mind three o’clock. I’m about to pick up the phone right now.”
“But if I’m right, if the fever hits at three and Matt’s blood pressure drops at four-thirty-six—”
“How can you be so specific?”
“Then forget the police and hope I saved Matt’s life.”
“I’ll ask you one more time.”
“How can I be so specific? Because I’ve suffered through it before! I know what’s going to happen. And if it doesn’t, thank God I’m wrong. But I’m not wrong. And everything I described is going to happen. Matt died once. I won’t let it happen again.”
“My God, you’re crazy.”
David wavered. “Just give me till four-thirty-six. After that, do anything you want against me.”
“But don’t you see the flaw in your logic? If Matt was about to develop an infection, since you gave him the Vancomycin the infection won’t occur. He won’t have a fever. He won’t go into shock.”
David shook his head. “Without the antibiotic, the infection would have hit him like a fire storm. But believe me, don’t ask how I know this, call it a nightmare, the infection will still be strong. I’m praying the drug I gave him will keep the bacteria from raging out of control.”
“I’ve never heard anything like this.”
“I’ve never experienced anything like this. You think I didn’t realize I could go to jail if I gave him the Vancomycin?”
“You’re that sure of what you did?”
“I could have given him the Gentamicin and carbenicillin, too. But I knew they wouldn’t work on the staph and strep that’ll cause Matt’s infection.”
“How in God’s name did you know they wouldn’t work against staph and strep? You’ve been spending all your time reading medical texts?”
“No. I can’t explain it. I just knew. There’s one way to prove it, isn’t there? Wait till three o’clock—when Matt’s fever’s going to start.”
The doctor looked startled by David’s certainty. “I’m appalled by the risk you took. Disgusted by your irresponsibility.” He shook his head. “Why on earth am I starting to … ? Don’t test my patience anymore. Get lost. I don’t want to see you till three o’clock. But listen carefully. If what you’re so sure about doesn’t happen, it’ll be my pleasure to testify against you.”
“Fair enough.”
“More than fair. If I didn’t like Matt so much …”
“That’s the point, though, isn’t it? Matt. He has to be saved.”
“And you don’t think we’ve been trying?”
“You and everyone else, you’ve acted perfectly. What you don’t understand is, something you never expected is about to happen.”
“What you don’t understand is, till three o’clock I want you out of my sight so I can pretend I didn’t find this syringe.”
“You don’t know how much I thank you.”
“Thanks? What you need now are prayers.”
“I’m praying, too, believe me.”
David staggered toward an exit.
12
David’s impulse was to rest in the rear of Donna’s mini-van in the parking ramp. But he feared he’d fall asleep and fail to wake up before three. He also worried that if the authorities started searching for him, a logical place to look would be his wife’s car. So he spent the interval pacing through the parking lot at the university’s football stadium two blocks away, pausing often to lean against cars and bolster his strength. He’d expected the hours to drag, but they passed with astonishing speed.
He returned to the Bone Marrow Ward five minutes before three. A crowd had gathered—the physician in charge of the ward, several associates and nurses, the doctor he’d argued with at noon, and Sarie and Donna. The medical personnel frowned as he approached.
David held his head up.
The physician in charge of the ward stepped forward. He kept his voice low to avoid disturbing the parents of the other patients. But his whisper might as well have been a shout. “What I’d like to do to you, you don’t want to hear.”
“In your place, I’d feel the same. Please, you’ve got to trust me.”
“Got to? The only thing I’ve got to do”—the doctor glared at his watch—“is phone the hospital attorney in a couple of minutes. We checked your son’s temperature just before you arrived. It’s perfectly normal.”
“It’s not three o’clock yet.”
“One minute to,” the doctor said.
“Then I guess it’s almost time you checked his temperature again.”
“My pleasure. So I can pick up that phone.” The physician spun and entered Matthew’s room.
David took two more steps, stopped before Sarie, and hugged her. “I’m sorry I tricked you.”
“Dad, I …” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “Why did … ?”
“The simplest reason I can give, is I had to.” He turned