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Designed Intent

Chapter 46

Tuesday Afternoon

Bobby stood as Carver exited the courtroom doors. "Detective, the judge has adjourned for today. I am sorry you wasted the entire afternoon here. Have you heard anything about Ms Wintermantle?"

"No. Do you think I'll be called tomorrow morning?" He was anxious to get this done and get to Chicago.

Carver was reluctant to say anything. The proceedings were going slowly. The mob had deep pockets when it came to defending one of their own. The defense team picked at every thread, leaving nothing untouched. Carver feared it would be another day or two before Goren was called. "It's hard to say. Hopefully, you go first thing tomorrow morning and then you're free to go; if the Captain approves your time away, of course."

Bobby nodded and turned, then turned back and said, "I'll, uh, I'll come straight here tomorrow."

Carver nodded and the men separated, both heading to OPP.

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Bobby sat in his car in the courthouse parking lot and called the number Malcolm had given him. It rang three times.

"Hello." She sounded so weak. Her voice was breathy and quivery.

"Gleason, Honey it's me. Are you ok?" He was relieved and frightened.

"I'm ok." She stopped and he could hear her breathe.

"Gleason –," he didn't know what to say. She sounded so weak. "Honey, I'm so worried about you. What does your doctor say? She won't call me back. . ."

"I'm ok. I'm just really tired. It's a little hard to breathe." He heard her cough. Jesus.

"Honey, I'm coming to see you."

"No, no. Bobby. Don't come here. I'm fine. I'll be fine. Stay, stay in New York." She coughed again. He heard her breathe and wheeze. Then he heard another voice in the room speak to her and heard the phone pass to the other person.

"Hello, this is Dr. Chavez. Who is this?"

"Dr. Chavez, this is Robert Goren. How is –,"

"Are you a family member, Mr. Goren?"

"Uh, uh, yes. Is she –,"

"What is your relationship to this patient?"

Bobby was stunned. "I want to know what the hell is wrong with her! Let me speak with her. Now!"

The phone passed back and Gleason whispered, "Bobby –,"

"Gleason, tell that goddamn woman that it is ok to talk to me! Tell her!" He heard Gleason say something away from the phone. The phone passed again.

"Mr. Goren, what do you want to know?"

Bobby wiped his face with his right hand and had to count again. This time, he got to four. "Is she going to be all right?" he asked steadily.

"Apparently, the patch that mended the tear in her aorta when she was shot has detached in one place. That occasionally happens with that type of patch. It is relatively new and is about eighty percent effective. In any case, that opening allowed a slow bleed, which has increased over time. She has been bleeding internally for several weeks, perhaps even months, significantly dropping her blood count. Her entire heart muscle has been compromised. She will need surgery."

"Surgery? What kind of surgery? When will that happen?"

"She is scheduled for the day after tomorrow." The day after tomorrow? – he will still need to be available to testify on Thursday. "Her diminished heart rate has slowed her body's disposal of bodily fluids. She has pulmonary edema, which is contributing to her breathing difficulty and causing her congestive heart failure.

"We need to reduce the swelling and ease her breathing before it is safe to operate. We have a few more tests to run and we want to give her heart a chance to rest. Depending on the severity of the tear, we may just cauterize the opening. She will probably receive a pacemaker as well to help control her bradycardia. The procedure should take less than four hours without any surprises. She will be in recovery for at least another four hours and then will be in intensive care for a day, perhaps more if needed."

"What's the recovery time?"

"Well, she's relatively young and in pretty good health, so two to four, maybe five weeks at the most. Initially upon release, she will need to have someone with her, she cannot be left alone; after two or three days she'll be able to stay by herself. In addition, she will need weekly follow-up visits. I understand that you live in New York and she lives here?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Well, like I said, either you or someone will need to stay with her here for a few days. It will be a week before she can fly if she is going to stay with you in New York. You two will have to work that out. I'll recommend a colleague in New York for her to see if she goes home with you."

"Thank you. Thank you for speaking with me. Uh, let me speak with Gleason. Thank you, Dr. Chavez."

The phone passed one more time.

"Honey, I, I love you. How do you feel?"

Gleason didn't say anything.

"Honey? Are you ok? Gleason? Talk to me, Sweetheart. Gleason?" His anxiety shot through the roof.

He heard her sniff and then she whispered, "Bobby, I don't want to have surgery again. Don't let them do it." She cried in earnest.

"Honey, why? Gleason you need to have that patch repaired. They're going to give you a pacemaker to keep your heart regular. Why don't you want to have it done?" He heard her cry softly and then cough, "Gleason?"

She was breathing heavily, "I, oh, Bobby, I, I don't want to go through that again. Don't let them. Promise you won't let them." She cried harder and then began to cough harder. He heard her gasp.

"Gleason! Honey! Gleason, calm down. Honey, it's ok, calm down." He heard an alarm sound, hurried voices and then a click and dial tone.

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"Detective, I am sorry, but you are under a court order to be available to testify for the prosecution. You can go nowhere." Carver understood Goren's panic, but he had no choice.

Bobby had returned to the office and found Carver in Deakins' office. He explained to the ADA and the Captain about Gleason's impending surgery. He also told them he was flying to Chicago in the morning and would not be back until Gleason was well.

"I am going to be with her and I'm leaving in the morning." He turned to leave.

"Detective, stop!" Deakins shouted. "Bobby, I'm with Carver on this. You have to be available to testify. The judge may call a mistrial if you do not testify; or, the defense can use your lack of appearance against us and sway the jury. Too much is riding on your availability. I'm sorry Bobby, you cannot go."

Bobby had never felt anger like this. He literally shook. He forced himself to breathe slowly, deeply. Bobby pulled open the door so hard that it slammed against the wall. He strode through and went to his desk.

Eames watched him sit with his head in his hands. She didn't say anything, knowing he was explosive right now.

"Eames, my office," Deakins called. She turned, stood and crossed to the boss's office.

"Shut the door." She did and then sat. Carver stood to the side. Deakins leaned against the front of his desk.

"Has Bobby told you what's happened to Gleason?"

"No. Is she all right?"

Deakins explained everything to Bobby's partner. "He wants to be with her, and he should be, except that he is scheduled to testify at the Bandelli trial. He needs to be available for the next three days. Alex, do you feel confident to testify in his place if you had to?"

Eames had barely been around during the final phases of the Bandelli case. Her father had had a mild heart attack and she took a few weeks off to help look after him and her mother. Perkins had stepped in and worked with Bobby on closing the case and completing the paperwork.

She looked at the Captain and Carver. "I, I don't know. I wasn't there when the case closed. Perkins and Bobby did it. Perkins did the lion's share of the report, Bobby pretty much dictated as I understand."

"Is that a 'no'?" Carver asked.

"If the defense knows that I wasn't involved in the close, they'll grill me with information I don't have and couldn't testify to. That alone will punch holes in my testimony. I would be doing more harm than good. I'm not sure I can do what you're asking." She looked from one man to the other. "What about putting Perkins on the stand instead of me? At lease he was there, he would have all the pertinent information."

William Perkins was a nice guy and an excellent detective, but he was no good on the stand. He had testified twice in the past and had screwed up basic details that turned both cases the wrong way. He lacked confidence at trial. No, Perkins was going nowhere near a courtroom.

Neither man said anything for a long minute. "All right, Detective, thank you," Carver said. Eames rose and returned to her desk.

Bobby watched his partner cross from the captain's office. "They want you to testify, don't they?" he asked as she sat.

"Yes."

"Will you do that for me?" He looked at her with pleading.

Alex looked at him and then had to look away. He knew. Bobby shot up and crossed to Deakins office. He pushed open the door, and said menacingly, "I'll testify at your goddamn trial."

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