Four Blind Mice (Alex Cross 8)

I turned to Nana. “Exactly what excitement did I miss? For starters, what’s the EMS truck doing outside?”

She shrugged. “I thought I had a heart attack, Alex. Turns out, it was just a fainting spell.”

Dr. Coles spoke. “Nana doesn’t remember passing out. I was down the street at the time. I work with a group that brings health care into the neighborhoods of Southeast. Makes it easier for some people to get good care. More personal, and definitely more affordable.”

I interrupted. “Nana passed out. What happened to her?”

“Damon saw the EMS truck, and he came and got me. Nana was already up on her feet. She had an irregular heartbeat. Rapid, threading. The pulse in her wrist wasn’t as fast as the actual heart rate, so there could be some diminished circulation. We took her over to St. Anthony’s for a few tests.”

Nana shrugged the whole thing off. “I fell down, went boom, in the kitchen. Always hoped it would be there. Damon and Jannie were just great, Alex. About time they started taking care of me for a change.”

She laughed, and so did Dr. Coles. I was glad they both saw the humor in the situation.

“You’re still here. It’s past nine,” I said to the doctor.

She smiled. Good bedside manner, or whatever this was. “We were having so much fun, I decided to stay for a while. I still have one more stop, but Mr. Bryant doesn’t get off work until ten.”

“And,” I said, “you were waiting for me to get home.”

“Yes, I thought that would be the best idea. Nana says you work late a lot of nights. Could we talk for a minute?”

Chapter 87

THE TWO OF us stepped out onto the front porch. Heavy rain was pelting down on the overhang, and the air was damp and cool. The good doctor pulled a gray car sweater around herself.

“I’ve already had this chat with your grandmother,” she said. “Nana asked that I talk to you, answer all your questions. I would never go behind her back, or condescend to her in any way.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. “I think you’d find that she’s awfully hard to condescend to.”

Kayla suddenly laughed. “Oh, I know. I had Mrs. Regina Hope Cross in eighth grade. She’s still probably the most inspirational teacher I’ve had. That includes undergraduate at Brandeis and medical school at Tufts. Thought I would flash my résumé by you.”

“Okay, I’m impressed. So what’s the matter with Nana?”

Kayla sighed. “She’s getting old, Alex. She admits to eighty-two. The tests we took at St. Anthony’s won’t come back until sometime tomorrow or the next day. The lab boys will call me, then I’ll call Nana myself. My concern? She’s been having palpitations for several weeks. Dizziness, light-headedness, shortness of breath. She tell you?”

I shook my head. Suddenly I felt more than a little embarrassed. “I had no idea. She told me she was feeling fine. There was a rough morning a couple of weeks back, but no complaints from her since.”

“She doesn’t want you to worry about her. When she was at St. Anthony’s we did an EKG, an echocardiogram, routine lab work. As I mentioned, her heartbeat is irregular.

“On the positive side of things, there’s no sign of edema. Her lungs are clear. No evidence that she’s suffered a stroke, even a slight one. Nana has very good general muscle strength for somebody her age, or even younger.”

“So what happened to her? You have any idea?”

“We’ll have the test results in a day. Dr. Redd in the lab was in Nana’s class too. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say atrial fibrillation. This involves the two small upper chambers of the heart, the atria. They seem to be quivering rather than beating effectively. There’s some risk of clotting.”

“I take it she’s okay to be here tonight,” I said. “I don’t want her stubbornness to keep her out of the hospital if she needs to be there. Money isn’t a consideration.”

Kayla Coles nodded. “Alex, my opinion is that it’s safe for her to be home right now. She said her sister will be coming from Maryland tomorrow. I think that’s a wise precaution. Someone to help with the kids and the house.”

“I’ll help with the kids,” I said. “And the house.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I believe we’ve already established that you work too hard.”

I sighed and shut my eyes for a couple of seconds. The news was finally hitting me, sinking in. Now I had to force myself to deal with it. Nana was into her eighties, and she was sick.

Kayla reached out and lightly patted my arm. “She’s getting up there, but she’s strong, and she wants to be around for a long time. That’s important. Alex, Nana believes that you and the children need her.”

I finally managed a thin smile. “Well, she’s right about that.”