"Waking Rose"

Book #3 - Waking Rose by Regina Doman

You may have realized that Black As Night was all about Blanche, Blanche, Blanche.

This is Rose's story. (based on "Sleeping Beauty")

She and Fish are now at college, and Rose is studying for a paper on comas. After she falls off the hayloft of her dad's old barn while looking for his notes on patient abuse, Fish, Kateri Kovach (Rose's friend who leads protests at a hospital that performs abortions), and the Cor knights (you guys get to figure out who they are 'cause I'm not gonna tell you) try to figure out if this was an accident or not and if it's not, who pushed her and what his/her motive was.

So far:

Suspects

-Dr. Prosser

-Nurse Lucille Johnson

-Dr. Murray?

-Whoever the woman in black was

Motives

Daniel Brier (Rose’s dad) took notes 15 years ago while interviewing an anonymous nurse. This interview described patient abuse in the Robert Graves Memorial Hospital. Rose is now doing a paper on comatose patients, and someone is trying to keep her from finding those notes. Why? Because then she would know way too much about the hospital and its doctors...and their treatment of the patients.

Evidence

Rose interviewed Dr. Murray and told her that she was going to a barn to look for the notes. She also interviewed Lucille Johnson and told her the same thing. Lucille Johnson told her friend Dr. Schaffer who then told Dr. Prosser. This was on November 16^th—the day Rose “fell” from the hayloft.

Dr. Prosser works at the hospital, and Dr. Murray helps out. Lucille Johnson previously worked at the hospital and says that the patient abuse is just rumors.

After Dan Brier took the notes on patient abuse at the RBM hospital, his mother died of a "broken ankle" when taken to the RBMH. Soon after, the nurse who had given him the information died in a "car accident". Now are the same people trying to kill Rose?

Their Likely Plan Of Attack

Push Rose off the hayloft of her dad’s barn as she’s looking for the notes he took?

Strength of Characters: ****** (she really does a good job with the characters in this book--much better than any of her other books, so I just have to give her a 6. :) Rose and Fish seem just like part of the background in the previous two books, but here their personalities and feelings really shine. She also does a good job keeping the personalities of Bear and Blanche running...even though it doesn't talk too much about them.)

Strength of Plot: ***** (Ok, ok, I know I've given only 4 to the others so far because they were too predictable, but I still have to give this one a 5. Maybe that's too unfair, though, because I LOVE mysteries, and this book seems a LOT more like a mystery than a fairytale or plain-old-fiction or whatever. I don't know...ask Vivi. But this is my favorite of Regina Doman's books!!)

Overall rating: ********

HIS –

His eyes traveled over to the IV equipment, and he suddenly spotted the bag of milky white fluid he had seen months before. He could see the liquid was dripping down the IV tube into Rose’s veins.

Suddenly, he had a strong suspicion that this was not cold medication. Reaching for the bag, he checked it. No markings. Making a sudden decision, he switched the IV off and gently pulled the needle out of Rose’s arm, massaging it to numb any pain. He held his breath, but nothing seemed to happen.

“Rose, I’m sorry we took this doctor’s word about what happened to you so readily. I know now that you’re really not in a coma, but in some sort of drugged state.”

HER –

And at once she was thrashing, pulsing, coming out of the water towards the smiling moon—

And she was in the midnight world again, looking through the dark waters, and she could see someone standing by the window, someone lean and shadowy and familiar. A young man.

Fish.

HIS –

Dr. Murray halted, seeing him, and stared. Then cautiously, she came forward.

“Who are you?” She asked, her dark eyes cautious.

He gave a slight shrug to his shoulders and said, in his accent, “I was told someone would meet me here.”

“I see,” she said. She seemed uncertain as to how to proceed. At last she said, “What is it you want?”

“I am delivering something,” he said, slipping a hand into his pocked. “Are you the one I am to give it to?”

“That all depends,” she said. “Let me see what it is.”

He stepped forward, and she took a step towards him. He pulled out the stack of bills, and held it out to her, in clear view of his hidden camera.

She took the money and looked through the bills, and then glanced up at his face. Her expression suddenly changed, and he saw what had happened. She was recognizing him.

She started to back away from him, reaching for her pager, but he stopped her by putting his hand firmly on her arm.

“Is there a problem with the money?” he asked, in his accent.

“I know who you are,” she said. “You can’t fool me, Mr. Denniston.”

He had to smile. “I’m here for a kidney,” he said calmly, in his accent. “Isn’t that what you came to sell me?” He tightened his grip.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, gasping. “I just came here—for the results—of a lab test.”

He pivoted so that her exit to the door was blocked. “I came here to buy a kidney,” he said quietly. “I was told you had a virtually unlimited supply. I thought they were exaggerating. But if the hospital is buying its organs through you, I can see where they can get so many so quickly.”

HERS –

“Where’s Fish?” she cried.

Bear couldn’t point, but he turned, and looked towards the blazing barn. For a moment, Rose’s heart stopped, but then she ran forward to the place where he had looked. As Lear might have stumbled towards his child’s corpse.

There on the ground before the barn doors he lay. He was lying on his side, his back to the inferno. As she came closer to him, she could see his disfigured face, his burned clothes, the ropes brutally tight around him, his one foot disjointed from the other in an ugly way. His eyes were closed, and his face was still, terribly still.

His body was hot. She moved him, dragging him backwards onto cooler ground, then gathered him into her arms. He hadn’t responded when she had touched him.

Now she ran her hands over his shoulders and bruised face, smoothing back his rumpled, unusually dark hair. His cheeks were black with soot, but when she wiped the soot, there was red beneath, and blood.

“Please, God, no,” she whispered with her empty voice, putting her wet cheeks down to his face. “Please, God, let him be alive.”

Vex not his ghost; O, let him pass!

He hates him that would upon the rack of this rough world

Stretch him out longer…

She tried to move him further from the fire, but as she did so, his face suddenly spasmed and he winced in pain but didn’t cry out.

Now she called his name, but there was no further response. She put her hands on his rough cheeks.

“Fish,” she whispered huskily. “You can’t die now. Please.”

The wonder is that he hath endured so long…

His chest rose and he gave a deep sigh that was cut off halfway down, and he coughed slightly.

“Why not?” his voice came wearily. There was a faint smile on his face, but his eyes were still closed.

She laughed at him even as she cried, pressing her fingers into his bound hands. “Please, please, if you love me, don’t die.”

His fingers reached through the ropes and grasped hers, and tightened. His grip was surprisingly strong, but his voice was fainter. “If I love you?”

“You do,” she whispered, brushing aside his hair. “I know you do.”

“…smart girl,” she thought she heard him say, but his voice drifted away, and that was the last he spoke.