When they finally made it to the clinic it was after nine o’clock. They had missed visiting hours. Since there was almost no street parking, Sammy circled the block while everyone else got out.
It seemed like an expensive area, Heather thought as she looked around the street. There were beautiful boutique fashion shops on either side of the clinic. Green leafy trees bordered the sidewalks and almost hid the clinic. Behind the clinic was the gigantic main hospital building.
Rod led the way up the pathway to glass double doors, which were now locked. He stabbed his finger on a red button beside the door that said, Emergencia.
A woman’s voice said, “Guadajarala Clinicia. Puedo ayudarle?”
They could see her through the glass doors, standing behind a reception desk across an enormous marble lobby.
Rod pressed the intercom and said, “Can you speak English? We came to see a friend.”
The woman shifted immediately to English. “It’s past visiting hours, but you can come here tomorrow at eight a.m.”
“We came all the way from Hawaii. Just arrived from the airport,” Rod said. “Can you please make an exception? It’s for Michelle Mont...” he paused and said Omar’s last name, “Satinov.”
Heather saw Rod’s look of distaste when he had to give Michelle Omar’s last name, so the receptionist would know which patient he referred to.
Rod went on, “Dr. Mike Kapahu, Michelle’s doctor from Hawaii is here, and so is her father.”
Mike leaned over and spoke into the intercom, “Dr. Franz and I have been communicating. He said I could see Michelle when I arrived.”
“I’ll page Dr. Franz,” the woman said. She buzzed the door and they all went inside.
Heather noticed that Lucifer had lowered his head within her purse so he wasn’t visible. Could the cat really be that smart, she wondered? She’d seen Lucifer do the same thing when she and Michelle went grocery shopping where no pets were allowed, but she’d always assumed that the cat was just napping. This time she knew the animal had done it on purpose. Her estimation of Lucifer’s intelligence took a big leaping bump.
They sat down in large comfortably upholstered chairs in the lobby. Heather was too nervous to pick up any of the glossy magazines on the glass table in front of them. They were all in Spanish, anyway.
After what seemed an interminable wait, a doctor, with the typical white coat and stethoscope around his neck, emerged from a bank of elevators at the side of the reception desk. He was small with a dark, neatly trimmed, beard. He quickly went over to them.
Heather saw Mike take a deep breath and stand up.
“Dr. Franz?” Mike said, holding out his hand.
“Si, yes. And you are Dr. Kapahu?”
“Please, call me Mike.” He turned to make introductions. “This is Professor Vincent Middleton, Michelle’s father. He’s come from California to see Michelle. And Rod Nakamura and Heather Winters, both friends of my patient. We’re all eager to see Michelle.”
“Unfortunately, Ms. Michelle’s husband signed paperwork stating that she is not to be disturbed. I called his room, but it seems he’s gone out to dinner. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you checked in on Mrs. Satinov, but I must abide by the rules and wait to see if he will allow visitors.”
“Can you give us an update on Michelle?” Mike asked.
“Of course, of course. Then I’ll take you to see her, if she’s not sleeping. First, I must say I was puzzled because your patient didn’t have the usual procedures before the surgery.”
Uh-oh, Heather thought. Michelle’s already had her eggs stolen. She hoped Mike could respond adequately and was reassured when he answered. He’d done his homework on the plane.
“She had talked about the procedure, but hadn’t made up her mind the last time I saw her,” Mike said.
“We usually expect the patient to have IVF medication to stimulate the ovary, so the eggs will be ready for retrieval. Since she’d already lost an ovary, we didn’t have much hope of success, but the retrieval went fine, although we didn’t get as many eggs as we would have liked. Your patient’s husband authorized her to get the medication and we’ll do another retrieval in a few days.”
Holy shit, Heather thought. They were going to dope up Michelle with fertility drugs. Omar must be planning to keep her here for some time. He probably didn’t know he couldn’t just steal the eggs without Michelle having the prior medication to make it possible.
Heather sneaked a sideways glance at Rod. Luckily, since he was half Japanese, his complexion didn’t turn red, like most men who were furious and had red hair. Still, she could tell he was fuming by his expression. The love of his life had been kidnapped, had her eggs stolen, and was destined to be drugged.
Professor Middleton must have noticed how upset Rod was too, and to give him time to simmer down, said, “How is my daughter doing now, Dr. Franz?”
“Flying colors,” Dr. Franz said easily, smiling at Vincent. “She’s resting comfortably and had dinner earlier this evening. Now, Dr. Kapahu, we’ll go upstairs and you can see your patient.”
Chapter 14
The Mexican restaurant was acceptable. Omar felt replete and satisfied with his little congratulatory celebration, which included several neat shots of Tequila, but the food was rich, so he decided to walk back to the clinic. He hadn’t done his regular vigorous routine to stay in shape he’d been so busy in the last few days. Arranging a marriage. Arranging for Feng to take his place in Hawaii. And most importantly, initiating the process that would give him his his freedom and a legacy of supernaturally gifted children to follow in his
