There was a large metal filing cabinet against one wall, a good-sized table with a typewriter and telephone, and a couple of wooden chairs. Apart from the simple wooden cross on the wall, it could have been any strictly functional business room.Tyler sat down and took out his cigarette case. “Would you like a cigarette, Sister?”She went to accept, then stopped. “Thank you, no. I’ve been trying to break the habit for the past two months. It got the better of me this morning, but I am determined to resist.”“Will it bother you if I smoke?”“Yes. But that’s my problem, not yours. Please.” She waved her hand at him. It was Tyler’s turn to hesitate. After all, he was supposed to be cutting back, wasn’t he? He snapped the case shut. Virtue has its own reward.“Will you give me a bit of history of the hospital, Sister? I’ve only been in Ludlow for three days. I don’t completely know my jurisdiction yet.”She took the chair across from him and clasped her hands together in what was becoming a familiar gesture.“We took over on April 19 and received our first patients on May 3.
