The connection was broken.
Kat was unable to go back to sleep. Dinetto! How did he find out about Mike, and why is he helping him?
The following night, when Kat left the hospital, a black limousine was waiting for her at the curb. The Shadow and Rhino were standing beside it.
As Kat started to pass, Rhino said, "Get in, doctor. Mr. Dinetto wants to see you."
She studied the man for a moment. Rhino was ominous-looking, but it was the Shadow who frightened Kat. There was something deadly about his stillness. Under other circumstances, Kat would never have gotten into the car, but Mike's telephone call had puzzled her. And worried her.
She was driven to a small apartment on the outskirts of the city, and when she arrived, Dinetto was waiting for her.
"Thanks for coming, Dr. Hunter," he said. "I appreciate it. A friend of mine had a little accident. I want you to take a look at him."
"What are you doing with Mike?" Kat demanded.
"Nothing," he said innocently. "I heard he was in a little trouble, and I got it taken care of."
"How did . . . how did you find out about him? I mean, that he was my brother and ..."
Dinetto smiled. "In my business, we're all friends. We help each other. Mike got mixed up with some bad boys, so I helped him out. You should be grateful."
"I am," Kat said. "I really am."
"Good! You know the saying 'One hand washes the other'?"
Kat shook her head. "I won't do anything illegal."
"Illegal?" Dinetto said. He seemed hurt. "I wouldn't ask you to do anything like that. This friend of mine was in a little accident and he hates hospitals. Would you take a look at him?"
What am I letting myself in for? Kat wondered. "Very well."
"He's in the bedroom."
Dinetto's friend had been badly beaten up. He was lying in bed, unconscious.
"What happened to him?" Kat asked.
Dinetto looked at her and said, ' 'He fell down a flight of stairs."
"He should be in a hospital."
"I told you, he doesn't like hospitals. I can get you whatever hospital equipment you need. I had another doctor who took care of my friends, but he had an accident."
The words sent a chill through Kat. She wanted nothing more than to run out of the place and go home, and never hear Dinetto's name again, but nothing in life was free. Quid pro quo. Kat took off her coat and went to work.
Chapter Twelve
By the beginning of her fourth year of residency, Paige had assisted in hundreds of operations. They had become second nature to her. She knew the surgery procedures for the gallbladder, spleen, liver, appendix, and, most exciting, the heart. But Paige was frustrated because she was not doing the operations herself. Whatever happened to "Watch one, do one, teach one"? she wondered.
The answer came when George Englund, chief of surgery, sent for her.
"Paige, there's a hernia operation scheduled for tomorrow in OR Three, seven-thirty A.M."
She made a note. "Right. Who's doing the operation?"
"You are."
"Right. I ..." The words suddenly sank in. "I am?"
"Yes. Any problem with that?"
Paige's grin lit up the room. "No, sir! I... thanks!" "You're ready for it. I think the patient's lucky to have you. His name is Walter Herzog. He's in 314." "Herzog. Room 314. Right." And Paige was out the door.
Paige had never been so excited. I'm going to do my first operation! I'm going to hold a human being's life in my hands. What if I'm not ready"? What if I make a mistakel Things can go wrong. It's Murphy's Law. By the time Paige was through arguing with herself, she was in a state of panic.
She went into the cafeteria and sat down to have a cup of black coffee. It's going to be all right, she told herself. I've assisted in dozens of hernia operations. There's nothing to it. He's lucky to have me. By the time she finished her coffee, she was calm enough to face her first patient.
Walter Herzog was in his sixties, thin, bald, and very nervous. He was in bed, clutching his groin, when Paige walked in, carrying a bouquet of flowers. Herzog looked up.
"Nurse ... I want to see a doctor."
Paige walked over to the bed and handed him the flowers. "I'm the doctor. I'm going to operate on you."
He looked at the flowers, and looked at her. "You're what?"
"Don't worry," Paige said reassuringly. "You're in good hands." She picked up his chart at the foot of the bed and studied it.
"What does it say?" the man asked anxiously. Why did she bring me flowers'?
"It says you're going to be just fine."
He swallowed. "Are you really going to do the operation?"
"Yes."
"You seem awfully . . . awfully young."
Paige patted his arm. "I haven't lost a patient yet." She looked around the room. "Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything to read? A book or magazine? Candy?"
He was listening, nervously. "No, I'm okay." Why was she being so nice to him? Was there something she wasn't telling him?
"Well, then, I'll see you in the morning," Paige said cheerfully. She wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Here's my home number. You call me if you need me tonight. I'll stay right by the phone."
By the time Paige left, Walter Herzog was a nervous wreck.
A few minutes later, jimmy found Paige in the lounge. He walked up to her with his wide grin. "Congratulations! I hear you're going to do a procedure."
Word gets around fast, Paige thought. "Yes."