green material, staining what looked so perfect. That was the problem with great beauty. It hid the greatest flaws. Never again would he allow it to blind him.
“She’s American. No doubt a tourist,” Remi muttered, “but that’s all I know. Did you find any other injuries besides the one to her eye?”
The paramedic shook his head. “No, but she’s going to need surgery to remove whatever’s lodged in there.”
Remi’s mind raced ahead. “Who’s the best oph-thamologist around?”
“Dr. Ernesto Filartigua from Madrid. He operates at the Hospital of the Holy Cross.”
“Then tell the pilot to fly us there. I’ll get the doctor on the phone. I want an expert on her case.”
“Our company doesn’t normally fly north of Toledo, but for you we will.” Madrid was only a half hour farther than Toledo by car—not a great distance—and it meant getting her the best care.
Remi exhaled a deep breath. For once he was glad his title could make a difference. This time his judgment wasn’t impaired. A life was in jeopardy, possibly because of him. He had no desire to take on another demon.
“Sign here, and I’ll tell him to inform dispatch.”
Remi put his signature to the dotted line. While the other man spoke to the cockpit, he pulled out his phone once more and asked for information. If it was at all possible, he wanted to speak to the doctor before they landed.
When he got through to the receptionist, he learned the doctor was in surgery. She would inform him an accident victim with an eye injury was being flown in. The E.R. would notify the doctor of her arrival.
A half hour later the helicopter landed on the helipad located at the east entrance of the hospital. They rushed her into the E.R., where Remi admitted her, promising to give the triage nurse more information when he heard from his foreman.
While he waited in the reception area, several different E.R. doctors went in the cubicle to examine her. A little later a moustached doctor in scrubs appeared. One of the staff showed him behind the curtain at the far end of the room.
Remi walked over to wait. When the doctor came out a few minutes later, he said, “Dr. Filartigua?”
“Sí?”
“I’m Remigio Goyo, the person who phoned for you to attend Senora Gray.”
“Lucky for her you didn’t waste any time, Don Remigio.”
“How bad is her injury? I saw the accident. She said she couldn’t see anything.”
“That’s common with a rupture like this. A glass shard has penetrated the globe of her right eye. The lab is running tests now to prepare her for surgery. After I get in there and remove it, I’ll know more. Does she have family here?”
“No. I’m still trying to get answers from the police. Where can I wait while you’re operating?”
“There’s a reception area on the sixth floor, east wing.”
“I’ll be there.” Tight bands constricted his breathing. “I’ve heard you’re the best. Do whatever you have to.”
His eyes studied Remi for a brief moment. “Of course.”
“May I go in with her now?”
“If you wish, but it’s not necessary. She’s asleep. My advice to you is get a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.” As he started to walk off he added, “You look like you could use one.”
The doctor’s comment reminded Remi he’d awakened with no appetite and had turned down lunch during his business meeting with Luis.
Without conscious thought he walked over to the edge of the curtain. He wanted one last look at her before she went to surgery. The male lab technician darted him a glance, but Remi’s gaze was drawn to her porcelainlike skin where the blood had been cleaned off. In a hospital gown, with her hair pulled back and covered, the pure lines of her classic facial features were even more pronounced.
In his mind’s eye he could see her car rolling onto its side. He shuddered to think the result of that split-second moment might have done serious damage. If he’d been driving slower he probably would have applied the brakes, giving the other woman more room to maneuver. But all the ifs in the world wouldn’t change what had happened.
More than ever he needed that coffee, so he left for the cafeteria. En route his cell rang. It was Paco. “We’re back at the estate now. The police sent for a tow truck to haul the woman’s car. You’re supposed to phone Captain Perez in Toledo, Remi.”
“Bueno.” After writing down the number, he thanked Paco, then made the call to the investigating officer to let him know the woman in the accident was undergoing surgery in Madrid as they spoke. Remi answered his questions, then was told he could collect her purse and suitcase at police headquarters in Toldeo.
The officer could shed little light except that the twenty-seven-year-old American woman was driving a rental car from Lisbon, Portugal. EuropaUltimate Tours was paying for it.
Remi pursed his lips. Did that mean she worked in Europe?
The police assumed they were her employer. They had put in a call to the tour company’s personnel office in New York, but hadn’t heard back yet.
He thanked the other man for the information and told him he’d be in touch. Without hesitation he called his distributor in New York, a man the Goyo family had worked with for years. He asked him to send one of his staff over to EuropaUltimate Tours and get the head of personnel to phone Remi back on his cell. It was an emergency.
While he waited, he ate a meal in the cafeteria. During his second cup of coffee, his phone rang. Within two minutes he’d explained the situation to the personnel department and was given the name and phone number of David Bowen, Jillian Gray’s brother, who lived in Albany, New York.
Armed with that information, he hurried through the hospital and took the elevator to the sixth floor. The clerk at the nurse’s station told him Senora Gray was still in surgery. He thanked the man before going to the reception area.
With no one there he could speak freely as he pulled out his phone and called the Senora’s brother. The man answered on the fourth ring.
“Mr. Bowen?” he said in English. “My name’s Remi Goyo. I’m calling from Holy Cross Hospital in Madrid, Spain. Before anything more is said, let me assure you your sister Jillian is all right, but she was in a car accident outside Toledo a few hours ago.”
The other man groaned.
“I was the only person who witnessed it, that’s why I’m calling. A piece of glass got in her eye.”
“Dear Lord—”
“Dr. Filartigua, a revered eye surgeon in
Madrid, is operating on her now. I knew you would want to be told.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe this has happened—not after what she’s been through.” The man sounded tormented.
