Pathogen

by Jessica L. Webb

  He strode out the door, not even waiting for his wife. Natalie bent swiftly to kiss Serena, then crossed the room to do the same for her youngest daughter. She stopped in the doorway, looked back at Kate, then left without saying a word.

  In the silence that followed, Andy’s eyes locked on Kate, telling her she’d heard every word of the conversation. “Dr. Doyle would like to talk to you,” Andy said.

  “Okay, thanks. Could you tell her I’ll be there in a minute?”

  Andy left to deliver the message and Kate wrote a note in the chart.

  “My sister’s going to be okay?”

  Kate smiled at the quiet girl. “She’s going to be fine. You really want to spend a night here?”

  “Better than staying at home by myself. I brought my phone and some homework,” she said, kicking at her backpack on the floor.

  “What about supper?”

  “I’ll steal some of Serena’s. She hasn’t been eating much, anyway.”

  Kate made a face. “Hospital food? Really?”

  “I don’t mind,” Julia said shyly.

  Kate thought for a minute. “I had some ravioli from the deli at the grocery store downtown the other day. Do you like that?”

  “The squash one is my favourite,” Julia said in her feather-light voice.

  “Well, if you don’t mind some company, then we’ll bring some by in a few hours?”

  Julia nodded, ducking her head.

  Kate took the chart with her as she walked down the hall to the nurse’s station. “Hey, Lucy, you on tonight?” Kate asked.

  “Yep, just started. What can I do for you?”

  “Not much. Serena seems stable. If she wakes up, see how she does off the O2 for a bit. Her sister’s in with her right now.”

  Lucy made a note in the chart Kate handed her. “Was that Chris Ozarc I saw leaving the room?” Lucy asked.

  “Apparently. Why?”

  Lucy dropped her voice and leaned conspiratorially in towards Kate. “Chris Ozarc and Serena Cardiff are big gossip around here. They’re like Hidden Valley royalty. They dated for three years, and then Chris left for the States last fall. When he came home at Christmas, Serena left him. Apparently it was all tearful and heartbreaking. Michael Cardiff took it especially hard,” Lucy said, clearly amused. “It turns out Serena had fallen for the stable boy, Nathan. Needless to say, the Cardiffs are not happy about Serena’s choice. The whole thing is very romantic.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Since when are high school breakups such big news?”

  Lucy crossed her arms. “We live in a small town with competing millionaires and one billionaire recluse. This is as exciting as things get. Well, until you and Sergeant Wyles came along.” She gave Kate a sly sideways grin. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  Kate laughed, a little embarrassed. She packed up her things, started backing down the hallway.

  “I thought I’d try to keep at least one secret in Hidden Valley. I’ll come by and check on Serena in a few hours,” she said, disappearing down the stairs.

  *

  “We’ve requested a forty-eight-hour extension on your stay,” Dr. Doyle said, almost as soon as Kate was seated in her office. She was tidying her desk almost obsessively, moving files and adjusting items. “It’s been approved by your supervisor and by the hospital board.”

  This was news. Kate wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Who requested me? And for what?”

  Kate caught Dr. Doyle’s irritated sigh, as if she wished Kate would accept the news without comment. “The team, the hospital, the board, Dr. Kellar, Public Health, the ER.” Dr. Doyle’s voice rose as the list spewed out. “Apparently, no one thinks we’re able to get through this without you.”

  Kate said nothing. She simply waited. She wondered if Andy knew anything about this. It felt like days since they’d talked.

  “I’m sorry,” Dr. Doyle finally said. “We’re a small team in a small community and we’ve never dealt with anything like this. I’m fielding more calls than I can handle, the ER is underprepared for an influx if there is one, the public statement is going out tonight, and we’re no closer to figuring out how to treat this virus.”

  It was the simplest, most truthful statement Kate had ever heard Dr. Doyle utter. “I’d like to help,” Kate said simply.

  Dr. Doyle’s shoulders slumped, in defeat or relief, Kate wasn’t entirely sure. It didn’t matter, really. She was here to do a job, and she could not help the thrill of excitement as her future, if only for two days, was reconnected to Hidden Valley.

  Kate considered the virus and the mystifying components that resulted, in at least some of the patients, in critical levels of pulmonary edema. The three other patients exhibited none of the same extreme symptoms as Roberta Sedlak and Keith Grange. But if that changed, the hospital needed to be ready.

  “I want to look at what we’re doing wrong,” she said without thinking. Dr. Doyle looked up sharply, and Kate reconsidered her words. “In patients with compromised lungs, this virus waits and then attacks so quickly. I’d like to come up with a new protocol for treating it in the ER,” she tried to explain.

  Dr. Doyle looked at her carefully. “We can take a look at the protocol already in place, but the autopsy reports should help in that regard.”

  Kate had already thought of that. It would be helpful to have the pathologist who had seen the effects of the virus and its ineffective treatment firsthand. Dr. Mona Kellar was the last person Kate wanted to consult with, however.

  “When is Dr. Kellar available to meet?” Kate said reluctantly.

  “She said she could be here in the morning, if you think we need her.”

  Kate took a moment and looked out the window of Dr. Doyle’s office. She could see the large windows by the entrance as they reflected back the dark of night, the shiny floors of the main corridor, and the cleanly modern and inoffensive paintings lining the walls. How did she end up here? Where was her chaotic, hectic, patched-together city ER? Where was her quirky, comfortable staff? Gone. Left behind. Willingly traded in for a gleaming, woefully underprepared hospital and a hastily thrown-together team.

  “Dr. Morrison, should I have Dr. Kellar come back tomorrow morning?”

  Kate rubbed at her eyes. She was here now, the other questions would have to wait.

  “Yes, please,” she said. “And Dr. Salinger, too,” Kate said quickly. “Please. If he’s available.” Or anybody, Kate thought. Anyone that can act as a buffer to that troll of a woman.

  “I’ll let you know when you’re meeting in the morning,” Dr. Doyle said. Her tone was dismissive and Kate stood to leave. “And…thank you,” she added.

  Kate walked out of Dr. Doyle’s office down the hallway to the deserted front desk. She stared unseeing out at the night beyond the windows. The hospital was quiet, as if by some unspoken agreement the town had decided to take it down a notch because the sun had set. Kate saw Andy’s reflection in the glass as she walked down the long hallway from the ER and studied it as she approached: her long legs, the belt around her hips with one thumb hooked into a loop, her blond hair held back in a low ponytail, the ever-present soft body armour vest over her short-sleeved shirt. Kate always loved to watch the way Andy moved. She was purposeful, calm, and strong. Finally, Andy stood across from her in the silent hall.

  “How are you still standing? You’re dead on your feet,” Andy said bluntly.

  “It’s a skill I have.”

  Neither said anything for a moment. Kate still felt Andy’s eyes searching her, as if she could pull out everything Kate wasn’t saying. Sometimes Kate wondered if she could.

  “So, two days,” Andy said, finally.

  “Two days.”

  “You’re okay with that?”

  “Yes,” Kate said firmly. “You’ll be here, too?”

  “Just for the forty-eight hours. Finns made it clear the investigation is over. Two days to tie up loose ends that are already tied.” Andy took a small step clo
ser to Kate, and a little of the light left her eyes. “How was the autopsy?”

  “Pretty similar to the last one,” Kate said, hedging. Andy’s eyes narrowed. Kate sighed. “Later, okay?”

  “Okay,” Andy said, a little more quietly, as if she was suddenly aware of the intensity of her interrogation. “Are you ready to head out?”

  “I need to pick up some files from the ER. And I kind of made plans for dinner. I told Julia Cardiff we’d bring her something to eat.”

  “Sure,” Andy said immediately. “Why don’t you give me an order? I’ll go pick up food.”

  Kate looked at her gratefully. “I feel like we’re underutilizing your services, Sergeant Wyles.”

  Andy smiled a slow, private smile that Kate got lost in for a moment before she remembered where they were. She felt herself pull back.

  When she and Andy walked into Serena’s room, Kate saw Julia wasn’t going to need their company. She was sitting on the foot of her sister’s bed and Serena was awake, looking alert. Nathan was pulling containers of food out of a plastic bag.

  “Looks like a party in here,” Kate said on her way in.

  Julia looked up and gave a shy, happy smile. Serena smiled, and Kate noticed that she didn’t have her nasal cannula in. “How are you feeling?” Kate asked the pale girl.

  “Pretty good, actually. Hungry.” Her voice was stronger, and the effort to speak from just two days ago was gone.

  “Excellent, that’s what I like to hear.”

  “Do you want any, Dr. Morrison? I brought a lot of food,” Nathan said, indicating a container.

  “No, but thanks.”

  “Okay. Move over, Junior, make some room for the food.”

  Kate watched the three of them for a moment. Julia was shy and pink-faced, Serena looked worn but happy, and Nathan was sweet and attentive. She considered what Lucy had said earlier about the Cardiffs not approving of Serena’s non-pedigreed choice. She wondered how that was possible. Nathan seemed like a great guy. Kate flipped the chart closed.

  “Lucy’s going to look after you tonight, Serena. I’ll check on you in the morning, but if you keep improving overnight, we can start talking about discharge.”

  Kate and Andy left the hospital together, first stopping at the ER to pick up the files that Dr. Doyle had left for her. Homework, Kate thought. She wanted to be as prepared as possible for the meeting with Dr. Kellar in the morning. She hoped solid prep work would minimize ridicule and keep the meeting short.

  Andy’s voice intruded into her thoughts the moment she slammed the door shut on the Yukon. “How was the autopsy?”

  Kate shrugged, not really wanting to relive it or to have to watch Andy react to what Kellar had said and done. “I’m still in one piece.”

  There must have been something in her voice, however. She wasn’t very good at hiding things from Andy, so there really was no use in equivocating when Andy wanted information.

  “Tell me.”

  Kate sighed and gave her the details. She watched as Andy gripped the steering wheel tightly when she described how Kellar had grabbed her.

  “You’re not to be alone with her. Ever,” Andy told Kate in a tone that left no room for negotiation.

  “I’m meeting with Mona Kellar tomorrow morning,” Kate said, knowing that wasn’t going to go over well.

  “At whose request?” Andy demanded.

  “Mine, actually. We need to come up with a protocol for treating any future patients with the virus who have respiratory distress. I need to know we’ve got a plan in place because what we’re doing isn’t enough. And I need Mona Kellar to help me with that. This is why I’m here, Andy.”

  Andy said nothing, turning the Yukon down the narrow streets of downtown Hidden Valley until they stopped outside the grocery store. Kate looked out the side window, noticing they only had five minutes until it closed.

  Andy followed her in the store, silent and grim. Kate picked up a few things at random: fizzy water, rice cakes, a bar of raspberry chocolate, and then she asked the kid behind the deli counter for the last of the ravioli. Kate took their basket to the front and smiled at the woman behind the cash register, trying to make up for the rigidly angry expression on Andy’s face.

  “Are you the doctor they’ve got working at Valley General on those flu cases?”

  “Yes,” Kate responded simply as she handed over her debit card, hoping that would be the end of it. Knowing it wouldn’t be.

  “I heard that two people died from it, is that true?” the cashier said.

  Kate had seen the press release that had gone out jointly from Hidden Valley General and Public Health, confirming the two deaths. “Yes, two people died from complications from a virus.”

  “But then how can they be saying that there is very little threat to the public? My little grandson has got a cough and a fever. How do we know it’s not the virus?”

  “Your grandson probably just has a bug, but if he’s having trouble breathing at any point, just bring him down to the ER, and I’ll look at him myself.”

  The woman froze in the act of handing Kate her receipt, eyes round and wide.

  “How old is your grandson?”

  “Four. Just started kindergarten,” she said proudly.

  “Well, there you go. Probably picked up something from a classmate, then.”

  Andy picked up the bag from the counter as Kate thanked the woman on the way out.

  Kate climbed back into the car, sifting through the contents of the bag until she found the chocolate bar. She unwrapped it and broke off a piece, handing it to a still-silent Andy.

  “Are you attempting to soften me up?” Andy asked, taking the chocolate.

  “Yes. Is it working?”

  Andy chewed the chocolate slowly as she headed towards the highway. “No. I still won’t allow you to be alone with Mona Kellar. Not with what she pulled this morning.”

  Kate shook her head. “I need to be able to work with her, Andy. This is too important.”

  “Your safety is important, Kate, and that woman is not safe. Don’t forget I know exactly what she’s capable of.”

  “Can we just acknowledge for one minute Mona Kellar is not trying to get at me? Everything she is doing is aimed at you. I’m just the proxy.”

  Andy’s voice was hard when she spoke. “That only makes it worse. I can’t stand the thought she’s pulling this shit with you just to get at me.”

  “Well, it’s working, isn’t it?” Kate said bluntly. “Another pleasant evening in Hidden Valley talking about Mona Kellar.” Andy said nothing, and Kate kept going. “And I bet you’ve already mentally rearranged your entire morning because you think you’re going to sit in on that meeting tomorrow.”

  Andy looked over, surprise in her eyes. “Am I that easy to read?”

  “No, love, you’re just predictably overprotective when it comes to me.”

  “Maybe,” Andy said. “But you’re still not meeting with Mona Kellar alone tomorrow.”

  Kate sighed. “Fine, but it won’t be you in there with me.”

  “If no one else can be there, then yes, it will be me,” Andy insisted stubbornly.

  “You’re so bossy,” Kate grumbled under her breath, realizing there was really no point in arguing.

  Andy smiled. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

  “Just take me back to the hotel, woman. I’m hungry.”

  Andy laughed and reached over to massage the back of Kate’s neck like she did when Kate finished a long, hard shift at work.

  “Now who’s bossy?”

  Chapter Nine

  By the next morning, most of Hidden Valley was looking for the same answers and reassurance as the cashier at the grocery store. Kate, suspecting as much, had Andy take her to the hospital early. The ER was already jammed, a tense and frazzled Dr. Doyle buzzing ineffectively in larger and larger circles around the small space, getting in the way of the three doctors shouting orders at overburdened nurses.

  “Shit
,” Kate said quietly as she and Andy stood back and surveyed the chaos. Parents and nannies wrangled toddlers and hyperactive kids, men and women in business suits yelled at each other and their cell phones, and the triage nurse looked like she was going to break down and cry at any moment.

  “I’m going to go find Ferris and see if Dr. Salinger is around. Public Health needs to get on this,” Andy said.

  “Chicken,” Kate mumbled, already making a plan to apply order to this familiar chaos.

  Andy grinned and touched Kate lightly, secretly on her back. Even distracted, Kate shivered, still not immune to Andy’s touch.

  “Go work your magic, Dr. Morrison. Call me if you need backup.”

  “Don’t think I won’t take you up on that,” Kate said, but she was already heading into the very centre of the storm. She descended on Dr. Doyle first, giving her three jobs: call in extra staff to the ER, call local family practice offices and Whistler Health and tell them to expect overflow, and meet with the PR team to come up with a pamphlet to release to the public by the afternoon.

  As Dr. Doyle left with her list of jobs clenched in her manicured hand, Kate moved into action. She met with each doctor and nurse, making it clear anyone with flu symptoms combined with difficulty breathing should be flagged. She then pulled two nurses off the floor and out into triage, taking the already overloaded triage nurse with her. She passed them each a stack of charts, instructing them to only input the most basic personal information and to prioritize patients based on a new coding system. Patients with a C for critical would get seen right away, patients with FS on their charts would have a minimum of a three-hour wait to be seen, and the code AB would be used only for patients who exhibited flu-like symptoms.

  “I don’t understand, what does AB stand for?” asked one of the nurses, writing the new codes on her hand.

  “Nothing,” Kate told her. “But we are not mentioning the word virus out there. People are already panicked enough. If asked, you tell people they are to treat symptoms as they would the flu and to come in if they are experiencing difficulty breathing.” She looked around at the three nurses. “Are we good?”