Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (11 page)

Adam nodded his head in agreement and signed deeply, “
Bad for the hospital.  Makes it seem unsafe.  Good for George Raccine.  Makes the pu
blic feel bad for him, sympathy, I would think.
It could increase his chances of re-election or
a
senate bid.
"

Alex could feel chill bumps jumping out on her arms.  "You don't think..."

Adam interrupted her, his voice
brusque.  "Don't know anything except that s
omebody's going to benefit from this, Alex.  Question is who.  Something's up with George.
  He's different, going soft on major
issues
, especially crime and illegal drugs
. 
He keeps changing his mind on everything, waffling on major issues.  It’s like he preoccupied or something.
I got little satisfaction from him when we talked yesterday."

Alex
shook her head and was a little defensive when she
said,
"His wife has terminal cancer.  He's probably u
pset about her.  And now this
voodoo
stuff.  I think
Raccine's a good
man.  Not as popular as he was at first,
but still well-liked here and the first lady is loved.”

"Time will tell
," he said.
 
"
In the meantime,
is
everything else okay?"  He peered at her over his glasses.

"I guess
," Alex replied
. 
"
We'll have to hope Mrs. Raccine recovers.
 
Have you talked with
grandmother today?
  I need to call her. 
Is e
verything okay at the farm?"

"Yeah.  She's fine.  I miss the old girl
.  I managed to get an earlier flight out
this evening
.  Should arrive in Washington a little after nine
with the time change
.  We've a late date."  Adam winked at her, his eyes twinkling.  

"I'll call her soon.  I've got a date too.  I need to go."

"Wait just a moment, young lady. 
A date with
whom
? 
Who is this man?"

"You'll meet him.  When the time's right.  It's not serious.  He's a close friend.  Very attractive.  I like him a lot."  Alex smiled at Adam who obviously wanted to know more.  She stood to leave.  "
How’s my mother?  Is she doing OK
?"

"The same.  Never changes.  Hug me, girl, and come home s
oon.  Place's quiet without you
.  Alex, f
ocus on getting out of this God-forsaken place.
"

"Will do,
Granddad
.  Love you."

As Adam Lee watched Alex leave
,
his heart overflowed
with pride at her beauty and accomplishments.  Chip off the old block, he thought to himself. I deserve her.
Of course, her beauty came from her mother.

***

Alex barely had time to jump out of the shower and change
c
lothes
before Mitch was at the door.  He appeared with a bottle of barrel-fermented special reserve Virginia chardonnay harvested and bo
ttled at The Lake Anna Winery
,
a winery and vineyard not
far from Alex's grandparents' estate
in Hanover county
.  It was Alex's favorite wine.

"I've been sav
ing this for a special occasion
but knew you could use a boost. I'd saved it for the Extravaganza."

"Oh Mitch, you're wonderful, so thoughtful. 
It's perfect."  Alex hugged him
.

Mitch gave her a light kiss on the forehead and
returned her hug.
Once again he felt a pang of guilt
that was paralyzing
.

Mitch smiled warmly and continued speaking, "I also stopped at the French market and p
icked up some fresh-baked
baguettes, some cheese and fruit.  P
ut your feet up
,
and let me wait on you
."

"Deal.  Need any help?"

"I'll find everything.  It may not be perfect, but it'll be good," Mitch replied on his way to the kitchen.

Alex
sat in her favorite chair and mentally reviewed
the events of the day.  She still couldn't believe what had happened.

Mitch returned shortly with two crystal wine goblets and
the bottle
of
chardonnay chilling
in a silver wine bucket.  A beautiful silver tray was piled high with bread, cheese and roasted almonds.  Grapes, strawberries and apricots added color to the presentation. 

"Mitch, it's beautiful.  Such elegance," Alex was genuinely impressed.  This man is perfect, she thought.

He placed the tray on the coffee table and went over to Alex's CD player and selected a compact disc.  He then lit severa
l
candles.  They made light conversation as they ate their
dinner.  The wine, food and music made Alex relax and drift through the meal.  She closed her eyes for several seconds until the day's events jerked her back to reality.

"What do you make of the situation at CCMC?"
she asked, remembering that Mitch had grown up in New Orleans.

He paused f
or a few minutes, as if collecting his thoughts and searching
for the correct words.  "Well, I really don't know what's happened, except what I read in the newspaper."

"The story in the
Times
was perfect.  It was
as if the reporter had discovered Mrs. Raccine.  It was disarming in its accuracy."

"Sounds like a good newspaper reporter to me.  Mrs. Raccine
doing
okay
?
” Mitch
gazed at her intently.

Alex shrugged her shoulders.
"She's stable, but hasn't moved or spoken since the attack.  She had some heart trouble initially, but that seemed to have cleared late this afternoon.  When I saw her, she seemed to be in a
catatonic trance, almost
.  She was apparently very frightened and traumatized
.  She looked
literally scared to death.”

“
I'd imagine so.  I would think that
being voodooed is pretty horrible
, at least that’s what I heard
."  He looked saddened, as he'd always liked Grace Raccine.

"You're a native.  Do you believe in it?" Alex
asked
,
once again
almost fearing his answer.

"It's hogwash. Junk.  It's just a way of scaring people.  Of course I don't believe in it.  Did you think I would?" said Mitch, noting the expression of relief cross Alex's face.

"I don't know.  I learned today that some prominent New Orleans families do."

"Really, who
?" 
Mitch replied and waited for more information.

"Well….
" Alex hesitated.

"Don't tell me anything you're not comfortable with.  Besides, I don't even
know if I understand this stuff enough to be helpful
.
  All I can really do is listen.
"  Mitch picked up on her hesitation. 

"It's not a matter of
comfort;
it's
about
confidentiality and ethics.  In a nutshell, I found out that some board member
s
do believe.  They're all educated, prominent people.  Guess I'm just not used to the culture here," Alex ended on a plaintive note.

"New Orleans does have its own culture, that's for sure.  Any leads on who's responsible?"  Mitch's face was intense as he waited for her answer.

Alex appreciated the objectivity she heard in Mitch's voice.  "Not a one.  The police captain is certainly not sharing anything.  He grilled all the staff and presented himself at the board meeting as macho man, claiming voodoo and black magic as the reason for the attack on Mrs. Raccine.  He's a real act.  He had a toxic reaction to me, hate at first sight.  Of course, I shared his feelings," Alex admitted.

"Who's the captain?" Mitch said.

"Captain Francois, a real jerk."

"Oh, I know Jack
. 
We w
ent to school together.  Your evaluation of him is correct.  He seems like that initially."

Alex was stunned.  "That's impossible.  He looks like he's at least ten or fifteen years older than you."

"Hard living, I guess."  Mitch's discussion of the captain was interrupted by
the ringing of
Alex's
cell
phone.

"Excuse me, Mitch, I better get that.  Who knows, maybe it's the hospital with another voodoo attack."  Alex smiled, feeling brash
and a bit reckless from the wine
.

Mitch continued sipping his wine and
thinkin
g over Alex's
comments, and wished
she had revealed more.
He hadn't learned much. 

He could hear Alex talking softly on the
phone;
her voice was the sound of rustling silk.  Once again Mitch wished he could do things over again.
He would never make the same mistakes.
He'd never thought things would go this far.

"Of course, I'll see you.  You probably need to talk.  Come over in about thirty minutes,
” Mitch
heard Alex say before she hung up the phone.

When she returned to the living ro
om, Alex appeared a bit harried, piqued in fact.
 

"Trouble?"

"No, not really, at least I don't think so.  That's Robert Bonnet.  He asked if I'd see him for a few minutes later tonight.  Do you mind?"  Alex had a chagrinned look
,
and her face was streaked red.
Was she blushing?  Her face felt hot.

Mitch picked up on her embarrassment and reassured her.  "No, no,
of course not.
Should I mind that you
are dismissing me to spend some time with your ex-husband?
”
  He smiled and winked at her.
“Let me h
elp you clean up.  Is Bonnet involved in this stuff at
CCMC?" 

"Only insofar as Robert is Mrs. Raccine's surgeon," Alex replied cautiously. "Only normal that he should be upset, I suppose."

"I suppose," Mitch replied in a noncommittal tone.

As Mitch and Alex cleaned up together, Mitch said, "I know this
voodoo stuff is foreign to you
and probably seems ridiculous in many ways
.  Just know I'm here for you
and
will
help you all I can.  Call me anytime.  I'm a good listener."  Mitch smiled warmly at Alex and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, Mitch. It means a lot." 

"Well, let me get out of here before your company arrives.  I'm sure he wants to see you alone.  He'd probably feel bad if he thought he'd interrupt
ed your evening," Mitch replied while
gathering his things. 

As he leaned over to give Alex a good night kiss, something fell out of his pocket.
Mitch retrieved it quickly.

"My new
cell phone.
" Mitch explained hastily.  "I have it for the Arcadian project."  Then he gracefully lowered his head to Alex's engaging her in a long kiss.  "Take care, call if you need anything."

After Mitch left her home
, Alex
touched her cheek, still
flushed from the kiss.  Well, she thought, maybe we're getting s
omewhere.  He's such a nice guy
.  Any other date would wisecrack about entertaining your ex-husband this late at night.  Mitch's just about as perfect a man as I've ever
seen;
she continued to think as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
Maybe
he is just a little too perfect
.

Ten minutes l
ater Robert arrived at her door.  He looked
fatigued and disheveled.
He had a tortured look in his eyes
.  His appearance was untidy
and his cloth
es
looked as though he'd slept in
them
. 

Robert kissed her on the cheek as he came in, and she smelled bourbon on his breath.  On well,
not my problem and
he can probably smell wine on mine. 

Robert immediately began talking.  "Thanks for seeing me. Hope I haven't interrupted your evening."  Robert's eyes scanned the flat and saw its beautiful furnishings and neatness.  "This place looks great.  I recognize some of the antiques, though."
Robert smiled carefully,
his emotions clear on his face as he struggled to gain control.