slightly, he tested it again. Metal and glass dissolved beneath his touch to let in the fresh, salt-tingedbreeze. The discomfort at his center gave way to another feeling—again unnamed, but this time simply right.
Breathing deeply, Seth settled in to wait.
“D R. RILEY?”
Tearing her gaze from Melanie Chiu’s draped form on the steel table, Elizabeth took in the grim expression of Aaron Warner, the obstetrician who had joined her. A pallor underlay his skin and he still wore bloodied scrubs.
“What happened?” she asked, tipping her head toward the table.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Warner muttered. He shook his head, staring past her at Chiu’s covered body. “I’ve never seen anything like it. A week ago the ultrasound said she was only six months along, but that baby was as fully developed as any I’ve ever delivered. And it came so damned fast—”
His voice trailed off into silence, broken only by the sound of a trolley passing by in the corridor outside. Warner swallowed.
“It ripped her apart from the inside,” he finished hoarsely. “It broke her pelvis, for God’s sake. She bled out before we could mop up enough to see what to clamp. We just couldn’t move fast enough.”
“And the baby?”
“A girl. She’s fine. Perfect. Tested ten on both Apgars.” Scraping off the cap he still wore, Warner tossed it onto a pile of soiled linens in the corner, then placed his hands on his hips. He scowled at the bed. “What the hell was this, Dr. Riley?”
Elizabeth crossed her arms against a sudden chill. “I wish I could tell you. Ever since Melanie was admitted, she insisted she didn’t have sex until the second of September. That’s three weeks ago yesterday.”
Warner flicked her an impatient look. “That’s impossible.”
“I know.” She sighed. “There had to have been some kind of trauma she was hiding; something she blocked out.”
“You still thinking rape? Maybe someone gave her GHB.”
“Maybe, but it’s unlikely. If it was Rohypnol, she would have remembered flashes by now, at least of the events leading up to the rape. There’s also the possibility of incest. Whatever it was, chances are we’ll never know. Not now. Do you know if anyone has called Child Services about the baby?”
Warner nodded. “Pediatric wants to keep her for a few days of observation, but someone is coming to start the paperwork tomorrow. Did you want to speak to them?”
“What’s the point? With Melanie gone, I can’t offer them anything.” Elizabeth stepped out of the way of a maintenance worker wheeling a bucket and mop into the room. “But if her family ever shows up, make sure someone calls me.”
A LEX SET HER suitcase on the desk and surveyed the hotel room, from dingy walls to dingier carpets to questionable-looking bed linens. It sure as hell wasn’t the Ritz, but she’d chosen it for its proximity to the hospital, not its level of luxury. Besides, she’d stayed in far worse when working undercover.
She pulled open the curtains and looked out through a window in need of washing. A narrow parking lot separated her from the solid brick wall of the neighboring building. Lovely. Good thing she wasn’t here for the scenery any more than she was for the luxury.
Leaving the curtains open, Alex tugged the cell phone from her waist and glanced at its display. It was already six o’clock, which made it nine in Toronto. She should give Jen a call, she supposed, to let her know she’d arrived safely and see how Nina was doing. She should, but she really didn’t want to face her sister’s questions about Seth and what she planned to do. Because the truth was, she hadn’t the faintest idea. Knowing Seth had lost his capacity for language was one thing; figuring out how to fix it was quite another. Alexset the cell phone beside her unopened suitcase and scrubbed both hands over her face.
Even if he could speak, there was still the little matter of his memory—or more
Breathing deeply, Seth settled in to wait.
“D R. RILEY?”
Tearing her gaze from Melanie Chiu’s draped form on the steel table, Elizabeth took in the grim expression of Aaron Warner, the obstetrician who had joined her. A pallor underlay his skin and he still wore bloodied scrubs.
“What happened?” she asked, tipping her head toward the table.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Warner muttered. He shook his head, staring past her at Chiu’s covered body. “I’ve never seen anything like it. A week ago the ultrasound said she was only six months along, but that baby was as fully developed as any I’ve ever delivered. And it came so damned fast—”
His voice trailed off into silence, broken only by the sound of a trolley passing by in the corridor outside. Warner swallowed.
“It ripped her apart from the inside,” he finished hoarsely. “It broke her pelvis, for God’s sake. She bled out before we could mop up enough to see what to clamp. We just couldn’t move fast enough.”
“And the baby?”
“A girl. She’s fine. Perfect. Tested ten on both Apgars.” Scraping off the cap he still wore, Warner tossed it onto a pile of soiled linens in the corner, then placed his hands on his hips. He scowled at the bed. “What the hell was this, Dr. Riley?”
Elizabeth crossed her arms against a sudden chill. “I wish I could tell you. Ever since Melanie was admitted, she insisted she didn’t have sex until the second of September. That’s three weeks ago yesterday.”
Warner flicked her an impatient look. “That’s impossible.”
“I know.” She sighed. “There had to have been some kind of trauma she was hiding; something she blocked out.”
“You still thinking rape? Maybe someone gave her GHB.”
“Maybe, but it’s unlikely. If it was Rohypnol, she would have remembered flashes by now, at least of the events leading up to the rape. There’s also the possibility of incest. Whatever it was, chances are we’ll never know. Not now. Do you know if anyone has called Child Services about the baby?”
Warner nodded. “Pediatric wants to keep her for a few days of observation, but someone is coming to start the paperwork tomorrow. Did you want to speak to them?”
“What’s the point? With Melanie gone, I can’t offer them anything.” Elizabeth stepped out of the way of a maintenance worker wheeling a bucket and mop into the room. “But if her family ever shows up, make sure someone calls me.”
A LEX SET HER suitcase on the desk and surveyed the hotel room, from dingy walls to dingier carpets to questionable-looking bed linens. It sure as hell wasn’t the Ritz, but she’d chosen it for its proximity to the hospital, not its level of luxury. Besides, she’d stayed in far worse when working undercover.
She pulled open the curtains and looked out through a window in need of washing. A narrow parking lot separated her from the solid brick wall of the neighboring building. Lovely. Good thing she wasn’t here for the scenery any more than she was for the luxury.
Leaving the curtains open, Alex tugged the cell phone from her waist and glanced at its display. It was already six o’clock, which made it nine in Toronto. She should give Jen a call, she supposed, to let her know she’d arrived safely and see how Nina was doing. She should, but she really didn’t want to face her sister’s questions about Seth and what she planned to do. Because the truth was, she hadn’t the faintest idea. Knowing Seth had lost his capacity for language was one thing; figuring out how to fix it was quite another. Alexset the cell phone beside her unopened suitcase and scrubbed both hands over her face.
Even if he could speak, there was still the little matter of his memory—or more
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