At 11:24, the PM shift charge nurse was just finishing up her report to the night crew. Laurie, the night charge, was making out the shift assignments as Shirley added, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and the old lady in room 250 passed away about 9:30."

Laurie looked up from her paperwork. "That was Mrs. Enderlander," she said and sighed. "She was such a nice old lady. A shame we couldn't have done more to help her."

Shirley rose and stretched, then gathered up her purse and coat. "Well, she had been here for days and had been sick for quite a while. We all have to go sometime, you know," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"How old was she, anyway? 92 or something?"

"Her chart says she was 94."

"Wow. I should live so long," Laurie said with a slight smile. "Has she been picked up, yet?"

"No. Her son has been in there all evening and wanted some time alone with her before they came for the body. We didn't need the room right away, so I told him to take as much time as he needs." Shirley slipped her coat on and slung her purse over her shoulder. "See you guys tomorrow night."

Laurie gave a wave as Shirley left the station and went back to passing out the room assignments.

At about ten minutes to midnight, Angela approached room 250. A twenty year old nursing student, she was working her way through school and picking up much needed experience by working the night shift as a nursing assistant. Angela had been on duty the last few nights, so knew both Mrs. Enderlander and her son. She had come to like the sweet old lady, but still wasn't sure how she felt about the son. He was a small, quiet guy--must have been in his middle to late seventies--and seemed harmless enough, but there was just something about him that gave her the creeps.

Oh, well, Laurie had said that he was still sitting with his mother and since this was one of her rooms tonight, Angela had to in and check on him. She had seen a lot of dead bodies during her eighteen months as a