Sidney Sheldon - Nothing lasts forever

Kat shook her head. “Nobody said life has to be fair.”

Paige looked around the antiseptic white-tiled room. “This whole place depresses me. Everybody is sick.”

“Or they wouldn't be here,” Kat pointed out.

“Why don't we give a party?” Honey suggested.

“A party? What are you talking about?”

Honey's voice was suddenly filled with enthusiasm. “We could order up some decent food and liquor, and have a celebration! I think we could all use a little cheering up.”

Paige thought for a second. “You know,” she said, “that's not a bad idea. Let's do it!”

“It's a deal. I'll organize things,” Honey told them. “We'll do it tomorrow after rounds.”

Arthur Kane approached Paige in the corridor. There was ice in his voice. “You've been a naughty girl. Someone should teach you to keep your mouth shut!” And he walked away.

Paige looked after him in disbelief. Wallace told him what I said. He shouldn't have done that. 'If you get the reputation of being a maverick and blowing the whistle on your fellow doctors …' Would Ido it again? Paige pondered. Darned right I would!

News of the forthcoming party spread rapidly. All the residents chipped in. A lavish menu was ordered from Ernie's, and liquor was delivered from a nearby store. The party was set for five o'clock in the doctors' lounge. The food and drinks arrived at four-thirty. There was a feast: seafood platters with lobster and shrimp, a variety of pates, Swedish meatballs, hot pasta, fruit, and desserts. When Paige, Kat, and Honey walked into the lounge at five-fifteen, it was already crowded with eager residents, interns, and nurses, eating and having a wonderful time.

Paige turned to Honey. “This was a great idea!”

Honey smiled. “Thank you.”

An announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Dr. Finley and Dr. Ketler to the ER. Stat.” And the two doctors, in the middle of downing shrimp, looked at each other, sighed, and hurriedly left the room.

Tom Chang came up to Paige. “We ought to do this every week,” he said.

“Right. It's—”

The loudspeaker came on again. “Dr. Chang … Room 7. … Dr. Chang … Room 7.”

And a minute later, “Dr. Smythe … ER Two… . Dr. Smythe to ER Two.”

The loudspeaker never stopped. Within thirty minutes, almost every doctor and nurse had been called away on some emergency. Honey heard her name called, and then Paige's, and Kat's.

“I can't believe what's happening,” Kat said. “You know how people talk about having a guardian angel? Well, I think the three of us are under the spell of a guardian devil.” Her words proved to be prophetic.

The next Monday morning, when Paige got off duty and went to get into her car, two of the tires had been slashed. She stared at them in disbelief. Someone should teach you to keep your mouth shut!

When she got back to the apartment she said to Kat and Honey, “Watch out for Arthur Kane. He's crazy.”

Kat was awakened by the ring of the telephone. Without opening her eyes, she reached out for it and put the receiver to her ear.

“H'lo?”

“Kat? It's Mike.”

She sat up, her heart suddenly pounding. “Mike, are you all right?” She heard him laugh.

“Never better, sis. Thanks to you and your friend.”

“My friend?”

“Mr. Dinetto.”

“Who?” Kat tried to concentrate, groggy with sleep.

“Mr. Dinetto. He really saved my life.”

Kat had no idea what he was talking about. “ Mike…”

“You know the fellows I owed money to? Mr. Dinetto got them off my back. He's a real gentleman. And he thinks the world of you, Kat.”

Kat had forgotten the incident with Dinetto, but now it suddenly flashed into her mind: Lady, you don't know who you're talking to. You better do what the man says. This is Mr. Lou Dinetto.

Mike was going on. “I'm sending you some cash, Kat. Your friend arranged for me to get a job. It pays real good money.”

Your friend. Kat was nervous.. “Mike, listen to me. I want you to be careful.”

She heard him laugh again.

“Don't worry about me. Didn't I tell you everything would be coming up roses? Well, I was right.”

“Take care of yourself, Mike. Don't—”

The connection was broken.

Kat was unable to go back to sleep. Dinetto! How did he find out about Mike, and why is he helping him?

The following night, when Kat left the hospital, a black limousine was waiting for her at the curb. The Shadow and Rhino were standing beside it.

As Kat started to pass, Rhino said, “Get in, doctor. Mr. Dinetto wants to see you.”

She studied the man for a moment. Rhino was ominous-looking, but it was the Shadow who frightened Kat. There was something deadly about his stillness. Under other circumstances, Kat would never have gotten into the car, but Mike's telephone call had puzzled her. And worried her.

She was driven to a small apartment on the outskirts of the city, and when she arrived, Dinetto was waiting for her.

“Thanks for coming, Dr. Hunter,” he said. “I appreciate it. A friend of mine had a little accident. I want you to take a look at him.”

“What are you doing with Mike?” Kat demanded.

“Nothing,” he said innocently. “I heard he was in a little trouble, and I got it taken care of.”

“How did … how did you find out about him? I mean, that he was my brother and …”

Dinetto smiled. “In my business, we're all friends. We help each other. Mike got mixed up with some bad boys, so I helped him out. You should be grateful.”

“I am,” Kat said. “I really am.”

“Good! You know the saying 'One hand washes the other'?”

Kat shook her head. “I won't do anything illegal.”

“Illegal?” Dinetto said. He seemed hurt. “I wouldn't ask you to do anything like that. This friend of mine was in a little accident and he hates hospitals. Would you take a look at him?”

What am I letting myself in for? Kat wondered. “Very well.”

“He's in the bedroom.”

Dinetto's friend had been badly beaten up. He was lying in bed, unconscious.

“What happened to him?” Kat asked.

Dinetto looked at her and said, “He fell down a flight of stairs.”

“He should be in a hospital.”

“I told you, he doesn't like hospitals. I can get you whatever hospital equipment you need. I had another doctor who took care of my friends, but he had an accident.”

The words sent a chill through Kat. She wanted nothing more than to run out of the place and go home, and never hear Dinetto's name again, but nothing in life was free. Quid pro quo. Kat took off her coat and went to work.

By the beginning of her fourth year of residency, Paige had assisted in hundreds of operations. They had become second nature to her. She knew the surgery procedures for the gallbladder, spleen, liver, appendix, and, most exciting, the heart. But Paige was frustrated because she was not doing the operations herself. Whatever happened to “Watch one, do one, teach one”? she wondered.

The answer came when George Englund, chief of surgery, sent for her.

“Paige, there's a hernia operation scheduled for tomorrow in OR Three, seven-thirty A.M.”

She made a note. “Right. Who's doing the operation?”

“You are.”

“Right. I …” The words suddenly sank in. “I am?”

“Yes. Any problem with that?”

Paige's grin lit up the room. “No, sir! I… thanks!” “You're ready for it. I think the patient's lucky to have you. His name is Walter Herzog. He's in 314.” “Herzog. Room 314. Right.” And Paige was out the door.

Paige had never been so excited. “I'm going to do my first operation! I'm going to hold a human being's life in my hands. What if I'm not ready”? What if I make a mistakel Things can go wrong. It's Murphy's Law. By the time Paige was through arguing with herself, she was in a state of panic.