“I’m sorry, your honor,” MacReady said with apparent contrition. “I didn’t mean to say anything improper.”

“Don’t insult my intelligence.” Herndon motioned to Padolino. “If you have any more legitimate questions, ask them. Get this over with.”

“Yes, sir. Just one last question. Did Senator Glancy change his position on the insurance bill?”

“Nope. Didn’t budge an inch, and all his little toadies followed his lead. He single-handedly killed a piece of legislation that might’ve done a lot of people a world of good. But no one could make him change his mind. Not even Delia Collins.”

Which was worse? Ben wondered. If Glancy had changed his vote in exchange for a blow job, or if he took the blow job but still refused to change his vote?

“No more questions,” Padolino said quietly.

The judge turned toward Ben. “Anything from the defense?”

“Oh yeah,” Ben said, rising to his feet. “We’re gonna be here a while.”

Loving stood beside Daily, his hand on the other man’s shoulder, hoping some of his inner tranquility would travel by osmosis into his companion’s consciousness. So far it wasn’t working.

“Please!” Daily insisted. “You’ve got to let me see her!”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Dr. Aljuwani had a soft, sympathetic voice, not the voice-of-God demeanor Loving normally associated with surgeons. He was carrying a chart and wearing a white coat, all the accoutrements of the typical medical man, but he had also shown an enormous amount of patience. “We have to think of what’s best for Amber.”

“I am thinking about Amber!” Daily cried. “I always have been. I’ve been searching for her for months!”

“And now she is in our care. You have done your job. Please allow us to do ours.”

Loving could feel the tension oozing from every pore of Daily’s body. “Please. You have no idea how important it is that I see her.”

“No, I do not. But I do know that her health is extremely fragile and that it is best that she not be disturbed. She is not conscious, at any rate.”

“I don’t care about that! I just want to see her!”

“And you will, my friend. I promise you that. Her chances for a full recovery are excellent. But she is weak. She has lost much blood. In addition to the gunshot wound, her bloodstream has been infected with excess amounts of a chemical that is, for all practical purposes, the same as morphine. She will likely suffer withdrawal symptoms, as well as severe respiratory problems.”

“You said she would recover.”

“I said that her chances are excellent. But we must take things slowly. Allow her body to recover its strength. For now, for her own safety, she must remain in the ICU. But I promise I will call you as soon as the danger has passed and it is safe for her to receive visitors.”

Loving tried to be comforting. “He’s right, you know.”

Daily’s teeth were clenched. “You have my cell number?”

“Indeed I do,” the doctor assured him. “And I will call it just as soon as the time is right.”

“You won’t wait till it’s convenient?”

“Indeed I will not. As soon as her vital signs are stable, I will call you.”

“And that will be when?”

Dr. Aljuwani hesitated. “Perhaps twenty-four hours, if all goes well. I can’t be certain.”

“All right.” His head hung low. “Thank you, Doctor. I’m sorry if I seemed-”

“Not at all. She is your own flesh and blood. I would feel the same if it were my daughter, I am sure.” Aljuwani excused himself, leaving Loving and Daily alone.

“Hell,” Daily muttered. “What am I going to do with myself between now and then? I’ll make myself crazy.”

“You’re gonna get some sleep,” Loving said firmly. “Then we continue the investigation.”

“What? I’ve already found Amber.”

“But don’t you wanna know what happened to her?”

“Surely that creep from the club-”

“Didn’t you hear what the police officer said?” Loving wasn’t really surprised. The police had grilled them and Lucille for almost three hours, but the entire time Loving sensed that Daily’s head was somewhere else. In that tiny room in ICU. “That creep Randy has already called in his lawyer. To represent him and his boys and girls. None of them is talking. Nor is anyone ever likely to. If we want to know what happened to your girl, we’re going to have to find out for ourselves.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

Loving hesitated a moment, watching the sun set through the wide panoramic hospital lobby window. It was almost sunset, the golden hour, his favorite time of day. Pity it had to be wasted on these tragic circumstances. “By findin’ Beatrice. That’s what your daughter wanted us to do.”

“She was out of her head.”

“Maybe. But did you see the way her eyes lit when I asked her? She may’ve been crazy with drugs, but I still think she was tryin’ to help us. She’s worried about her friend.” Besides, Loving thought, finding Beatrice will be critical to Ben’s case-in the event Amber never recovers.

“But what she said-it was just gibberish.”

Loving shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then what did it mean?”

“Well… I dunno. But if every answer was easy, the world wouldn’t need private investigators.”

“You’ve got nothing to go on! Two words.”

“I’ve had less. Come on. Let’s go see a friend of mine. If anyone can tell us what your daughter meant, he’s the one.”

“Congressman, have you ever thought about running for president?”

MacReady’s head rose. Finally Ben had managed to ask a question he hadn’t anticipated. “I’m happy where I am. But thanks for the recommendation, son.”

“Come now. I’ve heard your name floated as a possible presidential candidate, and I don’t even read the morning papers. There aren’t many Republican senators with more experience or qualifications than you.”

MacReady chuckled. “If we picked our presidents based upon experience and qualifications, the world would be a very different place.”

“I’ve also heard Senator Glancy mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. Or perhaps a vice presidential running mate. Have you?”

“Objection,” Padolino said wearily. “What possible relevance can this have to the case?”

“Goes to bias,” Ben said, explaining what both of them already knew.

The judge nodded. “The witness will answer the question.”

“I believe I have heard my colleague Senator Glancy’s name bandied about,” MacReady replied. “At least before this unpleasantness occurred.”

“And what do you think about the possibility of your colleague Senator Glancy on a presidential ticket?”

He tilted his head to one side. “Well, I prefer my presidents a little more to the right, if you know what I mean.”

“So you wouldn’t want to see the senator on a presidential ticket. And a pretty good way to prevent that would be to present false testimony that gets him convicted of murder, wouldn’t it?”

MacReady’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I’m a liar, son? ’Cause I don’t take too kindly to that.”

Ben ignored him. This was his time to ask the questions. “Tell me, sir-after you witnessed this alleged incident in Senator Glancy’s office, did you tell anyone?”

“Tell anyone what?”

“What you had seen. Glancy and Delia Collins… together.”

“No. Why would I?”

“Well, for starters, it might’ve helped eliminate Senator Glancy’s opposition to your bill.”

MacReady appeared indignant. “I don’t do business that way.”

“Did you file a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee?”

“I saw no cause for that.”

“No cause? You all but said that you thought Senator Glancy had extracted sex under the promise of changing his vote. If that’s not an ethics violation, what is?”

MacReady shrugged uncomfortably. “I had no proof. I was just…”

“Talking through your hat?”