Murder in the Air (17 page)

Don't worry, we've keeping our distance. I wish I could say the same for our postman. A month or so after you left, I saw one of the agents talking to him. You remember Hank, don't you ? He's delivered mail to the house for years. Anyway, I always thought he was a friendly old guy, which was why it didn't surprise me to see him exchanging a few words with the man. After talking for a couple of minutes, the agent pointed to our house and then pulled some cash out of his wallet. It all happened so fast, I could hardly believe my eyes. Hank took the money, stuffed it into his shirt pocket, and then the two of them
walked off just as nonchalantly as you please. If you ask me, it was pretty low behavior for an FBI agent and a man entrusted with the U.S. mail. I've kept my distance from Hank since then. I can'tprove he's done anything illegal, mind you, but I'll never trust him again.

I find it hard to end this letter, Justin, but if I don't, it will never reach you. I'm going to make sure you receive a regular monthly income until you've on your feet. I can't imagine where you got the money to take you this far. But whatever the case, I'm just glad you're safe and feeling better. Rest now, son, but when you've stronger, I hope you'll come back home. We can see this through together. If some core part of my being didn't believe you were innocent, I'd never suggest that. I believe in you, son.

I miss you, and I send all my love.

Mom

15

Sophie dashed into the emergency waiting room and immediately spotted John sitting at a table in the rear. Since his back was to the door, he didn't see her come in. “John!” she called, rushing up to him. “Is Rudy here yet?”

Solemnly, John stood. “Yes, but I don't know anything about his condition. They won't tell me.”

“Why not?”

“Because … I'm not family.”

She was stunned. His outrage was so palpable, she could feel it hit her like a blow. “Oh, John. I'm so sorry.” She took him in her arms. Even through his heavy coat, she could feel him trembling.

“Sometimes I think the world is changing,” he said, stepping back. “But then I get dumped on by a good dose of reality.”

“It is changing, John.”

“Not fast enough. Rudy and I were going to talk to a lawyer, give each other power of attorney just in case something like this ever happened, but we've both been so busy, we haven't gotten around to it yet.”

Sophie looked up into his eyes. “Did you tell the doctor that the two of you were partners?”

“I told the nurse. That's when she turned into the ice princess.”

Feeling her own anger rise in her chest, she marched straight out of the room and up to the nursing desk near the front entrance. “Who's in charge here?” she demanded. There were times she wished she were big and tall, not barely five-three in high heels.

An older woman looked up from a stack of file folders. “May I help you?”

“My son was just brought in. The name's Greenway. Rudy Greenway.”

“Right,” she said, glancing down at a chart. “Dr. Sibley is in with him right now. If you'd like to take a seat—”

“I want to see my son.”

“Of course. As soon as the doctor's done, I'll take you back.”

“Are you the one who refused to give information to his partner, John Jacoby?”

The woman took off her glasses, giving Sophie a hard, appraising look. “I'm afraid I can only give out medical information to family members.”

“He
is
a family member.”

“Not legally. The hospital has rules. We could be sued if we gave out information to anyone who asked.”

“Sued by whom?”

“The family, for one.”

“He
is
the family. A life partner isn't just anyone!”

“Please, if you'll just calm down.” She watched with
impatience as John walked up and stood next to Sophie. After eyeing him with undisguised distaste, she continued, “You have to understand, Mrs. Greenway, some families don't feel the way you do.”

“Listen, Ms.”—she read her name off the plastic name tag—”Hansmde. You're going to be sued if you
don't
give information to Mr. Jacoby. I don't mean just the hospital, but
you.
Personally. How someone could be a nurse and lack simple human kindness is beyond me. Give me a reason to make your life as miserable as you made John's a few minutes ago, and believe me, Ms. Hansrude, I will. Now,” she said, unbuttoning her coat, “do we understand each other?”

They stared at each other across the deepest, darkest, and widest abyss of all: ideology.

After several silent seconds Nurse Hansrude said, “I'll make a note on his chart that this, as his mother, is your wish.”

Sophie knew it was the best she was going to get. She locked arms with John. “John and I expect to be informed as soon as the doctor's done with Rudy.”

“Of course.” Her politeness was pure acid. Sophie knew she'd won the battle on a technicality and it made her sick. John was right. The world wasn't changing fast enough.

Once they were back in the waiting room, John gave Sophie a hug. “I can't thank you enough.”

She touched the side of his perfectly groomed beard, motioned for him to bend down, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I wish it hadn't been necessary.”

“Me, too. But… I want you to know how good it feels to have you on our side. So many of my friends don't have any support from their family. To be hated simply for being who you are is … well, it's intolerable.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, enough said. Except, well, one other thing.”

“Yes?” She removed her coat and placed it on an empty chair.

“Don't tell Rudy this happened. It would only upset him. He doesn't need any more upset right now.”

Her smile was tender. “He won't hear it from me.”

They each took a seat near the door.

In the next few minutes both Sophie and John turned into balls of nervous energy.

“Have you had any dinner?” she asked, examining a magazine without really looking at it.

“No.”

“Look, if you want to go get a bite to eat—”

“I'm not hungry. Thanks. You?”

She shook her head. “Did Rudy ever regain consciousness while the paramedics were working on him?”

“Yeah. He was kind of embarrassed when he woke up. Two guys were bent over him, taking his blood pressure and his pulse. He tried to stand, but he was too weak—or dizzy, I couldn't tell which. They put him on a gurney and took him away almost immediately. I locked up the apartment and then followed in my car.”

“Did the paramedics give you any indication what might be wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I wish I could tell you more.”

What had been left unspoken was her concern about AIDS. She knew that both Rudy and John had been tested twice, but the last test had been a good year ago. She felt ill at ease discussing their sexual relationship, so she'd never pressed him to get another. She assumed that he was monogamous, though she didn't know it for a fact. If either of them
were
sleeping with other men, then AIDS couldn't be ruled out, and that made her feel as if she were sitting on top of a ticking time bomb.

Hearing footsteps in the hall, she shot to her feet as Bram entered the room. “Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're here.”

Bram wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “It's going to be all right.”

“God, I hope so.”

“Where is he?”

“The doctor's looking at him right now.”

“When can we see him?”

“As soon as he's done.”

Bram nodded to John. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“So,” said Bram, sitting down next to Sophie, “what do we know so far?”

“Nothing,” she replied. “Just that he was weak and collapsed.” She gazed wearily around the cheerless waiting room. Chairs. A few lamps. No other people. Nothing to take her mind off the grim reality that her son was sick, possibly even gravely ill. She tried not to let her imagination get away from her, but it was a struggle.

Half an hour later a woman in a white coat entered the room.

“Are you the Greenway family?” she asked, glancing from face to face.

“Yes,” said Bram, getting up.

“Then you must be Ms. Greenway.”

Sophie nodded. Turning to John, she said, “And this is John Jacoby, Rudy's partner.”

The doctor shook John's hand. “I'm Dr. Sibley.” Returning her attention to Sophie, she said, “I caught some of what you said to the head nurse. I just want you to know, you have my complete support. My sister's gay. I'd hate to think she'd be treated like that if her partner became ill. The nurse was right about the policy, but most of the time^obody pays any attention to it.” Glancing from face to face, she added, “If you feel the urge to file a complaint, I'd do it. The sooner the better.”

John seemed visibly relieved by her comments. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now,” she said, looking down at the chart in her hand, “Rudy is stable, but very weak. We're running some tests, but after talking to him, I think it's fair to say that he's been bleeding internally for quite some time. As soon as I get the results of his blood test, we'll need to transfuse him. The sooner the better since his hemoglobin is undoubtedly very low. Any effort on his part causes him extreme fatigue and, it appears, some trouble breathing.”

Sophie cleared her throat. “Doctor? Has my son had an AIDS test recently?”

She shook her head. “But we did one tonight. We should have the results very soon.”

“You think this is AIDS-related?” asked John, his voice trembling.

Sophie looked up and saw that he'd gone white as a sheet.

“We don't know yet. He says he's only had one partner since last year. That would be you, Mr. Jacoby.”

“That's right. And it's been the same for me.”

“Well, if that's the case, then I think we can rule it out. But let's wait until we get the results of his blood work back. In the meantime we're going to run some further tests. The next step is to put a small tube down his throat and take a look at his stomach. If we don't find anything, we'll do a colonoscopy. I'd like to do both tonight. I'm not going to minimize this. Rudy is in serious condition right now. But I'll have more to say on that in a few hours.”

Sophie felt her stomach go hollow. “Can we see him?” she asked.

“Of course. But he's going to be moved to another room very shortly. Actually—” She glanced at her watch. “Why don't you meet him upstairs.” Again checking her notes, she said, “He's going to be taken to 823. West wing. It's a private room.”

“That's fine,” said Sophie.

“You can take the elevators right outside the door all the way up to the eighth floor. As soon as I know more, I'll let you know. Oh, one other thing. I think it's great to let Rudy know you're here for him. If he wants you all to stay in the room, I suppose that's fine. But remember. He's very weak. You might want to visit him in shifts, one at a time. And if he wants to sleep, I'd encourage it. I don't want to give him any medications until I know what we're dealing with.”

“I understand,” said Sophie. She felt Bram's arm ease around her shoulder. She was so grateful for his strength and concern. “We'll wait to hear from you.”

The doctor nodded, and then left.

Two hours later Sophie and Bram sat in Rudy's hospital room, staring at an empty bed. Rudy had been taken down for tests and wasn't expected to return for at least another hour. In
hospital speak, that probably meant three hours. Feeling the need to do something—anything—John had gone to scout out some coffee.

During their brief time together, Sophie had been trying to give Rudy every positive vibe she could muster, but he was so pale it almost took her breath away. “Bram?”

“Urn?”

“Did Rudy seem, I don't know—confused to you?”

He folded his hands over his chest and looked up at the TV set hanging on the wall. “Yeah,” he said somewhat hesitantly. “A bit.”

“I wonder why.”

He shook his head, but said nothing.

“How do you think John's taking all this?”

“I don't know. He's been pretty quiet.”

“That's not like him.”

“He's worried, Sophie. We all are.”

“But… do you believe him?”

Bram caught her eye and then looked away. “You mean about not having sex with anyone other than Rudy for the past year?” He shrugged. “I guess so. I have to believe both of them.”

Her frown deepened. “If we just had more information.”

“We will,” said Bram. “But it's going to take some time,”

Absently, she began playing with her diamond ring. “Say, what time is it?”

Bram checked his watch. “Five after ten.”

“Do you want to watch the news?”

“Sure. It might help pass the time until Rudy gets back.”

Sophie switched on the TV set and found their favorite local station. As she was about to turn up the volume, a woman backed into the room pulling a cleaning cart with her. She nearly bumped into Sophie as she turned around. “Oh, sorry. Didn't know anyone was in here.”

Sophie moved her legs so that the woman could push the cart around her.

“Do you mind if I clean the bathroom?”

Bram shrugged. “Whatever. It's empty.”