The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [94]
“I’m going to get some Herbalina, so that when they find her, they can administer it right away,” she told them.
“Good idea,” said Diana, one of the mothers, and the others echoed the sentiment.
“Have they found anything at all?” Gary, the lone father, asked. “Any clues?”
She shook her head. “Just her shoe, but that was pretty close to the crash site.”
“We were so relieved to hear she wasn’t the girl in the car,” Lisa Pitts said, “though I just feel awful for that girl’s parents.”
Janine nodded, remembering Rebecca’s anger and grief from the morning before. She should get in touch with her to see how she was doing, but she couldn’t bring herself to make that call. After all, Sophie was still alive. She was. And Janine didn’t want to hear any more of Rebecca’s dire predictions.
Lucas came to stand at her side, and Janine introduced him to her friends.
“Are your kids doing as well on Herbalina as Sophie has?” he asked them.
Janine knew that the study participants had, in every case, improved greatly.
“It’s been miraculous,” Lisa said.
“Dr. Schaefer’s a genius,” said Diana.
“Jack only needed four hours of dialysis this week,” Gary said, and Janine felt tears sting her eyes. She squeezed Gary’s arm. Herbalina was a disease-altering treatment, no matter what Sophie’s conventional physicians said. The ability for these children to get by on less dialysis simply had to be proof.
“That’s so great,” she said. “Sophie was down to two nights a week.”
“What about side effects?” Lucas asked the parents. Janine loved his genuine interest. Joe never would have cared.
“Susan’s had major side effects,” said Bonnie Powell. “For example, she suddenly loves to eat, she’s on her in-line skates round the clock, and she’s happy all the time.”
Lucas laughed. “That must be wonderful.”
“What’s that about Zoe’s daughter being on the run near where Sophie is?” Diana asked.
“She escaped from prison,” Gary said. “They think she killed the warden who helped her escape, and that she’s in the same area as Sophie.”
“It’s a huge chunk of land,” Lucas reminded them, touching Janine’s arm in comfort. “If she’s out there, she’s miles away from where Sophie is.”
“Whew, that’s a relief,” Bonnie said. “After what she did to that actress, I don’t like the idea of her being anywhere near Sophie.”
“She’s not.” Janine smiled, taking strength from Lucas’s certainty that Martina Garson was no threat to her daughter.
Gina poked her head back in the room. “Dr. Schaefer has some Herbalina for you, Janine,” she said. “Come into his office.”
Janine looked at Lucas. “Come with me,” she said, and he followed her down the hall and into Schaefer’s office.
Dr. Schaefer got up from his desk and came forward to give Janine a hug, but he drew back when he noticed Lucas. The doctor had not been in the office during Lucas’s previous visit, and Janine figured that he thought Lucas was Joe. But then she remembered that Joe and Schaefer had met when Joe visited the doctor to lambaste him for putting Sophie in his study. She started to introduce the two men, but Lucas beat her to it.
“I’m Lucas Trowell,” he said, reaching out with his hand. “I spoke with you on the phone the other night.”
“Yes.” Schaefer shook his hand. “I remember.” He reached for the small, soft-sided cooler resting on his desk, then turned to Janine. “You need to keep it cool,” he said, as he handed her the cooler. “I put the, uh, the prescription in there for you, along with the P.R.E.-5—the Herbalina—so you should be all set.”
“Right,” Janine said. “Now all we have to do is find Sophie.” She thanked the doctor, then started to leave the room, but Lucas didn’t budge.
“It sounds like your study’s going very well,” he said to the doctor.
“Yes, actually, it is.” Schaefer smiled that uncertain smile Janine was so used to seeing. No one could ever accuse him of being an arrogant physician. “The results are even better than I’d hoped for,” he continued. “I’ll be releasing the, uh, two-month data at a press conference