The Next Widow by CJ Lyons

Author:CJ Lyons
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781838887117
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2020-07-27T18:30:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

By the time Leah and Emily arrived back on pediatrics, Emily was asleep on Leah’s shoulder, drained by Jessica’s lengthy interview. The clerk, Arthur, flagged her down as she carried Emily past the nurses’ station.

“Dr. Wright. Dr. Kern just called. Said she needs to speak to you as soon as possible.”

“I just left her.” Why would Jessica be calling her? She’d said their next session wouldn’t be until this afternoon.

“She asked that you call her back right away. She’s in the clinic but said you can have her paged.”

“Okay. Let me just get Emily into bed. If you could go ahead and call the clinic?” It would probably take several minutes before Jessica could disengage herself from patients to take Leah’s call.

She carried Emily into her room and tucked her into the sprawling field of crisp white linen, not a wrinkle in sight, inviting slumber. Her eyelids sagged at the mere thought of sleep.

By the time she returned to the nurses’ station Arthur was on hold with the clinic. “Where’s the security guard?” she asked him. “Detective Jericho said he’d be here?”

“I think since you were gone, they went to lunch. I’ll call them back.” Arthur turned his attention to the phone. “She’s right here,” he told the person on the line. He handed her the receiver. “Dr. Kern.”

“Hey, Jessica. Did I forget something?”

“No, I did. I forgot what idiots the Utilization Review people were along with the insurance companies. They called. They’ll only approve Emily’s admission as a twenty-three-hour observation. And with it being peak RSV and flu season, they need her bed.”

“You’re kicking us out? But Emily—” Leah twisted around, hiding her face from Arthur, who was listening to every word. “What if something happens? How can I—”

“No one expects you to go it alone.” Jessica was using her reassuring shrink tone—the one for patients, not colleagues. “You have my number. Call me anytime. And I still want to set up outpatient sessions for both of you—and any other family members.”

Leah was silent, waiting for her to offer some magic fix. But as the silence lengthened, she realized there was no fix. Despite Jessica’s reassurances, she was alone.

“You can’t do it all yourself, Leah,” Jessica said, using her shrink spidey-senses to read Leah’s mind. Not that it wasn’t pretty obvious what she was frightened of. “I can give you the names of some good grief counselors and you already know the victim advocates. Maybe also arrange for someone to provide respite care so you can leave Emily in good hands while you deal with—” Now she hesitated. “With the police and all that.”

“All that” being the myriad of details Leah hadn’t begun to process, much less plan for. Funeral. Transport from the morgue to the funeral home. Service or viewing? Given the extent of Ian’s injuries, could they even consider an open casket? Church or graveside or both? A wake at home was out of the question, of course.

Home. Forget about where to call home in the foreseeable

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