Diagnosis Murder 7 - The Double LIfe by Lee Goldberg

behind him.
    Steve turned to see Susan Travis standing behind him in her blue nurse's scrubs, her face etched with concern.
    "I thought my father was stable, that all he had was a concussion and that he'd be coming around soon," Steve said. "That's what Jesse told me this morning, right after the attempt on Dad's life."
    "There have been some complications," she said, touching him lightly on the arm and gently leading him towards the chairs in the waiting area.
    "What kind of complications? Tell me."
    "It's better if Jesse does," Susan said. "He hasn't left Mark's side since he tackled him out of the way of that car this morning."
    "I would have been with Dad, too," Steve said, "but Jesse told me to go. He told me Dad's injuries weren't serious."
    After spending an hour that morning at Mark's bedside, and at Jesse's urging, Steve had decided he wouldn't be helping his father by maintaining a vigil. Mark would want him out on the street, trying to catch the person responsible for his injury. That's what Mark would do if the situation was reversed. In fact, that was exactly what Mark had done when Steve was seriously wounded in a shoot-out.
    "That came out all wrong. I didn't mean that as a reproach," Susan said, taking a seat. "I'm just saying that Mark is in good hands."
    "I never doubted it," Steve said, sitting down beside her. It was the truth. Although he often teased Jesse, he had great respect for his medical skills. After all, Jesse had learned from the best.
    "You might want to tell Jesse that. He's blaming himself for what happened."
    "It's not his fault," Steve said. "Jesse saved Dad's life." At that moment, paramedics charged through the ER doors, wheeling a bloodied man on a gumey. Susan left Steve and joined the other nurses running alongside the gurney into the trauma room.
    Sitting there alone, Steve finally had a moment to rest, to reflect on the chaotic events of the day, which began when he got a frantic early-morning wake-up call from Susan at his girlfriend Lissy's apartment.
    "Your father has been hurt," Susan said. "Someone tried to run him over in the parking garage."
    Steve drove with his siren wailing, weaving through traffic and blasting through red lights, arriving at the hospital within ten minutes of getting the call. He found Mark unconscious in the ER, an IV in his arm and Jesse tending to him at his bedside.
    Jesse told him about tackling Mark out of the path of a car and that it wasn't an accident. There was no doubt in Jesse's mind about the unseen driver's murderous intent. "But it wasn't the car that hurt Mark," Jesse said. "It was me. I don't have your experience in tackling people. I'm usually the tackle-ee. I took him by surprise from behind, so he never had a chance to break his fall. His head smacked right against the pavement."
    "You knocked him out of the way and didn't get run over yourself. If you ask me, that's a perfect tackle," Steve said. "Is he just out cold or is it more serious than that?"
    "Although there's no sign of a cracked skull or internal bleeding, he does have some minor brain swelling."
    "Does this mean he has brain damage?" Steve asked. 
    "No, it's to be expected and nothing to worry about," Jesse said. "He may even be dreaming now."
    "So what do we do?"
    "We wait. Concussions are unpredictable and vary from person to person and injury to injury. Mark could wake up in a few minutes or a few days. There's no way to tell. But we'll monitor him very closely, and we'll call you if there's any change in his condition."
    Steve nodded, chewing nervously on his lower lip. Someone obviously wanted Mark dead, but who? And why?
    As far as Steve knew, Mark wasn't working on any active homicide investigations, and none of the murderers he'd put away had been unexpectedly released from prison on appeal or parole. Of course, that didn't mean one of them hadn't arranged a little vengeance from behind bars.
    "Did Dad say anything to you before the attempt on his life?"
    "He had