ideal existence he showed the world at large.
The answer came to him with such clarity that he cursed himself for not having thought of it sooner.
* * *
Marty swung into Josh's condo parking lot and nearly ran over him as she pulled in. He was just getting out of his car and took a few tentative steps back as her car jerked to a stop. Marty jumped out and ran over to Josh.
"Marty, you trying to run me down?"
"I'm sorry Josh, it's just ... sorry, I'm out of breath. My asthma." Marty yanked an inhaler from her purse and puffed twice on it. "There ... better. Now, can we go inside, Josh? You're not gonna believe what I found out."
Chapter 30
Inside a sterile operating room at Aurora Life Extension, VictoStone watched the patient's heart oscillate between mild and severe tachycardia, from one hundred twenty to over two hundred thirty beats per minute, a transient condition resulting from the epinephrine and hypothermia.
Stone studied the EKG and cursed each new acceleration, knowing that an escalating arrhythmia could lead to cardiac arrest.
Sweating now, Stone pressed the cold paddles of the defibrillator to the patient's chest, bracketing his heart. The 360 joules that shot through the man's chest made his body bounce like a ragdoll against the OR table.
Stone glanced at the EKG monitor. Suddenly, there was a rhythm spiking across the monitor screen. 140 beats a minute, but steady ... 120 ... 100. Stone felt his own pulse soaring.
Simultaneously, the electroencephalograph showed alpha and beta brain waves within normal parameters. The patient's lips were no longer painted the blue of the oxygen-deprived. They were alive with color. The man's eyes jiggled for a second and the lids fluttered.
Stone consulted his watch and let out a breath of amazement.
He'd done it. By God he'd done it!
At that moment, the Director buzzed himself into the sterile room and gazed at the patient, then at the cardiac monitor and finally at Stone. He grabbed a nearby table to keep from falling.
Then Stone saw him begin to cry.
Chapter 31
Josh Logan stared uneasily at the document, not wanting to think too intensively about its implications. But it wasn't going to go away. If Marty was right--and it appeared she might be--someone had some explaining to do. Still, he sometimes wondered if Marty was playing with a full deck.
"She's not there," Marty said.
"Because of that document?"
She nodded.
"You read it. It's authentic. Her nurse gave it to me."
"What if it isn't ... authentic?"
"Why would anyone do that?"
"Attention. Happens all the time."
Josh stepped forward. "You're sure?"
"Absolutely. I've been a reporter for ten years. I know a fraud when I see one. This girl was no fraud. She wanted me to know. I don't know how she got her hands on that paper, but she did. And I believe her. Now are you going to help me or not?"
Josh studied her. His cynicism about people lately, and the lengths they will go to, was well earned, perhaps because it was based on first-hand knowledge. Still, the horrors implicit in Marty's statement exceeded anything he could even imagine.
"You seem convinced to me."
Marty shook her head. "I am, I told you."
With Marty standing against the wall, Josh began to pace in the kitchen.
"It just doesn't make sense," he said. "Unless ..." he stopped. His back was to Marty.
"What?" Marty asked.
"How much do you know about the attending physician in Tucson?"
"You mean the one who admitted her in the ER?"
He nodded.
"I did some checking on him."
Josh chuckled. "Imagine that."
"His name is Tim Busfeld. He's been a trauma surgeon at Tucson General for ten years. He's well respected by staff. Had very few, if any, complaints and there's nothing that stands out about his professional life. Now, his personal life is not so happy."
Josh cocked his head. "Let me guess. He's divorced three times and can't stay married. That's a regular occurrence for an ER doc. They spend all their time at the hospital and it
The answer came to him with such clarity that he cursed himself for not having thought of it sooner.
* * *
Marty swung into Josh's condo parking lot and nearly ran over him as she pulled in. He was just getting out of his car and took a few tentative steps back as her car jerked to a stop. Marty jumped out and ran over to Josh.
"Marty, you trying to run me down?"
"I'm sorry Josh, it's just ... sorry, I'm out of breath. My asthma." Marty yanked an inhaler from her purse and puffed twice on it. "There ... better. Now, can we go inside, Josh? You're not gonna believe what I found out."
Chapter 30
Inside a sterile operating room at Aurora Life Extension, VictoStone watched the patient's heart oscillate between mild and severe tachycardia, from one hundred twenty to over two hundred thirty beats per minute, a transient condition resulting from the epinephrine and hypothermia.
Stone studied the EKG and cursed each new acceleration, knowing that an escalating arrhythmia could lead to cardiac arrest.
Sweating now, Stone pressed the cold paddles of the defibrillator to the patient's chest, bracketing his heart. The 360 joules that shot through the man's chest made his body bounce like a ragdoll against the OR table.
Stone glanced at the EKG monitor. Suddenly, there was a rhythm spiking across the monitor screen. 140 beats a minute, but steady ... 120 ... 100. Stone felt his own pulse soaring.
Simultaneously, the electroencephalograph showed alpha and beta brain waves within normal parameters. The patient's lips were no longer painted the blue of the oxygen-deprived. They were alive with color. The man's eyes jiggled for a second and the lids fluttered.
Stone consulted his watch and let out a breath of amazement.
He'd done it. By God he'd done it!
At that moment, the Director buzzed himself into the sterile room and gazed at the patient, then at the cardiac monitor and finally at Stone. He grabbed a nearby table to keep from falling.
Then Stone saw him begin to cry.
Chapter 31
Josh Logan stared uneasily at the document, not wanting to think too intensively about its implications. But it wasn't going to go away. If Marty was right--and it appeared she might be--someone had some explaining to do. Still, he sometimes wondered if Marty was playing with a full deck.
"She's not there," Marty said.
"Because of that document?"
She nodded.
"You read it. It's authentic. Her nurse gave it to me."
"What if it isn't ... authentic?"
"Why would anyone do that?"
"Attention. Happens all the time."
Josh stepped forward. "You're sure?"
"Absolutely. I've been a reporter for ten years. I know a fraud when I see one. This girl was no fraud. She wanted me to know. I don't know how she got her hands on that paper, but she did. And I believe her. Now are you going to help me or not?"
Josh studied her. His cynicism about people lately, and the lengths they will go to, was well earned, perhaps because it was based on first-hand knowledge. Still, the horrors implicit in Marty's statement exceeded anything he could even imagine.
"You seem convinced to me."
Marty shook her head. "I am, I told you."
With Marty standing against the wall, Josh began to pace in the kitchen.
"It just doesn't make sense," he said. "Unless ..." he stopped. His back was to Marty.
"What?" Marty asked.
"How much do you know about the attending physician in Tucson?"
"You mean the one who admitted her in the ER?"
He nodded.
"I did some checking on him."
Josh chuckled. "Imagine that."
"His name is Tim Busfeld. He's been a trauma surgeon at Tucson General for ten years. He's well respected by staff. Had very few, if any, complaints and there's nothing that stands out about his professional life. Now, his personal life is not so happy."
Josh cocked his head. "Let me guess. He's divorced three times and can't stay married. That's a regular occurrence for an ER doc. They spend all their time at the hospital and it
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