Read Online Until Judgment Day by Christine McGuire - Free Book Online Page B

periods. I must have conceived in mid-October.”
    â€œCongratulations.”
    Doctor Diedre Burton leafed through Mackay’s medical file and read a page. “Your blood is RH-negative. I’ll arrange for your prenatal blood test, and a blood test for your husband, to see if he’s positive.”
    â€œHow long can we wait before his test becomes critical?”
    â€œEven if he and the fetus are RH-positive, which they probably are, we’ve got until the twenty-eighth week before we start RhoGam injections—assuming you didn’t form RH antibodies during a previous pregnancy.”
    â€œIs that the only way antibodies could form?”
    â€œIt’s possible to form antibodies as the result of an abortion or miscarriage,” Burton said, then asked, “You’ve either aborted or miscarried?”
    Kathryn nodded. “I miscarried once, in college. What if antibodies are present?”
    â€œI’ll monitor you closely and if antibody levels get too high, take special measures.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œBlood transfusions to the baby or early delivery.”
    â€œWhat happens otherwise?”
    â€œYour antibodies can pass through the placenta and attack the baby’s red blood cells, causing severe complications—anything from jaundice to stillbirth.”
    â€œEmma’s my only child. Her father was RH-negative, and so is she. Couldn’t this baby be negative too?”
    â€œDepends.”
    â€œOn what?”
    â€œIf your husband’s RH-positive, so is the fetus.”
    â€œWhat are the chances my husband is negative?”
    â€œNot good, but statistically better than Asians—or us blacks, who are ninety-five percent positive—eight out of ten Caucasians test positive.”
    â€œSo, it’s possible the fetus is RH-negative, and there’s nothing to worry about.”
    â€œIt’s possible, but there’s no way to know without testing your husband’s blood. Send him in for a blood draw this afternoon.”
    â€œI can’t.”
    Burton leaned forward, elbows on the desk, deep brown eyes boring in on her patient. “Why not?”
    â€œI haven’t told him yet that I think I’m pregnant.”
    â€œAre you saying you might want to discuss abortion?”
    â€œNot unless my baby has no chance of being born healthy.” Mackay dropped her eyes. “Even then, I’m not sure I could abort.”
    â€œYour baby has an excellent chance of being healthy, but only if we know what problems we face as early as possible. So, trust your husband—tell him about the miscarriage and the RH factor as soon as you get back to your office. Then send him in today for a blood draw.”

Chapter 15
    S EVERAL YEARS BEFORE, the County Board of Supervisors had appointed Kathryn Mackay to fill the remaining term of DA Harold Benton, himself a murder victim, poisoned by County Health Officer Doctor Robert Simmons.
    Mackay immediately tossed out the office’s hand-me-down furniture and spent her own money to buy beige wool carpeting, a modern executive desk, a plush off-white leather sofa with matching end tables, love seat and interview chairs, then hung a few pieces of original artwork she had acquired over the years from a small art gallery in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico.
    County employees had gone home for the day when Escalante dropped into a chair and slid the unserved subpoenas across the desk to her boss. “Their lawyer was waiting when I got to the Diocese. I didn’t push when he refused service because he told me the Diocese filed a motion to quash.”
    â€œYou did the right thing.”
    â€œWhere does that leave the investigation?”
    â€œJudge Woods set the hearing for nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”
    â€œWoods handles juvie,” Escalante pointed out unnecessarily.
    â€œJuvenile Court’s dark on Fridays. He’s the only judge whose calendar