our clinic for evaluation."
"Charlie Saunders." He could hear wheels turning in Kat's deliberate response, then a slight gasp. "The little girl who paints?"
"That's the one. She fainted at a benefit show, and unless I miss my guess, she needs us."
To his gratification, Katsume jumped to the same conclusion he had. "Pediatric tumor?"
"I think so. It wouldn't hurt to put her through the program."
Kat let out a low whistle. "Will do, Wade. But if you're wrong…."
"If I'm wrong, I'll buy you a new set of graphites. And find someone to pay the lab bills."
"That's a deal, buddy. Talk to you tomorrow."
Wade put the phone down. Though the television screen had now moved away to other scenes in other lands, his mind's eye stayed fixed to the image, seeing the girl-woman again, dressed in a strapless ball gown, her pale skin and shoulders emphasized by its darkness. He again saw the faint spasm in her face before she grew even paler and her eyes rolled back. He would need every bit of his training if his suspicions were correct, for excising the problem would be one thing, and doing it without affecting her genius would be quite another.
He put the remote down and looked at his hands, palms up, then palms down. He would need skill and providence on his side.
Chapter Six
INTERLUDE 1
Printed in:
Los Angeles Recorder
The art world was stunned today when Federico Valdor announced that Charlotte Saunders, known as Charlie to fans and collectors, has retired from painting.
The controversial prodigy made news just a few short months ago, surviving neurosurgery to remove a benign but potentially deadly tumor. Although her health was rumored to have been precarious for days following the surgery, she began to make a rapid recovery and left the hospital for physical therapy and to return to her home sooner than expected.
Speculations on her ability to paint at all immediately rose at Valdor's announcement, but he refused to comment further, saying only that Charlie continued to improve and was expected to make a full recovery. This statement came on the heels of tabloid reports that she had suffered partial paralysis of the right side, making it nearly impossible for her ever to paint again. Those same tabloid papers reported there was suspicion that she had not been the purported artist of any of her works and that her entire career had been a fraud.
Valdor and her family refused to answer those allegations, saying only that Charlie had been through a lot and deserved to have a childhood while one still remained for her. Privately, he was said to have expressed the opinion that Charlie would return to painting in the future as soon as inspiration moved her, as "she was a talented and unique young lady."
Asked for a response to accusations that the neurosurgical team had destroyed a budding genius while saving her life, Dr. Katsume would say only that he, Dr. Clarkson, and the team had done everything they could to save Charlie's life and he was satisfied with the end results. There was nothing physical holding the girl back from painting if that's what she wished to do, once strength and other training rehabilitated her arm and shoulder. "As for artistic expression," Katsume added, "that comes from outside, and we deal only with the flesh."
Chapter Seven
PRESENT DAY
The phone rang. John answered it on speaker, calling out, "Sentinel Dogs," raising his tone to be heard clearly over the muffled noise of his kennel and the tin echo from the filing cabinets as he worked. The archly feminine voice reaching him hurt as keenly as a kick in the gut.
"John, it's me."
He did not respond. His throat locked up, stopping him in his tracks as cleanly as one of his well trained canines. He stood dumbfounded at the filing cabinet of his one-room office and looked about the somewhat organized clutter, as if he expected to see her.
"It's been a while," she said quietly.
Three months and twenty-one days,
he thought,
"Charlie Saunders." He could hear wheels turning in Kat's deliberate response, then a slight gasp. "The little girl who paints?"
"That's the one. She fainted at a benefit show, and unless I miss my guess, she needs us."
To his gratification, Katsume jumped to the same conclusion he had. "Pediatric tumor?"
"I think so. It wouldn't hurt to put her through the program."
Kat let out a low whistle. "Will do, Wade. But if you're wrong…."
"If I'm wrong, I'll buy you a new set of graphites. And find someone to pay the lab bills."
"That's a deal, buddy. Talk to you tomorrow."
Wade put the phone down. Though the television screen had now moved away to other scenes in other lands, his mind's eye stayed fixed to the image, seeing the girl-woman again, dressed in a strapless ball gown, her pale skin and shoulders emphasized by its darkness. He again saw the faint spasm in her face before she grew even paler and her eyes rolled back. He would need every bit of his training if his suspicions were correct, for excising the problem would be one thing, and doing it without affecting her genius would be quite another.
He put the remote down and looked at his hands, palms up, then palms down. He would need skill and providence on his side.
Chapter Six
INTERLUDE 1
Printed in:
Los Angeles Recorder
The art world was stunned today when Federico Valdor announced that Charlotte Saunders, known as Charlie to fans and collectors, has retired from painting.
The controversial prodigy made news just a few short months ago, surviving neurosurgery to remove a benign but potentially deadly tumor. Although her health was rumored to have been precarious for days following the surgery, she began to make a rapid recovery and left the hospital for physical therapy and to return to her home sooner than expected.
Speculations on her ability to paint at all immediately rose at Valdor's announcement, but he refused to comment further, saying only that Charlie continued to improve and was expected to make a full recovery. This statement came on the heels of tabloid reports that she had suffered partial paralysis of the right side, making it nearly impossible for her ever to paint again. Those same tabloid papers reported there was suspicion that she had not been the purported artist of any of her works and that her entire career had been a fraud.
Valdor and her family refused to answer those allegations, saying only that Charlie had been through a lot and deserved to have a childhood while one still remained for her. Privately, he was said to have expressed the opinion that Charlie would return to painting in the future as soon as inspiration moved her, as "she was a talented and unique young lady."
Asked for a response to accusations that the neurosurgical team had destroyed a budding genius while saving her life, Dr. Katsume would say only that he, Dr. Clarkson, and the team had done everything they could to save Charlie's life and he was satisfied with the end results. There was nothing physical holding the girl back from painting if that's what she wished to do, once strength and other training rehabilitated her arm and shoulder. "As for artistic expression," Katsume added, "that comes from outside, and we deal only with the flesh."
Chapter Seven
PRESENT DAY
The phone rang. John answered it on speaker, calling out, "Sentinel Dogs," raising his tone to be heard clearly over the muffled noise of his kennel and the tin echo from the filing cabinets as he worked. The archly feminine voice reaching him hurt as keenly as a kick in the gut.
"John, it's me."
He did not respond. His throat locked up, stopping him in his tracks as cleanly as one of his well trained canines. He stood dumbfounded at the filing cabinet of his one-room office and looked about the somewhat organized clutter, as if he expected to see her.
"It's been a while," she said quietly.
Three months and twenty-one days,
he thought,
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