Rescue Team Read Online Free PDF

caught in gunfire.” Her eyes shone with sudden tears. “I didn’t get a chance to sleep before my shift. My husband needs round-the-clock care since his motorcycle accident last year. We have a little boy. I need to work if we’re going to keep the house.” She reached for the Kleenex box Katenudged forward. “Do the police think Ava Smith is the mother of that baby?”
    “I believe they’re pursuing that possibility.” Kate hated this conversation and her role in it. She’d been under the gun in triage countless times in her career and knew it could be incredibly rugged. And thankless. Still . . . “Apparently the information she gave during registration was false. The detectives are looking at the security tapes. Were you able to give them a physical description?”
    Dana twisted the tissue. “Young. Nineteen, she said, but she seemed younger. Dark hair. Straight and not very clean, about shoulder length. Thin. Wearing a long sweater that looked two sizes too big on her—dark colored, maybe navy blue.”
    Black nail polish, a silver ring. Pale and perspiring, eyes filled with fear. The realization hit Kate in a dizzying wave. The girl in the shadows. She’d talked with her.
    Stunned, Kate tried to focus on what the triage nurse was saying. Her tears had welled again.
    “I mean,” Dana continued, voice dropping to a ragged whisper, “do you think if I’d done things better, the baby would be alive?”
    -  +  -
    “No thanks.” Wes smiled at the emergency department volunteer holding a small stack of magazines. “I appreciate the offer, though . . . Judith,” he added, noting the name tag on her pink smock. “I won’t be here much longer. I’m waiting to drive someone home.”
    “The sister-in-law of an elderly patient who came in by ambulance. You’re part of the search-and-rescue team.” The woman nodded and her earrings, embossed silver angels, swayed as if taking flight. Her smile brought tiny lines to the outer corners of hersmoky-blue eyes, the only clue that indicated her age. Midfifties, Wes guessed—close to his stepmother’s age. Well-cut blonde hair, tasteful makeup, manicured nails, and a kind expression. A star in the crown of the Austin Grace Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, he’d be willing to bet.
    “Your friend should be out any moment,” the woman said. “The patient’s being admitted upstairs.”
    “You’re certainly on top of things.”
    Judith smiled, sliding a small spiral notebook from her pocket. “My cheat sheet. No names, of course, to respect privacy. But I make notes.” Her discerning gaze took in the dozen or so people seated in the chairs, from the man in a wheelchair to twin girls—one with a gauze square taped to her chin—to the elderly couple signing in at the registration window.
    Wes imagined Judith with a rescue pack and a GPS. She was sharp.
    She turned back to Wes. “Waiting isn’t an easy thing when you’re sick, hurting, or worried. And the staff has their hands full. I try to help where I can. Run some interference for the patients, be a bit of an advocate.” Judith chuckled. “Without appearing to be too pushy, if you know what I mean.”
    “I do,” Wes acknowledged, the image of Kate Callison rising without warning. No doubt she thought his advocacy for her staff was pushy. Not that Kate wasn’t completely capable of pushing back. Or even arm wrestling. He’d seen the determined look on her face in the parking lot. And again a few minutes ago when she’d walked by with the triage nurse in tow. Wes didn’t envy that obviously exhausted woman. He made a mental note to thank Gabe and Jenna again; mutual respect was strong glue when teamwork mattered. He didn’t take their dedication for granted.
    “I should go check on that young lady.” Judith glanced toward the far side of the waiting room, where an African American woman sat with a toddler on her lap. “Her husband’s deployed, so she’s handling things alone. She’s