“Well--first off, I think we need to call Geff’s family, and explain why we won’t be joining them for dinner tonight.”
Zachary looked at his son and Noah nodded.
“Sure--I can take care of that.”
Noah walked pass his parents, entering the small room adjacent to the kitchen. Before he’d moved out, the space had once been his bedroom. Now, the room doubled as a guest room and an office. Noah sat at the desk, then he dialed his friend Geff. While he busied himself doing this, Zachary knew that he had to give his other son a task that would keep him occupied. Over the years, he’d watched and witnessed the inner struggled that tormented Caleb. He’d grown up, being raised by wealthy parents, and to have all that taken away; then to live in a manner completely opposite to what he’d been taught was normal behavior--to say that this had been a struggle, would be greatly underscoring his son’s plight.
Caleb tapped his foot. He lifted his head when his father said...
“Caleb--check the hospital.”
His eyebrows furrowed when he said...
“Dad...going to the hospital is a waste of time. The boat master said that he would know if there had been a medical transport--and there hadn’t been any today.”
Zachary had a strong aversion to intense emotions, and it would always take his leveled headed manner to cool Caleb’s wheels.
“Yes--you’re right Caleb--and thank you for reminding us about that conversation. But son--my daughter is not in my home--and the hospital is the only place we haven’t checked. I know that you believe we’re wasting time retracing our tracks--or looking in illogical places...”
Zachary’s voice trailed off--and it was then that Caleb saw the weight of this situation on his parents. As the head of their family, it was their responsibility to keep order and calm--and he wasn’t helping them.
Caleb rose from his seat, then he said...
“Don’t worry mom and dad--I’ll go. If she’s there, you’ll be the first to know.”
Caleb left the kitchen but his feet stalled, retracing his steps the second he heard Noah’s voice. He stood in the entrance, filling the doorframe with his presence.
Noah spoke in a rush.
“I just got a call from the hospital’s dispatch.”
His voice wavered but he continued...
“There’d been some sort of mixup. Something about a canceled inbound transport. In all the confusion, the operator thought that the medical report had been phoned into the Samaritan hospital by accident--so they dismissed the call.”
Zachary and Aldeara turned to face their son, with hope in their eyes. Noah said...
“Word got to the hospital that a Samaritan girl was missing--and that sparked the operators attention. She searched through her recordings, and she learned that the emergency techs had called them because they believed the woman was a Samaritan--but when they rerouted the patient to Lincoln Medical Facility, the operator assumed she’d been called by mistake.”
Aldeara frowned when she said...
“But...I don’t understand. What does this have to do with Ona? Is she there--at the Samaritan Hospital?”
Caleb had stepped in the room. He didn’t give Noah time to respond. He said...
“No mom. I think what Noah is saying is that--a Samaritan woman was transported to Lincoln Medical Facility.”
“But that can’t be.” Aldeara corrected him. “That place isn’t a Samaritan hospital.”
Caleb looked at Noah when he asked...
“Did they say anything else? Did the emergency technicians give them a name?”
“So much is unclear. The operator says that she thinks the call was a mistake. But--according to her dispatch log--somebody believed that this injured woman was a Samaritan.”
The room went silent, then Caleb said...
“Don’t you get it guys?” he paused, “That unidentified girl must be Ona. It’s the only thing that explains her absence and it’s the only explanation that makes any sense.”
“Slow down son.” Zachary calmly stated... “You’re forgetting one important fact. We are Samaritans--and Non-Samaritan’s know that we only seek care at Samaritan hospitals; not doing so is a violation of our Creed.”
Caleb ignored his father. He marched into the small office, and picked up the phone. He scrolled through the city directory, then he pressed the button next to Lincoln Medical Facility, Midtown Campus.
He spoke, while he waited for the phone to be answered.
“If I’m wrong--there’s no harm done. But if I’m right...”
Zachary couldn’t imagine the consequences if his son was right--because nothing like this had ever happened.
A voice chimed on the other end of the phone when she answered.
“Midtown Lincoln Medical Facility would like to wish you a Happy New Year--this is Molly, how can I direct your call?”
There was a delay on Caleb’s end because he hadn’t fully thought this through.
“Hello--this is Molly--how may I help you.”
He stuttered when he said...
“I, I guess I’d like to be transferred to someone responsible for incoming patients.”
“Are you referring to admissions, elective surgeries, consultations, diagnostics, rehabilitation, recovery and improvement or emergencies...”
Caleb had forgotten how the hospitals that catered to the ultra rich, were all-encompassing facilities. These places weren’t your run-of-the-mill hospitals. When rich people go to see their doctors, they expect to have an à la carte of whatever they wanted done--and they wanted these procedures to be performed in the lap of luxury.
Caleb pressed forward, trying to forget his past, when he said...
“Emergencies.”
“I’ll transfer your call--and thank you for choosing Lincoln Medical Facility,--please hold.”
While he waited, soothing music piped through the phone, but Caleb didn’t feel soothed. His sister was missing, and something nagged at him because his gut told him that the unknown woman was Ona. Along the side of him he noticed a shadow. It was Noah. By the look of him, Caleb was certain that his brother had come to the same conclusion. If she were there, he didn’t know what this would mean--but whatever the conclusion was; Caleb knew, that it wouldn’t be good.
**********
Chapter 7
11:52 PM
New Year’s Day at Lincoln Medical Facility
“So...the surgery went well?”
Lucien repeated the surgeons words, hoping that he’d rightly understood her. Hours had passed, and he still had not phoned his family. When he’d learned that the young woman was in recovery, he’d sent Caesar to his home to retrieve a fresh set of clothes. In truth, Lucien couldn’t bring himself to leave the building. He wouldn’t risk being out of the room, for fear of missing one of the staff coming to give him the latest report.
Dr. Monica Stone smiled when she said...
“Mr. Delors, you were right to bring her here. There was extensive internal damage, and I’m quite sure that the Samaritan Hospital would not have been equipped to address her problems.”
“So...everything went well.” Lucien repeated.
“Yes...everything went well.”
Lucien looked at the bags filled with IV fluids, then his eyes fell on her double casted legs. One of her arms was wrapped in a half cast, and her head was bandaged, covering most of her raven black hair. He watched the rise and fall of her chest, when he said...
“She’s still asleep. Was their brain damage...or is she sleeping off the anesthesia”
Dr. Stone said...
“It’s a little bit of both. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. She had some ugly injuries. Practically every speciality has had their hands inside of her. Thoracic, orthopedics, vascular, neurosurgery. Long story short...this little lady is lucky to be alive.”
“But...” Lucien felt like he’d just been sideswiped and the carpet had been pulled out from beneath his feet. Considering what he’d just heard, her prognosis didn’t sound like everything had gone well. Dr. Stone noticed his expression, then she said...