Free Crisis by Robin Cook Page A

coronary arteries, and then proceeded to open them. Suddenly, he straightened up. "Well, lookie here!" he said. He picked up the heart and held it so Laurie could see more easily. He pointed with the tip of his forceps.
    "Good grief," Laurie exclaimed. "That might be the most dramatic narrowing of the main trunk of the posterior descending artery I've ever seen. And it looks developmental, not atheromatous."
    "That would be my take as well, and it probably explains the unresponsive heart. A sudden, even transient, blockage would have caused a massive heart attack involving parts of the conduction system. I imagine the entire posterior side of the heart was involved in the infarction. But as dramatic as it is, it doesn't explain the pulmonary changes."
    "Why don't you open the heart?"
    "That was exactly my intention."
    Exchanging the scissors and forceps for the butcher knife, Jack made a series of cuts into the heart's chambers. "Voila!" he said, leaning out of the way so Laurie could see the splayed organ.
    "There you go: a damaged, incompetent mitral valve!"
    "A very incompetent mitral valve. This woman was a walking time bomb waiting to explode. It's amazing she didn't have symptoms from either the coronary narrowing or the valve to drive her to a physician. It's also too bad. Both problems were surgically correctable."
    "Fear often makes some people sadly stoic."
    "You've got that right," Jack said as he started taking samples for microscopic examination. He put them into appropriately labeled bottles. "You still haven't told me why you were looking for me."
    "An hour ago I got some news. We now have a wedding date. I was eager to run it by you, because I have to get back to them as soon as possible."
    Jack paused in what he was doing. Even Miguel at the sink stopped rinsing out the intestines.
    "This is a curious environment for such an announcement," Jack said.
    Laurie shrugged. "It's where I found you. I was hoping to call back this afternoon before the weekend."
    Jack briefly glanced over at Miguel. "What's the date?"
    "June ninth at one thirty. What do you think?"
    Jack chuckled. "What am I supposed to think? It seems a long time off now that we have finally decided to go through with it. I was kind of thinking about next Tuesday."
    Laurie laughed. The sound was muffled by her plastic face screen, which briefly fogged up. "That's a sweet thing to say. But the reality is that my mother has always anticipated a June wedding. I personally think June is a great month because the weather should be good, not only for the wedding but also for a honeymoon."
    "Then it's okay with me," Jack said, casting a second quick look in Miguel's direction. It was bothering him that Miguel was just standing there, not moving and obviously listening.
    "There is only one problem. June is so popular for weddings that the Riverside Church is already booked for all the Saturdays in the month. Can you imagine, eight months in advance. Anyway, June ninth is a Friday. Does that bother you?"
    "Friday, Saturday -- it doesn't matter to me. I'm easy."
    "Fabulous. Actually, I'd prefer Saturday because it's traditional and easier for guests, but the reality is that the option's not available."
    "Hey, Miguel!" Jack called. "How about finishing with those intestines. Let's not make it your life's work."
    "I'm all done, Dr. Stapleton. I'm just waiting for you to come on over and take a peek."
    "Oh!" Jack said simply, mildly embarrassed for assuming the tech was eavesdropping. Then to Laurie he said, "Sorry, but I have to keep this show on the road."
    "No problem," Laurie said. She trailed after him over to the sink.
    Miguel handed over the intestines, which had been opened throughout their length and then thoroughly rinsed to expose the mucosal surface.
    "There's something else I found out today," Laurie said. "And I wanted to share it with you."
    "Go ahead," Jack said as he methodically began to examine the digestive system, starting from the esophagus