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.I like to educatemyself.''Which journals?'Page 186ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlNew England Journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, Tropical MedicineQuarterly.''Do you remember any specific articles?''One on pyloric stenosis.Another on gallbladder disease.'He rattled off more medical terminology, suddenly looking at ease.'How long did you read?''Maybe an hour or two.''One hour or two? There's a big difference.''I  we got home around nine forty.The.tiff took maybe another tenminutes  mostly, it was cold silence.Then Claire was in bed by ten  so Iguess a little over an hour.Maybe an hour and a half.Then the phone rang,some guy saying there was a medical emergency.''What time was this?''I don't know  when I'm not working I don't watch the clock.Bill taught metime was valuable, but when I'm home, not paying attention to time is myfreedom.'He looked at me in a new way.Childlike.Craving approval.'I understand,' I said, thinking of the Auden poem Moreland had just left me.O let not Time deceive you.burrows of the Nightmare.nakedjustice.He scratched his cheek, then his chest.Gazed into the latrine as if hewanted to crawl in.'It was probably eleven-thirty,' he said.'Or around then.''Who called?''Some guy.''You don't know who?'He shook his head.'Small island like this,' I said, 'I'd think you'd know everyone.''At first I thought it was one of the gardeners at the estate, but it wasn't''Which gardener?''Carl Sleet.But it wasn't.When I said "Carl" he didn't acknowledge, andthis guy's voice was lower.''When you said "Carl" he didn't identify himself?''He was talking fast  very upset.And the connection was bad.'Page 187ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html'Like a long distance call?'That surprised him.'Why would anyone call me long distance? No, the worstcalls are the local ones.The long distance ones if you get a satellitelinkup, you're fine.But most of the island lines are old and corroded.''All right,' I said.'Some guy you didn't recognize calls you foundingupset ''I've been wracking my brain to see if I could figure out who it was, but Ican't.''Why was he upset?''He said there was an emergency, a heart attack on Campion Way, near thepark, and they needed help.''He didn't say who had the heart attack?''No.It all happened very fast  as if he was panicked.''Why'd he call you instead of Moreland?''He said he had called Dr Bill and Dr Bill was on his way and told him to getme because I was closer to Campion.So I grabbed my stuff and went.''What stuff?''Crisis kit  paddles, epinephrine, other heart stimulants.I figured I'dstart CPR till Dr Bill got there, then the two of us.''Then what happened?''I left the house ''Did Claire see you go?''No.I snu  left as quietly as possible.I didn't want to wake her or thekids.''Did she hear the phone ring?''I don't know.usually she doesn't.The phone's in the kitchen andthere's no extension in the bedroom.We keep the ringer on low at night.''With no bedroom extension, how do you hear emergency calls?''I'm a light sleeper and we usually leave the bedroom door open.Tonight itwas shut  Claire shut it 'cause she was mad.When it rang, I ran over andpicked up on the first ring.'Meaning no one could verify the call or the time frame.'So you left with your medical kit,' I said.'Yes.''Did you walk or drive?''Drove.I got to the park maybe five minutes after the call.'Page 188ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html'Close to midnight.''Must have been.It was really dark, there are no streetlights on the islandexcept for Front Street.At first I couldn't see anything, was worried I'd runover the patient, so I parked and walked.As I got closer I saw someone lyingby the side of the road.''Just one person? What about the caller?''No one else.I assumed whoever had called it in had chickened out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]