Free The Alligator Man by James Sheehan

Mr. Shay. She hoped Mr. Shay didn’t blame her for the violation of his orders. She was going to protest to Carlisle that he didn’t have the authority to send Freddie back to his classroom, but she could see that it was no use. The boy was already on his way.
    As he waited for Mr. Shay to come back to the office, Carlisle thought about Freddie’s story. This was no longer just a hit-and-run.
    Harvey Shay was livid when he found out Carlisle had countered his orders.
    “I run this school, Mr. Buchanan. Della, get that boy back here.”
    “Don’t do that just yet, Della,” Carlisle told the woman. “Mr. Shay and I are going to have a discussion first.”
    Carlisle walked back into the principal’s office and beckoned the principal to follow. Mr. Shay sheepishly walked behind him. When they were in the office out of the sight of Della, Carlisle got into Harvey Shay’s space, where Shay could smell his breath.
    “That boy is a witness in a criminal investigation. He is going to be under a great deal of pressure in the coming days and weeks. I want you to leave him alone. If you don’t, the sheriff is going to hear about it and so will your superiors. I’ll know because I will personally be talking to the boy.”
    Having said his piece, Carlisle turned and left, leaving Harvey Shay to ponder his words.

Chapter Seventeen
    W hen Tom Wylie regained consciousness, at first he didn’t know where he was. He could hear voices but he couldn’t move, not even to open his eyes. He recognized the voices as those of Kate, his love, and Alex, his longtime friend and doctor. Alex’s was the first voice he heard.
    “I know scrapping the surgery was a monumental screwup but it happens that X-rays sometimes get mixed up. It doesn’t happen often.”
    Kate wasn’t buying it. “That’s crap, Alex, and you know it. What if you cut off the wrong person’s leg instead of just reading the wrong X-rays? You have to have procedures in place to make sure that never happens again. But my immediate concern right now is Tom.”
    “We have to do this again tomorrow, Kate. It can’t wait.”
    “I know, I know, I’m just worried. He’d never let on about it, but getting ready for this surgery was a huge emotional ordeal for Tom. Now he’s going to wake up and have to do it all over again.”
    “Listen, Kate, I’ve known Tom for over forty years. He’ll handle it fine.”
    Lying there, his brain still foggy from the anesthesia, Tom struggled to take in all that had been said. The surgery was canceled and he would have to do it tomorrow—that was clear. And Kate was worried.
    A few minutes later, two other people entered the room and joined the conversation. Tom recognized one of the voices as that of Ray Blackwell. The other one was a mystery.
    Everyone simultaneously realized that Tom had regained consciousness when, without thinking, he raised his arm to scratch his head. Tom could tell they’d noticed, even though his eyes were still closed, because all conversation abruptly ceased. They were waiting for his next move.
    Even under the circumstances, Tom was coherent enough to work out a little skit to deal with all of their anxiety, especially Kate’s. He opened his eyes, calmly looked at them, and smiled. Then he picked up the cover that was resting at chest level and peeked under it at his stomach where the bandages should have been.
    “My, they did a lovely job,” he said. “I can’t even see a scar.” He then looked back up at them with a sheepish grin on his face.
    It took a moment, but his old friend Ray caught on first and started laughing, followed by Alex, and finally Kate. Kevin never did catch on because he did not know Tom Wylie and his sardonic humor. He stood there feeling awkward and unrelated.
    “Alex, you shouldn’t be laughing,” Tom said. “You violated the cardinal rule: Never make a mistake with a lawyer as a patient.”
    There was more anxious, nervous laughter.
    “How did you know?” Alex