” he said. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

That attempt to reassure her only intensified her shock, grief, and the pain she felt for him. She sat at the side of the bed and leaned closer. “Who did it?” she whispered. “Did you see?”

“Not well,” he said through inflamed lips, “but it was two of them, I think. Very strong. I went to buy kenkey and when I returned, they were waiting for me. They dragged me to the back of my place and beat me there.”

“Did they say anything to you?”

“I should stop what I’m doing, or next time they’ll kill me.”

“Stop what you’re doing? Meaning your secret investigations?”

“It must be,” he said, grimacing as he gingerly touched his face. “Now that Nii knows you work for the detective agency, he must have gotten the idea that I’m collaborating with you.”