Lucidity

Chapter 18 - Wheeling and Dealing

The drive back to Angels of Mercy was a blur as Vincent tried to untangle the ramifications of his discovery. He could deliver the prize to the Chairman, be assured of Helman’s backing for an attending position as well as his support in the malpractice case.

All he had to do was betray Alex and, by doing so, save Grace Moran’s life. If she didn’t want the surgery, why had she stayed at Angels of Mercy? Why pretend to be Alex’s mother?

Christ, he hoped the kid had some inkling that she was lying. He couldn’t bear to make Alex cry again.

Not his fault, he told himself firmly. He hadn’t started this charade, Grace had. He clenched the steering wheel tighter, angry that he’d felt the slightest tinge of envy or sympathy for the woman. She was a doctor, damn it, how could she do that to a kid like Alex?

It had to be the tumor; it made her unstable. Helman was right, she needed to be locked up, forced to have the surgery. Grace Moran was in no condition to decide anything for herself, that much was clear.

He parked the Mustang in the employee lot and slogged through puddles back into Angels of Mercy. The snow changed back to rain, but he paid it no attention. The memory of Alex’s smile this morning when he’d introduced Grace as his mother filled Vincent’s mind. Damn, this was going to be tough.

After dropping his sodden parka back at his office and shrugging into his lab coat, Vincent headed for Alex’s room at the far end of the hallway. To his relief Grace wasn’t there. He didn’t want a scene, not in front of Alex.

He paused in the doorway, watching as Alex practiced a magic trick, making cards seem to slide from three stacks on their own volition. “Nice trick. Want to do it for me?”

Alex looked up with a frown and hastily pushed the cards back together. “No, I’d better not. I tried it earlier and it went all wrong.”

Vincent sat on the edge of Alex’s bed and pushed the table separating them to one side. “We need to talk.”

He watched as Alex’s lips turned down and the boy looked out the window at the sheets of rain.

“It’s about your mother,” Vincent continued. “Grace.”

Alex jerked up at that, pivoting his sleight frame to sit Indian style on the bed, all focus now on Vincent’s face. “Don’t make her go away. Please, Dr. V.”

“Alex, I’m sorry. But she’s a very sick lady. And she may be unstable—even dangerous. She needs help.”

“She’s not dangerous. She’s here to help.”

“Convincing you that a transplant is not in your best interests is not helping.”

“That wasn’t Grace’s idea,” Alex protested. “That was me. I asked her—told her—I guess I was just wishing out loud. Don’t blame Grace for that.”

“I’m sorry the way this has worked out. Grace should have known better. Should have never put you and Kat in the middle.”

“She didn’t. It was our fault. We found her, we just wanted to keep her for a while, that’s all. It was Kat’s idea to say she was my mom, not Grace’s.” Alex was practically bouncing on the bed in his eagerness to explain.

Vincent thought back to the morning, to the look on Grace’s face when Kat had introduced her. She had seemed just as surprised as Vincent was. But she had gone along with the lie.

“She helped Kat,” Alex continued. “Got her to finish her download. And she’s a doctor, just like you. She saved my life once.”

“She’s not like me,” Vincent said, standing up and pacing alongside the bed. “We’re nothing alike.”