Silent Prey
Page 8
Nurse PawPaw was already inserting the IV. Assuming that, if the office had IV equipment, they would also have meds for it, Channing said, "Go ahead and start some saline solution. His BP's pretty low."
She told the other two women her conclusions as she went ahead with her own examination, so they would be informed enough to help her, should she need it.
"His O2 count is rising a tad." She lifted the eyelids and held out a hand. "Light?"
One of the women handed her a small flashlight, but Channing was concentrating on the doctor's eyes and didn't pay attention to which one. She shone the light in the his pupils, and they reacted satisfactorily.
"I think it was a mild one, if it does end up being a heart attack," she said, then glanced up at PawPaw. "What did you find when you came in?"
"He was on the floor. Lips and fingers turning blue. I immediately gave him oxygen and started CPR. Then I had Daisy hook up the monitor. His heartbeat was nonexistent when I started. But he usually arrives about the same time we do, so I don't think he was alone very long."
Channing examined the doctor further and listened to his heart with a stethoscope Daisy handed her. "It's steady, but weak," she said, confirming what the monitor continued to show. "Do you have a portable EKG machine?"
"It's not working right," PawPaw informed her. "We've put in a trouble call on it. but they have to wait until a technician can get here on our roads."
Just then, the doctor moaned softly.
PawPaw gasped and said, "He's coming around!"
"Thank god," Daisy added.
Before Channing could assess her patient more in depth, two paramedics rushed into the room. One carried a large medical bag, and the other left a cart in the hallway, then joined her beside the doctor.
"Probably a mild or moderate myocardial infarction," Channing told them. "But I understand there's no hospital here. The nurse has already called for air transport."
"Yeah, they contacted us on our radio," one paramedic informed her, then asked, "Are you a nurse, too?"
"Dr. Drury," Channing said without further explanation. "How long before Medivac gets here?"
"About another twenty minutes."
The doctor opened his eyes and stared around at the people hovering over him. He moaned again and tried to get up.
Gently, Channing pushed him back to the floor. "You need to stay down. We think you suffered a heart attack."
Doctor Silver lifted the oxygen mask far enough to say, "How am I?"
"Probably already recovering," Channing assured him. "But you'll need hospital care to make sure."
He sighed, but didn't try to rise again. "I was afraid this might happen. That's why I was looking for another doctor."
Channing took his hand away and settled the oxygen mask back over his nose and mouth. "Rest. You're going for a helicopter ride in a few minutes."
Doctor Silver grunted an annoyed sound, but spoke through the mask. "A chopper ride's on my bucket list, but not like this."
Channing chuckled. It sounded like the doctor was going to recover, at least from this incident. But what were these people going to do for medical attention until then?
As the paramedics got Dr. Silver on the rolling stretcher, Channing studied Nurse PawPaw. She was probably even older than the doctor. Daisy appeared to be in her mid-forties, but she had made it clear the older nurse was in charge. Channing doubted Daisy had any more training than what she had picked up over the course of her employment.
Channing sighed. She'd wait until she could talk to Dr. Silver without stressing him out before she asked him if he had some other prospects for clinic partners. Until then, she supposed it wouldn't hurt her to stay a few more days and do what she could.
As they waited for the helicopter, Channing introduced herself again to the paramedics.
"Oh, sorry, Dr. Drury," the man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties said. "I'm Eddie Wilson and my partner is John McGraw." The other man, who appeared to be a few years older than Wilson, nodded at Channing, as Wilson went on, "I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of you."
Without confirming that, Channing asked, "What happened to the man in insulin shock?"
"It wasn't that bad," McGraw said this time. "Just low blood sugar. He hadn't gone into shock yet. It was Eb Jackson. He's usually pretty good about keeping up with his diabetes, but he was low on groceries and skipped dinner last night. I called his daughter on our way back here and she's taking him out some food."
"Good," Channing said.
They all turned their heads to indicate they had heard the sound of the helicopter. She could see it landing on the parking lot behind the clinic, visible through the office window. The next few minutes were busy as they loaded Dr. Silver and got him settled.
The co-pilot looked out the door before they took off. "Doc wants to know if you'll be here when he gets back," he called to Channing.
She bit her lip, then nodded. "Tell him yes, and I'll call him after he's admitted."
The man nodded and closed the door. Seconds later, the chopper lifted off, and Channing hurried across the parking lot to the clinic to get out of the wind and snow.
The paramedics went back to their squad, but PawPaw and Daisy were waiting inside.
"Are you really going to stay?" PawPaw asked.
Channing smiled wryly. "Looks like it, at least for a while. But only if you tell me where on earth you got your name."
PawPaw chuckled, but the laughter didn't diminish the worry in her brown eyes. "I'm originally from Ohio. I always loved picking pawpaws when they were ripe. After we moved up here when I was in my teens, my aunt used to send me a box of pawpaws each year. Some friends nicknamed me PawPaw, and it stuck."
"Thank you for explaining. Now, maybe the two of you could share how things work around here with me. When we think the doctor has been examined at the hospital, we'll call. By the way, where is the closest hospital?"
"There's a small one in Grand Marais," PawPaw said as Daisy scurried off to answer a ringing phone. "They can handle most of our patients. But more serious cases have to be taken to Duluth."
"Good to know." Channing answered. "I guess that chopper is a regular visitor here."
PawPaw shook her head. "Not normally. The past couple days have been the exception. They took that snowmobiler to Duluth last night."
"What happened there?"
PawPaw shrugged and turned away as though avoiding Channing's eyes. "Just a snowmobile wreck. We have them in the winter."
"Must have been pretty bad if they went all the way to Duluth with him."
"Broken back," Daisy said as she returned. "The big thing was how he said it happened."
PawPaw gave Daisy what appeared to be a warning look, but the receptionist stared back at her without succumbing to the admonition. "If she's going to be staying around here, she needs to know to be careful." To Channing, Daisy said, "Not that you look like you're a person who goes wandering off in the woods alone, but Nenegean is dangerous."
Surprise filled both women's eyes when Channing told them, "I've already heard about your monster. And believe me, I'm not going off on my own and risk any sort of encounter with the supernatural."
"How … you've only been her a couple days," PawPaw said. "How did you find out so quickly?"
"I heard from the sheriff and Keoman last night," Channing admitted. "Now what's this about a snowmobile accident involving Nenegean?"
Daisy explained about the accident and how it happened, ending with, "And believe me, this isn't a supernatural tale that's only fit to be told around a campfire after dark."
"Supernatural seems to indicate it's something imaginary," PawPaw added quietly. "There's nothing supernatural about Nenegean."
~~~~
By that afternoon, Channing felt somewhat familiar with the clinic facilities, and she'd even had a couple patients. Both PawPaw and Daisy assured her, however, that the patient load wasn't overwhelming at the clinic. Most of the people showed
up for preventive care or accidents. Some of the younger ones made the trip to Grand Marais for care under one of the doctors there. Still, there were enough patients that Dr. Silver kept the clinic open five days a week and was on call on weekends. Daisy informed her that Dr. Silver even made house calls on Mondays, and once in a while on other days.
The only other patient she had that afternoon surprised her. She was in the reception area with Daisy, looking over one of the house call patient charts, when Keoman Thunderwood walked in.
"Got an opening, Dr. Drury?" Keoman asked, glancing around the empty waiting room.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Channing told him. "Come on back."
Channing replaced the chart she held to accept the one Daisy handed her, then led Keoman to a patient room. As she closed the door and indicated for Keoman to sit on the exam table, she glanced at the top page in Keoman's chart, an MRI report.
"I'm really here for two reasons," Keoman said. "I do need to have a doctor around who's aware of what's going on with me. I was in a car wreck a few months ago, in a coma for weeks. My doctor thought I was fully recovered, but she can't explain these migraines that come on all of a sudden. I've had numerous tests. My doctor in Duluth is Catherine Anderson. Her contact information is in my records."
"I'd like to at least examine you myself today," Channing said, reaching for a blood pressure cuff.
Keoman cooperated as she took his vitals and listened to his chest. Channing also examined the six-inch-long scar on his head, which she assumed was the result of both his injury and the necessary surgery.
When her assessment was complete, she stepped back and said, "Is there anything particular you want to discuss today? When was the last time you had a migraine?"
"I need a prescription refill," he told her. "And I had one yesterday."
Channing sat down on the rolling stool and laid the chart on the small desk in the room. She found a prescription pad in a drawer and tore off the top sheet to make some notes. "What pain med are you on?"
"OxyContin," Keoman said. "I only take it when the headaches are totally debilitating."
"What do you consider debilitating?"
Keoman sighed. "When they're so bad I can't see or move. Sometimes they aren't that bad, but even those last half an hour or so."
Channing made a note. "That's an awfully long time to suffer when you have pain medication."
He shrugged. "It takes the pills a while to work anyway."
"Pills, as in more than one?" she asked.
"A slip," he lied. "I only take one at a time."
She studied him closely. He refused to look away, perhaps knowing if he did so, she would discern deceit. But she wasn't the one who suffered the pain, and he was an adult.
"Do you ever have blackouts?" Channing asked. "Lose time?"
"Not since the first couple episodes. Now they're just overwhelming pain. I usually have at least a few seconds warning, so if I'm driving, I have time to get off the road."
"I'll contact your doctor in Duluth and get a copy of your records. You'll have to sign a consent form. Unless Dr. Silver already has them?"
Keoman laughed wryly. "He hasn't gone to that much trouble. He just called her and writes the 'scripts."
"Then I'll want to study what's been done and see if maybe there might be another test I could order for you."
"That's doubtful. Dr. Anderson put me through the wringer. However, at this point, I'm still willing to go through anything to stop these things."
Before Channing could ask her next question, Keoman held up a forestalling hand. "You can get all the information in the chart. Believe me, I haven't held anything back."
"I have to ask this, though," Channing broke in when it appeared he would continue talking. "I noticed that Dr. Silver wasn't real fond of you when you brought that child in. But you're still one of his patients, right?"
"Yeah. It's a long drive to Duluth from here, especially in a blizzard."
"What about …?"
Channing bit her lip in hesitation, but Keoman said, "Are you thinking there's still something I haven't been forthcoming about?"
"I told you what my ex-husband does last night," she said. "And what I'm wondering only has something to do with any physical problem in a roundabout way."
"You want to know if my spiritual abilities have been affected."
"Yes."
"Yes," Keoman repeated. "But there's nothing you can do about that."
Chapter 12
The next morning, Daisy asked Channing, "Since they told us yesterday that Doctor Silver is going to need to stay off work for at least six weeks, what are you going to do about somewhere to stay? I imagine that casino hotel is expensive."
"And it can get pretty noisy in the hallways outside my room at night," Channing admitted. "Finding somewhere else is on my to-do list, since I'm sure Annalise won't be up to handling guests for a while."
"Probably not," Daisy replied. "But there's a small resort on the edge of town that rents cabins. And their season is just starting. They're nice places, on a lake. You'd have a kitchen and TV. Internet access, things like that."
Channing reached for a notepad and pen on Daisy's desk. "What's the name of it?"
"Bear Bay Resort. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of calling to make sure they had a cabin. They're holding the nicest one for you."
"Daisy, that's above and beyond your job duties. But I appreciate it very much."
Daisy shrugged. "I'm not that busy. And we're so happy to have you here. By the way, are you going to the memorial service this afternoon?"
"Is Annalise already having that for Yancy?"
"She said he would be cremated, and since our paper only comes out once a week, the funeral home called everyone night before last. I cleared all the appointments for this afternoon, if you want to go."
"I think I will," Channing agreed. "I don't know Annalise that well, but I am aware how much it means to have people attend a service."
The small, non-denominational church was only a quarter full. Assuming family would use the first few pews, Channing at first sat near the back when she arrived at ten minutes before two. However, when the appointed time approached, the church was still fairly empty, and she moved up to sit with the other few attendees.
Annalise didn't come in until a couple minutes after two, and she didn't acknowledge anyone. That wasn't unusual. Channing had been present at services where the widow or widower couldn't even sit through the entire ceremony. What did make her frown was the lack of anyone sitting with Annalise.
Since she had skipped lunch to do a couple patient charts after Daisy closed the office, Channing decided to attend the gathering the minster announced at the end of the memorial. It was in a small fellowship hall connected to the church. Several women had set up a table of cold cuts, salads and desserts. Channing smiled at people who already appeared to know who she was as they chatted with her and made sure her plate was filled far too full to eat everything. Still, although she kept watch so she could offer her condolences, Annalise didn't show up.
Daisy had provided her with directions to the Bear Bay Resort, and Channing headed there after the memorial. Another surprise awaited when Nodinens met her at the office door.
"Do you live here?" Channing asked.
"Oh, no," the elderly woman said. "I own the place. And when Daisy told me you were looking for somewhere to stay, I decided to be here when you came."
Channing shook her head. "To tell me you told me so?"
"No," Nodinens assured her. "I am not like that."
"I was teasing," Channing told her. "Really."
Nodinens laughed and retrieved a heavy wolf skin coat from a coatrack beside the door. "Let me show you where your cabin is," she said as she shrugged into the coat and led Channing back out the office door.
The paths were cleared, and the snowfall created a pretty backdrop for the cute log cabins. Snow-laden branches on the brilliant green pines
drooped downward, forming triangles pointed toward an azure, cloudless sky. Mounded white on the hardwood trees muted their stark leafless limbs and branches stretched outward from dark trunks. The landscape would become an ocean of variegated emeralds in the summer, but now it contained a different stark beauty.
Nodinens led Channing to a cabin within sight of the office and unlocked the door. Warmth met them when they entered.
"I had Alan, my manger and maintenance man, turn on the heat and water," Nodinens said as they walked into the living area.
Channing gazed around in delight. The place was decorated in a pleasing, woodsy style, earth tones with splashes of bright orange and yellow. A large stone fireplace took up half of one wall, and beyond the kitchen, banks of windows allowed a view into the woods. Nodinens opened a door on the left and showed her a bedroom with what appeared to be a queen size bed.
"It's perfect," Channing said. But when she turned to see why Nodinens hadn't answered, she saw the elderly woman frozen in place, staring toward the kitchen windows.
At first, Channing thought the snow had just slid off the pine branch. It plopped soundlessly to the ground, leaving enough visibility to see what had caused the disturbance.
The Native American woman wore what appeared to be a buckskin dress but no coat. She stepped out from behind the pine branch, and Channing saw leather knee-high moccasins on her legs and feet. However, though her body looked fit, the clothing was ragged and stained. Twigs snarled the black hair hanging in knots and straggles past her shoulders.
Her patient instincts roused, Channing started toward the cabin's back door. "She's going to freeze —"
"Shhhhh!" Nodinens cautioned as she grabbed Channing's arm and jerked her to a halt.
When Channing stared at the small woman in astonishment, she realized Nodinens' face was pale and strained.
"What —?" Nodinens' fingers tightened on Channing's arm, halting her words and forcing her to pull away from the pain. She followed the direction of Nodinens' gaze again.
The buckskin-clad woman walked on out of the woods, into the cleared area behind the cabin. Suddenly Channing stifled a gasp and took a step toward the windows before she froze in both astonishment and mushrooming fear. The woman didn't have on snowshoes, yet she was walking on top of the snow. This was all new snow, without a melt and refreeze to form a crust. No way should the woman not sink into it.