Dr. Sussman frowned. “That’s a group of us from medical school.” He turned back to Claire.
Meghann slammed the photograph on the desk so hard the glass cracked. She pointed at someone in the picture. “Who’s that guy?”
Dr. Sussman leaned forward. “Joe Wyatt.”
“He’s a doctor?”
Claire looked at her sister. “You know Joe?”
“You know Joe?” Meghann said sharply.
“He’s a radiologist, actually.” It was Dr. McGrail who answered. “One of the best in the country. At least he was. He was a legend with MRIs. He saw things—possibilities—no one else did.”
Claire frowned. “Meghann, let go of it. We’re long past the need for a radiologist. And believe me, Joe wouldn’t be the one to ask for help. What I needed was a miracle.”
Meghann looked steadily at Dr. McGrail. She wasn’t even listening to Claire. “What do you mean he was the best?”
“He quit. Disappeared, in fact.”
“Why?”
“He killed his wife.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
The ride home seemed to last forever. No one spoke. When they got back to the condo, Bobby held Claire so tightly she couldn’t breathe, then stumbled back from her. “I need to take a shower,” he said in a broken voice.
She let him go, knowing what he needed. She’d cried a few tears of her own in Meghann’s expensive glass-block shower.
She went to the sofa, collapsed on it. She was tired and dizzy. There was a ringing in her ears and a tingling in her right hand, but she couldn’t admit any of that to Meghann, who had that bulldog don’t-quit look in her eyes.
Meg sat down on the coffee table, angled toward her. “There are all kinds of clinical trials going on. There’s that doctor in Houston—”
“The one the government tried to prosecute?”
“That doesn’t mean he’s a fraud. His patients—”
Claire held up a hand for silence. “Can we be real for just a minute?”
Meghann looked so stricken that Claire had to laugh.
“What?” Meg demanded.
“When I was little, I used to dream about getting some rare illness that would bring you and Mama to my bedside. I imagined you crying over my death.”
“Please, don’t …”
Claire stared at her sister, so pale now, and shaky. “I don’t want you to cry over it.”
Meg stood up so abruptly she banged her shin on the coffee table and swore harshly. “I … can’t talk about you dying. I can’t.” She couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.
“But I need you to,” Claire said to the empty room. A headache started behind her eyes again. It had been lurking nearby all day.
She started to lean back into the sofa when the pain hit. She gasped at it, tried to cry out. Her head felt as if it were exploding.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. She tried to scream her sister’s name.
But the stereo was playing “Thunder Road” and the music swallowed her tiny voice.
Alison, she thought.
Then everything went dark.
Meghann stood by her sister’s bed, holding on to the metal bed rails. “Is the medication helping?”
Claire looked small in the hospital bed, delicate, with her pale, pale skin and patchy hair. Her attempt at a smile was heartrending. “Yeah. A grand mal seizure. Welcome to my new world. I guess the good news is I didn’t have a heart attack, too. How long will I be here?”
“A few days.”
“It’s time to call Mama.”
Meghann flinched. Her mouth trembled traitorously. “Okay.”
“Tell Dad and Ali and the Bluesers they can come down to see me, too. Gina can always make me laugh.”
Meghann heard the defeat in her sister’s voice; even worse was the acceptance. She wanted to disagree, to make her sister angry enough to fight, but her voice had abandoned her. She shook her head.
“Yes, Meg,” Claire said with a resolve that surprised Meg. “And now I’m going to go to sleep. I’m tired.”
“It’s the meds.”
“Is it?” Claire smiled knowingly. “Good night. And take care of Bobby tonight, okay? Don’t cut out on him. He’s not as strong as he looks.” Then she closed her eyes.
Meghann reached out. Being careful not to disturb the IV in Claire’s arm, she held her hand. “You’re going to be okay.” She said it at least a dozen times; every time she expected a response, but one never came. A few minutes later, Bobby walked into the room, looking haggard. His eyes were red and swollen.
“She woke up,” Meghann said gently. “And went back to sleep.”
“Damn it.” He took Claire’s hand in his and squeezed it.“Hey, baby. I’m back. I just went for a cup of coffee.” He sighed, said quietly, “She’s giving up.”
“I know. She wants me to call everyone. Tell them to come see her. How do we tell Ali this?” Tears stung her eyes as she looked up at Bobby.