Chapter 6: He Comes to the Hospital
Carol had said morning.
It was not yet five a.m.
I had sent Christopher to find coffee.
Nora had dozed off in the chair beside Daisy's bassinet, her head tipped back, her breathing slow and even.
I was sitting with the photograph and Carol's phone number and the consent form spread on the table in front of me when the door opened.
I expected Christopher.
The man who stepped in was not Christopher.
He was tall, well-dressed for the hour, dark jacket, no tie.
He looked at me the way people look at something they have already decided how to handle.
"Mrs.
Ellen Marsh?" he said.
I didn't answer.
"My name is Daniel Reeves.
I'm Marcus Hale's attorney." He set a business card on the table without being invited to.
"I apologize for the hour.
I understand there's been some confusion tonight about a lab report and some documentation."
"There's no confusion," I said.
"My client is aware that his former colleague Dr.
Ellison engaged in some practices that were — irregular.
He was as troubled by that as anyone.
He reported her to the clinic board himself."
"I know," I said.
"And then he walked away with clean hands while she took the fall."
A small pause.
"My client acted in good faith at the time."
"Your client priced women's eggs in emails.
I've been told those emails exist."
Nothing moved in his face.
But his hand, resting on the back of the chair, shifted slightly.
"Mrs.
Marsh.
My client has a great deal of respect for what you must be feeling tonight.
He would like to offer some support — financial support — to help you and your family navigate what is clearly a very difficult situation."
"He wants to pay me."
"He wants to help—"
"He wants to pay me to go away." I picked up the business card and held it for a moment.
"How much?"
"That would be a conversation for—"
"How much did he charge for my eggs?"
The attorney stopped.
"I want to know," I said.
"What was the price?
What did he and Ellison decide I was worth?"
"Mrs.
Marsh—"
"Get out of this room."
"I strongly encourage you to consider—"
"There is a security officer twelve feet down that hallway." I stood up.
"If you are still in this room in thirty seconds, I am going to open that door and ask him to remove you.
And I am going to tell him exactly who you are and why you're here.
At five in the morning.
In a maternity ward."
He picked up his card from the table.
He straightened his jacket.
"You should understand," he said, "that pursuing this will be very costly.
Emotionally and financially.
My client has significant resources."
"So does Carol Voss," I said.
"Tell him she said hello."
Something shifted in his expression — just for a second, just enough.
He left.
I stood at the table until I heard his footsteps fade down the corridor.
Then I sat back down.
Nora was awake.
She had been awake, I realized, since the attorney said his first sentence.
She was watching me from the chair with her arms wrapped around herself.
"He sent a lawyer," she said.
"Yes."
"At five in the morning."
"Yes."
She looked at Daisy.
"He's scared."
"He should be," I said.
Christopher appeared in the doorway with two cups of coffee.
May you like
He looked at my face and then at the empty space where a third person had apparently just been standing.
"What did I miss?" he said.
