The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [93]
Two hours later, she and Lucas pulled into the parking lot of the medical building that housed Dr. Schaefer’s office.
“Oh, my God,” Janine said as she got out of the car.
“What is it?” Lucas asked her.
“I just realized that today is Thursday. Herbalina day. The kids in the study will be coming into Schaefer’s office all day for their IVs.”
“Is that a problem?”
“It’s just that—” she closed the car door, but didn’t move toward the building “—I’ll see all these children and mothers that I know, that Sophie and I saw every Monday and Thursday, only this time I won’t have Sophie with me.”
Lucas walked around the car and pulled her gently into a hug. “Do you want me to go in to get the Herbalina?” he asked. “You could call Schaefer on your cell phone and tell him it’s okay to give it to me.”
She shook her head and glanced toward the building. “Maybe this is nuts,” she stated. “I know Valerie Boykin thinks I’m crazy to bother getting Sophie’s medicine. I know she thinks Sophie’s dead. I’m afraid everyone who’s searching thinks she’s dead.”
“No, they don’t, Jan. You heard Valerie say that they’ll go into this with the assumption she’s alive.”
“They have more dogs who sniff out dead people than those who find live people,” she said.
“What makes you say that?”
“I counted.”
“Oh, Jan.” He hugged her again. “Don’t do this to yourself. They’re still calling in more search teams. They wouldn’t be out there in such force if they didn’t think there was a good chance she’s alive.”
“She is alive, Lucas. I know she is.”
He nodded. “I trust your intuition,” he said. “You and Sophie have a very strong bond, and if you’re feeling something that tells you she’s alive, then I’m willing to assume she is.”
He put his arm around her and began walking with her toward the building. Inside, they took the elevator to Schaefer’s office on the fourth floor.
The moment she saw Janine, Gina, Dr. Schaefer’s nurse, left the reception desk to come into the empty waiting room.
“Is there any word?” she asked, her hands on Janine’s arms.
“Not yet,” Janine said.
“We’re all praying for her,” Gina said. Like Sophie, Gina had red hair, and Janine knew there was more than the usual nurse-patient relationship between Gina and Sophie. “She’s a tough little girl,” Gina continued. “If any child could survive in the woods, it would be Sophie.”
“Thanks,” Janine said. She put her hand on Lucas’s shoulder. “You remember Lucas Trowell?” she asked. Lucas had come with her the first time Sophie had visited the office, the day before starting the treatment.
“Oh, of course,” Gina said. “The courage tree guy.”
Lucas smiled. “That’s me,” he said.
“Shall we sit down out here?” Janine asked. Even though the waiting room was empty, Janine knew Dr. Schaefer had plenty of patients in the large treatment room at the end of the hallway. Parents brought their children from as far away as California to participate in the study.
“No, don’t sit,” Gina said. “The moms want to see you. They all know. Everyone knows. It’s been on the news every few minutes.” She ushered Janine and Lucas down the hallway before either of them could protest. “You know, one good thing, at least it’s summer and not one of the cooler months,” she said, as they walked. “It gets so cold in the mountains at night in the spring and fall.”
The treatment room was a good size, but it was cramped with eight recliners, against the walls set in a circle. Six of the recliners held small children, and next to each of them sat a parent—five mothers, one father—and every one of the adults jumped to their feet when Janine and Lucas entered the room. Janine was instantly surrounded, accepting their hugs and quiet expressions of concern and curiosity. It was the morning contingent of the kids in the study. Seven, including Sophie, received their IVs in the morning; eight received theirs in the afternoon.
Janine turned, ready to introduce Lucas to the parents, but he had moved away from her. He was sitting at the side of one of the little girls, talking with her, already intent in conversation. Surprised and