Chapter Eleven
Oddly enough the rest of the day was nothing more than going over rules and regulations for Melanie. She filled out insurance papers, and signed her employment paperwork. Julia issued her a badge, showed her where all the supplies were kept, gave her a key to the supply room and introduced her to a couple of nurses on the day shift.
"I don't want you to get discouraged during your first days here, as we'll have you doing mundane chores like stocking the supply room every day, and making the name tags. We have a machine and we'll show you how that works. You won't be responsible for putting the name tags on, but you will make them when the new lists come in once a week. You'll be like an errand girl for the first six weeks, but this is just to acclimate you to the department and when the trial is over, you'll know this place as well as the rest of us."
"Sounds fair to me." Melanie nodded.
"Because you are new, you'll work a swing shift in which you will work, two nights, two days and three days off. You'll work ten hours a day. Call me if you are sick or something comes up that you can't make it. But it better be something very important to take off for any day for the first six months. After that I'm a bit more forgiving."
Melanie nodded and smiled.
"You've met Beverly and Shauna, and they are strictly day shift, so you will work two days a week with them. For the first six weeks, you won't touch the babies, but you will make name tags, keep the supply room stocked, and learn your routine here. By the time you are tested, you'll know your job like the back of your hand. After that, you'll have full access to everything on the floor. The trial period is to get you used to where everything is, how to find your way around the hospital and comfortable with a routine."
Melanie understood and responded with a nod.
Julia waited until she was sure she understood.
"Now, at the end of the six-week trial period, you'll be given a written test on procedures and rules. If you make above 80 you will become a full-time employee of the hospital and have all benefits of insurance, and privileges. Until then you'll have to buy your own lunches, or bring them and you won't have an assigned parking place. If you don't pass the first test, you are offered one more six week stint, if you don't pass, I'm afraid you'll be let go."
"Sounds good." Melanie smiled.
"You'll start on days from 5AM to 3PM with an hour for lunch. Nights will be from 3PM to 1PM, with an hour for lunch. You have three days off and I advise you for the first six weeks, don't be late, don't call in sick, and plan anything personal for those days off. Your days off will rotate. So, any questions?"
"Uniforms, standard, furnished or unfurnished?"
"The first six weeks you will not wear a uniform but rather an apron that identifies you as a newbie. After that you can order five uniforms every six months. As needed."
"Sounds good." Melanie smiled.
"I want you to know that I handpicked you for this job."
"Really, why? I mean, do you usually do that?"
"No. I don't." She paused. "And I'm sure Mrs. James has already told you it is not standard procedure, but once I looked at your resume I felt I had to act. But something about your resume stood out as outstanding, not to mention your grade average. I saw on your resume that you were going to college and doing night nursing school, which told me you wanted to get started and that you were willing to work for it. You also had exceptional grades which means you are a person who pays attention to detail. I like that. You aren't married so I can count on you to be here most of the time. In short, I like what I saw in writing. Now that I've met you I think we will get along famously." She finally shot her a real smile. "I'm sorry, but it's shocking how much you look like Norma Wells, the nurse you are replacing. I'm sure others have commented on it."
"Did you know I looked so much like Norma Wells?"
There was the slightest of hesitation from her then she shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I didn't. And that is more than strange."
"I feel the same way, everyone has remarked about it."
"Well, then it's a very good thing that Dex took you down to security. I'd hate for them to arrest my new employee." Julia smiled.
Melanie, felt she was finally home. This was where she would make her career in nursing. She sighed with an inner happiness in finding a job that she so looked forward to. And everyone was so helpful. The Norma thing was unusual, but just a big coincidence obviously.
"Now you haven't put in a 10-hour day today, but you will get paid for it. Your starting salary will begin at $55,000. Six weeks after you pass your trial period you will be making $70,000. As you become more valuable to us, you'll be needed more and might have to put in a lot of hours as a newbie and the lowest on the list of nurses here. But you'll be paid overtime up until you reach the $70,000. Then it's a flat salary."
"How often are we paid?"
"As a full time, Pediatric Nurse, you'll be paid every two weeks. As a new employee, you will be paid weekly for the first six weeks." She paused looking at her paperwork once more. "You scored high marks on your licensing exam. I was truly impressed. When anyone makes exceptional grades, their names are sent out to the local hospitals and alerted that we have a real serious student. Another reason you are here. I don't know if Mrs. James told you but most new employee nurses start out in ER. You are an exception, because I was thrilled at your grades and workmanship. I thought you would be an ideal candidate for our hospital."
"Thank you." Melanie smiled once more as the tension let up and Julia seemed to relax now that she'd gotten the information settled. "There is one thing I’m a little puzzled about."
"What's that?" Julia filed her information away.
"You're the only one that didn't mention my resemblance to Norma when you first saw me, nor did your secretary."
Julia's head flew up and her eyes narrowed on her for a moment. "You are perceptive. I like that. To tell the truth, I saw it, but I didn't want to scare you off. I thought you might run if I told you just how much you favor Norma. So, I told my secretary not to mention it either. We need you hear, Melanie and I'm glad to have you on staff."
"You worked with her. Am I like her?" Melanie asked with a slight chuckle.
"Actually, it would be cruel to compare the two of you and very unfair. Norma wasn't the kind of woman I would want to be compared to, that's for sure. I was merely being kind."
"Did you know I looked like her before you hired me?" Melanie nodded, still a bit miffed.
"No, but I guarantee you everyone that saw you alerted me that you looked like her. Mrs. James secretary called me the minute you went into her office. So, I was prepared for the shock of it."
Melanie sighed, "I wondered why you didn't say anything and Mrs. James seemed astounded."
"It is shocking how much you look like her."
"Well you won't have those kinds of worries with me." Melanie assured her.
"We're proud to have you, and I'm sure you'll become a great nurse." Julia smiled and got to her feet. "So, be ready to start early in the morning."
"Thanks, I certainly will." Melanie shot to her feet and shook hands with her.
She drove home in a blur of mulling over all the rules and regulations she would have to learn. And the answer Julia gave her hung in the balance. Julia should have said something about the resemblance right off, she'd worked directly with Norma Wells. But perhaps she was trying to give her a fair chance, like she said. It's just that she didn't seem surprised that she looked like Norma, and everyone else was. Maybe she was just too suspicious. Melanie did know that hospitals tended to be a lot like schools, rather hush hush about gossip and incidents.
But Dex knew Norma too, and he hadn't remarked about the resemblance. Why were they all so quiet about it?
She'd been so involved in soaking up the information she had forgotten about this morning.
But the police were there at the apartment, looking over the door and taking prints.
Shocked Melanie stared as she approached her open apartment. Several men were busy examining the door of her bathroom.
One of the cops turned and looked at her. "You live here ma'am?"
"Yes, I do. I'm Melanie George." She shook hands with him and watched as the other policeman took print samples of the door.
"Did you get a fingerprint?" She asked, her excitement that maybe they would find out who was spooking her.
"No, they must have worn gloves. The maintenance man said the knob had been sawed off, and if they used a key to lock it then there should have been prints unless they wore gloves. Did you get a look at them by any chance?"
"Only their clothes, whoever it was wore a black sweatshirt and black or dark pants, sort of jean looking the best I could tell." Melanie explained.
The detective asking all the questions was very tall, and big, with massive arms and built like a body-builder. He was young and handsome and seemed to take her in quickly. Like most police, he was clean shaven, had close cut blonde hair and green eyes.
"Can you tell me in your own words, what happened?" He asked.
She put her paperwork on the kitchen counter and leaned against the bar, she wanted to be sure and tell everything she knew. It was important to know who was stalking her. "Well, I simply went into my bathroom this morning to wash my face and fix my hair and I closed the door. But before I could turn around, it locked, I heard it locking. Which shocked me, because I hadn't locked it myself. I saw the knob turn. It scared me witless and I tried to get out. I kicked at the door when it wouldn't open. Then when I reached to turn the knob, it fell off in my hands. I saw a shadow go by through the hole, someone in black sweatshirt and pants. That's all I saw. I turned to get my phone, but couldn't remember my neighbors number, but I did have the office number in my contacts, and when I got no answer I left a message. The maintenance man came up and got me out quickly. He said someone had sawed around the knob to take it off. He also said that someone would have to have a key to lock it from the outside."
"Sawed it off?" The policeman asked.
"That's what he said. And I did see a saw, it was a quiet saw and small."
"Well, it's an ongoing investigation right now. We're finishing up with prints and evidence. We'll be in touch with you in a few days."
"I don't know if I should tell you or not, but I think I’m being stalked."
"Stalked?" He did a double take of her now.
"Yes, you know that eerie feeling when your hair raises on the back of your neck and you feel like someone is watching you?"
"Yeah?" He looked a bit skeptical.
"Well, I've been getting it ever since I moved from my dorm room to here."
"How long have you lived here?"
"Barely a week."
"And how often do you get this feeling?"
"Every day, especially if I go anywhere. My balcony has been loose and part of it broke off, making all kinds of noise."
He studied her a minute. "Tell me, have you made any enemies recently. Had any quarrels with anyone?"
Melanie studied the question for a moment then shook her head. "Nothing other than I broke up with my boyfriend as we left college. He was headed in a different direction, but we had no words. He didn't seem upset."
"What is his name?"
"Brad Coulter, but he no longer lives here. He moved to Chicago."
"Alright, if you think of anyone else, please let us know. And let us know if anything else happens. We'll check the patio, see if we can pick up a print out there. It might be their point of entry."
"Of course," She nodded.
After they wrapped up the bathroom area, they went out on the balcony and were there for quite a while, then came back in and told her they would be in touch.
They finally left and instructed her that it could be a crime scene and not to move anything but her comb and toothbrush until she heard from them.
She nodded and as she went to close the door, she glanced down the hall at Dex's apartment. He wouldn't be there now and she so wanted to talk to him. Strange how close she had gotten to Dex in such a short time, but even stranger was why she wanted to see him.