Kim nodded.
“I’ll get a chair from the dining room,” Tracy said.
“Let me,” Kim volunteered. He appreciated having something physical to do. He brought the chair into the living room and placed it within the penumbra of light from the floor lamp.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Kim managed. “I poured myself some scotch.”
“Thank you, but no,” Tracy said. She sat down heavily, then leaned forward, cradling her chin in her hands with her elbows on her knees.
Kim lowered himself in the club chair and looked at his former wife. Her dark hair, which was always wavy and full, was matted against the top of her head. The small amount of makeup she normally wore was streaked. She was clearly pained, yet her eyes were as bright and sparkly as Kim remembered.
“There’s also something I wanted to tell you,” Tracy said. “After I had a little time to think, I believe what you did today to Becky took a lot of courage.” She paused for a moment while she bit her lip. “I know I couldn’t have done it even if I was a surgeon,” she added.
“I appreciate your saying that,” Kim said. “Thank you.
“I was appalled at first,” Tracy admitted.
“Open-heart massage is a desperate act in any circumstance,” Kim said. “Doing it on your own daughter is… well, I’m sure the hospital isn’t looking at it the same way you are.
“You did it out of love,” Tracy said. “It wasn’t hubris like I thought at first.”
“I did it because it was clear to me the external massage wasn’t working,” Kim said. “I couldn’t let Becky just fade away like it seemed she was doing. No one knew why she was arresting. Of course, now I know why and why the external massage wasn’t working.”
“I had no idea this E. coli could be such an awful illness,” Tracy said.
“Nor did I,” Kim said.
The phone’s jangle startled both people. Kim snapped up the receiver. “Hello,” he barked.
Tracy watched as Kim’s face registered first confusion, then irritation.
“Hold it,” Kim snapped into the receiver. “Cut the spiel. I’m not interested in your company’s Visa card, and I want you off this line.” He hung up forcibly.
“It looks like you are expecting a call,” Tracy said captiously. She stood up. “I’m intruding. Maybe I should go.”
“No,” Kim said. But then he immediately corrected himself. “I mean, yes, I’m expecting a call, but no, you shouldn’t leave.”
Tracy cocked her head to the side. “You’re acting strange,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“I’m a basket case,” Kim admitted. “But..”
The phone interrupted Kim’s explanation. Again he snatched the receiver off the hook and said a frantic hello.
“It’s me again,” Marsha said. “And this time I’ve found something.”
“What?” Kim asked. He motioned for Tracy to sit down.
“Something potentially interesting,” Marsha said. “On January ninth there is a discrepancy between the USDA paperwork and Higgins and Hancock’s.”
“How so?” Kim asked.
“There was an extra animal slaughtered at the end of the day,” Marsha said. “In the company’s records it’s designated lot thirty-six, head fifty-seven.”
“Oh?” Kim questioned. “Is an extra animal significant?”
“I would think so,” Marsha said. “It means the animal wasn’t seen by the USDA vet.”
“So you mean it could have been unhealthy?” Kim questioned.
“That’s a distinct possibility,” Marsha said. “And it’s supported by the purchase invoice. This final animal wasn’t a steer raised for beef. It was a dairy cow bought from a man named Bart Winslow.”
“You’re going to have to explain,” Kim said.
“Well, dairy cows often go for hamburger,” Marsha said. “So that’s one thing. The other thing is that I recognize the name, Bart Winslow. He’s a local guy who’s what they call a ‘Four-D’ man. That means he goes around and picks up downers. Those are dead, diseased, dying, and disabled farm animals. He’s supposed to take them to the renderer to be turned into fertilizer or animal feed.”
“I’m not sure I want to hear the rest,” Kim said. “Don’t tell me that they sometimes sell them to the slaughterhouse instead of the renderer.”
“Apparently that’s what happened with this last animal,” Marsha said. “Head fifty-seven in lot thirty-six must have been a downer, probably sick.”