Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
After a stressful encounter with the bereaved next of kin of the victims, Wolfe left Webber to return the bodies to the morgue and walked through the foyer and into the main building with Emily.
He forced his mind to focus on the next task and could see Emily gathering herself.
She’d ensured, by using her skills with makeup on the victims, the viewings and identification would be as painless as possible, but seeing people devastated took a toll on everyone.
He hoped seeing Jenna and Dave would lighten the mood.
He stopped to talk to MARA. “Have Kane and Jenna arrived yet?”
“Deputy Kane refused to go to examination room three.” MARA held out both arms palms up as if in distress. “Sheriff Alton insisted they wait in your office. They are in your office with a dog.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to watch the CCTV footage of that encounter.” Emily barked a laugh.
Wolfe rubbed the back of his neck, imagining Kane’s reaction. “MARA, you may take orders from Jenna and Dave Kane. The dog’s name is Duke. He is a K-9 unit and allowed to wait in my office. I should have explained. Thank you. I don’t need you right now.”
“I will remember.” MARA turned its head away. “Returning to docking station.” It walked into an alcove.
“Do you figure it has feelings?” Emily exchanged a look with Wolfe. “It seems sad.”
Perplexed, Wolfe raised both eyebrows. “It’s likely confused.
It’s been programmed for autopsies and retrievals.
All this human interaction is new, so it’s learning.
They become emotionally intelligent by mimicking our emotions, but actually experiencing them?
No, they don’t have hormones or fear, love, etcetera that humans have to determine feelings. ”
He led the way to his office and walked inside.
“Ah, there y’all are. Sorry for the delay, we had the sad job of allowing the next of kin to view the current victims. I have a positive ID.
The younger man was Trace Byer and the older Lyle Thorn.
I’ve uploaded all the information to the server.
” He went to the coffee machine and fed in pods.
“Now, Dave, what’s the problem? You said you needed treatment. ”
“My left shoulder is a little stiff.” Kane rubbed it absently and then dropped his hand. “I figured maybe you can give me a shot?”
Wolfe rubbed his hands together. “Oh, my recent acquisitions are way better than a shot.” He winked at Jenna. “Emily will make you a cup of coffee. This won’t take long.” He turned to Kane. “Head down to my dungeon—ah, I mean examination room three. That’s where I keep all the good stuff.”
“So I’m going to be a test subject?” Kane stood slowly. “Is this legal?”
Wolfe followed him out the door, noticing his usual casual walk had become a little stiff.
“Yeah, it’s legal but some of what I’ve been asked to trial isn’t in practice yet.
Get onto the exam table. This is the room we use for the living.
” He stood to one side as Kane complied.
“Remove your jacket and shirt. I need to see what’s happened.
” He plucked examination gloves from a box on the counter and pulled them on.
Having a patient who never complained of his injuries had always been a problem.
Trying to drag symptoms from him had become a near impossibility.
The fact Kane had asked for help meant his friend was suffering intense pain.
Wolfe walked around him as Kane sat on the edge of the table, with his jaw clenched so tight a nerve in his cheek jumped.
His left shoulder hung a little lower than the right.
He’d carried a man for five miles and never complained once but now he could see the pain had settled in, like a knife under the bone.
He turned away and set up the ultrasound scanner.
“I’m gonna put some gel on your shoulder.
It’s gonna feel a little cold.” He applied the gel.
“Hold still.” He ran the scanner across Kane’s shoulder and the screen lit up with a ghostly high resolution of tendon fibers.
The pain would be significant but Kane didn’t so much as inhale.
“You’ve overloaded the supraspinatus. You have micro tears.
It’s nothing catastrophic but you’re not lifting anything heavier than a sandwich for the next twenty-four hours. ”
“Just as well it’s my left arm. I can still shoot with my right.” Kane turned his head to look at him. “My right shoulder is just fine. The left isn’t that bad. I’ve had worse. Just give me a shot and I’ll be fine.”
Wolfe moved around the table to look at him. “You can barely raise your arm and a shot won’t help you this time.”
“Shane, don’t mess around. What are you really seeing?” Kane stared at him. “How bad is it?”
Setting the scanner to one side, he opened the drawer and took out a slim wand-like device and turned it on. When he thumbed on the activation switch, it admitted a faint red glow. “Bad enough but I have some new technology I’ve been given to trial. So, you came by at just the right time.”
“What is that thing?” Kane eyed him suspiciously. “Who else have you lured in here to experiment on?”
Wolfe smiled. “Well, if anyone heads in to see Doc Brown with similar injuries, I’ve asked him to refer them to me.
” He stepped closer. “What this little beauty does is called cold laser therapy. It stimulates cellular repair and reduces inflammation, and before you ask, no, it doesn’t give you superpowers.
” He moved the laser slowly over the injured area.
“You should be feeling warmth seep into the joint.”
“Yeah, I can feel it.” Kane turned to look at him. “Can I go now?”
After giving the shoulder a couple more passes, Wolfe placed it on the counter, took out a syringe, and attached a needle. He grabbed Kane’s right arm. “Next I’m going to do PRP.” He attached a rubber torniquet to just above the elbow on Kane’s arm.
“Why are you drawing blood and what the hell is PRP?” Kane gave him a look that would stop most men in their tracks. “What’s my blood got to do with a sore shoulder?”
Wolfe ignored his death look and swabbed his arm.
He understood Kane very well. He just happened to be the toughest man he’d ever met and the worst patient, as if being injured was a sign of weakness.
He’d expected resistance and smiled at him.
“I’ll put this blood sample into the centrifuge and extract platelet rich plasma.
It accelerates healing better than cortisone and it won’t mask the pain so much that y’all do something stupid. ”
“Define stupid.” Kane watched as he extracted the blood, spun it, and then drew up the concentrated platelets into a syringe.
It would be extremely painful to have the plasma injected into a damaged tendon, so Wolfe went slow, but Kane didn’t so much as flinch.
“Anything that you normally do—ah, like swinging Jackson into the air, carrying heavy things like Duke, and working out with Carter.” After using all the plasma, Wolfe nodded, satisfied.
“You’ll feel an improvement in a few hours.
Full recovery will take days, not weeks, assuming you behave. ”
“Okay, I’ll do my best.” Kane slid from the table. “But you know, I’ll need to work. I can’t leave Jenna to handle this case without me. She’s been alone too often lately. Trust me, it’s feeling better already.”
Holding up a hand to stop him, Wolfe waved him back onto the table. “It will but don’t think it’s healed. If you push it too soon, you’ll be back here and I’ll be repairing a full tear next time. It will require surgery.”
“You worry too much.” Kane’s mouth twitched up in a smile. “But I like having you on my side. What else do you want to trial on me?”
Turning away to open a drawer, Wolfe pulled out a hard plastic box and laid it on the counter.
He took out a sealed foil packet and opened it slowly.
Inside he extracted a thin translucent square of mesh.
“This is something really special. It’s a nanofiber regenerative scaffold.
” He peeled off the backing. “It stimulates tendon repair and it costs more than your truck, so don’t get it dirty. ”
“You’re joking.” Kane raised both eyebrows. “Right?”
With care, Wolfe pressed it gently over the top of Kane’s shoulder.
He hadn’t applied one before and was surprised how the mesh adhered instantly, warming as it activated.
“I don’t joke about equipment that comes with a tracking number.
This stays on for forty-eight hours. Don’t touch it, don’t try and peel it off, and try not to roll on it in your sleep.
Got it?” He stood to one side. “You can get dressed now.”
“Thanks. It feels weird.” Kane flexed his shoulder experimentally. “Like a heat pad. It’s soothing.”
Smiling, Wolfe passed him his T-shirt. “Good, it’s doing its job. Now all you need to do is abide by my rules and all this will be over real fast.”
“So can I shower with this thing on?” Kane pulled on his layers of clothes.
Biting back a laugh, Wolfe looked at him. “Yeah, Dave, it’s waterproof. It’s designed for soldiers, not butterflies.”
“Right.” Kane rolled his eyes, buttoned his shirt, and then pulled on his jacket. “Are we done here?”
Wolfe removed his examination gloves and tossed them into the garbage. “One more thing before you go. If y’all come back here with the patch hanging off, I’m stapling on the next one.”