A Moonlit Murder by Kay Hadashi

Author:Kay Hadashi [Hadashi, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Melanie couldn’t sleep well that night, more worried about Dottie than what she had expected. Even before sunrise, she got up, started the coffeemaker, and went for a run along the beach. After a couple of miles, she turned back. Instead of going straight home, she stopped at her favorite bench near the beach and sat for a quick rest.

“Mom, are you around?”

When she felt several strong gusts of wind in short succession, she decided her mother was near but not close enough to make an appearance.

“Mom, Dottie’s having brain surgery today for a tumor. If you don’t mind, and if it’s at all possible, could you look in on her during the case? It’s in your old neuro room.”

A voice seemed to come on the breeze that blew through. “I hope they’ve done some remodeling since then.”

“Just a couple of years ago. Very nice equipment in there. Honestly, I have no idea what half of it is.”

“I won’t either.”

“You always told me it’s not the equipment, Mom. It’s the hands using it, and the mind making the hands work.”

“You learned that much from me, anyway.”

There was another series of strong gusts and Melanie knew her mother was gone. Leaving the bench, she went home, knowing she had done everything she could, worldly and else wise.

***

Melanie was too busy in the morning with her own cases to say hi to Dottie before she went into surgery. During the break between cases, Melanie tried peeking through the window into Dottie’s operating room while she scrubbed her hands. All she could see was that Dottie’s craniotomy for brain surgery was underway. Somehow, Dottie had been lucky enough to get West Maui Med’s most experienced neurosurgeon, a man near retirement. Dr. Warner had been a new surgeon when Melanie’s mother was still working at the hospital as a neurosurgeon, and he had received some extra training from her. Now, he was viewed as the kindly senior citizen of the hospital that always had a smile for everyone.

The nurse came out to say hi.

“Trinh, I didn’t know you were on today,” Melanie said.

“Actually, Josh came over last night to ask if I’d come in and help with her case.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I was glad to.”

“How is she?” Melanie asked.

“She’s okay. Scared to death when we took her in, but somehow sedation always wins that battle.” Trinh nodded at the door. “I need to get back to work.”

***

By the time Melanie was done with her scheduled cases, it was well after noon. Dottie’s room was empty and had already been cleaned up, the team long gone, her surgery done. Melanie had patients to check on in the Surgical ICU, and once she was done there, she went to the nearby Neuro ICU to check on Dottie. Before that, she went to the family waiting room to see who was there. Getting close, she heard her daughter’s familiar singing voice. Rounding the corner, she found Pop, Josh, and Thérèse in the waiting room, the two men looking glum.

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