Free Fatal Hearts by Norah Wilson Page A

with postsecondary educations, and we rank fairly high on per capita income.”
    “I see your point. Why would anyone want to work here?”
    That smile flashed again. “Okay, so it’s a great place to live and work for most people. But Fredericton doesn’t really need me. Rich, well-educated Canadians generally demand and receive high-quality care. They navigate the health system extremely well. They also tend to be healthier to begin with. They eat better, exercise, do all those things that reduce their risk of disease.”
    His irritation with her segued into a grudging respect. “Well, you’d certainly find your target populations in any of those cities you named. I can personally vouch for Toronto.”
    “Toronto would be great. But actually, my first deployment is going to be to Haiti.”
    “ Haiti? ”
    “Yep. I’m going to do a stint with Doctors Without Borders there. I’ve always wanted to do something to help the people of Haiti. That’s where my mother is from.”
    A Haitian mother? That must be where she got her slightly exotic looks. The wide, full mouth, golden skin tone, and masses of curly hair. Her father must have contributed the blue eyes and the blonde hair color.
    “So is your mom still there, or is she here in Canada?”
    “Here,” she replied. “She emigrated from Haiti to Canada with her parents in the seventies. They settled in Montreal, as so many of them did. But she still has relatives back in Haiti, including two brothers. When I got to be old enough, we—my parents and I—started to go on mission trips with the church a couple of weeks every year. I’ve met all my Haitian uncles and cousins, and now those cousins have families of their own.”
    “And that’s where you got the bug to do good deeds?”
    “I got so much more than that out of it. What I saw down there . . . that’s what gave me the passion to study medicine in the first place. It only seems right that I honor that, you know?”
    Yes, he could understand that. “Have you explained this Haitian connection to the recruiter?”
    “Of course. But it’s his job to not take no for an answer. He’s never going to let up.”
    “Guess he’ll have to when you walk out the door after your last shift, huh?”
    She laughed, and it was just as musical as he’d imagined. He must have been watching her mouth again, because she sobered quickly.
    “I was going to stay and help you search, to save you from being alone in this room,” she said. “But if you’re going to be staying here, I guess there’s not much point in that, is there? You’re going to have to get used to it.”
    “I thought that might be what was behind your . . . uh . . . offer to come here with me.”
    “My insistence, you mean?”
    “I’m glad you insisted. It was very kind of you.”
    She shrugged. “I just know I wouldn’t have wanted to come back here alone.” She glanced around the room. “I should go. You’re probably anxious to start your search, and I should get home.”
    “Of course,” he said. “Let me walk you to your car.”
    “No need for that. The parking lot is reasonably well lit, as you saw, and this isn’t exactly a high-crime area.”
    He grinned at the idea of a criminal daring to invade Sylvia Stratton’s world. “I’m sure you’re right, but I’m still going to walk you out. I have to get my bag from the car anyway.”
    A moment later, they stood in the parking lot by her Subaru.
    “So, you’re good from here?” she asked, keys in hand.
    He understood instantly what she was asking. “I’m further ahead than I was,” he acknowledged, nodding his head toward the Stratton House behind him. “But I think there’s more I can learn from you. Nobody knew Josh—the Fredericton Josh—like you did. I’d still like to talk to you some more.”
    She eyed him uncertainly. “You really think my telling you this stuff—what movies we saw together or which nights I came over here or he came to my place—is