"Tell me," said Philips. "Have any of Mannerheim's boys been down here today?"
"I don't know," said Werner. "I was told there was to be no autopsy."
"Well, that's no autopsy incision," said Philips. Grabbing the edge of the sheet, Philips pulled it over Lisa Marino. "Something strange is going on. Are you sure you don't know anything about this?"
Werner shook his head.
"We'll see," said Philips. He walked out of the refrigerator, leaving the gurney for Werner to deal with. The diener waited until he heard the outer doors close. Then he grabbed the cart and gave it a powerful shove. It shot out of the refrigerator, sped halfway across the morgue, and crashed into the corner of the marble autopsy table, tipping over with a tremendous clatter. The IV bottle smashed into a million shards.
Dr. Wayne Thomas leaned against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. Lynn Anne Lucas was sitting on the old examining table. Their eyes were on the same level; his, alert and contemplative; hers, drained and exhausted.
"What about this recent urinary infection?" said Dr. Thomas. "It cleared up on the sulfa drugs. Is there anything else about that illness that you haven't mentioned?"
"No," said Lynn Anne, slowly, "except they did send me to a urologist. He told me that I had a problem of too much urine being in my bladder after I'd gone to the bathroom. He told me to see a neurologist."
"Did you?"
"No. The problem cleared up on its own, so I didn't think it mattered."
The curtain parted and Dr. Sanger poked her head in.
"Excuse me. Someone called for a consult on a skull film."
Thomas pushed off from the wall, saying he'd just be a minute. As they walked back to the lounge he gave Denise a thumbnail sketch of Lynn Anne's case. He told her that he thought the X ray was normal but wanted confirmation about the pituitary area.
"What's the diagnosis?" asked Denise.
"That's the problem," said Thomas opening the door to the lounge. "The poor thing has been here for five hours, but I can't put it all together. I thought maybe she was a druggie but she's not. She doesn't even smoke grass."
Thomas snapped the film up on the viewer. Denise scanned it in an orderly fashion, starting with the bones.
"I've been getting some crap from the rest of the ER staff," Thomas said. "They think I'm interested in the case because the patient is a piece of ass."
Denise broke off from studying the X ray to eye Thomas sharply.
"But that's not it," said Thomas. "There's something wrong with this girl's brain. And whatever it is, it's widespread."
Sanger redirected her attention to the film. The bony structure was normal, including the pituitary area. She looked at the vague shadows within the skull. For orientation purposes she checked to see if the pineal gland was calcified. It wasn't. She was about to declare the film normal when she perceived a very slight variation in texture. Forming a small open area with her two hands, she studied the particular section of the film. It was a trick similar to the one she saw Philips do with the hole in the paper. Taking her hands away she was convinced I She'd found another example of the density change Martin had shown to her earlier on Lisa Marino's film.
"I want someone else to see this film," said Denise, pulling it from the viewer.
"You find something?" asked Thomas, encouraged.
"I think so. Keep the patient here until I get back." Denise was gone before Thomas could reply.
Two minutes later she was in Martin's office.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I'm pretty sure." She handed the film to him.
Martin took the X ray but didn't put it up immediately. He fingered it, afraid he would be faced with another disappointment.
"Come on," said Denise. She was eager to have her suspicions confirmed.
The X ray slid under the clips. The light in the viewer blinked, then came on. Philips' trained eye traced an erratic path over the appropriate area. "I think you're right," he said. Using the piece of paper with the hole in it, he examined the X ray more closely. There was no doubt that the same abnormal density pattern he'd seen on Lisa Marino's X ray existed on this film. The difference was that on the new one it was less pronounced and not so extensive.
Trying to control his excitement, Martin switched on Michaels' computer. He keyed in the name. Turning to Denise, he asked what the patient's present complaint was. Denise told him it was difficulty in reading associated with blackout spells. Philips entered the information, then stepped over to the laser reader. When the little red light came on, he pushed in the edge of the film. The output typewriter snapped into action. Thank you, it said. Take a nap I
While they waited, Denise told Martin what else she'd learned about Lynn Anne Lucas, but he was most excited about the fact that the patient was alive and in the emergency room.
As soon as the typewriter ceased its rapid staccato, Philips tore off the report. He read it with Denise looking over his shoulder.
"Amazing!" said Philips when he'd finished. "The computer certainly agrees with your impression. And it remembered that it had seen the same density pattern on Lisa Marino's X ray, and on top of that it asks me to tell it what this density variation is! This thing is God-damn amazing. It wants to learn! It's so human it scares me. The next thing I know is that it will want to get married to the CAT scan computer and take the whole summer off."
"Married?" said Sanger, laughing.
Martin waved her off. "Administrative worries. Don't get me started! Let's get this Lynn Anne Lucas up here and do the CAT scan and X rays I couldn't do on Lisa Marino."
"You realize it is a bit late. The CAT scan technician closes the unit down at ten and leaves. We'd have to call him in. Are you sure you want to do all this tonight?"
Philips looked at his watch. It was ten-thirty. "You're right. But I don't want to lose this patient. I'm going to see that she's admitted at least for the night."
Denise accompanied Martin back down to the ER, leading him directly into one of the large treatment rooms. She motioned for him toward the right corner, and pulled back a curtain separating a small examining area. Lynn Anne Lucas looked up with bloodshot eyes. She'd been sitting next to the table, leaning on it, with her head on her arm.
Before Denise could introduce Philips, her beeper went off and she left Martin to talk with Lynn Anne by himself. It was immediately apparent to him that the woman was exhausted. He smiled at her warmly, then asked if she would mind staying overnight so that they could get some special X rays in the morning. Lynn Anne told him she didn't care, so long as she was taken out of the emergency room and could go to sleep. Philips gave her arm a gentle squeeze. He told her he'd arrange it.
At the main desk, Philips had to act like he was in a bargain basement, pushing, yelling and even hitting the countertop with an open palm to get the attention of one of the harried clerks. He asked about Lynn Anne Lucas, wanting to know who was in charge of the patient. The clerk checked the main roster and told him it was Dr. Wayne Thomas who was currently down in room 7 with a stroke.
When Philips walked in he found himself in the middle of a cardiac arrest. The patient was an obese man who draped over the examining table like a huge pancake. A bearded black fellow, who Philips soon learned was Dr. Thomas, was standing on a chair giving the patient cardiac massage. With each compression Dr. Thomas's hands disappeared into folds of flesh. On the other side of the patient, a resident was holding defibrillator paddles while he watched the tracing on the cardiac monitor. At the patient's head, an anesthetist was ventilating him with an ambu bag, coordinating her efforts with Dr. Thomas.