eyes on Wrigley. “Because you don’t want my father to uncover any irregularities, do you?”
Dr. Wrigley shook his head. “That’s preposterous.”
“I don’t think it’s so preposterous. And after the surgery he intended to file a malpractice suit.”
Paul jerked. “Malpractice?”
She forced her chin up. “Yes. He believes the children died because the E.R. was understaffed and…”
He stared at her, disbelief strong in his eyes. “And because he thinks I was professionally negligent?”
She didn’t answer.
His voice trembled with emotion. “Is that what you think, Maddie? Deep down, do you believe I turned my back on those children, gave them insufficient care and let them die?”
She wanted to glare at him, to feel her father’s hatred flow through her, but the anguish in his eyes, the betrayal she saw carved deep in the gray depths, stopped her. Instead, she looked away. “What I believe doesn’t matter anymore. We’re talking about a motive for crashing the plane. Now that the heart’s ruined, it looks like things just got a lot better for Bayview Hospital.”
Paul’s laugh was bitter. “And for me, too. Maybe I can escape a malpractice suit now. I guess that gives me a pretty good motive for drugging the pilot, if it weren’t for the fact that all of us should have been dead from that crash.”
She recoiled from the razor edge in his words, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut, but it was too late.
Wrigley stood, good hand on his hip. “I agree with Dr. Ford. I certainly wouldn’t have arranged to crash the plane on which I happened to be a passenger. I have no love for Bruce Lambert, but I’m not about to give up my life to punish him.”
Jaden held up a hand. “There was another person who didn’t make the flight. Someone else who would benefit if the investigations went away.”
Wrigley jerked as if he’d been slapped. “Director Stevens?”
Maddie watched him closely. Wrigley finally shook his head. “No. Director Stevens and I have butted heads, but at the end of the day we’re both doctors. We got into this business to serve people, and I don’t believe he’d sacrifice six lives. He’s not a murderer. Do you agree, Paul?”
Paul ran his hands through his hair. “Yesterday, I would have agreed with you. At this moment—” he looked at Maddie “—I don’t trust anything I believed in before.”
Maddie felt his gaze burning into her, but she did not look at him.
“It could be,” Jaden continued, “that plans were changed at the last minute and all the parties involved were not informed. Perhaps, the copilot was paid to slip drugs to the pilot and land the plane somewhere off-course, to cause delay, or to disappear with the heart.”
Maddie noticed how the strange light picked up the silvered strands in Jaden’s hair. His face was weathered, tough and grim. “Who would do that?”
“It’s entirely possible that Dr. Wrigley or Paul is part of a scheme with the director to see that the heart never reached Bruce Lambert.”
“But—” Wrigley began.
“But,” Jaden finished, “the plans changed. Perhaps the director decided to switch things up.” He looked slowly from Wrigley to Ford. “To take care of anybody who could turn evidence against him later. Or maybe the pilot realized what was happening, fought back and caused the crash.”
Wrigley clutched his shoulder and took a step toward Jaden, as if he meant to hit him. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
“I think you do.” Jaden waved a hand around. “You’ve got nowhere to go, no title to hide behind and no secretary or staff to shield you. Here, your reputation and skills mean nothing. You’re just another crash victim, Dr. Wrigley, and you know more about our situation than you’re letting on.”
Maddie held her breath as Paul’s face twisted in anger.
His hands balled into fists as he drew an arm’s length from Jaden. “Hold on, Jaden. These are pretty serious accusations.”
Jaden nodded. “I know.”
“Maybe we should be asking you a few questions. You certainly don’t act like some lowly company rep. Dr. Wrigley worked for months with Heartline, and he never heard of you before, yet you seem to know a lot about our situation. Who’s to say you weren’t hired by the director to destroy the heart, and he turned tables on you?”
Jaden smiled, and there was something in the expression that told Maddie things were about to change. She watched in fascination as he reached for his backpack and drew out a nylon-wrapped package.
“Because of this,” he said, holding up the Berlin Heart.
FIVE
Paul found himself speechless, mesmerized by the sight of the pristinely packaged Berlin Heart, the same heart he’d believed buried under a sheaf of burning metal not an hour before. He ripped his eyes away to look at Maddie. Her expression was as incredulous as he felt.
“How…?” she started, taking a faltering step toward Jaden.
Wrigley stared, eyes round and mouth open.
Paul reached out a hand to both steady and stop her. She clung to his arm. “Jaden, you’ve got some explaining to do. Right here, right now.”
Jaden shot a glance at the entrance to the cave. “I’ll tell you all about it, but right now we’ve got other priorities.” He bobbed his chin at the piling snow. “We need to keep this clear or we’ll be trapped inside here.”
Paul stepped closer. “We’ll take care of it right after you come clean.”
Jaden sighed. “Later.”
Paul cut him off. “No. Now. You and I went into a burning plane and clawed through that rubble. You were with me the whole time, and I never saw you remove that heart. I think you had it with you since we left San Francisco.”
He looked from Paul to Maddie and back again. After a beat he said, “Yes, I’ve had it the whole time. Mr. Lambert contacted Heartline and expressed his concern that someone from the hospital might try to tamper with the heart.”
Wrigley gasped. “Unbelievable. We broke our backs getting this device for Lambert. We are doctors, not two-bit thugs.”
Paul held up a hand. “Let him finish.”
“Heartline assigned me to carry the heart and see that it reached its destination safely.”
Maddie’s face was pale. “So the box on the plane…?”
He shrugged. “Contains a prototype model, not the real thing.”
For a moment, the only sound was the wind blowing against the snowbank outside.
Paul tried to keep his voice level. “I don’t believe you. I think you found a moment to switch the hearts before the flight took off, for some reason of your own.”
Jaden raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
Wrigley found his voice. “To extort money from Mr. Lambert, perhaps?”
“Good theory, but what about the crash? That would derail any plans to profit from stealing the heart, wouldn’t it?”
Paul’s mind raced. “The crash surprised all of us, but I still think you’re a liar.”
Jaden put the pack down on the floor and stood, feet apart, arms at his sides. “It doesn’t matter what you think.”
Paul didn’t miss the body language. If the guy was ready for a fight, he’d give it to him. “I’m not going to let you get away with stealing that heart.”