“What’s the doctor’s name?”
“I’m not supposed to say.”
“Why is that?” George questioned gently.
“I don’t know actually.”
“I think you should tell us so we can get in touch.”
Laney looked from George to Carlos.
“It is important,” George persisted. He could not imagine why she didn’t want to say.
Laney cleared her throat. “It’s called iDoc. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but you are doctors, so I guess it is all right.”
George rocked back. iDoc? The freaking thing was everywhere. “You’re a part of the iDoc beta test?” he asked incredulously.
“I am.” She motioned to her shoulder bag on the bedside table. “It’s in there. My diabetes is not an issue anymore. And you know how out of whack that was.”
“I remember. But I’m amazed that you have iDoc.”
“I got it through Medicaid,” Laney explained. “I was told that I was lucky; that not many people on Medicaid got it, at least not yet. I like it a lot.”
“What exactly are you two talking about?” Kelley asked. “What is iDoc?”
George gave her a very quick description of the iDoc app.
“That’s impressive,” Kelley said. She sounded sincere but made a somewhat skeptical face to George, out of Laney’s line of vision. “Listen! I need to run. I have a full plate out there. Laney, you obviously know that you’re in good hands,” she said, motioning to George and the others. “I’ll be back to check up on you in a bit.” Kelley gave Laney’s arm a reassuring pat as she left.
“I’ll fill you in later,” George called after her. Then he turned back to Laney. “This won’t be hard for you or your baby.” He turned to Shirley and Carlos. “Let’s get this done!”
Carlos pulled George aside while the technician got the ultrasound machine up and running next to Laney’s bed. “What should I be doing here? I feel like the odd man out.”
“Once Shirley starts the study, I want you to handle the probe yourself so you’ll have a better feel for how the study is done. Actually doing it will help your interpretation immensely. Just be patient! I felt the same way you did back when I was starting out.”
22
Clayton strode into the ER looking for George. When he didn’t see him, he went directly into the radiology imaging room. There he cornered another radiology resident who happened to be using the ER imaging room even though he wasn’t officially assigned to the ER.
“You know where George Wilson is?”
“I think so. I believe he’s performing an ultrasound in the back. Can I help you—”
Clayton walked off without a reply, clearly preoccupied. He went back out to the main desk and got Debbie’s attention.
“Could I have a moment to talk with you in private, Miss Waters?” Clayton asked. Although there was a comparative lull, the ER was still busy. The main desk was a beehive of activity.
“Of course, Dr. Hanson,” she said, and told one of the other nurses to take over. Debbie led Clayton back into a windowless storeroom and closed the door.
“Well, how was it?” Clayton asked, abandoning any pretense of formality. “As bad as you expected?”
“Pretty much. He’s boring. He drinks too much and can’t handle his liquor. It was like going out with a frat boy. I’m done with those days, Clayton.”
“It couldn’t have been all bad.”
“Actually, he seems like a nice enough guy. How’s that?”
“Better. How much do I owe you for the drinks?”
“Nearly a hundred.”
“One hundred! Christ!” Clayton handed over the cash. “You must have drunk up a storm.”
“I didn’t. He did. And I had to do all the talking.”
“He’s still grieving,” Clayton said impatiently. “His fiancée just died, for God’s sake. As far as I know, this was the first time he’s gone out. Be a little more sympathetic! More important, what were you able to learn?”
Debbie frowned.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Clayton apologized. “I appreciate your making the effort. Just getting him out was a big positive. Thank you.”
“I did it for you. Just remember that.”
“I do, but what did you learn? What was his response to DeAngelis’s death? Is he taking it in stride or not?”
“The jury’s still out. One thing that I did learn was that he saw you going into the morgue. He was trying to get a look at the body, but he was turned away.”
“Shit! That’s inconvenient, him seeing me. I didn’t see him.”
“What were you down there for?” Debbie asked.
“It’s not important,” Clayton replied. “Administrative stuff.”
Debbie shrugged. “There is more. A couple of things are bothering George about his neighbor’s death. The first is that he’s worried that the dead guy’s sisters haven’t been notified.”
“I’ll make sure that happens.” Clayton hadn’t been aware that DeAngelis had relatives. “What else?”
“The other thing is the gossip about suicide from the ‘self-inflicted’ wounds.”
“Well, that’s not so good.”
“He also said something about wanting to know which of the ER residents was in charge of DeAngelis’s case.”
“Did he say why?”
“He said he wanted to inquire about the self-inflicted wounds.”
“Did you tell him which ER resident was involved?”
“No, and I don’t think he is going to remember about last night. He was three sheets to the wind. Why do you care what he thinks, anyway? I didn’t get the impression that he and his neighbor were really friends. They had nothing in common.”
“In terms of what you know, less is better, Deb, trust me. Did you guys talk about iDoc?”
“A little. I think everything is okay in that department. He said he thought iDoc was a big plus for DeAngelis.”
“Well, that’s good,” Clayton said. “Listen, I really appreciate your help in this. I want you to continue seeing George socially, to keep track of what he’s thinking and doing about DeAngelis’s death.”
Debbie’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t happy. “I thought that this was going to be a onetime mission.”
“I need to continue to monitor his mind-set. It’s not like I’m asking you to do anything onerous, and I’ll pay the tab.”
“You promised me we would get together! You and me!”
“We will. We will. What about this weekend? It’s the Fourth of July holiday. That might work.”
She looked at him askance, as if she didn’t trust him.
“Just let me look at my schedule, and I’ll get back to you. But… it is important that you keep tabs on George for me. I want to know if he is going to keep stirring the pot about his neighbor’s death.”
“All right!” she grumbled, though she wasn’t thrilled. At the same time she knew she would do just about anything to win Clayton back. She had been devastated when he had moved on from their short but intense affair.
23
The ultrasound test on Laney progressed smoothly. Carlos was a bit tentative at first but quickly gained confidence. On the monitor they could see the clear image of a baby boy. George made sure that Laney could see everything, too, since the child meant so much to her.