The Trial of Dr. Kate (28 page)

Jake smiled. “Just a ploy, my dear—trying to wring a little sympathy out of the jury. But don’t put that in your article.”

A
s Shenandoah left the courthouse, she realized she had time to catch Bobby at the garage. She wanted to apologize for doing such a poor job as a baby-sitter, particularly since she hadn’t known what to do with the soiled diaper, pants, and rug.

When she entered the garage, the radio was playing “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels” by Kitty Wells. She didn’t see Bobby anywhere. A ‘46 Ford convertible sat in the middle of the floor, but no one was on the creeper.

Army’s office was also empty, so Shenandoah wandered out to the backyard where she found Bobby sitting on a concrete block, his face smeared with grease and a pan of engine parts on the ground in front of him. He was washing them with gasoline. As usual, he looked a handsome mess.

“I’ve been looking all over for you. What in the world are you doing?”

“Cleaning a carburetor. What’s up?”

“Is that all you listen to, that country music?”

“It’s all the station in Cookeville plays, and the only other one we get is WSM out of Nashville.”

Shenandoah bent down to give him a kiss and finally put her lips on his neck, the only grease-free spot she could find.

“Prosecutor’s going to put Army on the stand tomorrow. Have you talked to him?” Shenandoah asked.

Bobby picked up a small screw for the carburetor, dried it with a shop towel, then placed it on the grass next to him. A wisp of hair slapped against his face by a sudden gust of wind.

“He’s pissed off about it, but he doesn’t have a choice—he was subpoenaed. He’s got another problem too. Some asshole in Celina is trying to cut in on our business. Army’s mad as a wet hen. He went to Nashville yesterday to talk to his suppliers, and I’ve got to make an unscheduled run tomorrow night.”

“I wish you wouldn’t. I worry myself sick that you’re going to get killed in that hot rod.”

Bobby laughed, a snorting sound, and extended his hand so Shenandoah could pull him to his feet. He moved into Shenandoah’s arms and rubbed his cheek against hers, smearing her with grease. Then he looked at her over the tip of his nose. “Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing. I can outdrive every cop and sheriff in this state.”

Shenandoah held Bobby at arm’s length and stared into his blue eyes. Her heart pounded, and she felt a remarkable sensation between her legs.

A sly grin passed over Bobby’s face, and he said, “You beginning to like me, girl?”

“Damn it, Bobby, yes. Against my better judgment.”

“Bless your heart. That’s music to my ears, girl. Makes me happier than a hog in mud. Here, help me get the gasoline back in the can.”

Shenandoah held the red gasoline can and a funnel while Bobby poured the dirty liquid. He carried the carburetor into the garage, and she followed him. After placing the parts on the workbench, he turned off the radio. Shenandoah stood and watched as Bobby began to degrease his hands.

“You clean up real good, boy. I don’t know how you manage to look so damn handsome with all that grease smeared on your face. You amaze me.”

“It’s my nature. What can I say? There’s a movie I’d like to see in Cookeville. Want to come?”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d love to, but Jake and Dr. Kate are having a conference tonight, and they’ve asked me to sit in.”

Shenandoah wasn’t prepared for the reaction that followed.

As he scowled, Bobby’s face turned beet red, and he said, “Forget it. I’ll go by myself.”

“Bobby, for God’s sake, what’s the matter?”

“You hurt my feelings. What can I say? I can’t help it. You just drive me crazy.”

“See. This is what I was afraid of. We’re getting too attached. Both of us. It’s better that we slow this down.”

A tear slid down Bobby’s grease-smeared cheek, making a white trail.

Shenandoah felt her heart speed up and she wanted to hold him in her arms, but she knew that wasn’t a good idea. Instead, she said, “I’m sorry, Bobby. I really do care for you. I just think our relationship is doomed before it can get started.”

Bobby sniffed and, looking at her with the saddest eyes Shenandoah had ever seen, said, “I reckon you ought to go now, Shenandoah. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.”

“I’m sorry, Bobby, I really am. We just need to stay friends.”

“Please go, Shenandoah.”

She turned without another word and headed for the door. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Bobby wipe his nose with the back of his hand, his face twisted in agony.

* * *

Confused and disheartened, Shenandoah headed back to the boarding house. A terrible emptiness gripped the pit of her stomach, an acid-laced emptiness that a ton of Tums wouldn’t help.

She’d just turned onto Main Street when she felt a terrific jolt hit her car from behind. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw the Dodge pickup. It was pushing her down the street at a frightening speed. The speedometer read sixty and climbing. It was all she could do to keep the Bel Air in the center of the street. Then the pickup slowed and rammed her again, this time with so much force that she lost control. Her car jumped the curb, crossed the sidewalk, and just missed a huge maple tree. She was finally able to slam on the brakes and bring the car to a stop. The pickup sat in the middle of Main Street, its exhaust rumbling as the big V8 idled. Seconds later it sped off.

Shenandoah felt herself hyperventilating and held her breath. When her heart rate slowed, she carefully drove over someone’s lawn and headed back toward the street. She drove to Hattie Mae’s house with one eye on the road and one on the rearview mirror.

Hattie Mae and Mr. Applebee were sitting on the front porch. She had her Walton’s Funeral Home paper fan in her hand, and her hair, nicely combed that morning, now stuck out in every direction.

“I declare, Shenandoah, honey, it’s just too hot to cook. I made us some sandwiches, and we’ll eat ‘em out here on the porch. That okay?” She frowned. “Something wrong, honey? You’re white as a sheet.”

“Someone in a Dodge pickup has it in for me. He just ran me off the road.”

“Reckon it’s the same fellow who slashed your tires?”

“Yes. No doubt about it.”

“Lord, child. That makes me a nervous wreck, too. You need to be careful.”

“If I could just find out who it is, I’d take a pound of flesh, believe me.”

Mr. Applebee snorted and rolled over on his back, all four legs aimed at the sky. He looked dead except for the heaving of his chest. Hattie Mae stroked his chin. “Poor dear,” she said. “This heat’s going to kill us both.”

Shenandoah started toward the screen door, and Hattie Mae said, “The sandwiches’re made. Want to eat at the regular time?”

“Let me freshen up. I’ve got some work to do. Call me around 5:20 or so, and I’ll help you bring everything out.”

Shenandoah went to her room, took a cold shower, and put on a clean blouse. (She’d found a small laundry and cleaners on the square behind the courthouse after the incident with Wally’s diaper.) Shenandoah spent an hour going over her notes, and when Hattie Mae called her, she joined the older woman in the kitchen. Hattie Mae loaded a platter with egg salad sandwiches, potato chips, pickles, and olives and handed it to Shenandoah. Two glasses of iced tea sat on the cabinet.

They settled into the porch swing and balanced the plates on their knees. Mr. Applebee paced back and forth in front of them. Hattie Mae tore off a piece of her sandwich and hurled it at him. He caught it deftly and gulped it down. After they finished eating, Shenandoah helped Hattie Mae carry the dishes to the kitchen, and then she drove to the courthouse.

When the deputy on duty, Len Wright, let her into the room where she always visited Kate, Shenandoah found Jake and the two sisters sitting at the table with yellow legal pads in front of them.

“Have a seat, Shenandoah. We’re just going over some details of the trial,” Jake said.

Kate looked up and smiled. “It’s nice of you to help. I really appreciate your support.”

“I agree,” Rebecca added.

“I’m happy to do what I can. I went up to Static to see if I could find anyone who saw Kate’s car there the day Lillian died. Didn’t have any luck. I still think the whole thing’s flimsy. I think Lillie must have done it herself.”

Kate nodded. “The problem is my blackout. I can’t remember. My drinking is bound to come up. In my mind, I didn’t do it, but I can’t prove it. The fact that the drug was Seconal makes me think that Lillie took her own life. If I wanted to kill someone by injecting a drug, I’d have used sodium pentothal.”

Jake said, “I’ve somehow got to convince the jury that Lillian did it herself. She was depressed, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. She
asked
me to do it, for God’s sake.”

Shenandoah said, “I think that has to come out during testimony. Jake, how’re you going to deal with Kate’s drinking problem?”

There was a commotion in the hallway outside the room, and Deputy Wright burst through the door. “Dr. Kate, come quick! Art Jamison and his wife came looking for you. She’s bleeding real bad—looks like she might bleed to death!”

Kate jumped up and followed the deputy out the door. Jake, Shenandoah, and Rebecca followed. The five of them ran down the stairs, taking two and three at a time.

They found Mrs. Jamison, an obese, pregnant colored woman, lying on the marble floor in a pool of expanding blood. She had a terrified expression on her face, and her dress from the waist down was crimson. Her husband knelt beside her, holding her hand.

Kate rushed to the woman’s side and checked for a pulse. “When did she start to bleed, Art?”

“I reckon around twenty minutes ago. What’s happening, Dr. Kate?”

The doctor turned to the onlookers and said, “You men turn your backs for a minute. Rebecca, help me.”

Kate lifted Mrs. Jamison’s dress and saw the source of the bleeding. Glancing at Rebecca, she said, “I’ve told Rose Ann she needs prenatal care, but she never listens to me. I think her afterbirth is blocking the womb. It’s called a placenta previa. I’ve got to do a C-section,
now.
” Turning back to Shenandoah, she asked, “Is your car here?”

“Yes.”

“Deputy Wright, you’ll have to come to the clinic. I’ve got to operate on Mrs. Jamison. It’s an emergency.”

The deputy looked as if he had seen a ghost. “I don’t know what the sheriff will say, Doc. Jesus, I don’t know what to do.”

“You can’t let her die. Just lead the way in your patrol car.”

Shenandoah could see that indecision was eating at the man. Finally, Kate said, “Damn it, Len, don’t just stand there like an idiot—move. We’ve got to work fast if I’m going to save this woman and her baby. Art, you and Jake lift Rose Ann gently and carry her to Shenandoah’s car. I’ll ride in the backseat with her. Rebecca, call Nurse Little and Jazz. Tell them we’re on our way and to get the operating room ready. I’ll need a unit of universal donor blood, O negative.”

The two men managed to get Rose Ann to Shenandoah’s car and place her on the backseat. Kate stroked the woman’s sweating brow as they drove to the Round Rock Medical Clinic. The deputy led the way with his red lights flashing. When they pulled up in front of the clinic, Nurse Little was on the steps waiting for them.

The two men carried the bleeding woman up the steps. Nurse Little led them to the operating room.

“Lay her on the table. Shenandoah, will you help me?” Kate asked.

“Yes.”

“Art, you wait outside with Deputy Wright and Jake. We’ll take good care of Rose Ann and the baby,” Kate said.

Nurse Little and Jazz went to work with remarkable efficiency. Mrs. Jamison was sobbing and gasping for breath. Jazz placed a gauze-covered metal cone over the woman’s face and started to drip chloroform onto it. Nurse Little placed a needle in Rose Ann’s right arm and attached a plastic tube that had been inserted into a bottle of blood.

Within a few minutes, the patient was asleep. Nurse Little took her blood pressure and pulse and reported, “One hundred over sixty, and she’s got a rapid heart rate.”

While this took place, Kate scrubbed Rose Ann’s abdomen with an antiseptic solution. “Go scrub your hands, Shenandoah. I’ll be there in a minute.”

After donning surgical caps and masks and washing their hands with antiseptic soap for ten minutes, Shenandoah and Kate dressed in sterile gowns and pulled on rubber gloves. Kate placed sterile towels around the area of the abdomen where she would make her incision. Then they covered the patient with sterile sheets.

“I hope you’re not squeamish,” Kate said, looking at Shenandoah as she pulled her scalpel vertically down Rose Ann’s swollen abdomen, separating the skin and exposing a thick layer of yellow fat.

There was little bleeding in the fatty tissue. Once Kate arrived at the abdominal muscles, she started clamping and cutting the arteries and veins.

“This is called a hemostat,” Kate said, handing Shenandoah an object that looked like a pair of scissors. “Hold it while I tie off the vessels.”

Once the swollen uterus came into view, Kate made an incision in the wall. Amniotic fluid burst out, soaking the sterile sheets. Handing a vacuum apparatus to Shenandoah, she said, “Suck out the fluid while I get the baby. It looks like the afterbirth is completely covering the opening of the womb.”

Shenandoah did her best to follow the order while Kate lifted the baby from the open uterus. Turning the little girl upside down, she slapped her across the buttocks, and suddenly the room filled with crying.

“That’s music to my ears,” Kate said.

She handed the baby to Nurse Little, who removed fluid from the baby’s mouth. Kate reached into the uterus and removed the placenta. Then she cut and tied the umbilical cord. The uterine wall continued to bleed, so she held pressure there for a few minutes with a gauze pad. Then Kate and Shenandoah closed the wound and applied a bulky bandage.

“Thanks, Shenandoah,” Kate said at last. “You were a real help.”

Shenandoah’s mouth was so dry that she could barely talk. “Jesus, that was incredible. How frequent is this?”