Precinct 11 - 01 - The Brotherhood Read Online Free PDF Page A

through the door and up to a thin black woman at the desk. “Nikki and Josh Drake!” he said.
    “She’s already in surgery, Officer,” the woman said, eyeing the nameplate over his pocket. “Relative?”
    “Husband and father,” he said as Keller stepped in behind him. “I gotta know—”
    Keller interrupted. “I was told to ask for a Dr. Sarang—something. An Indian name?”
    The woman nodded. “Dr. Murari Sarangan is waiting for you in the conference room on 2.”
    “Sarangan?” Boone said. “He goes to our church. But listen, I want to see my family—”
    Keller grabbed Boone’s shoulder. “As soon as you can see them, I’m sure this doctor will make it happen. He’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”
    Desperate as Boone was for hard information, his legs wobbled as he and Keller trotted up the stairs to the second-floor conference room. Dr. Sarangan, tall and in his late thirties, stood clutching a metal clipboard and wearing green surgical scrubs under a white lab coat.
    No greeting, no small talk, no smile. The doctor opened the door and said, “In here.”
    The last thing Boone wanted was to sit, but he didn’t trust himself to stand. “Just tell me,” he said, dropping into a chair.
    “Mr. Drake, I’m sorry,” Dr. Sarangan began. “I was just going off duty when I realized it was your wife and son in the ER. I asked if I could consult with you.”
    “Just tell me they’re both alive. I can deal with anything else.”
    The doctor hesitated and glanced up as Pastor Sosa entered.
    “Oh no!” Boone said, no longer able to stifle the sobs. “Are they gone?”
    “Your son has died, Mr. Drake,” the doctor said. “Your wife is in grave condition.”
    “Not Josh! Not Josh! No! I need to see Nikki.”
    Both the pastor and Jack Keller reached for Boone.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” Dr. Sarangan said. “It will be at least an hour before you are able to see her. I guarantee I will get you in there as soon as humanly possible. I need to tell you, she does not know about your son.”
    Boone looked desperately to Pastor Sosa. “I have to tell her?”
    The doctor said, “She is in no condition for that kind of news. We’ll have to play it by ear, see if she can be stabilized.”
    Boone turned to his partner. “I’ve got to know what happened at home. Can you find out?”
    “Right now,” Keller said, his eyes red. And as he left, he nodded at Pastor Sosa to join him in the hall.
    Boone drew a deep, quavery breath and forced himself to speak clearly. “Doctor, tell me how bad it is.”
    “I want to do that, if you’re sure you’re ready. Would you rather wait for Pastor S—”
    “No, I need to know. Tell me.”
    Dr. Sarangan flipped through a couple of pages on his clipboard. “Sir—”
    “Boone.”
    “Boone, I need to tell you frankly that I am stalling because there is something I prefer to tell you in front of our pastor.”
    “You said she was alive!”
    “She is. Now please, just give him a few moments, and I will tell you everything.”
    “But it’s bad, isn’t it?”
    The doctor nodded. “It’s bad.”
    “We’ll get through this,” Boone whispered. “But I don’t think I can tell her about Josh. Can I see him?”
    “No.”
    “No? You’re going to keep me from—”
    “Boone, I am so sorry, but you must trust me on this. You would not want to see him. You would recognize nothing of him.”
    Boone laid his head on the table and wept. He looked up when he heard the door, and Pastor Sosa came in with a can of soda for him. Boone drank it in one shot.
    “Okay, he’s here, so talk to me.”
    Sosa sat next to Boone, a hand on his shoulder. The doctor spoke softly to the pastor first. “I told him I wanted you here for this because I realize it is unconventional counsel coming from a Christian.”
    He set the clipboard aside and spoke softly, directly to Boone. “I believe in the sanctity of life. I am pro-life, antiabortion, anti-euthanasia, everything you