Chapter 35.
"Look, you can make up your own mind about Jackie, don't take my word for it," Jess went on.
"I haven't been impressed with her actions," I told her. "And I do trust your judgment."
She stared at me for a few seconds. "Do you really?" she speculated.
"I wouldn't have asked you to help with our little project if I didn't," I told her.
"Speaking of which, I think I'll take you up on the offer, at least for now."
"Good." I nodded. "We can work out the payment at another time."
She nodded. "But right now I'm going to have to see what my brother's up to."
"I thought you were abandoning him," I said.
"Much as I want to, I guess I can't really do that just yet. He's like a little lost sheep sometimes."
"And big sister has to look out for him," I mocked.
"Something like that. Besides everything else, if he's finished here for the day, I'll have to take him back to the motel," she explained. "He has no other way of getting there."
"Weren't you talking about getting a place in town?" I remembered.
" Yes, eventually. If I'm going to stay, it won't be at a motel."
On impulse I said, "Have dinner with me tonight."
She did that staring thing again before replying. I guess she had to think about it. "OK. Pick me up at the motel at seven," she said and walked away.
Watching her go, I suddenly wondered why I'd invited her. It wasn't something I usually did, although occasionally I've wanted to. I'll admit I liked spending time with her. She was great to look at, smart, too. She'd shown how resourceful she was in Florida, and how compassionate she was with Ellie and Chris. I try to avoid the compassionate type, but Jess was different somehow. And the rare times she smiled...
I told myself it was just dinner with a friend. Whatever else she was, she'd become one. And it wouldn't do to analyze anything beyond that.
"We're starting to get responses from other patients," Thirteen said, walking towards me from the elevator and interrupting my thoughts. "Foreman picked the first victims for our study group. Some of them are even using the same pink noise treatment we're using on Christopher."
"Good," I said. "I've asked Jess to work with you and Chase on this. She can handle the non-medical arrangements for the patients who agree to participate in the study, and keep all of the records we'll need."
She grinned at me, one of those knowing grins she sometimes shows. "Anything to keep her around, right?"
I ignored the comment. "She's going to be looking for a place in town. Any suggestions for her?"
"If I have any, I'll make them directly to her." The smirk was deliberate. "Where is she now?"
"She went to collect her brother and return him to the motel where they're currently staying."
"What a loser!" she said.
"I assume you mean Petey."
"Who else? Have you met Ellie's sister? I haven't gotten a handle on her yet."
"I gather she's the type who wants whatever her sister has, good, bad or indifferent."
Chase joined us before we discussed Jackie any further. "Finnegan said Jess took Petey back to the motel."
"That's what she said she was going to do," I replied. "Were you looking for him?"
"They found something else in his blood work, completely unrelated to the hyperacusis or the genetic abnormality."
"What was it?" Thirteen asked.
"Our boy seems to be borderline diabetic."
Now that was a surprise. It didn't fit into the Petey picture, and yet... "What's his A1C?"
"Six point five," Chase reported, handing me the results. "Definitely in the pre-diabetic range."
"He doesn't know?"
"I doubt it," Chase guessed. "He never said anything, did he? And he's not taking any medication for it."
"OK. Make a note of it in his records. We'll have to monitor it, maybe do a fasting glucose test."
"Do you think it's related to anything else?" Thirteen asked.
"I don't know. Anything else show up in his blood analysis?"
Chase shook his head. "That's enough, isn't it?"
"Oh, quite enough."
I'd have to think about this before he went back to Florida. Certainly, we'd have to tell him. I could just imagine his response.
"I'm going home," I told Chase and Thirteen.
She checked her watch. "I guess I'll be leaving now, too."
I expected Chase to stick around, but he said, "Me, too."
"What, not spending the evening sitting with Ellie?" I asked.
"Her sister's here. They have a lot to talk about, I guess."
So we all left the hospital together. I went home in a fairly good mood, but I was still thinking about everyone's first impressions of Jackie Cleary. When I'd talked to her on the phone, what seemed like ages ago, she seemed pleasant enough and anxious to help her sister. But in person, she came across as self-centered and immature. I didn't need the tale Jess told me to know the kind of person she really was. I just hoped she wasn't poisoning Ellie's mind against any of us, because she seemed to be capable of doing just that.
It was really none of my business, of course. What I needed to do was to get ready for dinner with Jess. I didn't even know where I would take her. She seemed to like all sorts of food and have a decent appetite, for a woman. It was much more pleasant to think about than Jackie and any disruptions she might cause.
I showered and changed into another light blue shirt and a gray suit, deciding to forego a tie. Maybe we could go to the chophouse not far from the motel where Jess and Petey were staying. It had opened recently to good reviews. Wilson was the only one I knew who'd tried it so far, and he raved about it, but then Wilson wasn't known to be particularly discriminating.
I took one last look at myself, grabbed my car keys, and left. The drive to the motel wasn't long and I arrived at a couple of minutes before seven. It was one of those motels with rooms off two corridors extending in either direction from the lobby. Jess had given me her room number and I found it easily enough.
I knocked on the door, completely unprepared for the sight when she opened it. She was wearing a dress in a soft light blue fabric that hugged her curves and made her eyes shine. Her hair was freshly washed, if my sense of smell was to be believed, and she had barely any makeup on, but she looked more lovely than ever.
Once I could put two words together in a coherent fashion I told her where I was thinking we should eat.
"The desk clerk said that place is really good," she agreed. "I think my brother's crashed for the night. I was afraid he might want to tag along."
"Ready?"
"I'll just get my purse." She was back almost immediately, and we walked to the lobby together. I noticed the desk clerk smile when he saw us together, and it made me smile as we continued out to my car.