The Second Heart (23 page)

Vi stepped back into the darkness of the
empty room, sitting on the edge of the neatly made up bed. She
resolved to spend only a moment collecting herself before trying to
find her way out of the hospital, ideally without being noticed by
anyone who might recognize her.

After taking a few slow, deep breaths, Vi
went back to the doorway and peeked out at the nurses’ station. Dr.
Sparling was still doing paperwork with her back turned. Vi
couldn’t look the other way without sticking her head out into the
hall, so she listened intently for footsteps. She couldn’t hear
anything, so she eased out into the hall and walked back the way
she came, away from the nurses’ station.

Vi quickened her pace the farther she got
from the nurses’ station. The hallway ended with a ninety-degree
turn to the right, and Vi paused at the corner and furtively poked
her head around. Her eyes landed on two pairs of feet, one in green
scrubs and one in navy blue slacks. Her eyes traveled upward and
met Dr. Wells’s icy stare.

Dr. Wells stopped abruptly, causing the
police officer who accompanied her to bump into her. “Ah,” the
doctor said with a note of perverse pleasure. “Just the young woman
we were looking for.”

Well, shit
. Vi took a step back,
considering whether she should run or just accept that she was
caught.

Reading the intentions on Vi’s face, the
police officer said, “If you run, we’ll add resisting arrest to
your charges. You really don’t want to do that.”

Vi glanced down the hallway toward the
nurses’ station, still undecided. Dr. Sparling had finished her
paperwork and was walking toward them. Vi was good and caught. She
sighed and raised her hands with a conciliatory expression on her
face. “Okay, I’m not going to run.”

“Good.” The police officer stepped around Dr.
Wells and unhooked the handcuffs that dangled from his belt. He was
middle aged, with rich dark skin and tightly coiled gray hair. He
was trim and agile looking, despite his age, and Vi surmised that
he probably spent a fair amount of his off time at the gym. His
nametag read M. Pierson.

“Do you really have to cuff me? I’m not going
to do anything,” Vi assured him.

“Yes, I really do have to cuff you,” Pierson
replied with a sigh. The handcuffs made a clicking sound as they
closed around her wrists. The officer held onto Vi’s arm with a
gentle but firm grip.

Vi glared at Dr. Wells through narrowed eyes.
“Why do you care whether Miguel has the surgery or not?” she
demanded.

“When my patient is taking bad medical advice
from his uneducated, unqualified girlfriend instead of his doctor,
I care,” she snapped. To the police officer she asked, “Do you need
me to sign anything or give you a statement or something?”

Ignoring Pierson’s response, Vi pressed, “Is
that all?” She watched Dr. Wells’s face suspiciously, looking for
any indication that the doctor had ulterior motives.

Dr. Wells gave her a withering stare. “What
on Earth makes you think that I owe you an explanation?”

“Time to go,” the police officer said,
gesturing toward the elevators.

“Wait!” By now, Dr. Sparling had reached them
and taken in the situation. “You’re Meredith Carpenter’s friend,
aren’t you? Vi?”

“We need to go,” Pierson repeated.

“I’ll walk with you,” Dr. Sparling offered,
with a glance toward Dr. Wells that said,
We’ll talk later.
Vi got the impression that Dr. Sparling wasn’t particularly happy
with the other doctor, which briefly caused a smug smile to tug at
the corners of Vi’s mouth. At least not everyone at the hospital
was a jerk.

“Fine. Come on then.” Pierson pulled gently
on Vi’s arm and guided her down the hall. He punched the button on
the wall to call the elevator, and while they waited, Dr. Sparling
spoke.

“So I take it you and Meredith are friends
with Miguel, too, huh?” she asked conversationally.

“Dr. Wells mentioned that there was a patient
here with Meredith’s same condition, so we came to find him
here.”

“Why did you do that?” Dr. Sparling’s
eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“Do you want something in particular, Dr.
Sparling?” Vi asked irritably. She felt pretty humiliated to be in
police custody, and didn’t really feel like having to make small
talk with the doctor. She’d rather she didn’t have an audience.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
They all shuffled into the car and were silent as the doors
closed.

Dr. Sparling spoke again. “I don’t really
care that Meredith didn’t have the surgery; that’s her choice. I
only want to know that she’s okay. I’m her advocate, remember?”

Vi’s feelings toward the friendly doctor
softened, and she felt guilty for treating her so rudely. “Oh.
Meredith said that she’s feeling better now. She seems to be just
fine, actually.”

The elevator doors opened again and they
walked out to the lobby, where Josh was standing in handcuffs with
another police officer--presumably Pierson’s partner. Vi looked at
Josh contritely. “Still having fun?” she asked weakly.

“It beats sitting home watching MacGyver
reruns.” Josh grinned. “Besides, check out this guy’s name tag. ‘F.
King.’ I’m sure he doesn’t get an ounce of flak for that.”

The police officer whose name was in question
rolled his eyes. “You really think you’re the first smart ass to
make a comment about my name?”

Josh shrugged and smiled again at Vi, making
her wonder how much of his bravado was for her benefit.

Dr. Sparling had followed them to the lobby.
“Vi,” she said seriously. “Please keep an eye on your friend
Meredith. If she shows any signs of fever or light-headedness,
promise me you’ll bring her back to the hospital.”

Vi nodded.

“Promise me,” Dr. Sparling repeated.

“I promise,” Vi said meekly.

Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez came over to their small
group quietly. Mr. Alvarez gripped Eleanor’s green coat in his
hands, and Mrs. Alvarez clung to her husband’s elbow as if she
might collapse without the support.

Mrs. Alvarez’s voice broke when she spoke.
“Please, do you know where Miguel has gone?”

Vi shook her head. “I don’t.” She took in
Mrs. Alvarez’s worry-lined face and desperate grip on her husband’s
arm. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Alvarez,” she added sincerely. She
hoped that Miguel and Meredith would find a way to get in touch
with Miguel’s folks and set their minds at ease.

Mr. Alvarez thrust the coat toward Vi
robotically, and it seemed as if his eyes didn’t really see her.
His mind was with his son, and Vi didn’t blame him one bit. “Here,
don’t forget your coat,” he said. “I know from experience that
those holding cells are like meat lockers.” His eyes never met
hers, his gaze resting at some unknown spot in the distance.

Pierson took the coat from Mr. Alvarez, since
Vi’s hands were bound. “We’ll make sure she stays nice and toasty
warm, sir.” Vi couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“Let’s go.”

Dr. Sparling laid a hand on Vi’s arm and
looked her in the eye. “Take care.”

Vi felt like Dr. Sparling was the wise older
sister she’d never had, and she fought the strong urge to hug the
spritely doctor. “Thanks,” she mumbled, not sure how to respond to
the wave of longing that overcame her. Vi wished that her parents
were here. She wished she could go over to their house and curl up
in her mother’s arms, like Meredith could.

The police officers ushered them outside to
their police car, which was parked illegally at the curb. Vi and
Josh sat together in the back, each consumed by their own thoughts.
Vi was amazed that she was being arrested; she never would have
imagined it even a day earlier. She looked over at Josh, who seemed
largely unaffected by their current situation.

“Is this your first time being arrested?” Vi
asked him curiously.

Josh gave her a mockingly scandalized look
and joked, “Now is that a question to ask a lady on the first date,
Vi?” He fluttered his eyelashes demurely.

Vi laughed out loud at his absurdity. “This
is not a date.”

“You’re right, it’s not. But I’d say, all
things considered, you now owe me a date.” He raised his eyebrows
at her expectantly.

“We’ll see,” she said, still chuckling.
“Though I don’t really get your attraction to hardened
criminals.”

“It’s the outfits.”

Pierson gave them a hard look from the front
seat. “That’s enough talking.”

They smiled at each other briefly and then
were silent the rest of the way to the police station.

Miguel and
Meredith didn’t look back as they pressed through the hospital
lobby doors into the sun-drenched parking lot outside.

Meredith blinked and shaded her eyes against
the morning sun as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She
still clung to Miguel’s hand as her eyes raked the surrounding
buildings, looking for a place to hide.

“Meredith?” The smooth, male voice had a
surprised lilt to it.

Meredith’s attention trained onto the voice’s
owner, a man who had been walking up to the lobby of the hospital.
His golden eyes and dark blonde hair were familiar to her, but she
couldn’t place him immediately.

“Do I know you?” she asked, glancing behind
her. The orderlies were coming through the lobby doors now, headed
straight for them with grim expressions on their faces. Returning
her attention to the man who had said her name, she asked, “Can you
get us out of here?”

He looked over her shoulder at the orderlies,
understanding the situation immediately. “Yeah, come on.” He turned
on his heel and led them across the parking lot, fishing his keys
out of his pocket as they ran.

Behind them, the orderlies called for them to
wait. Meredith didn’t look back as she heard their footsteps behind
them, drawing nearer.

They reached the man’s car, a gray SUV, and
scrambled inside. Miguel and Meredith slid into the back seat and
buckled in as the man started the car and backed out of the parking
spot, nearly hitting one of the orderlies. Meredith locked her door
as the other orderly pounded on the window, yelling for them to go
back inside.

Meredith breathed a sigh of relief as they
drove away, leaving the orderlies standing alone in the parking
lot. She looked down at her left hand, which was still clinging
tightly to Miguel’s right. Their eyes met. His were so dark they
were almost black, yet they held a storm of emotion.

“What changed your mind?” Meredith asked him
quietly.

Miguel withdrew his hand and looked away. He
said in a cool voice, “You’re the most level-headed person I know.
Whatever you learned must have been pretty convincing to get you to
skip the surgery.”

“Ah,” Meredith said, folding her hands
together in her lap. The man drove the car onto the freeway, and
Meredith was grateful to be getting as far away from the hospital
as possible.

Meredith scrutinized their driver, trying to
remember where she had seen him before.

He met her gaze in the rear-view mirror and
asked, “Where are we going?”

With a sinking feeling, Meredith suddenly
remembered who he was. “You’re that reporter from the hospital,
aren’t you?”

“Nate Dowering,” he affirmed.

“What a coincidence,” Meredith said, eyes
narrowed. She wondered whether he’d followed her specifically or if
he had learned about Miguel. Then she remembered the other familiar
face she’d seen in the hall outside Miguel’s room. “I take it your
lackey has been keeping you apprised of the situation?”

“My lackey?”

“Yeah, the meathead I saw inside. The one who
told you to get down here?” Meredith said hotly. “You here to
collect your big story?”

“I could take you back to the hospital if you
want,” Nate said smugly, knowing full well that they wouldn’t take
him up on his offer. He didn’t speak as he merged with traffic,
carefully checking his blind spot before shifting into the fast
lane. Once he was finished, he repeated his earlier question. “So
where are we going?”

Meredith hesitated. Miguel looked at her with
raised brows, and she knew that she had a lot to explain to him.
“We can’t go home,” she said in a gentle tone.

“That narrows it down,” Nate remarked
sarcastically.

She felt her anger surge even higher as the
reality of her situation hit her. She couldn’t go home, couldn’t
contact her family, couldn’t return to the normal life she loved...
and now she was at the mercy of a smug reporter who just wanted to
exploit her.

“Go screw yourself,” she snapped. When he
didn’t immediately respond, Meredith seethed quietly, watching the
freeway’s red rock landscaping whiz by.

Nate let out a wearied sigh. “Obviously you
guys are in some sort of trouble. I’m not the bad guy here,
remember? I helped you get away.” He paused and waited for an
answer that didn’t come. Then, “Why don’t I take you to the police
station and you can explain it all to them?”

“No!” Meredith said sharply, her anger
draining out of her as quickly as it had come. She had always been
like that--quick to fire up, but just as quick to simmer back down.
She took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

Miguel touched her arm gently. “Are you
okay?”

Meredith looked at him sadly as she
considered how much to say in front of Nate. Miguel was in the same
situation now; he would have to give up his life and go into
hiding, just like she did. “I just wish…” she began, searching for
the words to explain the regret that she felt not only for herself,
but also for him and all the other magicians that would emerge.

Miguel’s touch traveled down her arm and
found her hand, and he gave it a warm squeeze. “Your level head
isn’t the only reason I didn’t have the surgery,” he confessed with
a wry smile.