Page 76 of Forgotten Path
“Judy, are you okay?” Bodhi King asked in a voice full of concern.
She maintained her focus on Craig while she tried to catch her breath. Then she gasped, “I think so. It’s not possible for a person’s heart to actually break, right? Because that’s what this feels like. It’s squeezing in my chest.”
Craig kept his eyes glued to the floor.
Bodhi gently took her by the elbow and guided her back into her chair. “Actually, Judy, there’s a condition known as broken heart syndrome—also called stress cardiomyopathy. It’s usually temporary, brought on by acute emotional stress.”
“So her heart is reallybroken?” Brianna blurted.
Dr. Owens shook her head. “Not permanently, not the way it sounds. When a person’s under extreme emotional stress, the body compensates by pumping out a lot of extra adrenaline. In broken heart syndrome, this massive surge of adrenaline is believed to weaken the heart muscle, possibly by decreasing the flow of blood to the heart. We’ll have to keep an eye on Judy, especially because her cough is already affecting her breathing, but as Dr. King said, broken heart syndrome is reversible and transient.”
“What kind of emotional stress?” Craig asked woodenly.
“It could be surprise, fear, anger, grief—” Bodhi began.
“Betrayal,” Judith managed. “It’s betrayal.”
Craig shuddered, and a sob broke in his throat. “I’m so sorry, Gran,” he moaned.
She couldn’t find the words to respond. He fell to his knees and grabbed her hand. She stroked his hair with her free hand.
“How much did you tell Fred?” Bodhi asked.
“I told him you and Dr. Owens wanted to talk to my gran about a community health issue and that Brianna’s here and she freaked out when Gran said she didn’t know who could have offered Doc money to keep quiet.”
“So, pretty much everything,” Dr. Owens observed.
“Pretty much,” Craig agreed miserably.
“And what was his response?”
Craig took so long to answer Bodhi’s question that Judith began to think he wasn’t going to. Then, he cleared his throat and said, “He told me to do whatever it takes to keep Brianna from talking to the three of you.”
“Whatever it takes,” Judith repeated slowly, staring at her grandson’s bent head. “That sounds like a man who doesn’t feel constrained by social mores.”
“Yes, it does,” Bodhi agreed.
Just then, the door swung open and hit the wall with a bang. Judith raised her eyes in time to see Steffi and a woman she didn’t recognize as they rushed into the room.
CHAPTERFORTY
Felicia skidded to a stop just inside the nursery door and surveyed the room. An older woman sat in a chair with a young man huddled at her feet. A young woman stood a few feet away, watching them with a bemused expression. Bodhi and a woman in a white doctor’s coat, who had to be the medical examiner, hovered nearby, wearing twin expressions of concern.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“So much, Felicia. Just so much,” Bodhi told her in a voice heavy with weariness.
She arched a brow and gestured to the young woman bouncing on her heels next to her. “I ran into Steffi under the tent, and she brought me here.”
Steffi piped up, “I was feeling left out. Everyone else got to burst in here.”
The young woman near the wall laughed. “That sounds about right, Steffi.” Then she stepped forward and extended her hand to Felicia. “I’m Brianna Allen.”
“Detective Williams,” Felicia responded.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m being rude.” Bodhi snapped out of it—whateveritwas—and made introductions. “Brianna was, until recently, the chief sustainability officer at Gulf Paper.”
“Gulf Paper. That’s Chad Hornbill’s company?”
