Page 30

CHAPTER 30

POE COULD NOT remember ever feeling this uncomfortable, or this out of place.

At 8 a.m., at a small private clinic, Detective Helene Grey lay on an examination table with her midsection exposed. Her blouse was unbuttoned to the bottom of her bra, and her slacks were pulled down to her lower abdomen. The room was dim, except for the glow from a small monitor at the head of the table. A petite Asian woman in a lab coat applied a shiny coat of gel to Grey’s belly.

“I’m Andrea,” the tech said with a smile. “I warmed it up for you.”

“Thanks for that,” said Grey, her voice low.

“So let’s take a peek,” said Andrea. She pulled an ultrasound wand from its cradle and placed it a few inches below Grey’s navel.

Auguste Poe stood off to the side, arms folded across his chest, his heart pounding so hard he thought the device might pick it up. He wondered if it had been a mistake to come along. To Poe, it seemed like Helene was a lot more comfortable with the technician than she was with him.

Poe kept his eyes on Grey’s face until the monitor lit up with an image—black and white, fanned out and wider at the bottom. It looked like shifting sand or storm clouds, grainy and rippling. As the tech moved the wand, a small black void appeared near the center, an irregular oval.

“There’s the gestational sac,” Andrea said softly. “And here…” She pointed to a tiny, indistinct shape near the margin. “That’s your baby.”

Poe felt adrenaline rush to his gut. Grey craned her neck for a better view. The tech tapped some keys and a cluster of digits appeared on the right side of the screen. “Let’s see what we can hear,” she said. She pressed another key. A spiky graph pulsed across the bottom of the screen. A tiny speaker blasted what sounded to Poe like somebody bending a sheet of aluminum back and forth. Warp, warp… warp, warp… warp, warp…

“That’s the heart?” he asked.

“It is,” said Andrea. “A hundred and fifty beats a minute.”

“Is that good?” asked Grey. “It sounds fast.”

“Perfectly normal,” said the tech. She shifted the wand a few inches and leaned forward toward the screen. “Hold on.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Grey. Poe saw her jaw clench. He felt a quiver in his knees. His mouth went dry.

“Give me one second…” said the tech, angling the wand again. The black opening disappeared, then reappeared on the other side. Or did it? Another wiggle of the wand. The first opening appeared again. Then two openings together, side by side, like mirror images.

“Whoa,” said Andrea. She pressed a key. The sound came again, a little slower this time.

“What’s that?” asked Poe.

“It’s another heartbeat,” she replied. “Another baby.” She looked at Grey, then at Poe. “Congratulations, guys, you’re having twins.”

“Dear God,” said Grey softly.

Poe felt the sound from the machine like it was throbbing inside his own head.

He reached over and patted Helene’s hand gently as it rested on the exam table.

Then, without a word, he turned and walked out of the room. He didn’t stop until he reached a bench near the sidewalk—where he almost passed out.