“Yeah. Maybe not from the first time he opened his eyes and asked for his dear old mommy, but I think he’s come a long way back since then. Maybe all the way. He’s faking the semi--catatonic thing to keep from going to trial. Although you’d think Babineau would know. They must have tests, brain scans and things—”
“Never mind that. If he can think, and if he were to find out that you delayed treatment and died because of him, how do you think he’d feel?”
Hodges makes no answer, so Holly answers for him.
“He’d be happy happy happy! He’d be fracking delighted!”
“Okay,” Hodges says. “I hear you. The rest of today and two more. But forget about my situation for a minute. If he can somehow reach out beyond that hospital room . . . that’s scary.”
“I know. And nobody would believe us. That’s scary, too. But nothing scares me as much as the thought of you dying.”
He wants to hug her for that, but she’s currently wearing one of her many hug-repelling expressions, so he looks at his watch instead. “I have an appointment, and I don’t want to keep the lady waiting.”
“I’m going to the hospital. Even if they won’t let me see Barbara, Tanya will be there, and she’d probably like to see a friendly face.”
“Good idea. But before you go, I’d like you to take a shot at tracking down the Sunrise Solutions bankruptcy trustee.”
“His name is Todd Schneider. He’s part of a law firm six names long. Their offices are in New York. I found him while you were talking to Mr. Neville.”
“You did that on your iPad?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a genius, Holly.”
“No, it’s just computer research. You were the smart one, to think of it in the first place. I’ll call him, if you want.” Her face shows how much she dreads the prospect.
“You don’t have to do that. Just call his office and see if you can make an appointment for me to talk to him. As early tomorrow as possible.”
She smiles. “All right.” Then her smile fades. She points to his midsection. “Does it hurt?”
“Only a little.” For now that’s true. “The heart attack was worse.” That is true, too, but may not be for long. “If you get in to see Barbara, say hi for me.”
“I will.”
Holly watches him cross to his car, noting the way his left hand goes to his side after he turns up his collar. Seeing that makes her want to cry. Or maybe howl with outrage. Life can be very unfair. She’s known that ever since high school, when she was the butt of everyone’s joke, but it still surprises her. It shouldn’t, but it does.
20
Hodges drives back across town, fiddling with the radio, looking for some good hard rock and roll. He finds The Knack on BAM-100, singing “My Sharona,” and cranks the volume. When the song ends, the deejay comes on, talking about a big storm moving east out of the Rockies.
Hodges pays no attention. He’s thinking about Brady, and about the first time he saw one of those Zappit game consoles. Library Al handed them out. What was Al’s last name? He can’t remember. If he ever knew it at all, that is.
When he arrives at the watering hole with the amusing name, he finds Norma Wilmer seated at a table in back, far from the madding crowd of businessmen at the bar, who are bellowing and backslapping as they jockey for drinks. Norma has ditched her nurse’s uniform in favor of a dark green pantsuit and low heels. There’s already a drink in front of her.
“I was supposed to buy that,” Hodges says, sitting down across from her.
“Don’t worry,” she says. “I’m running a tab, which you will pay.”
“Indeed I will.”
“Babineau couldn’t get me fired or even transferred if someone saw me talking to you here and reported back to him, but he could make my life difficult. Of course, I could make his a bit difficult, too.”
“Really?”
“Really. I think he’s been experimenting on your old friend Brady Hartsfield. Feeding him pills that contain God knows what. Giving him shots, as well. Vitamins, he says.”
Hodges stares at her in surprise. “How long has this been going on?”
“Years. It’s one of the reasons Becky Helmington transferred. She didn’t want to be the whitecap on ground zero if Babineau gave him the wrong vitamin and killed him.”
The waitress comes. Hodges orders a Coke with a cherry in it.
Norma snorts. “A Coke? Really? Put on your big boy pants, why don’t you?”
“When it comes to booze, I spilled more than you’ll ever drink, honeypie,” Hodges says. “What the hell is Babineau up to?”
She shrugs. “No idea. But he wouldn’t be the first doc to experiment on someone the world doesn’t give shit one about. Ever hear of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? The US government used four hundred black men like lab rats. It went on for forty years, and so far as I know, not a single one of them ran a car into a bunch of defenseless people.” She gives Hodges a crooked smile. “Investigate Babineau. Get him in trouble. I dare you.”