Melba lowered her chin and looked up at Tom like the experienced nurse she was. “Maybe not with your own hands. But if you put yourself beyond medical help, or where harm is likely to come to you, that’s just as much of a sin.”

Tom didn’t know how to answer this.

She leaned forward and touched the center of his chest. “Your patients need you. Where could they go if you passed? These young docs don’t care about folks the way you do. Especially old folks. You owe it to them to keep going as long as you can.”

Tom didn’t verbalize the obvious, which was that he had to die someday, and it would likely be sooner rather than later, no matter what happened tonight. Melba was right that his patients would suffer, especially those with chronic illnesses, but what could be done?

“There’s nobody here but us,” he said gently. “Won’t you call me Tom now?”

She shook her head almost involuntarily, and Tom wondered what troubled her so about crossing that formal boundary. “What if I called you Nurse Price out here? How would that make you feel?”

Blood rose into Melba’s dark cheeks. After some thought, she said, “If I call you Tom, will you let me stay until Captain Garrity comes back?”

“No. I can’t make you leave, but I’m asking you to. My heart will beat a lot easier if you go.”

Melba picked up her fork and tapped it on the china plate. “I can’t believe it’s come to this. All those good works you’ve done, and it’s come to running like a common criminal.”

“We never outrun our sins, Melba. None of us.”

“And you tell me you don’t believe in God! How can you believe in sin, if you don’t believe in God?”

“I don’t know what I mean, exactly. I just use the words I know.”

A tear rolled down the nurse’s cheek. “I still have hopes for you … Tom. You’ve always done God’s work, whether you know it or not.”

His throat tightened so much that for a moment he couldn’t breathe, much less speak. “Thank you, Melba. Now, you give me a good, long hug, and then walk out to your car and drive home. Walt will be back soon, and we’ll resolve this mess.”

“Do you really believe that? Don’t lie to me.”

“I do. That old dog still has a trick or two left.”