"Are you all right?" Mallory asked.
"I don't know. Would you excuse me for a moment?"
"Certainly." He watched her get up and head for the ladies' room.
When she returned, she said, "It's bad timing, darling. I'm so sorry. You'd better get me home."
He stared at her, trying to conceal his frustration. The damned fates were conspiring against him.
"Right," Mallory said curtly. He was ready to explode.
He was going to lose a precious five days.
Five minutes after Kat returned to the apartment, the front doorbell rang. Kat smiled to herself. Mallory had found an excuse to come back, and she hated herself for being so pleased. She walked over to the door and opened it.
"Ken ..."
Rhino and the Shadow were standing there. Kat felt a sudden sense of fear. The two men pushed past her into the apartment.
Rhino spoke. "You doin' the operation on Mr. Dinetto?"
Kat's throat was dry. "Yes."
"We don't want anything to happen to him."
"Neither do I," Kat said. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm tired and—"
"Is there a chance he'll die?" the Shadow asked.
Kat hesitated. "In brain surgery there's always a risk of—"
"You better not let it happen."
"Believe me, I—"
"Don't let it happen." He looked at Rhino. "Let's go-"
Kat watched them start to leave.
At the door, the Shadow turned and said, "Say hello to Mike for us."
Kat was suddenly very still. "Is ... is this some kind of threat?"
"We don't threaten people, doc. We're telling you. If Mr. Dinetto dies, you and your fucking family are gonna be wiped out."
Chapter Twenty-one
In the doctors' dressing room, half a dozen doctors were waiting for Ken Mallory to appear. When he walked in, Grundy said, "Hail the conquering hero! We want to hear all the lurid details." He grinned. "But the catch is, buddy, we want to hear them from her."
"I ran into a little bad luck." Mallory smiled. "But you can all start getting your money ready."
Kat and Paige were getting into scrubs.
"Have you ever done a procedure on a doctor?" Kat asked.
"No."
"You're lucky. They're the worst patients in the world. They know too much."
"Who are you operating on?"
"Dr. Mervyn 'Don't Hurt Me' Franklin."
"Good luck."
"I'll need it."
Dr. Mervyn Franklin was a man in his sixties, thin, bald, and irascible.
When Kat walked into his room, he snapped, "It's about time you got here. Did the damned electrolyte reports come back?"
"Yes," Kat said. "They're normal."
"Who says so? I don't trust the damn lab. Half the time they don't know what they're doing. And make sure there's no mix-up on the blood transfusion."
"I'll make sure," Kat said patiently.
"Who's doing the operation?"
"Dr. Jurgenson and I. Dr. Franklin, I promise you, there's nothing for you to worry about."
"Whose brain are they operating on, yours or mine? All operations are risky. You know why? Because half of the damned surgeons are in the wrong profession. They should have been butchers."
"Dr. Jurgenson is very capable."
"I know he is, or I wouldn't let him touch me. Who's the anesthesiologist?"
"I believe it's Dr. Miller."
"That quack? I don't want him. Get me someone else."
"Dr. Franklin ..."
"Get me someone else. See if Haliburton is available."
"All right."
"And get me the names of the nurses in the OR. I want to check them out."
Kat looked him in the eye. "Would you prefer to do the operation yourself?"
"What?" He stared at her a moment, then smiled sheepishly. "I guess not."
Kat said gently, "Then why don't you let us handle it?"
"Okay. You know something? I like you."
"I like you, too. Did the nurse give you a sedative?"
"Yes."
"All right. We'll be ready in a few minutes. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah. Teach my stupid nurse where my veins are located."
"All right. We'll be ready in a few minutes. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Yeah. Teach my stupid nurse where my veins are located."
In OR Four, the brain surgery on Dr. Mervyn Franklin was going perfectly. He had complained every step of the way from his room to the operating theater.
"Now mind you," he said, "minimal anesthetic. The brain has no feeling, so once you get in there, you won't need much."
"I'm aware of that," Kat said patiently.
"And see that the temperature is kept down to forty degrees. That's maximum."
"Right."
"Let's have some fast music on during the operation. Keep you all on your toes."
"Right."
"And make sure you have a top scrub nurse in there.''
"Right."
And on and on it went.
When the opening in Dr. Franklin's skull was drilled, Kat said, "I see the clot. It doesn't look too bad." She went to work.
Three hours later as they were beginning to close the incision, George Englund, the chief of surgery, came into the operating room and went up to Kat.
"Kat, are you almost through here?"
"We're just wrapping it up."
"Let Dr. Jurgenson take over. We need you fast. There's an emergency."