The doctor stepped back and let White take over. She began unwrapping the gauze, while the doctor opened a small pouch which looked like it might contain a Crown Royal bottle. Instead of a bottle of cheap whiskey, he removed a large blood-red radiant-cut gem. Before she had time to wonder what that was for, Kate could feel an unpleasant tug as White reached the end of the gauze and had a sudden conviction that she didn’t want to know what was under the final layer.