Heart Failure

by Richard L Mabry

  Adam ran through the choices. He figured his apartment was out. If the gunman had found his car, he’d no doubt located where Adam lived as well. And there was no way he would lead a potential killer to Carrie’s home. “How about the law firm where I work? Everyone is out of there by five—five thirty at the latest unless something unusual is going on.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “I’m not sure any place is safe anymore, but this seems the best option. I’ll leave the building with everyone else and drive around a bit to lose anyone who might be following me. Then I’ll park a block away and come in the back door.”

  “So what do I do?”

  Adam thought for a bit. “Hopefully the shooter doesn’t know your car. The lot’s well lit. Park right by the entrance and call me on my cell as soon as you get there. Hurry inside, and I’ll double lock the doors behind you.”

  Carrie hesitated. If she said no to that idea, he wasn’t sure what he’d do next. But finally he heard the rush of a long exhalation. “Fine. I’ll be there as soon after six as I can make it.”

  “Thanks,” Adam said. “I appreciate—” He stopped talking when he heard a click. Carrie had already ended the call. He stared at the dead phone, his heart sinking. He prayed their relationship wasn’t broken beyond repair.

  Outside the clinic exam room, Carrie scanned the information on her next patient. George Harris, age sixty-two, complaining of swollen feet and ankles. A number of diagnostic possibilities ran through her head, disorders like “congestive heart failure” and “deep vein thrombosis.” That was what she liked about her internal medicine practice. Every day there were new challenges. Well, time to tackle this one.

  She tapped on the door and stepped inside. The older man perched on the edge of the exam table had silver hair combed straight back. Blue eyes twinkled behind steel-rimmed glasses. He was already wearing an exam gown—Lila had seen to that—but he wore it with the same dignity as though it were a white tie and tails.

  “Mr. Harris, I’m Dr. Markham. How can we help you today?”

  “Frankly, I think I’m fine. But my daughter seems to have a different idea.”

  There was a distinct British accent there. Carrie checked the address on the man’s papers and confirmed that he was local. Then the younger woman sitting in the corner spoke up and solved the mystery. “My father-in-law recently came to the United States to live with us. He says nothing is wrong, but we don’t believe it’s normal that his feet and ankles are so swollen.”

  Carrie eased onto the rolling stool, positioned it midway between patient and daughter, and looked first to one and then the other. “Suppose we get a little more history. Mr. Harris, when did you first notice this?”

  As the story unfolded, Carrie mentally laid aside several possible diagnoses until only one stood as the prime suspect. Mr. Harris worked in Great Britain for years in an electronics manufacturing plant. His job had been to solder and weld various components, and although provisions were made to avoid inhalation of the fumes from his work, he and many of his fellow workers had hated the respirators, disliked the noise of the exhaust fans, so they plied their trade without them at every opportunity. And as a result, he now presented to Carrie with the consequences of decades of inhaling cadmium-laced fumes: facial puffiness, swollen ankles and feet, protruding belly. Why? Because his kidneys were failing, causing the loss of a protein called albumin from the body, with resultant accumulation of tissue fluid in these areas.

  “We’re going to start by checking some lab work,” Carrie said when she’d finished her exam. “Lila will help you with that. I’d like to see you back again tomorrow, when we can go over the results and talk about treatment.”

  Carrie had just finished dictating her note when Lila appeared in the doorway of the cubicle. “Urinalysis and metabolic profile are cooking, but you don’t seem to have any doubt about the diagnosis.”

  “No, I’m sure we’re dealing with nephrotic syndrome. That poor family is about to have its life turned upside down.” Special diet, medications to control blood pressure, regular trips to the dialysis lab. Carrie closed her eyes and balled her fists. God, why do You let these things happen?

  Then again, why was God letting Adam break her heart? And why did God let good men like John die because a seemingly simple medical procedure went horribly wrong? As she headed for the next exam room, it was all Carrie could do to focus on the patient inside. She worked to put aside her situation with Adam. She struggled to stop thinking about the way her husband’s life had ended . . . and the role she played in that terrible event. Carrie thought she might pause and pray for help and guidance but quickly dismissed the idea. That avenue had been closed for quite a while.

  As Carrie pulled into the law office parking lot, her heart thudded against her chest wall. It wasn’t only the potential danger that pushed her adrenaline level sky-high. It was the very real possibility that tonight Adam might tell her something that would fracture their relationship forever. She loved him—that was clear to her. But how much could that love withstand?

  She was about to find out.

  The law offices occupied a small, two-story building. Adam had told her that the bottom floor contained offices, the upper story a conference room and law library. She punched his speed-dial number on her phone.

  “Carrie?”

  “I’m here.”

  “I’m unlocking the door now,” Adam said.

  She hurried the few steps from her car to the front entrance where Adam waited. They stepped into a reception area where a low-wattage light burned. The burgundy carpet was soft under her feet. Tasteful drapes of burgundy and tan framed the windows. Several upholstered chairs were situated along the walls. A cherry wood desk and chair faced outward from one corner, and behind it two lateral file cabinets of the same material flanked a door that probably led into a business office.

  Adam pointed. “My office is back there.”

  Carrie walked down a hall lit dimly by security lights. In Adam’s office, he flipped the light switch and gestured her to one of the two chairs across from his desk. He took the other and turned it sideways to face her. Adam seemed to have aged overnight. His face was haggard and his eyes were red-rimmed, accented by dark circles beneath them. Carrie almost felt sorry for him—almost. She recalled the love she’d felt for him—still felt. She wondered what her emotions would be after she learned more of his story.

  Carrie nodded at Adam, as though to say, “It’s your turn.”

  “Okay. Let’s hear the rest of it.”

  Adam leaned toward her and she saw him struggle to keep his voice calm. Though they were alone in the building, he spoke in a quiet voice. “Thank you,” he said. “For meeting me . . . for giving me another chance.”

  Carrie shook her head. “I should at least hear the whole story. I owe you that much.”

  He moved as if to reach for her hand, then pulled back and let his own hands rest on the arms of his chair. “As I told you, I started life as Keith Branson. I went to law school at John Marshall in Chicago. While I was in school, I met a woman who worked in her father’s law office. She seemed perfect, and I fell hard for her. After a relatively short engagement, Bella and I were married. When I graduated, her father, Charlie DeLuca, took me into his practice.”

  Carrie nodded but said nothing. She didn’t want to stop the flow of his narrative.

  Adam went on to tell about an idyllic first year of marriage. But soon he discovered his father-in-law’s practice had a shady side. Charlie not only defended some of the biggest criminals in Chicago, he played a key role in laundering huge sums of money, was a cut-out in several narcotics rings, and acted as an advisor, if not a partner, for a group that controlled most of the prostitution in that part of the state.

  Beads of sweat dotted Adam’s brow. “I finally told Bella what I’d found out about her father’s law practice—that it was part of a criminal enterprise—and that I wanted no part in it. She laughed and said, in effec
t, ‘The money’s good. Keep your mouth shut.’”

  “But you didn’t,” Carrie said.

  “I couldn’t. I tried, but it was harder with each day that passed. Sometimes the arguments lasted well into the night. Then Bella told me she was pregnant.”

  Despite herself, Carrie caught her breath. Did Adam have a child?

  “I was overjoyed,” Adam continued. “But Bella didn’t share my feelings. She wasn’t ready for motherhood. She told me she was going to visit a friend. She came back in a week and told me she’d lost the baby. It wasn’t long before I found out that actually she’d had an abortion. That was the last straw for me.”

  “What did you do?”

  Adam squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, as if he could drive away the images that plagued him. “I put together a detailed file to be used against my father-in-law and his associates. When I had everything ready, I contacted the District Attorney and said I was prepared to testify before a Grand Jury and at any resulting trial. In return, I wanted protection.”

  “Obviously, they said yes.”

  Adam nodded. “I told my wife and father-in-law that I needed some time away, packed a suitcase, and left. The next time I saw them was at his trial.”

  The DA assured Adam that the U.S. Marshalls Service would keep him safe until after the trial. He was ferried back to Chicago from Milwaukee to testify before the Grand Jury. After that, the marshalls moved him from city to city, always under a new name, until finally he came back to Chicago to testify at his father-in-law’s trial. The process had been a slow one—two years, in fact. And as each day passed, Adam wondered if he’d made the right choice.

  “What about your wife?” Carrie asked.

  “Once she learned what I had done, she filed for no-fault divorce—in Illinois it’s called ‘irreconcilable differences.’ My absence sped up the process. Before I returned for her father’s trial, the divorce was final.”

  “And your father-in-law?”

  “The jury convicted him of a whole laundry list of crimes. He ended up with a total sentence of thirty years. He should have gotten even more.”

  “So you’re safe now. Why not resume your true identity? Why not go back to Chicago?”

  Adam laughed without mirth. “My life wouldn’t be worth ten cents. Charlie DeLuca was part of a big organization, not to mention his family members and people who owed him favors. As soon as his sentence was handed down, I’m certain the word went out to kill me.”

  Carrie thought about this. “What brought you here to Jameson eight months ago, then?”

  “After the trial one of the places the Witness Security Program—it’s usually shortened to WITSEC—had me working in was an office supply store in a small town in Iowa. One day a guy showed up with my picture, asking if anyone at work knew me. Apparently no one cared for the guy’s attitude, so they told him they had no idea what he was talking about. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that my new identity wasn’t all that secret. After all, WITSEC has a lot of moving parts, and all Charlie DeLuca’s family, or hired gun, or whoever had to do was spread around enough money and they’d find me. It was time to find somewhere else, but this time, on my own.”

  “So the program didn’t move you here?”

  “No, I moved myself. No one knows where I am now . . . or, at least, I thought that was true. But if that shooting Saturday night wasn’t random, someone’s found me, and until I know for sure, I don’t want to talk with the police.”

  “Why?”

  “When I was working in Charlie DeLuca’s office, I learned he had contacts with cops on the take in police departments from California to New York. There’s no reason to think that doesn’t include Texas.”

  Carrie was shaking her head before he stopped talking. “Why didn’t you choose a large town, like Dallas? Surely it would be easier to get lost there.”

  “It is, but it’s also more likely that organized crime has a bigger presence in a large city than in someplace like Jameson. I’m close enough to Dallas to enjoy the benefits, but a smaller place like Jameson seemed a lot safer.”

  “So you haven’t told anyone where you are?”

  “Just one man. He’s a marshall, but this move is totally off the books. Besides, I’d trust Dave with my life.”

  Carrie frowned. “Why?”

  “He’s my older brother. He’s David Branson, Jr.”

  Carrie thought about the story she’d heard. It revealed an Adam who had the moral fiber to do the right thing, even if it meant losing his identity, his family . . . and perhaps his life. True, he should have told her the story before asking her to marry him, but she could see by the pain in his eyes as he told the story how much it cost him to reveal it now. This wasn’t the Adam she thought she knew, but what she’d heard did nothing to erase her love for him.

  Carrie was ready to say something to Adam when the crash of breaking glass made them both bolt from their chairs and hurry toward the front of the building. A large hole ringed with shards was all that remained of the plate glass window in the reception area. Smaller pieces of glass littered the carpet like diamonds. The drapes, one area of carpet, and two of the upholstered chairs in the room were on fire, sending tongues of flame licking outward, threatening a larger blaze. Wisps of acrid black smoke stung Carrie’s eyes and seared her lungs.

  “Are you okay?” Adam yelled.

  Carrie stifled her coughing long enough to say, “Just fighting the smoke. Is there a fire extinguisher here?”

  “It’s in the hall,” Adam said. “I’ll get it. Call the fire department.”

  As Carrie dialed 911, her first thought was for their safety. But her second was that despite Adam’s insistence on not being involved with the police, now he’d have to be. She wondered how he’d handle their questions—and where it might go from there.

  FIVE

  ADAM HAD THE FIRE EXTINGUISHED BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT arrived, but the firemen spent another fifteen or twenty minutes making sure there were no areas that might burst into flames later.

  The police arrived at almost the same time as the firemen. Facing them wasn’t exactly what Adam wanted, but there was nothing to be done about it. He’d simply have to put the most innocent face he could on the incident.

  The patrolman taking Adam’s statement asked him, “Any idea why someone might have done this?”

  Adam knew how this worked. He expected the question, and had his answer ready. “There are two lawyers who work here. The most likely explanation is that someone didn’t like the way one of the attorneys handled his case.”

  “Any recent cases handled by the firm that could have triggered this?”

  “I don’t know of any, but you should ask the lawyers. One of them should be here soon.”

  The patrolman looked at his notes. “When this call came in and you gave your name, the computer kicked out a recent report you made about vandalism to your car. Think someone’s out to get you?”

  Adam struggled to maintain a calm demeanor. “I doubt it. That was a simple case of vandalism. I don’t think there’s a connection here.”

  The questioning went on in that vein for what seemed like an hour, although when he glanced at his watch Adam found it had taken only twelve minutes. When it seemed the questions were coming to an end, the patrolman turned to Carrie and asked, “Anything to add, ma’am?”

  Adam tried to send her a silent message. Please don’t say anything about what I’ve told you. Please.

  Carrie’s face was smudged with soot, her blond hair was a mess, her green eyes were red-rimmed. She was the perfect picture of “let’s get this over with so I can go home.” She gave the patrolman a shy smile. “No, I have no idea who could have done this. Adam and I had some things to discuss, and we needed a quiet place to do it.” She grimaced as she looked around. “Unfortunately, this wasn’t it.”

  Adam breathed a sigh of relief when Janice Evans walked in. Now maybe the police and firemen would dir
ect their questions to her. Before he could introduce Evans to Carrie, the attorney strode over and held out her hand. “Janice Evans. You must be Dr. Markham. Adam has mentioned you.”

  “I wish we could have met under better circumstances,” Carrie said.

  “It happens,” Evans replied. “Sorry you were involved.”

  The policeman’s first question to Evans was, “Any dissatisfied clients who might have done this?”

  Her response was a calm shrug. “Sooner or later, someone decides his lawyer didn’t do right by him. Some of them send nasty letters. A few file complaints with the bar association. But I must say I’ve never had one go quite this far.” She grimaced as she turned to look at the damage. “After you’re through talking with me, I’ll call a client who’s a general contractor. Maybe I can convince him to board up the window tonight.” She nodded toward Carrie. “Adam, why don’t you take Dr. Markham home? Come back here afterward so we can talk about keeping the practice running tomorrow.”

  “I have my car, thanks.” Carrie nodded once to Evans, once to Adam, before she hurried toward the door.

  “I’ll see you out,” Adam said, hurrying after her.

  Carrie beeped her car unlocked and was inside it before Adam reached her. He stood there, wondering what Carrie’s response would be to her second brush with danger in such a short period of time. Surely it couldn’t be good.

  Carrie lowered the car window. “Yes?”

  He wasn’t sure what to make of her tone, but the look on her face conveyed a desire to leave more strongly than any words could. He wanted to hold her, beg her to stay, assure her that his goal was to keep her safe, but she started the engine and looked ready to drive away.

  “Carrie, I’m so sorry. I hate to leave things like this. We still have a lot to talk about.”

  “When? How? Each time we get together someone tries to kill you—and me in the bargain.”

  “Would you like me to follow you home to be sure you get inside safely?”