alive!’
But Summer’s mind was on a question she was almost afraid to ask.‘What happened to the others? There were other lifeboats, weren’t there? There were twenty-seven people on the Evangeline . What happened to the other thirteen?’
A strange, distant look came into Darnell’s eyes. It was a look Summer Blaine had seen before, seen on the faces of her patients when she had to tell them they were dying and that there was nothing she could do. The look faded away, but it left behind a sense of something sombre, troubling and profound.
‘What happened in those first few minutes? What happened in that first hour? When that comes out, I’m afraid that no one will understand Marlowe then.’ He looked at Summer Blaine, a question in his eyes. ‘If there really is nothing more important than life, why is it that I feel so much more sorry for the living than I do for the dead?’
Chapter Seven
J OSHUA STEINBERG DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE question.
‘The reason, Doctor; the reason why you found it necessary to hospitalise the survivors of the Evangeline ?’ Bent over the counsel table, examining a medical report, Michael Roberts looked up.
Tall, thin, with the gaunt look of the long-distance runner, Dr Joshua Steinberg sat on the side of his hip, two long fingers stretched along the side of his jaw. He had dark, intelligent eyes and a fine, sensitive mouth. He had none of the arrogance of his profession.
‘There were different reasons for each; but if you want a statement that encapsulates their condition, I’d have to say the effects of exposure and exhaustion.’
‘They were hospitalised here, in the same hospital where you first examined them?’
‘That’s right. They were brought by ambulance from the airport, as soon as they arrived from Brazil. Benjamin—Mr Whitfield —made all the arrangements.’
‘Would you describe what, if any, medical attention they had received before you saw them?’ Roberts closed the file, but did not move from the counsel table. ‘I assume they had not been in a hospital.’
‘No, not in a hospital, but they had been given medical attention. A doctor in Rio de Janeiro examined them. He set— or, rather, reset—some of the broken bones. Some of them had been set originally when they were still in the lifeboat; the rest on the freighter that picked them up.’
‘The White Rose ? Captain Balfour’s ship?’ said Roberts to make sure the jury understood. ‘Was there a doctor on board?’
‘No, apparently not. It was a freighter, not a passenger liner. Some of the crew had the kind of first-aid training you would expect, and they did have medical supplies. Captain Balfour did an admirable job with what he had. I don’t think there is any question but that at least two of the six survivors would have died within days if he had not taken care of them the way he did.’
‘Dr Steinberg, I’m going to read you a list of six names.Would you tell us, please, if these are the people you treated at the hospital?’
Nodding after each name, Steinberg agreed with the list.
Roberts then went back to the beginning and asked what had been the condition of each.‘James DeSantos—would you describe for the jury his physical condition at the time you examined him?’
Steinberg gestured towards the table. ‘May I refer to the records?’
Roberts brought him the document. Steinberg glanced at it a moment and then held it on his lap.
‘Broken ankle, three broken teeth. Suffered temporary blindness. He had severe ulceration.’
‘What about his mental condition, Dr Steinberg?’ asked Roberts, moving to a crucial element in the prosecution’s case. ‘Was he lucid? Was he, as we laymen might say, in his right mind?’
‘Yes, very much so. He was fully alert and in command of his senses.’
‘So he was not delusional? He knew where he was, what was happening to him, he could answer all your questions? In other words, Dr Steinberg, he was normal?’
Joshua Steinberg
But Summer’s mind was on a question she was almost afraid to ask.‘What happened to the others? There were other lifeboats, weren’t there? There were twenty-seven people on the Evangeline . What happened to the other thirteen?’
A strange, distant look came into Darnell’s eyes. It was a look Summer Blaine had seen before, seen on the faces of her patients when she had to tell them they were dying and that there was nothing she could do. The look faded away, but it left behind a sense of something sombre, troubling and profound.
‘What happened in those first few minutes? What happened in that first hour? When that comes out, I’m afraid that no one will understand Marlowe then.’ He looked at Summer Blaine, a question in his eyes. ‘If there really is nothing more important than life, why is it that I feel so much more sorry for the living than I do for the dead?’
Chapter Seven
J OSHUA STEINBERG DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE question.
‘The reason, Doctor; the reason why you found it necessary to hospitalise the survivors of the Evangeline ?’ Bent over the counsel table, examining a medical report, Michael Roberts looked up.
Tall, thin, with the gaunt look of the long-distance runner, Dr Joshua Steinberg sat on the side of his hip, two long fingers stretched along the side of his jaw. He had dark, intelligent eyes and a fine, sensitive mouth. He had none of the arrogance of his profession.
‘There were different reasons for each; but if you want a statement that encapsulates their condition, I’d have to say the effects of exposure and exhaustion.’
‘They were hospitalised here, in the same hospital where you first examined them?’
‘That’s right. They were brought by ambulance from the airport, as soon as they arrived from Brazil. Benjamin—Mr Whitfield —made all the arrangements.’
‘Would you describe what, if any, medical attention they had received before you saw them?’ Roberts closed the file, but did not move from the counsel table. ‘I assume they had not been in a hospital.’
‘No, not in a hospital, but they had been given medical attention. A doctor in Rio de Janeiro examined them. He set— or, rather, reset—some of the broken bones. Some of them had been set originally when they were still in the lifeboat; the rest on the freighter that picked them up.’
‘The White Rose ? Captain Balfour’s ship?’ said Roberts to make sure the jury understood. ‘Was there a doctor on board?’
‘No, apparently not. It was a freighter, not a passenger liner. Some of the crew had the kind of first-aid training you would expect, and they did have medical supplies. Captain Balfour did an admirable job with what he had. I don’t think there is any question but that at least two of the six survivors would have died within days if he had not taken care of them the way he did.’
‘Dr Steinberg, I’m going to read you a list of six names.Would you tell us, please, if these are the people you treated at the hospital?’
Nodding after each name, Steinberg agreed with the list.
Roberts then went back to the beginning and asked what had been the condition of each.‘James DeSantos—would you describe for the jury his physical condition at the time you examined him?’
Steinberg gestured towards the table. ‘May I refer to the records?’
Roberts brought him the document. Steinberg glanced at it a moment and then held it on his lap.
‘Broken ankle, three broken teeth. Suffered temporary blindness. He had severe ulceration.’
‘What about his mental condition, Dr Steinberg?’ asked Roberts, moving to a crucial element in the prosecution’s case. ‘Was he lucid? Was he, as we laymen might say, in his right mind?’
‘Yes, very much so. He was fully alert and in command of his senses.’
‘So he was not delusional? He knew where he was, what was happening to him, he could answer all your questions? In other words, Dr Steinberg, he was normal?’
Joshua Steinberg
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