Chapter 7
"Matt, my parents abandoned my sister, Georgie, and me. They were too busy with their careers and each other to take care of us." Matt could tell that whatever Maxie was about to share wasn't something that came easily for her. She'd also introduced some new information that he'd been unaware of.
"I thought Commissioner Scorpio was your dad."
"He is . . . in every way that matters," she said with a soft smile. She sobered before she continued, "My biological father left us to go be a spy. Georgie and I didn't fit into the life he chose for himself. My mother was supposedly taking care of my grandmother for years, but I found out recently that she was following my father around. Mac is the best thing that could have happened to my sister and me and to Robin. He changed his life to raise three girls that weren't his children." She allowed that sink in before she added, "You've got to give Dr. Drake a chance. He just found out you're his son and he's done more for you in the past few hours than my father has done the majority of my life and he was there when I was born."
"Maxie, it's none of your business," Matt said with a sigh.
"Actually it is. You're Patrick's brother, who happens to be the father of my cousin Robin's baby, who is like a big sister to me. That means you're extended family. That makes it my business," Maxie said adamantly.
"Actually, it doesn't. Maxie, I don't want anything from Noah or Patrick Drake," Matt said with more conviction than he really felt.
"You say that because you don't know what you're missing," Maxie declared. "If you knew what it was to have a close relationship with your dad or a sibling, you wouldn't be this bullheaded about keeping your distance from Noah and Patrick. I lost my sister early this year and I miss her as much now as I did when I found out she was dead. She was one of the few people who was always there, no matter what happened or what I did. She would tell me truth, even when it was uncomfortable, but I never doubted that she loved me."
"Maxie, the two of you grew up together. Patrick and I have nothing in common."
"Are you serious?" she asked totally not believing what he was saying. Could Matt really be that blind? The look in his eyes clearly stated that he was.
"Absolutely," he confirmed.
"I know you have a concussion, but do you have brain damage, too?"
"Very funny." Maxie found herself laughing out loud at Matt's indignation at being compared to Patrick.
"I'm not joking. You and Patrick are very much alike. I know you've heard that before. It's clear to everyone except you. The obvious likeness is that you're both surgeons. Then there's the arrogance and obnoxiousness and over inflated egos. Please! You're just like Patrick. You just don't want to see it, because you don't want to relate to him," she said, more convinced than ever that Matt was afraid of caring and later being disappointed. Maxie knew what that felt like. She wrapped her fingers around his and he squeezed them lightly. "Matt, how will you ever forgive yourself if you don't try?"
Before he could answer, Anna walked into the room with a determined look in her eyes.
"Hello Maxie. Matt."
"Hi Anna," Maxie replied. "Why are you here?"
"A friend asked me to look into the shooting. Matt, how are you feeling?"
"Okay. Do I know you?" She looked familiar, but he was still dealing with anesthesia aftereffects.
"I'm Anna Devane. You may have seen me around before. I'm Dr. Scorpio's mother."
"You're the one who kicked Eli Love in the face." Now Matt remembered clearly. Anna was the woman who'd put him on notice about crossing Robin.
"That would be me. Now, I'm working out why anyone would have a reason to kill you."
"How do you know they were trying to kill me?"
"Single shot through the window. Sounds like a hit. Who have you ticked off?"
Matt was hesitant. He'd been working for the DEA for months and he didn't know how much he could say, even to a spy. Matt wasn't sure what agency Anna worked for or if she actually was a spy. Not that he didn't believe Maxie, but he had to careful.
"I don't know. I'm just a resident at the hospital with a fellowship to provide care at the clinic. I'm not into anything." Matt tried to sound convincing, which was difficult given his level of pain and the imposing presence of the petite woman who was Anna Devane.
Anna crossed her arms and observed the two of them. Neither of them would make eye contact with her. She expected better of Maxie. Maxie was a lot like her in that way. She could lie when it was necessary. Because she wouldn't make eye contact, Anna knew there was much more to the story and she was going to get to the bottom of it.
"Maxie, what do you know?"
"Nothing. I was just at the clinic talking to Matt," Maxie said glancing up at Anna. She quickly looked away as Anna was making her very uncomfortable. "That's all."
"What about the counterfeit drug ring you were talking about earlier?" Anna watched as the two shared a look. She had them. "Tell me."
"There's nothing to tell. A friend of mine got some bad drugs a few weeks ago. They've been floating around GH for months. I wanted to help. That's all," Maxie rattled off the answer and Anna was proud. Anyone else would have believed Maxie without batting an eye. Anna knew better.
"You can help by telling me the truth. Counterfeit drugs would potentially get a young doctor's attention and if he were to . . . investigate," Anna pronounced the word very slowly for emphasis, before continuing, "that could rub the wrong people the wrong way."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Matt answered, still not making eye contact with Anna as she circled to the other side of the bed.
"I'll bet. Counterfeit drugs usually means the DEA is involved. I wonder what my old contacts there will have to say," Anna wondered thoughtfully as she pulled her Blackberry from her pocket.
Panic filled his gaze momentarily, and then was gone. "I have no idea."
"You'd better not. Your father and brother are dealing with enough right now, having just learned about you. Noah shouldn't have to deal with burying you because you pissed the wrong people off, too."
"Thanks for the concern," Matt replied sarcastically.
"That's what I'm here for." Anna regarded the young doctor for a moment before continuing, "Your father cares for you a great deal. Don't throw what you could have away, because you're angry at your current circumstances." With that, Anna headed toward the door waving her Blackberry at them. "I'm going to make some calls and I'll see you two later."
Maxie watched Anna leave. As soon as Anna was out of sight, Maxie turned back to Matt, "You have to tell someone."
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"Mac, we just picked up Jerry. We're bringing him into the station." Lucky's voice crackled across the airwaves.
"Do you have his gun?"
"Yeah, he didn't think to get rid of it. When we get to the station, we'll do a gun residue test. That should show that he fired it recently. Then we should be able to match up the bullet from Dr. Hunter with Jerry's gun. That and Nadine's testimony should be all we need to put Jerry away."
"Good. Let's wait to charge him. We can hold him for up to 48 hours as a person of interest. Let's give Matt Hunter tonight and question him in the morning. We've got an eye witness, but it can't hurt to find out what he knows. Do we have protection on him?" Mac asked, concerned for the doctor who had saved his little girl's life.
"No."
"Let's get someone on him. With Jerry identified as the shooter, we know he meant to take that shot and either Maxie or Matt was the target. Since we don't know why or which one, we need to make sure both of them are protected."
"Last I saw Maxie, she was still at the hospital."
"I know. I'll run by and pick her up or have another officer take her home. Put Officer Hall on Matt's room. In the morning, we'll see what we can get out of him."
"Great! I'll have Nikolas bring Nadine in to do a line-up. Can you check on the bullet at the hospital? Dr. Hunter should be out of surgery by now."
"If it's ready, I'll pick up the bullet and bring it back by the station. The sooner we match the bullet to Jerry's gun, the better."
"What about Alexis?" Lucky asked.
"What about her?"
"You know she's been seeing Jerry."
After a long pause, Mac responded, "I'll call the Mayor and request a special prosecutor for this case, but we'll have to let her know what's going on. She may want to sit in on some of the questioning, but she is not to interfere."
"I'll take care of it."
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"Hi Noah," Robin said walking into the Nurse's station with a patient chart. "How are you?"
Noah looked up from the chart he was notating. "Okay," he smiled at Robin. "How are you and my granddaughter?" Noah asked. Robin's face lit up at the mention of the baby and unconsciously placed a protective hand over her belly.
"We're good. Every thing's on track and she should be prepared to make her entrance into the world on schedule."
"That's good to hear. I look forward to being a much better grandfather than father."
"Noah, stop being so hard on yourself. Patrick told me about you and Matt's mom. You made a mistake and then you tried to make up for it. I'm sorry it was so difficult for you when your wife died that you left Patrick and I know that still stings for him, but you're here now and you have every opportunity to have both your sons."
"I really hope you're right. I love Patrick and even though I just found out about Matt and don't know him, I love him, too. It's like when I found out Maddie was pregnant with Patrick. I was scared and excited at the same time. I didn't know how my life would change, but I wanted to do everything I could to protect him. I didn't do the greatest job of protecting Patrick, but I can do better with Matt. I plan to make up for not being there for both of them."
"Just hold on to that. They'll both come around."
Noah being overwhelmed by Robin's support, pulled her into a hug. How in the world had he gotten lucky enough to have her for a daughter-in-law? Noah knew it was only a matter of time before she accepted Patrick's proposal and then they would all officially be a family.
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"I'm not telling anyone anything," Matt replied to Maxie's statement. He could tell she was about to dig her feet in, but he didn't feel like dealing with it right now.
"Matt, you have to. You were shot today."
"I know that, Maxie. The throbbing pain in my abdomen is a clear indication that a bullet ripped through my insides," he smarted, as she paced the length of his room.
She continued, as if he hadn't spoken, "We need to get someone involved who knows what they're doing."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked confused by her comment.
"You're a doctor, not 007," she replied, as if the answer were obvious. "You don't know who's behind this. My aunt Anna is like a super spy and my dad is a top cop. They could help you."
"Maxie, we don't know what happened, yet. It could have been a random shooting."
"You know the shooting wasn't random."
"Maxie, what do mean?"
