Chapter Thirteen

Trapper pulled the car up to a small cafe in Half Moon Bay. Leaning toward Leah, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

“No,” she answered quietly.

“Should you eat something anyway?” he asked with raised eyebrows. She huffed and got out of the car. Asking for a table on the deck, the two were soon seated with a view of the small fishing harbor. The glow of the lights on shore illuminated the boats closer in. Those ships further down the pier swayed in dark shadow with their black masts looming over them in the night sky. Poring over a one page menu, Trapper asked, “See anything palatable?”

“Soup.”

Trapper ordered for them, asking for a bottle of red wine.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol.”

“That’s mostly true, but a glass of wine now and then isn’t going to hurt.” He leaned forward with his arms on the table. “Leah, why do you volunteer on the long term ward at the children’s hospital? It seems to me you’d stay away from there, knowing…”

“Knowing they’re going to die?” She stared at the candle on the table, moving her fingers back and forth over the flame, letting her tears flow freely. “I didn’t get to see my children. They were long buried before I woke up. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. I wasn’t able to hold them or comfort them.”

Trapper sat with his elbow on the table and his hand over his mouth. “You said you didn’t know if your children were afraid. I might be able to answer that for you.”

She stopped staring at the flame and quickly looked up. “How?”

“By taking a look at the autopsy reports…the cause of death. You’d have to sign a release to get them.”

She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “They drowned.”

“If they were already unconscious they wouldn’t have known they were drowning. Considering how far down the car rolled before it went into the river, I’m betting they didn’t know.”

She swallowed hard. “What if you find they weren’t unconscious?”

Taking her hand, he answered, “Then it won’t be any worse than it already is. But it will make a difference for you if they didn’t know what was happening. I wouldn’t offer to do this if I thought it wouldn’t give you some peace.”

She studied him for a moment. “Why are you doing this? Surely you don’t go to these lengths with all your patients.”

Sitting back, he took a sip of the wine that had just arrived. “I like you; despite yourself,” he said, slightly cocking his head and shrugging. “Besides, I’m not your doctor.” She quietly chuckled. “I heard that.”

***

Walking Leah to her door, Trapper took her key and unlocked it, pushing it open. “Don’t forget. You have an appointment with Dr. Gates Monday for another echocardiogram.”

She scowled and glanced up at him before she stepped inside her apartment. “Thanks,” she said humbly.

Smiling, Trapper replied, “Your welcome,” and slightly nodded. “Good night.” He turned and headed down the stairs, looking back when he got to the bottom just in time to see the door close.

***

At seven a.m. Monday morning, Dr. McIntyre walked through the front door of San Francisco Memorial Hospital expecting a fight on his hands. He’d seen Leah’s car in the parking lot and had laid his hand on the hood, finding it cold which meant she had been there over an hour. Going straight to his office, he pulled files out of his briefcase, setting them on his desk, and as he did, he glanced over at his coffee machine to see if it had finished making his morning cup. Staring at it for a moment, he scowled, dropping the last file on the desk, then stomped to the coffee maker and started a pot, looking out the door at the empty desk once occupied by his secretary.

He left his coffee brewing and walked out to the nurse’s station. “Good morning, ladies,” he said as he began pulling charts to read his patients’ statuses before making his morning rounds.

“Good morning, Dr. McIntyre,” said Nurse Brancusi.

“Did you enjoy your vacation?” asked Trapper. Hearing Ernie chuckling behind him, he looked up from his chart, eyeing Nurse Brancusi over his glasses. “What happened this time?” Gloria smirked and let out an exasperated breath, then walked away. Turning to Ernie, Trapper asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

“I’m afraid her luck with men wasn’t any better than it was the last time she went on vacation,” said Ernie.

“Hm. Anything I need to know before I go on rounds?”

“Yes. Mrs. Baxter had a rough night. She vomited in her bed. You need to check her sutures. And Gonzo kept Ms. Haverty in an exam room this morning. I don’t know if she’s still there.”

Ernie had Trapper’s full attention. “Why did he keep her?”

“Her blood pressure was high. He said he thought she might have cried all day yesterday because her eyes were swollen.”

Trapper pushed the chart he was holding into Ernie’s hands and hurried down the hall to exam four where the ECHO and EKG machines where kept for non-admittance examinations. When he pushed open the door, Gonzo was just pulling the paper from the EKG. “Gonzo, where’s Leah?”

“I went out to answer a call, and when I came back she was gone. I was just about to go find her.”

“Her car was in the parking lot when I came in, so she’s still here at the hospital. Why don’t you take the results back to my office? I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“Trapper, if she’s still here, I need to find her. Her blood pressure was one fifty over ninety-two. If we don’t get it down, that spot we’ve been watching might rupture.”

“She’s probably in the basement. I’ll go bring her back up,” said Trapper, turning toward the door.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’re not her favorite person.”

“I may not be her favorite person,” said Trapper. “But I don’t think I’m on the bottom of her list any longer.” He opened the door, then reached back to take a cuff before he left. “Hold the elevator,” he called, trotting down the hall, stepping in just before the doors closed.

When he got to the basement, he stepped off the elevator, but stopped before he headed down the aisle. The lights were on behind the cubes, so he turned left. Turning the corner, he found her on her knees with her head down in a hole and her behind up in the air. “Leah. What are you doing?”

Her voice muffled, she answered, “I’m looking for a wiring harness. There’s supposed to be a wiring harness right here, but when the guys pulled the cables, it must have gotten dragged along.” She pulled her head out of the hole and sat down. “I have to keep up with those things. They’re expensive, and I can’t just keep ordering replacements when they go missing. I’ll blow my budget.” She looked up at Trapper who was standing over her with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed.

“Why did you leave the exam room? Didn’t Dr. Gates tell you your blood pressure was too high?”

“He did, and I tried to tell him that all I needed was to come down to the basement. He didn’t want me to leave, so I waited for him to walk away, and then I came down. You have a cuff. Why don’t you check my blood pressure now?”

“No. I want you to come up to my office.”

“You brought it with you, so you were planning to check my blood pressure.”

“That’s true, but I’ve changed my mind.” She raised her knees, wrapping her arms around them, and then looked up at him with a glare.

“Leah, I have no doubt your blood pressure is close to normal down here in the basement. But you don’t live in the basement, at least, not anymore. You have to learn to live in the real world, and if your blood pressure is high upstairs, Dr. Gates will prescribe medication to bring it down. If that doesn’t work, we may have to operate sooner than you wanted. Now, come on,” he said, backing up so she could stand on her own.

She stood and walked quietly to the elevator.