"Simon Hawke - Wizards 08 - Wizard of Lovecraft Cafe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

"Well, I'm afraid I was a bit imprecise there," Dr. Fuller said. "In point of fact, he was seen leaving his
room and going into the elevator. Apparently, no one actually saw him leave the hospital, but we've
conducted a thorough search of the entire building and he isn't on the premises."

"This is the craziest thing I've ever heard of," said McGuire.

"It gets crazier," the doctor replied.

"Who saw him leave?" McGuire demanded.

"One of the nurses—"

"I want to speak to her, right now."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," said Dr. Fuller. "She's under sedation."

"Why?"

"Because she went into hysterics when she saw him coming out of his room," Dr. Fuller replied. "You
didn't quite let me finish. Detective Angelo was in a coma when he arrived in E.R. He was moved into a
private room and placed on life support. Shortly after that, he was pronounced brain dead."

"What?"

"Look, I know how this sounds," said Dr. Fuller.

"Does the word 'nuts' ring a bell?"

"My first response was to ream out the doctor who pronounced him brain dead," Fuller said, "except he
insisted 1

check out the patient's E.E.G. myself, which I did, and frankly, I would have made the same diagnosis.
Anybody would. It was flat, all across the board. Naturally, I assumed the machine was faulty, so we
tested it and it checked out."

"So what are you saying, Doctor, Angelo was brain dead, and then he suddenly came back to life and
just strolled out of here?"

"I can appreciate your sarcasm, Mr. McGuire," Fuller replied. "Believe me, I would have the same
reaction in your place. In fact, I did. Until I called in our thaumaturgic pathologist."

"Your what?"

"Our thaumaturgic pathologist," Fuller repeated. "Almost every hospital has a department of thaumaturgic
medicine now, or they'd better have if they wish to remain competitive. There's a great demand for it.
People are opting more and more for magical healing instead of more traditional medical therapy. It's less
invasive, insurance companies like it because it involves less drugs and is consequently less expensive
over the long run, and—"

"Right, get to the punch line," said McGuire impatiently.