can’t do dinner or contracts malaria and doesn’t want to hang the pictures that you won’t stay at your apartment by yourself.”
“I promise, but it’s pointless. Madelaine would have dinner and hang those pictures even if she had one foot in the grave. You don’t know her well.”
“Okay. Keep watch and make note of anything odd. I’ll call you as soon as I’m leaving the nurse’s house so that you know what time to expect me back in Johnson’s Bayou.”
He made the drive in a little under two hours, but it felt like ten. He spent the time alternating between wondering if the woman would have the answers he’d been looking for and worrying about leaving Ginny alone. By the time he pulled up in front of her house, he had to take a minute to regain control of his emotions.
Finally, he stepped out of his car and approached the house, praying that she was home. His partner had been unsuccessful locating a home or cell number, so he hadn’t been able to call ahead. It would be just his luck if the woman was on a monthlong tour of Europe. He rang the doorbell, and his pulse quickened when a dog began to bark inside. A couple of seconds later, an older, Creole woman opened the door.
“Mrs. LeDoux?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“My name is Paul Stanton and I was hoping you would talk to me about a patient you may have cared for sixteen years ago at New Orleans General.”
The woman frowned. “I don’t talk about patients. That wouldn’t be right.”
“I understand, but in this case, you may change your mind.” Paul explained briefly why he was looking for his sister and why he felt she may be able to help him.
“I remember the case. It was so sad. Probably why it’s stuck in my mind.” She opened the door and waved him inside. “Might as well come in before my tea gets cold.”
Paul stepped inside and followed the woman into the kitchen, where she served them both a cup of hot tea. “Thank you for talking to me,” Paul said as he took a sip of tea. “I’ve been looking for so long, and even though it’s a long shot, I have to follow this to the end, just to be sure.”
“Certainly. I remember the night they brought the girl into the hospital. Came by helicopter, which always signals something dire. She was such a pretty little thing.”
“Can you tell me what she looked like?”
“She was a white girl—wavy brown hair, brown eyes, maybe ten years old. Skinny, but not malnourished. Just one of those active builds, I guess you’d call it.”
Paul nodded. The description fit his sister perfectly. And probably a million other kids, but at least it wasn’t the end of the line for him yet. “How badly was she injured?”
“At first, she was in and out of consciousness, but the pain finally won out and her body gave up. She slipped into a coma and stayed that way for almost a year. The doctors had no idea why, as her injuries had long since healed and all her vital signs appeared normal. She just wouldn’t wake up.”
“But she finally did?”
“It was the strangest thing ever. One day, she just sat up in bed and rang the nurse to ask for an ice-cream cone, of all things.”
Paul’s pulse quickened. His sister’s favorite treat was an ice-cream cone. “Did she remember anything?”
“Not a thing. The police had been so hopeful when she awakened, but it’s like her life before waking up in the hospital had been scrubbed clean out of her mind.”
“So what happened to her after that?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m not sure, really. They moved her to a room in the regular wing, which wasn’t my area. I know she did physical therapy for a while because of the lack of use of her muscles, but I don’t know what happened to her after that. I suppose given that no one came to claim her, and since she didn’t know who she was, that she was placed with a family.”
Paul tried to control his disappointment, but he was certain it showed on his face.
She sighed. “I’m sorry
“I promise, but it’s pointless. Madelaine would have dinner and hang those pictures even if she had one foot in the grave. You don’t know her well.”
“Okay. Keep watch and make note of anything odd. I’ll call you as soon as I’m leaving the nurse’s house so that you know what time to expect me back in Johnson’s Bayou.”
He made the drive in a little under two hours, but it felt like ten. He spent the time alternating between wondering if the woman would have the answers he’d been looking for and worrying about leaving Ginny alone. By the time he pulled up in front of her house, he had to take a minute to regain control of his emotions.
Finally, he stepped out of his car and approached the house, praying that she was home. His partner had been unsuccessful locating a home or cell number, so he hadn’t been able to call ahead. It would be just his luck if the woman was on a monthlong tour of Europe. He rang the doorbell, and his pulse quickened when a dog began to bark inside. A couple of seconds later, an older, Creole woman opened the door.
“Mrs. LeDoux?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“My name is Paul Stanton and I was hoping you would talk to me about a patient you may have cared for sixteen years ago at New Orleans General.”
The woman frowned. “I don’t talk about patients. That wouldn’t be right.”
“I understand, but in this case, you may change your mind.” Paul explained briefly why he was looking for his sister and why he felt she may be able to help him.
“I remember the case. It was so sad. Probably why it’s stuck in my mind.” She opened the door and waved him inside. “Might as well come in before my tea gets cold.”
Paul stepped inside and followed the woman into the kitchen, where she served them both a cup of hot tea. “Thank you for talking to me,” Paul said as he took a sip of tea. “I’ve been looking for so long, and even though it’s a long shot, I have to follow this to the end, just to be sure.”
“Certainly. I remember the night they brought the girl into the hospital. Came by helicopter, which always signals something dire. She was such a pretty little thing.”
“Can you tell me what she looked like?”
“She was a white girl—wavy brown hair, brown eyes, maybe ten years old. Skinny, but not malnourished. Just one of those active builds, I guess you’d call it.”
Paul nodded. The description fit his sister perfectly. And probably a million other kids, but at least it wasn’t the end of the line for him yet. “How badly was she injured?”
“At first, she was in and out of consciousness, but the pain finally won out and her body gave up. She slipped into a coma and stayed that way for almost a year. The doctors had no idea why, as her injuries had long since healed and all her vital signs appeared normal. She just wouldn’t wake up.”
“But she finally did?”
“It was the strangest thing ever. One day, she just sat up in bed and rang the nurse to ask for an ice-cream cone, of all things.”
Paul’s pulse quickened. His sister’s favorite treat was an ice-cream cone. “Did she remember anything?”
“Not a thing. The police had been so hopeful when she awakened, but it’s like her life before waking up in the hospital had been scrubbed clean out of her mind.”
“So what happened to her after that?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m not sure, really. They moved her to a room in the regular wing, which wasn’t my area. I know she did physical therapy for a while because of the lack of use of her muscles, but I don’t know what happened to her after that. I suppose given that no one came to claim her, and since she didn’t know who she was, that she was placed with a family.”
Paul tried to control his disappointment, but he was certain it showed on his face.
She sighed. “I’m sorry
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