Read Online Pandora's Key by Nancy Richardson Fischer - Free Book Online Page B

back to him. “Will you be okay alone for a few hours?”
    Malledy nodded, filled with overwhelming gratitude. “Juliette—thank you.” His mentor half-smiled and left. He listened to her footsteps echo down the hallway.
I have two chances. And if Pandora won’t give me their help willingly, I will take it anyway, because I know much more than Juliette realizes.
    Malledy picked up his cell phone.
    “Cronen.”
    “Magnus. Here’s what you need to do—follow Juliette.”

Chapter Eleven

    “Dr. Sullivan? Please, can I talk to you?” Evangeline was trailing Dr. Sullivan and his residents down the corridor. The group of doctors stopped and turned to face her.
    Evangeline struggled to find the right words. “It’s just my mom and me,” she finally said. “I need her—I need you to help her—
fix
her, not just give her drugs. My mom—Olivia—she’s tough even though she doesn’t look it. She’d rather be healthy than comfortable.”
    Dr. Sullivan met her gaze. “Miss Theopolis, sometimes making a patient comfortable is the best we can do, but the course of treatment will be up to your mother. She wanted me to—”
    Suddenly Evangeline couldn’t breathe, she needed air that didn’t smell like medicine—she needed to get outside. She bolted down the hallway toward the elevator. The doors slid open and then closed just as Dr. Sullivan’s face appeared in the crack.
Too late.
“This is crazy,” she said. “This is crazy!” she screamed inside the empty elevator.
    The elevator opened onto the first floor. Evangeline was in the Emergency Room. She walked past some guy with a bloody towel wrapped around his hand and a father holding a coughing, red-faced, infant in his lap. Spying the sliding glass doors, she ran toward them and spilled out into cold, fresh air. It was raining, but the drops felt good on her upturned face. She sank onto a bench, immediately pulling out her cell phone. She tried Samantha again. No answer. She dialed Raphe, but before the phone could ring, she hung up. She thought about Melia. No. She didn’t want to say the words. Saying it made the situation too real. Closing her eyes, Evangeline concentrated on counting the raindrops falling on her face.
    “Excuse me, Ms. Theopolis?”
    Evangeline clenched her eyes.
If I keep them closed long enough this will all be a dream.
    “Ms. Theopolis, is there someone I can call for you? If not, maybe a taxi to get you home?” Dr. Sulliva’s voice was kind.
    “Um, no thanks. I’ll stay here with my mom.” She kept her eyes shut.
    “Visiting hours ended a few minutes ago.”
    She finally opened her eyes to look at the doctor. He was drenched, white lab coat and khaki pants dripping onto brown crocs. He’d taken off his glasses and crescents of fatigue underlined his light gray eyes. Evangeline suddenly registered that she was soaked through and really cold. She drew up her knees, wrapping her arms around them.
    “You can’t stay out here,” Dr. Sullivan said. “You’re getting cold. Come on.”
    “Okay.” She heard the exhaustion in her voice. “I’ll walk home.”
    The doctor looked at Evangeline with concern. “It’s late, dark, and really wet. Your mom asked me to make sure you got home. How about I drive you, alright?”
    Evangeline hesitated.
I don’t know him. But I don’t want to call anyone I know except Sam, and Sam’s not home…and he’s the only one that can help my mom so maybe I should get to know him.
Finally she nodded, following Dr. Sullivan into the parking lot. They got into a Volvo station wagon that had a babyseat in the back.
Bad guys don’t drive Volvos with babyseats, right?
    “What’s your address?”
    “794 Albermarle. If you take Johnson up the hill for a few miles, then it’s a left, third house on the right.” Dr. Sullivan cranked the heat and turned on both seat heaters. They rode in silence until they reached Evangeline’s pale-yellow bungalow with white trim. Flower boxes filled with red