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“And he was living down there?” Mc-Fadden asked.
“That’s right. In a dilapidated old school bus someone had converted into a poor-man’s RV. From what we’ve been able to piece together, he disappeared from the mobile home park over a week ago. The body was found this last Wednesday and the federales notified Mrs. O’Toole late Thursday afternoon. Since then, Deena’s been trying to make arrangements to bring him home. It’s costing Lefty’s mother a small fortune to get the body back across the border.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this before now?” McFadden demanded.
Maria
Joa
Maria
“I’m all right,” Joa
Maria
“I’m sorry Lefty O’Toole’s dead,” she said quietly. “And Andy will be, too. No matter what happened later, Andy always liked the man. He always said Lefty would have been fine if the war hadn’t messed him up. He thought Lefty deserved another chance.”
Maria
“Don’t be putting down Andy,” Walter McFadden grumbled. “And don’t be hard on old Bisbee, either. Lefty O’Toole’s been messed up on drugs for as long as I can remember. Sounds to me like he got in way over his head, and somebody took care of him.”
Tipping his hat to Joa
“Don’t worry,” Joa
After McFadden left, Maria
“Mrs. Brady?” he asked.
Joa
“I’m Doctor Sanders. Your husband’s come through surgery as well as can be expected under the circumstances. He’s in the recovery room right now, and from there he’ll be going to the Intensive Care Unit.”
Feeling her knees sag, Joa
Dr. Sanders shook his head. “That I don’t know. He’s been gravely injured. For the next forty-eight hours at least, it’s going to be touch and go.”
“How bad is it?”
“We’ve already been through one episode of cardiac arrest, and there may be some brain damage from that. As far as the wound itself is concerned, we’re dealing with possible peritonitis as well as damage to his liver, kidney, and large intestine. Not only that, the bullet lodged against the spine, so it’s possible there could be some spinal damage as well.”
The hard-hitting words sent Joa
“Can I see him?” Joa
“No. Not at the moment, Mrs. Brady. There’s not much point. He’s still under anesthesia, and we’re going to keep him heavily sedated for a while. With that kind of abdominal damage, we’ll be leaving the incision open so we can continue monitoring exactly what’s going on. Infection and all that. If I were you, I’d go somewhere and try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long haul. You’ll need your rest.”
“What are his chances, doctor?”
Dr. Sanders was young, not much older than Joa
She nodded. “Please.”
“He’s got about one chance in ten of making it.”
“Those aren’t very good odds, are they, doctor?”
“No, but you said you wanted it straight.”
“Then I’ll stay here and stretch out on one of the couches. Ask someone to come get me w hen they move him from the Recovery Room to the ICU.”
“All right,” he said. “I can understand your not wanting to leave. I’ll have someone bring in a blanket.”
Reverend Maria
“Okay,” Dr. Sanders said. “Suit yourselves.” He walked as far as the door and then paused as if reconsidering. “Since you’ll be here,” he said, “I’ll set it up for you to be able to see him for five minutes once they get him to ICU.”
“Thanks,” Joa
An orderly appeared a few minutes later and dropped off two blankets and two pillows. The women made makeshift beds on the couches. Reverend Maculyea padded around the room until she located the light panel. She shut off all the lights except the red EXIT sign directly over the door.
“Hope you don’t mind the red glow,” she said, making her way back to the couch, “but it looks as though that one doesn’t have a switch.”
Joa
“Mari?” Joa
“Yes.”
“I’m trying to pray, but I can’t remember how to do it. I’ve forgotten all the words.”
“You don’t have to remember the words,” Maria
“Please.”
“Now I lay me down to sleep,” Reverend Maculyea began. “I pray the Lord my soul to keep.”
Joa
“If I should die before I wake,” Maria
The prayer had barely ended when Joa
Seven miles away, in his luxurious rented home in the Catalina foothills, Antonio Vargas answered his doorbell. He checked through the peephole to make certain no one was there. Sure enough, there was nothing visible on his front porch but a single briefcase.
Quickly Vargas unbolted the door and hauled the case inside. It was a good one, a Hartma