Lies of Omission (Passing Rites Book 3) by Elena Graf

Author:Elena Graf [Graf, Elena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nazi Era
Publisher: Purple Hand Press
Published: 2018-09-17T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

ST. HILDE’S HOSPITAL always held quarterly meetings of the board of directors on the first Thursday of the month. Usually, I preferred to go on a mental holiday while we debated such critical issues as the brand of coffee to serve in the doctor’s dining room. That morning I listened with polite attention as the members reviewed the qualifications of the proposed candidates for chief of staff. When my name was raised, the chief director gave me a little nod, and I excused myself.

I wondered what they would say about me in my absence. Would they debate, as they should, my relative merits versus those of other potential candidates? No doubt my grandaunt, a member of the board ex officio, would have made a strong recommendation that I succeed the incumbent. However, I hoped they would disregard her support and judge me solely on my credentials and experience. It was fantasy, of course. A person with social connections and money is never judged on merit alone.

While I waited in the anteroom, I chatted with the secretary, whose cleverly fabricated brassiere gave her significant breasts the distinctive profile of artillery shells. I regretted this crass thought when she was kind enough to offer me a cigarette, which I smoked slowly and deliberately in an effort to calm an unexpected case of nerves.

The discussion in the boardroom turned out to be brief. I interpreted this to mean that my candidacy had either been a foregone conclusion or had been summarily dismissed. In either case, I would have to wait until the selection committee convened at a later date to see if I would be invited to apply.

After I returned to the meeting, the board moved on to other critical matters such as the decorations for Christmas and the holiday party for the staff. Would we simply have punch or a wider variety of liquors? The room filled with smoke as everyone partook of the wooden box filled with cigarettes in the center of the conference table. An odorous cloud developed overhead.

During the discussion of the new x-ray equipment, the door suddenly opened and the secretary, looking very pale, gestured to me. I pointed to myself, and she nodded. Once outside the boardroom, I began to scold the young woman for the interruption.

“Please forgive me, Frau Doktor,” she said, cutting me off, “but this is an emergency.” She stood on her toes to whisper the nature of the crisis directly into my ear: “Dr. von Holdenberg has taken ill...”

“Ill? What do you mean ill?”

“Sister Marthe can tell you more. She’s just outside.”

Sister Marthe was indeed waiting for me in the hall. “Forgive me for troubling you, Frau Doktor, but Dr. von Holdenberg is in terrible pain, and she’s asking for you.”

“What seems to be the trouble?”

She hesitated. It was not a nurse’s place to offer a diagnosis. “An ectopic pregnancy, I believe.”

“What!”

“Please, Frau Doktor. You must come at once!”

I flew down the three flights of stairs with Sister Marthe at my heels. We dashed through the waiting area.

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