Jack was accustomed to boring medical dinners. When the crème brûlée and hazelnut coffee were finally served, the conversation shifted from informal and innocuous to a discussion of Southeastern State’s enigmatic group of GNS patients.
Jack was asked several general questions, which he answered with a mixture of caution and guarded optimism. The participation was excellent, so when Sinclair didn’t utter a single word, it left Jack wondering at first. But as he gave it more thought, he understood. Sinclair believed he had the solution to GNS. To contribute to a conversation held by a group of bumbling, less-enlightened physicians than he would be intellectually beneath him. Jack had little doubt that when Sinclair felt the time was right, he wouldn’t hesitate to move center stage and announce he had discovered the cause of GNS and how to cure it.
After another thirty minutes had passed, most of the guests had left. A few, including Sinclair and Madison, remained.
“We’ve scheduled you to host our noon conference tomorrow,” Helen informed Jack. “The residents have prepared a couple of cases to present to you. I should warn you, they’re pretty tough ones.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
She took a sip of her red wine and added, “Under the circumstances, I thought it might be better if we didn’t discuss the GNS cases at the conference. We’ve already had a problem with some members of the press sneaking into the hospital. There will be a large number of people there and I’m not sure our security department has the resources to monitor everybody entering the auditorium.”
At that moment, Madison approached with an ominous look on her face.
“Excuse me for interrupting but I’ve just had a call regarding a new patient with GNS.”
“We should check with the ICU to make sure we have a bed available,” Helen suggested. Sinclair, who was seated a few feet away, turned in his chair but said nothing.
“Actually, she’s in the children’s hospital emergency room. She was transferred down from Cocoa Beach about two hours ago.”
“How old is she?” Helen asked.
“She’ll be fourteen next month,” Madison answered, hoisting her purse on her shoulder. “I’m going over there.”
“Any doubt about the diagnosis?” Helen asked.
“It doesn’t sound like it. She has all the symptoms.”
“I guess I should go as well,” Sinclair grumbled without coming to his feet.
In addition to the two vodka martinis he’d seen Sinclair drink before dinner, Jack had also noted he had consumed several glasses of wine with his meal. He scanned the faces of those around him. It was obvious the only person amongst them who felt Sinclair was in any shape to see a patient was the acting chief of neurology himself.
Madison stepped forward. “There’s no reason for both of us to go, Hollis. I’ll make sure everything’s taken care of. I’ll fill you in first thing in the morning and give you a thorough briefing.”
Sinclair shook his head and smiled sardonically. “Why do any of us need to see her tonight? Is there some pressing reason she needs to be seen urgently? The children’s hospital has an intensive care unit and neurologists on staff.”
“She’s a child,” Madison replied. “I’d feel more comfortable if I examined her tonight.”
“Seems ludicrous. There are a couple of thousand other pregnant women in the country just as sick. The problem’s that teenage pregnancy is rampant in this country. If her parents had done their job, she wouldn’t be in a hospital.”
After a few moments of silence Jack asked, “Would you mind if I tagged along?”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Sinclair was quick to say.
“That’s very kind of you to offer,” Helen said, ignoring Sinclair’s objection. She looked over at Madison. “I assume that’s okay with you.”
“Of course,” she answered the dean’s rhetorical question without hesitation.
“She’ll be the youngest patient we’ve cared for,” Helen said.
“Actually, I suspect she’s the youngest patient in the country.”
Helen removed her purse from the back of her chair. “I’ll walk you two to the lobby,” she said, pointing in the direction of the door. Jack anticipated Helen would offer a third-party apology for Sinclair’s remarks but she said nothing as she escorted him and Madison to the hotel exit. “If you had asked me a half-hour ago if it were possible for the mood of the country to be any worse, I would have said no. But if we are on the verge of discovering that GNS is capable of attacking children, there’s no telling what the catastrophic consequences might be. For starters, we may see every school in the country closed.” Her eyes dropped for a moment. “Please call me as soon as you’ve assessed this young lady’s condition.”
“We will,” Madison assured her.