Free Longarm and the Deadly Restitution (9781101618776) by Tabor Evans Page B

friends,” Longarm said. “Deputy Plummer works with me, and this lady is Mrs. Flannery. Her husband was gunned down in that attempted bank robbery where Deputy Plummer was badly wounded.”
    â€œI see.” The doctor looked exhausted. He wiped a hand across his face and took a deep breath. “Well, the good news is that Deputy Plummer is going to live. But the bad news is that he has lost a lot of blood, and while the two wounds to his body missed organs, the bullet to his leg shattered the thigh bone.”
    Longarm swallowed hard. “Are you going to have to amputate?”
    â€œWe’re not sure.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Longarm demanded.
    â€œIt means what I just said . . . we’re not sure. Given how much blood Deputy Plummer has already lost, in my professional opinion, amputation would cause even more blood loss and he’d almost certainly go into severe shock and die.”
    â€œThen
don’t
amputate.”
    The doctor was in his fifties and heavyset, with large dark circles under his eyes. He ran his fingers through his thin, straw-colored hair and said, “Mayor Plummer just arrived and is with his son, who remains unconscious. His vital signs are weak and things are touch-and-go. If we don’t operate now, sepsis might set into the thigh bone, and a bone infection could take the young man’s life.”
    â€œSo,” Delia said, “if you operate, he’s almost sure to die of shock, and if you don’t operate, he may die of infection?”
    â€œI’m afraid that’s about the size of it,” the doctor replied. “I gave the head of the hospital and my superior my medical opinion. Now they’re passing that information on to Mayor Plummer, who, as the young man’s only living relative, will decide what should be done for his son.”
    Longarm nodded. “I see.”
    â€œThe decision is not ours to make,” the doctor said. “And Mrs. Flannery, may I extend my sincerest condolences for the loss of your brave husband today. I had heard that several people died in the bank, including a federal officer. I am very sorry.”
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œWould you both like to come back tomorrow . . . or perhaps take a seat in our hospital’s waiting room? I’m not sure if Mayor Plummer will be staying the night or leaving. However, I am quite sure that he will not allow anyone to visit his son. He is extremely upset, as you can well understand.”
    â€œOf course,” Delia said. “We are all devastated by what happened at the bank.”
    â€œMarshal,” the doctor dared to say, “for the very life of me I cannot understand why a shoot-out was allowed to occur
inside
the bank when there were employees and customers all around.”
    â€œIt wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” Longarm said quietly. “Something unexpected went wrong inside the bank.”
    â€œIt sounds to me like
everything
went wrong.” The doctor glanced over his shoulder and down the hall. “I feel that I need to warn you, Marshal Long, that the mayor is enraged concerning what happened. Given that warning, my advice would be for you and Mrs. Flannery to avoid him until things sort themselves out.”
    â€œMeaning,” Delia said, “until Deputy Plummer either lives or dies.”
    â€œTo be blunt, that is exactly my meaning.”
    â€œThank you, Doctor.” Longarm took Delia’s arm and led her down the hallway into the waiting room. “I feel as if I need to stay until Henry either makes it or doesn’t. However, there are cabdrivers that regularly come up to the front drive, and I will hail one and he will take you home.”
    â€œNo,” she said. “What would I do there all alone? Go to pieces?” She took Longarm’s hand and squeezed it hard. “If I remain right here and pray very hard about Henry Plummer pulling