Nothing Lasts Forever (26 page)

Read Nothing Lasts Forever Online

Authors: Sidney Sheldon

Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #General

BOOK: Nothing Lasts Forever
7.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Judge Young heard. She stood up and said, ‘You may use my chambers if you like. That’s the least we can do for you.”

Paige, Jason, and Dr. Barker were in the judge’s chambers, alone.

Dr. Barker said, “Sorry they wouldn’t let me come here to help you sooner. You know what goddam doctors are like.”

Paige was near tears. “I can’t tell you how much I…”

“Then don’t!” he said gruffly.

Paige was studying him, suddenly remembering something. “When did you speak to John Cronin?”


What?

“You heard me. When did you speak to John Cronin?”


When?

She said slowly, “You never even
met
John Cronin. You didn’t know him.”

There was the trace of a smile on Barker’s lips. “No. But I know you.”

Paige leaned over and threw her arms around him.

“Don’t get sloppy,” he growled. He looked over at Jason. “She gets sloppy sometimes. You’d better take good care of her, or you’ll have to answer to me.”

Jason said. “Don’t worry, sir. I will.”

Paige and Jason were married the following day. Dr. Barker was their best man.

Epilogue

P
aige Curtis went into private practice and is affiliated with the prestigious North Shore Hospital. Paige used the million dollars John Cronin left her to set up a medical foundation in her father’s name in Africa.

Lawrence Barker shares an office with Paige, as a surgical consultant.

Arthur Kane had his license revoked by the Medical Board of California.

Jimmy Ford fully recovered and married Betsy. They named their first daughter Paige.

Honey Taft moved to Ireland with Sean Reilly, and works as a nurse in Dublin.

Sean Reilly is a successful artist, and shows no symptoms of AIDS, as yet.

Mike Hunter was sentenced to state prison for armed robbery and is still serving time.

Alfred Turner joined a practice on Park Avenue and is enormously successful.

Benjamin Wallace was fired as administrator of Embarcadero County Hospital.

Lauren Harrison married her tennis pro.

Lou Dinetto was sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary for tax evasion.

Ken Mallory was sentenced to life imprisonment. One week after Dinetto arrived at the penitentiary, Mallory was found stabbed to death in his cell.

The Embarcadero Hospital is still there, awaiting the next earthquake.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to express his deep appreciation to the many doctors, nurses, and medical technicians who were generous enough to share their expertise with him.

Praise

What cannot be cured with medicaments is cured by the knife, what the knife cannot cure is cured with the searing iron, and whatever this cannot cure must be considered incurable.

—H
IPPOCRATES
,
CIRCA
480
B.C.

There are three classes of human beings: men, women, and women physicians.

—S
IR
W
ILLIAM
O
SLER

Books by Sidney Sheldon

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER

THE STARS SHINE DOWN

THE DOOMSDAY CONSPIRACY

MEMORIES OF MIDNIGHT

THE SANDS OF TIME

WINDMILLS OF THE GODS

IF TOMORROW COMES

MASTER OF THE GAME

RAGE OF ANGELS

BLOODLINE

A STRANGER IN THE MIRROR

THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

THE NAKED FACE

Copyright

Copyright © 1994 by Sidney Sheldon

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © APRIL 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-00784-1

About the Publisher

Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

Other books

The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance
The Death of WCW by R.D. Reynolds, Bryan Alvarez
The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter
Monkey Business by John R. Erickson
Stepbrother With Benefits by Lana J. Swift
Ramose and the Tomb Robbers by Carole Wilkinson
Divine Justice by David Baldacci
Hush by Nancy Bush
Jake Walker's Wife by Lough, Loree