Read Let Him Live for Free Online

piece of folded paper and handed it to Meg.
    She unfolded it and saw that it was a check made out to Donovan Jacoby in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. It was signed, “Richard Holloway, Esq., Administrator, One Last Wish Foundation.” Meg gaped.
    “Do you think it’s legit?” Donovan asked. “Do you know anything at all about this foundation?”
    “I’ve never heard of it.” Meg racked her brain for the names of the charitable organizations that supported the hospital. “Money usually comes to the hospital, not to any individual in the hospital. Especially not a patient.” She held the check up to the sun, but saw only a watermark for a bank in Boston, Massachusetts. “Do you know anyone with the initials JWC?”
    “I’ve been thinking all morning, and the only person that comes to mind is a guy in my school named Jed Calloway—I don’t know his middle initial. But it couldn’t be him. He’s poor as dirt and not very charitable either. No, it can’t be Jed.”
    “How about this Richard Holloway?”
    “Never heard of the guy. What’s that E-s-q mean? Do you know?”
    Meg puckered her brow. “I’ve seen it in old books. It’s an abbreviation for ‘esquire,’ an old-fashioned term for a lawyer. I guess he’s in charge of this foundation. Maybe he’s in the phone book—we could look and see.”
    Donovan moistened his lips. “It’s a lot of money, isn’t it?”
    “We both know that it is. Why would someone give it to you?”
    “I don’t know. All the letter says is that this JWC understands what I’m going through and wants me to spend it on something I really want.”
    “So, what do you want?”
    “A new liver.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “But we both know I can’t buy one of those.”
    “There must be something else.”
    “There’re lots of something elses. I have to think about it. I can’t blow this much cash on myself.”
    “I think that’s what JWC wants you to do with it.”
    He glanced off toward the willow tree. “There’s another problem,” he said slowly.
    “Tell me.”
    “It—it’s hard for me to say it.”
    “You can tell me.” Meg felt her pulse throbbing in her throat.
    “It’s the part that involves your father,” he said.
    “How is my dad involved?”
    “I’m afraid if he knows about the money, he’ll take it away from me.”

S
even

    “T AKE IT AWAY ? My dad wouldn’t do that!” Meg was both startled and hurt by Donovan’s suggestion.
    “I don’t mean he’d take it away on purpose. But he might
have
to take it away.”
    “But why? Obviously, JWC wants
you
to have it.” Donovan shrugged, and Meg could tell he was having trouble putting what he wanted to say into words. She tried to make it easier by rising up on her knees and clasping his hand. “It’s
your
money. Why would my dad want it?”
    He touched his other hand to her hair, smoothing it back. Her scalp tingled from his touch. “My family’s poor, Meg. I know we’re a charity case for this hospital. Mom explained how your father gotus on Medicare in order to help pay for all of this.”
    “Money’s not supposed to decide who gets organs.” She recalled her conversation with her father, and how he assured her that need was the main factor in determining who got organs for transplantation.
    “I know that, but now that I have money, will I have to use it for the operation?”
    Meg couldn’t answer his question. “What if you did? Would it mean you’d give up the chance to get the transplant?”
    He stared down at the check. “It’s a lot of money, and my family could use it for lots of things.”
    “How can you consider using it on anything else? I know your mother would spend every cent on keeping you alive. What difference does it make if it has to be spent on your transplant?”
    “It makes a difference to me,” Donovan said quietly. “That’s why I’m holding you to your promise to keep it a secret from your father. If it’s really my money, I should