tainted by the smell of antiseptic. On the way out, he asked someone to show him where his wife had fallen.
One of the ambulance attendants accompanied him to the spot, but any sign of an accident had been cleaned up.
“Did anyone see her fall?”
“Not that I know of, sir. We went out when an ambulance drove in and noticed her sitting on the path. Her pupils were dilated. She couldn’t tell us any information, so we brought her inside.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Without wasting another second he strode swiftly toward her parked car. She’d left the doors unlocked, something she normally never did for safety reasons. It meant she was in such a hurry to get inside the emergency room, she didn’t bother.
Suddenly his eye caught sight of a rectangular carton in the back seat. It was the kind of box that held produce meant for a grocery store. With a jerk, he opened the back door and reached for the box. The empty carton had been lined with a thin, wrinkled cotton blanket.
Dear Lord. Had she found the baby in this box?
“Cal?” a familiar male voice called out.
Cal whirled around to see Roman standing there. He must have flown from his office to make it here this fast.
“What’s going on?”
After emitting a tortured sigh, Cal told his friend everything he knew. “The hell of it is, she didn’t recognize me, Roman.”
He felt a clap on his shoulder. “When I was on the police force, I investigated a lot of accidents and saw plenty of cases like this. Her amnesia is temporary.”
Cal shivered again. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to kiss your wife, look into her eyes, only to see fear and repulsion there.”
“No, I can’t. But she only fell a couple of hours ago. Give it time for her mind and body to absorb the shock. It won’t be long before she’s back to normal. Meanwhile, let’s see if there’s anything else in the car that will give us a clue as to what happened.”
Roman’s was the voice of sanity. Together they searched the immaculate interior, but found nothing else.
“Have you looked in her purse or her clothes?”
“No,” Cal answered in a hoarse voice. “Her reaction to me left me too shaken up to think, period.”
“I hear you. Let’s go inside the hospital and see if we can find anything else that will shed some light.”
Cal nodded before the two of them went back to the emergency room. Dr. Harkness met them at the desk.
After exchanging the amenities he said, “I concur with the attending physician’s diagnosis. She’s suffering the kind of amnesia brought on by head trauma.
“There’s been no loss of knowledge of the things around her. For example, she knows she’s in a hospital, she can tell time, add numbers, all of those details. But for now she has blocked out past events. In time, she’ll recover her memory.”
“How soon, Doctor?”
“No one has the answer to that question. You just have to be patient. My advice is to feed her information on a need-to-know basis only. Her mind is refusing to let her remember, possibly because she doesn’t want to remember.” One blond brow lifted. “Has something happened recently that has been very painful for her?”
Cal started to nod. “She’s had three miscarriages in a row. The most recent one dealt us both a severe blow. Since then, Diana has been obsessed by the idea that she might not be able to conceive again, let alone have a child. She’s wanted a baby ever since we were married.”
“That could explain the reason why it might take longer for her to get her memory back, Mr. Rawlins. Dr. Farr tells me the baby she was holding isn’t yours, that you have no idea whose it is.”
“None at all. Roman, here, is the head of the Lufka detective agency. He’s going to start an investigation to find out whose baby it is, and why Diana happened to have the baby with her.”
The doctor’s expression sobered. “That’s good. But as you’ve realized by now, she believes the baby is hers.”
“Yes. That’s what’s got me worried."
“I confess I don’t like it, either. Dr. Farr told me you would rather she didn’t see the baby again. I tend to agree with you, yet I also feel that the other doctor has a point. The baby would be good for her right now to comfort her in her fear. She’s very frightened that she can’t remember anything about her life with you. She’s clinging to that child because she needs something to love that is familiar to her.”
“What should I do?”
“For the time being, the baby has jaundice and can’t be moved from the lights until the pediatrician gives the go ahead. I’ve told your wife about his condition. She seems to have accepted the fact that she’ll have to wait until he’s improved before she’s allowed to see him.
“Thankfully the baby’s condition, which is not life threatening now that he’s being given the proper care, has bought us some time. We can hope that as you stay with your wife, keep her company and anticipate her needs, she’ll start to remember things on her own. The memory usually comes back in bits and pieces with little effort.”
“Except that she’s repulsed by my presence,” Cal ground out.
“She told me she’s afraid of you. That’s why I didn’t invite you to stay for the examination. It’s a natural reaction. She has to go on blind faith that you are her husband, that you two love each other and have been happily married. To her, you’re a complete stranger.
“I’m going to have her admitted overnight for observation. In the morning, if all her vital signs are stable, and another X ray doesn’t show any problems, I’ll let you take her home.
“For the time being, my advice for what it’s worth is to treat her like a sister rather than a wife. Slowly but surely allow friends and relatives to come around, but warn them not to upset her or act startled by her loss of memory. Always be supportive, friendly, tender, kind. Don’t overreact when she retreats. She’s only protecting herself. Don’t make physical advances.”
Cal shook his head. “I already did when I kissed her and she didn’t kiss me back.” The pain of her rejection had gone soul deep.
“A perfectly natural gesture on your part, but it explains her anxiety. Until her memory returns, she has to regain her trust of you. I’m afraid the burden is on your shoulders, Mr. Rawlins. However I want to assure you that I believe her condition is temporary. In time you’ll have her back as good as new.”
He turned to Roman. “We’ve had to report Baby Doe to the police, but perhaps your investigation will produce swifter results. Let us know, will you?”
“Of course. I’m hoping to have answers within a few hours.”
“Good. Then I’ll talk to both of you later. The hospital will keep me notified if there are changes in your wife’s condition.
