She started to close up shop and head home. She was headed toward the door when she saw a white Cherokee pull up out front. She could see Dr. Yurris in the front seat.
“Sorry, I hope I’m not keeping you,” Lynn said when she came in.
The security guard was with her.
“No problem. I glad you decided to have me take a look at those.”
“Well, nails are important. I may be a scientist but like you said, I’m still a woman,” she said chuckling.
“By golly, if they are important to you, they are important to me. Let’s just see what we can do about saving them,” said.
Lynn sat down on a stool and Angie unwrapped them and took a look.
“Still terribly sore I would imagine.”
“Only when I breathe.”
“Yes. I can sympathize with that.”
The guard had maneuvered to get a look at her fingers. Angie noticed it and assumed he was to report back if the injury was real. She would give the bastard something to report.
“They are healing, but slowly. The blood is building up under those nails. That’s why you feel that throbbing. We need to release the pressure under them or they are going to continue to hurt and you will eventually lose them. Once the pressure is relieved, they will heal better and a lot of the pain will subside,” Angie told her.
“I’m all for that. It’s hard to do much with them like they are.”
“Now, I want to be truthful up front. It is going to hurt when I press the blood out but once that’s done I promise it will feel a hundred times better.”
“Just give me a stick to bite on,” Lynn joked.
“You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Lynn said.
“I’m going to heat up this paper clip I’ve straightened out. Then I will touch it to the back part of your nail. It will poke a hole in the nail, and when I press on it, the blood will come out and the pain will subside considerably.”
“What about when it burns through the nail?”
“Hey, trust me, I’m a professional. Maybe not a rocket scientist like you, but I’ve done this a hundred times. That part won’t bother you at all,” Angie assured her.
“Let’s do this before I chicken out.”
Angie held a flame to the bottom of the wire until it was red hot.
“Hey, why don’t you make yourself useful instead of just lurking around,” she said to the guard.
He shot her a dirty look.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to hold her hand steady. She can’t move when I place this wire on her fingernail. Most people want to jerk away,” she said.
He reluctantly placed his hands around Lynn’s wrist.
“Here we go. You can close your eyes.”
“Don’t worry, I intend to,” Lynn replied.
Angie touched the hot wire to her nail and it quickly went through the layers and blood started to ooze out.
“Hold her,” she said to the guard as she continued pressing down on her finger.
Blood squirted out of the opening and sprayed on the guard’s uniform.
“Ouch. Damn. Ohhhh. Golly that hurts,” Lynn said.
“Ah shit,” the guard said, “You got it all over my uniform.”
“Sorry. You never know how it’s going to come out. Sometimes it just sort of oozes and other times, well you saw what can happen.”
“Crap,” he said.
“Go put some cold water on it. If you don’t, it will set in and it will never come out. Use the sink over there, and don’t spare the cold water. Make sure it’s as cold as it gets,” Angie said.
When he walked over to the sink to try and get the blood off his shirt. Angie quickly showed Lynn the note wrapped around a badge. She slipped it into Lynn’s pocket and shook her head to say nothing. Lynn had a puzzled look but knew better than to say anything.
“Do you think you can handle the other one now?”
“I’m here, let’s do it.”
“O.K. Same routine but you cannot move. Understand?”
“I’ll do my best,” Lynn assured her.
“Do you want to hold her steady?” Angie asked the guard.
“I don’t think so,” he said in a sarcastic tone.
“Fine,” was all Angie said.
Angie heated the wire and poked a hole in the other nail. This time it was a bigger hole and the blood came out without her having to press on it. Angie gave her a little tap on the leg and mouthed the word, ‘ouch’.
“Ouch, daggone. Do you delight in hurting people?” Lynn said, loud enough for the guard to hear.
“Sorry. That’s the only way to be sure it is all out. Now tell the truth, aren’t they starting to feel better all ready?”
“Well, I hate to admit it, but yes, they really are.”
Angie wrapped her hand after replacing the finger protectors. The guard was still working on his shirt when Angie told him she was done.
“Great. Now I have to walk around in a wet shirt,” he grumbled.
“It won’t be wet long. Five minutes in that blast furnace outside and it will be dry. Thanks for your help,” Angie said cheerfully.
He didn’t bother to reply. She waved to Lynn as they drove off. Like Raymond had done before her, she had done all she could do at present. She had passed the ball to Lynn’s court.
