Lethal Exposure

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Friday, 5:47 p.m.

Fox RiverMedicalCenter

Craig stood by the hospital room door, waiting as Dumenco’s family paid their last respects. A single light on the dresser cast moody shadows throughout the room as the sun set over the oak-shaded Fox River. The medical equipment and diagnostics had been shut down, and for the first time since Craig had been there, the room seemed peaceful.

Dumenco’s wife Luba sat by her dead husband, gently stroking his hand. She moved her lips close to his head, silently whispering a prayer. His two daughters stood by the window, quietly comforting each other. Peter stared vacantly at his father, as if he could not fathom that the man was dead.

Craig waited patiently, not wanting to disturb the family in their grief. He would have time later to try and understand the remaining loose ends. He could see why Paige had avoided spending more time in the hospital room, not because she didn’t like Trish-he’d seen Paige take care of herself-but because of the memory of her own father’s death.

Now, though, with Bretti’s capture, Dumenco’s death, and Piter’s confession, things could finally return to normal for Fermilab.

Craig missed spending time with Paige, and it hadn’t struck him until now how much he really missed her. This was the third major case they had worked together, and each time he discovered more about the intelligent, exuberant Protocol officer. And he wondered how she viewed him.

Earlier, after he had taken Nels Piter into custody, she met him in the hospital lobby and ran a hand through her blond hair. “You’ve been through a lot today.”

“So have you.” He paused.

Paige gave a small smile. “I’m fine.” She hesitated. “How’s… how’s Trish?”

He smiled wryly and placed an uncertain hand on her shoulder. “I need to have a talk with her. In fact, I should have done this when I first got here.” Rubbing his hand down her arm, he turned to go, heading back to the Intensive Care ward. That had been an hour earlier.

Now, a movement in the dark corner of Dumenco’s room caught his eye. Trish. A glint of light reflected off her glasses. She stood with her arms folded across her breasts, intently watching the family’s reactions, as if she were comparing them against some set standard.

Trish slowly looked his way. Her face lacked expression. She stared at him for a moment, and he gestured with his chin to the door. He followed her out into the hall. Trish lounged back against the wall, her head tilted up and her eyes closed. “It’s always hard when someone dies,” she said.

“You look like you took it pretty well.”

“I have to. It’s the nature of the game.”

“You always could be detached.” Craig braced himself.

Trish glanced sideways at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Craig chose his words carefully. “When you first called, asking me to come out here, I thought you might have a deeper interest in this than you said. But now your reaction is so clinical. Judging from the passion you put into some of your PR-Cubed opinion pieces, I thought you’d be railing up and down the halls.”

An orderly walked past the elevators; nurses’ voices came from around the corner.

“Strictly professional,” she said. “I see now that a lot of the PR-Cubed soapboxing was just… words, nothing more.”

“How so?” Craig asked. “What made it change for you?”

Trish spoke in a small voice. “It’s so hard, day after day, seeing people die. I do everything I can for them, work myself ragged. I use every known technology trying to save someone, and then they die for no apparent reason. You have to keep it all inside-aloof, not get involved. Otherwise you’d be racked with grief. I have to be detached, damn it. Don’t fault me for it.”

Craig set his mouth as the words struck home. His own career was much the same, seeing people die, many of them innocent victims of circumstance. If he were to get personally involved, he’d never be able to do his job. “I do understand,” he whispered.

“I doubt it.” Trish setting her mouth in a firm line, dismissing him.

Craig remained quiet, unwilling to fight about it. He’d already had that experience too many times with her. Instead, he leaned over and put an arm awkwardly around her. “But it wasn’t your fault. And we never would have caught Bretti-or Dr. Piter for that matter- unless you chose to get involved and called me.” He hesitated. “You’ve always been involved. I realize that now. It’s your way, and you won’t ever change-not for Dumenco… and not for me.”

He drew her close, and for the first time in years smelled her hair. He felt Trish nestle into his arms, and he held her tight.

But he felt nothing for her except pity; pity that she had chosen to excel in a field where she would always feel the pain of other people, no matter how far she tried to distance herself from it.