Hiss Of Death

In the basement under the westernmost spoke of the Central Virginia Medical Complex, Harry, Toni Enright, and Franny Howard stood outside the room where the cancer support group met.

Voice low, Harry asked the other two, “What does the group do when someone dies?”

Toni replied, “We go to the funeral, of course.” She also lowered her voice. “It’s obvious that some of our number won’t be with us for long. We do what we can, and we draw closer together because it’s a reminder to everyone.”

Franny then added, “Babs Hatcher, as I’m sure you noticed, hasn’t long.”

“I did, but she seems … settled. I can’t think of another word.”

Toni nodded. “We’ve lost two of our number in the last year. That’s why we could take you. Luckily, you should be around for a long time, but Babs’s ovarian cancer, well, you know. She’s as prepared as one can be, and she sets an example for everyone else.”

Harry, who said very little in the group other than what her cancer was, asked, “Toni, have you had cancer?”

“No. Central Virginia encourages the nurses with oncology experience to be with a group. We all do it, and it’s a part of my job that I love.”

“Do any doctors ever come by?” Harry inquired.

“If the group asks, they do. Or if a new treatment is available. The doctor gives us a talk about it. There’s so much happening with new drugs, new ideas, one person can’t keep up with it.”

“It’s a nice group of people.” Harry turned to Franny. “Thank you for telling me about it.”

Toni said, “Ladies, I have to go. Harry, I hope we see you again.”

Before Harry could reply, the next door opened. Laughter spilled out from a conference room into the hall. Thadia Martin walked out.

“Harry Haristeen? The real Mary Minor Haristeen, attack forward for Crozet High?”

It took Harry a moment to recognize Thadia. “Thadia, yes, yes, it’s me.”

Thadia, never one for subtlety, asked, “Are you all right?”

Obviously, she knew the cancer support group met at the same time as one of her drug rehab groups.

“I am now.”

“Good. There are vitamin therapies, you know, that can help people who are recovering from cancer. Well, they can help a lot of things. I get a lot of my people on these new strategies.”

Toni, shoulders tensed, interrupted, “Thadia, what works for recovering addicts and alcoholics will not necessarily work for cancer survivors.” She forced a professional smile. “With all due respect.”

Thadia ignored Toni, spoke directly to Harry. “Dr. Schaeffer is really on the cutting edge.”

Harry quipped, “As a surgeon, I expect he is.”

Toni pointedly said, “Thadia, if you’ll excuse us.”

Toni then walked back into the room, hand under Harry’s elbow. She shut the door behind her. Two other group members, in deep discussion, sat together. Franny followed in, too.

“She’s not your fav.” Harry smiled devilishly.

Toni scrunched up her face. “No. She’s so damned pushy.”

Franny supported Toni’s assessment. “That never gets a woman far in these parts, and the wonder of it is that Thadia was born and raised a Virginian.”

“Some people lack the patience for the dance of politeness.” Harry laughed. “Even back in school, Thadia was a bulldozer. She got away with it as far as she did because she’s pretty.”

“Amazing she kept her looks after all those years of self-abuse.” Franny folded her arms across her chest.

Franny changed the subject. “Toni, how’s your rattletrap doing?”

Toni laughed. “I’m going to trade it in.” She held up her hands when she saw the excitement on Harry’s face. “Don’t know yet, Harry.”

“Have you seen Alicia’s new Mustang? G-o-rgeous!”

“As is Alicia,” Franny added. “Before I forget, Toni, who has taken Paula’s place in the evening support group?”

“Violet Smith. She’s not an oncology nurse, but we’re shorthanded. Everyone is. Here we are, this unbelievable medical complex, and there’s no money for hiring. I’m sure Will”—Toni named the hospital administrator, Will Archer—“can find money for a star, but I’ll give him credit, he hasn’t hired any new doctors. I hope we pull out of this economic nosedive fast.”

Franny, ever the shrewd businesswoman, simply said, “It’s a W dive.”

“What?” Harry leaned toward her.

“They’re calling it a double dip, but that’s not really accurate. It’s a W. First, you go down one side of the W. We come back up a bit, right? Then you go down again and the second side of the W is a hell of a lot worse than the first. The forecasters, the government, no one wants to even hint at it, because that will stall out the tiny recovery we’re experiencing now. Anyway, let’s not talk about that. I can’t stand it. Back to Paula’s group. Are they all right?”

Toni shrugged. “As best they can be. Here we are, trained to deal with such matters, and she goes.” Toni snapped her fingers. “No one expected that.”

“She’s missed.” Franny then handed Harry a bag of catnip. “I promised. Sorry, I didn’t have any when you came in to get your tires. Said I would, but sometimes it’s one damn thing after another.”

“Thank you.” Harry opened the plastic container for a hit of high-powered catnip. “The kids will love it.

“Toni, did Paula have any enemies?”

Franny rolled her eyes. “Harry.”

“Well, Toni worked with her. Who knows what happens at the hospital.”

“Thadia.” Toni uttered the name.

“Why?” Harry asked, and now Franny was interested.

“Oh, the usual drama with her. She came to me after a meeting once—everyone had left, thank God—and she wanted to know what I knew about Paula and Cory Schaeffer. I told her the truth. Nothing. But she went on and on. She was convinced they were having an affair. They weren’t. I think I knew Paula as well as anyone around here, and she wasn’t interested in Cory Schaeffer. For one thing, she wanted time to herself.”

“The divorce?” Franny said.

“More or less. She was over it. That’s why she moved here, but she said so many times, ‘I never really took care of me.’ She was focusing on herself—not in a self-centered way, in a healing way. Paula wasn’t having an affair. She didn’t want one, and Cory wasn’t her type. Paula liked manly men. You know, linemen, farmers, garage mechanics.”

“Strange,” Harry replied, “that Thalia concocted their affair.”

“I’m telling you, Thadia was fuming. I told her to calm down. If she wasn’t such a chemical mess, I’d have given her a hit of Jack Daniel’s Black.”

Harry and Franny laughed at this, then Franny said, “Double shot.”

“She could probably knock back two and keep going,” Harry remarked. “Even in high school, Thadia could drink everyone under the table. I remember once I asked her if she liked Saint Anne’s, and she said, ‘The drugs are better than at Crozet High.’ I mean, she could be funny when she wasn’t vicious.”

“Chemistry. I hope the day comes when we can identify in childhood those people who are prone to alcoholism and drug addiction.” Toni lowered her voice. “Look, the truth is some people can drink and some can take drugs in moderation. This idea that one toot or toke and you’re captive to the weed or coke is bullshit, and we all know it.” She held up her hands. “Okay. There may be a few people out there who are lost with one swig. People don’t immediately turn into a raging cokehead, so they think they’re all right, so they drink more, they toot more, and then the trouble begins. We all know the road to ruin after that. If we’d just tell people the truth, but you know if a doctor publicly said what I just did, or a sheriff, they’d lose their jobs.”

“You’re right about that. Nothing should ever disturb American hypocrisy.” Franny deplored the current state not just of affairs but of behavior.

“Wonder if there was more to Paula setting off Thadia.”

“Oh, Harry, people are their most irrational about sex and about their children. Thadia kept saying she was going to confront Paula. I told her to drop it. No good would come of it. Plus, Paula wasn’t sleeping with Cory. End of story.”

“Ever notice how some people can’t learn?” Franny mused. “Look, I give Thadia credit for cleaning up. Other than that, she’s still a two-legged disaster.”

“Yeah, but at least we didn’t elect her to public office.” Harry grinned as the other two laughed.

Less guarded than usual, Toni threw this out: “Actually, Cory is having an affair, but Thadia, who is so crazy about him, has missed it completely.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“No. It will keep you busy.” Toni slapped her on the back, then left the room.

“She’s got your number.” Franny laughed.