Todd pinched the bridge of his nose. He could already hear the ribbing he’d get at the next meeting. “Maybe it’ll die down.”
“Not anytime soon based on the videos I’m seeing. Dani’s saying she might interview you if she wasn’t ticked you interrupted her girls’ night.”
“I don’t understand why she’d think that.”
“According to Dani, one of her group left to take care of an unknown minor at the hospital. Sound like anyone you know?”
Ouch. That did sound like his scenario. Could he claim he didn’t know her? “Maybe.”
Caleb’s sigh said so much. “We’ll talk about that in the morning. Just know Dani’s not happy. Though I didn’t mind getting her home a little early. Little Miss was happy to see her mom.”
A woman in a lab coat walked toward him, Bridget with her. “I need to go.”
“See you in the morning.”
Todd hung up and slid his phone back in his pocket. He braced for whatever news the doctor had because, based on the solemn lines of her face, it couldn’t be too good.
The woman slowed as she neared him. “You’re still here.” The words were a statement, and she didn’t sound that surprised.
He glanced at the embroidered name on her jacket. Dr. Jodi Miller. He made a mental note. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be here until it seems like a good idea to leave.” Though he had to stifle a yawn. The day was beginning to feel unending.
She slid her hands into her white coat pockets as her gaze slid from him to Bridget and back. “Any progress made on finding our Jane Doe’s parents?”
Bridget shook her head, her red ponytail bouncing with the motion. “I don’t have any way to start.”
The doctor’s gaze slid to him, and Todd shook his head. “Nothing for me to go on yet, either.”
Dr. Miller nodded and aged ten years in front of him. “We need to find her family quickly. We’ve ruled out the relatively easy fixes. It’s not dehydration. Type one or two diabetes. Etcetera. But that means we’re looking at potentially more serious causes of her lingering unconsciousness. She really should have come around by now since we’ve been hydrating her and getting her nutrition through the IV.” She straightened, and it felt as if she took up her weapon to keep fighting. “There are a lot of blood tests in the works. Other tests, too. They’ll come back over the next few hours. Until then, we wait to see what kind of story they tell us.”
“I don’t like that.” Bridget’s words were harsher than she probably meant them to be.
Todd took a step toward the door, watched the girl’s chest rise and fall, but noted there was no other movement. “What else are we supposed to do? We can’t will her to wake up, and without a medical history, there doesn’t seem to be much we can do but wait for the tests.”
“I can go to the office and see if there are any reports of abuse related to a girl approximately her age. Maybe there’s something that will help me find out who she is.” She rubbed her arms as if to push the cold from them. “You don’t just throw away a child, but maybe that’s what happened if you found her where you say you did.”
He didn’t appreciate the doubt in her words. At the same time he understood the need to push back and protest the reality that it defined. No one wanted to believe he’d found what he had. He wanted to remind Bridget that he didn’t like it either.
Did he have to remind everyone he’d just wanted a late supper?
Not to find a desperately sick girl?
The doctor glanced at her watch. “I’ll let you know what we learn. Make sure the nurses know how to reach you if you leave.” She turned to leave, then stopped and looked at Bridget. “We will need some paperwork from your office establishing who will make decisions regarding her health care until her parents are found.”
Bridget put her hands up as if to stop the flow of words. “I’m not a parent and unqualified to make health decisions for someone else’s child.”
“You are today. Welcome to your role.”
A nurse hurried up and tapped Dr. Miller’s arm. “You’re needed in room four.”
She nodded to them, then followed the nurse, asking questions as they left.
Bridget glanced from Todd to the room. Then, without a word, she headed into the small room.
CHAPTER 4
When she had been added to the on-call list, Bridget had tried to warn her supervisor that she wasn’t ready. There was too much that she didn’t know. However, her boss, Leticia Graves, insisted that after a couple more senior case workers quit, she was up. Now Bridget stood at the foot of the bed in the ER and typed out a message to her boss. This had to count as an emergency requiring waking the woman, but Bridget would try a text first.
What was she supposed to do?
