Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Doctor Patel, who had been called to the Resplendent Retreat the night before to examine Sebastian’s body and declare the time of death, was on duty. His eyebrows lifted slightly when he saw me walk through the clinic doors, flanked by Gilly and Pippa.
“Mrs. Black, isn’t it?” he asked, watching as my friends guided me to a chair.
I didn’t bother to correct him, Ms., not Mrs., because frankly, I was too uncomfortable to care.
“We think she might be having a heart attack,” Gilly blurted, her voice edged with panic.
“I’m not having a heart attack,” I insisted, though their concern had started to wear on me, making the ache in my chest and neck tighten even more.
“When did it start?” the doctor asked as he pulled a stethoscope from a drawer.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I’ve felt a little off all day. There’s been some pressure, but I figured it was stress.”
“Understandable,” he said with a nod. “I’m sure last night was difficult for you.”
He placed the stethoscope’s cold metal end to my chest and listened, humming thoughtfully as he moved it around. Once he was done, he grabbed an electric blood pressure cuff connected to a monitor, along with a pulse oximeter.
I felt like an idiot. “It’s probably just indigestion. I’ve been indulging in a lot of rich food since we boarded.”
“That’s possible,” Dr. Patel acknowledged, “but better safe than sorry. I’ll do an EKG, as well. Lower the collar of your shirt for me.”
I tugged down the scoop neck on my shirt, and he attached a cardiac pad, a sticky white circle with a metal nipple on the left side of my upper chest.
“Raise your shirt on the left side,” he directed. When I did, he stuck another pad on my ribs to the side of my heart. After, he took some wires from below the monitor and attached them to the pads. “There,” he said. “All done.”
While the cuff inflated, squeezing my arm uncomfortably, I decided to ask the question burning in my mind. “So, Doc, did you find out what really happened to Sebastian? It wasn’t drowning, right?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “No. Not drowning. There was no water in his lungs. If it gives you any peace of mind, you and your husband couldn’t have saved him, no matter how quickly you got him out of the pool or how long you performed CPR.”
“Husband,” Gilly snickered under her breath.
“Ezra’s not my husband,” I clarified, but didn’t bother explaining. “If it wasn’t drowning, do you think it could’ve been foul play?”
The cuff tightened to an almost unbearable degree, making me wince.
“Not at all,” the doctor said firmly. “If you must know, the evidence suggests he likely had a stroke. His platelet count and clotting factors were elevated. It looks like he most likely threw a clot and fell into the pool when he died.”
My stomach twisted. That didn’t align with what I heard and saw in my vision. Someone had pushed Sebastian into the pool. But if he was already dead, maybe they hadn’t killed him. So why make it look like a drowning?
The cuff hissed as it deflated, releasing my arm with a sharp ache. I glanced at the monitor. My oxygen level was ninety-two percent, and my pulse was ninety-two...way higher than normal for me.
“Could he have ingested something that caused the elevated platelet count?” I asked, grasping at straws.
Dr. Patel gave me a long, disapproving look. “Why are you so determined to make this more than it is?”
“Because there was someone else on the deck with Sebastian,” I said, my voice rising.
“Ezra and I heard them.” I threw up my arm in frustration, forgetting about the leads stuck to my chest. They tugged uncomfortably at my skin.
“Why is everyone so determined to call it an accident or natural causes?”
“I follow the science, Mrs. Black. No more, no less.”
He glanced back at the machine, studying the results. “Your blood pressure is elevated, but not dangerously high. Your pulse is fast, but your EKG shows a normal sinus rhythm at this time.”
“And that means…?” I prompted. My mind flashed to the last time I’d died — twenty-seven seconds of no heartbeat, no breathing, and a vivid trip to the afterlife.
When they brought me back, I came back different, with a psychic gift.
A blessing and a curse, depending on the day.
I didn’t want to experience death again to see what else I might wake up with.
“With your elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and slightly low oxygen levels,” he explained, “I think you’re experiencing angina, a temporary reduction of blood flow to the heart.”
He unlocked a cabinet, took out a small bottle of pills, and handed one to me. “This is sublingual nitroglycerin. Put it under your tongue. If the pain eases quickly, it’s a good indication that my diagnosis is correct.”
I popped the pill under my tongue. “Now-ah wahaat?” I mumbled, trying to talk around it.
“We wait.”
Gilly and Pippa hovered nearby, their faces drawn tight with worry. The fact that neither of them was talking only made me more anxious. But within minutes, the pressure in my chest started to ease. My breathing came easier, and the tension in my neck faded.
I frowned at Dr. Patel. “It worked.”
“That’s good news, Mrs. Black.”
“No, it means I have angina.”
“And it’s manageable,” he said calmly. “I’ll prescribe you some nitroglycerin to keep on hand during the cruise, and I want you to start taking a daily aspirin. It’ll help prevent another attack.”
I nodded numbly, trying to process it all. Angina wasn’t a death sentence, but it sure wasn’t something I wanted to add to my already complicated life.
“What about the cruise this week? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do?” I asked him.
If he said leave the investigating to the investigators, I was going to punch him.
“You should be fine,” he said instead. “Relax when you can, and if you can’t, stay vigilant about any signs of another attack.
If you feel chest pain or pressure, take a nitroglycerin pill immediately.
If you’re having pain before starting an activity, don’t do it.
And when you get home after the cruise, make sure to follow up with a cardiologist.”
Fantastic. Getting older was so much fun. Not.
Still, it was better than the alternative.
“Also, I’d like you to come back for a check-up in a few days so I can recheck your blood pressure and see how you’re feeling.”
“I was really hoping this was just indigestion,” I muttered.
“Well, it’s not,” Gilly said, finally speaking again. “We’ll make sure she’s here for that check-up, Doc.”
“Avoid alcohol and smoking,” he said. “They can aggravate the condition.”
“Well, I’d hate to aggravate the angina,” I said a bit sarcastically.
“That might piss it off.” I knew I was acting like a brat, so I course-corrected myself.
“I’m sorry, Doctor Patel. I appreciate your advice and your help.
I feel much better because of your expertise, and I won’t take that for granted. ”
He looked mildly surprised at my apology, then genuinely pleased. “Thank you, Mrs. Black. People come to me sick and worried, and that can cause them to act like regular—”
“Jerks,” I supplied.
“Yes, exactly so.” He smiled. “I appreciate your self-awareness and your apology, but please note that I don’t take it personally.”
“It’s Ms. Black,” I told him. “I’m not married. You can call me Nora, though, if it’s easier.”
His smile widened. “Thank you, Nora.” He picked up an electronic tablet from the counter. “I’m sending your order for sublingual nitroglycerin to take as needed for angina pain to the pharmacy, and you’ll have to get the aspirin off the shelf. It’s an over-the-counter medication.”
After the doctor discharged me and we left the clinic, Pippa sighed. “Well, that’s something new to worry about.”
“I won’t worry if you don’t,” I said, trying to sound lighthearted.
“As if,” she huffed. “When we get you back home, we’re—”
“I’ll talk to a doctor and follow whatever they recommend,” I cut in before she could start listing all the ways she planned to smother me with love and concern.
When we reached our corridor, I wrapped my arms around both of them, pulling us into a tight hug. There may or may not have been a few tears, but what happens in the pity circle stays in the pity circle.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you guys,” I said when the elevator dinged open and we finally broke apart.
“You’ll never have to find out,” Gilly promised.
“Because I’m going to die before you?” I teased, trying to break the tension.
“Too soon!” Pippa scolded, shaking her head. “Way too soon for jokes.”
I chuckled softly. “Noted.”
It was getting late, and Ezra and the guys were probably finishing up their golf game.
They’d be heading back to the suites soon.
What was I supposed to say to him? How did I explain that I’d basically had a warning shot for a heart attack?
If Pippa and Gilly hadn’t bullied me into going to the clinic, it could’ve turned into something way worse.
I hated to think about it, but I was so grateful for them.
I might’ve been an only child, but they made me a sister.
Family wasn’t just blood — and since all my blood relatives, aside from a few distant cousins, were gone, they were my family now.
Gilly, Pippa, their kids, their husbands, Ezra, and even Mason.
My chosen family. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was that they chose me back.
We stepped off the elevator onto our floor. Housekeeping was still moving between rooms, pushing their carts and swapping out towels. Hopefully, they’d already been to ours. I didn’t need much, just fresh towels and more coffee.
Halfway down the corridor, a man stepped out of a maintenance closet. He carried a medium-sized plastic tub with a picture of a rat on the front, covered by a red circle and a line slashed through it.
Holy smokes. The ship had a rat problem.
“Huh,” I grunted. My conspiracy theory about Hansen hiding the security footage to cover up what really happened might’ve been wrong after all. If the ship did have rats, and ugh, I didn’t even want to picture that. Maybe they had chewed through the camera wires. Gross, but plausible. “Well, crap.”
“What?” Pippa asked, her voice sharp with concern. “Are you okay? You’re not having pain again, are you?”
“No,” I assured her. “I’m fine. But I think I owe Chief Hansen an apology.”
“Wow.” Gilly’s mouth quirked into a half-smile. “An apology tour. First the doctor, now the security chief. Who’s next?”
“It won’t be you,” I shot back playfully.
As we reached our suite, I heard muffled laughter and voices from inside. These walls were definitely not soundproof. I wasn’t ready to tell Ezra about the angina yet. He’d fuss over me, and the last thing I wanted was for him to start seeing me as fragile or sick.
Still, it was time to face the music.
I gestured toward Gilly and Pippa as they opened their doors. “See you on the other side.”
When Gilly’s face fell, I added quickly, “Of the room. You know, the balcony.”
“I know,” she said, sounding defensive, but her smile returned.
With that, we all headed inside to join our men.