twenty-five

"EXCUSE ME," CAITLIN SAID after giving Jack's shoulder a nudge.

Jack blinked and pulled himself from the depths of sleep. He felt like death warmed over, but as his vision cleared and he became oriented to time, place, and person, he quickly straightened up. He was surprised and frankly aghast that he had fallen asleep.

"What's the matter?" he sputtered. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Caitlin said. "Her repeat potassium was normal, and her vital signs have stayed rock-solid. She's even had some fluid by mouth, which was ordered by Dr. Riley. The drain from her incision has also been removed, so she's doing very well."

"Fantastic," Jack said as he slid forward to stand up.

Caitlin reached out and gently pushed against his shoulder, keeping him sitting on the couch. "I know you want to visit, but I think it might be better to leave her be for now. She's exhausted, and she's sleeping."

Jack sat back and nodded. "I'm sure you're right. Actually, I'm more concerned about her safety at this point. Needless to say, as I'm sure you have surmised, someone deliberately gave her the potassium."

"I gathered as much," Caitlin said. "But rest assured! I'm confident the CCU is safe, but to be one hundred percent sure, I've asked one of my residents to stay at the bedside continually. He'll watch everything like a hawk. No one without his authorization will get near her."

"Perfect," Jack said.

"I suppose I shouldn't ask about who you think might have done this to her."

"Probably the less talk the better until it is resolved," Jack agreed. "I know that's difficult in a hospital where gossip spreads like wildfire, but it will probably be best for everyone if you and your colleagues don't say anything about what happened for a day or so. A homicide detective will be here shortly, and I hope he can get to the bottom of things."

At that moment, two uniformed policemen appeared at the doorway. One was a beefy African-American male whose bulging muscles stretched the limits of the fabric of his uniform. His name was Kevin Fletcher. The other was a comparatively slight Hispanic woman named Toya Sanchez. Both acted self-conscious about being in the hospital. They introduced themselves to Jack, speaking in no more than a whisper. They said that their orders were merely to check in with him. Then they acted as if they didn't know what to do.

"Why don't you take a couple of chairs out and sit by the cardiac care unit door," Jack suggested. "Make sure that everyone going in is legitimately supposed to go in." Then, looking at Caitlin, he said, "I'm assuming that is the only door."

"It is the only door," Caitlin assured him.

Glad to have some direction, the two policemen took Jack's advice and were soon sitting on either side of the unit's double doors. Jack felt their presence was imposing, if nothing else. It was the busy CCU itself that provided the safety.

"I've got rounds to do," Caitlin said. "So I'll leave you here on your vigil."

"Thanks for all you did," Jack said as sincerely as he could. "You were terrific."

"Your tip about potassium was key," Caitlin said. "Maybe you should think about taking a cardiology residency. We'd make a good team."

Jack laughed and wondered if the youthful woman was flirting with him. Then he smiled at his own vanity, thinking he was trying to compensate for how old she made him feel. He waved as the woman walked out of the waiting room.

After Caitlin left, Jack settled back in the sofa. He wasn't about to fall asleep again, since he'd gotten a shot of adrenaline when she'd awakened him. Instead, he began musing about what it really meant for someone to be killing patients who had positive markers for bad genes. It was immediately obvious to him that the explanation for such an unspeakable villainy couldn't simply be a person with an antisocial personality disorder, although the person who was actually injecting the potassium surely had to have such an affliction. Jack knew intuitively that it had to be a more extensive conspiracy, with the involvement of some higher-ups in the AmeriCare organization. In his mind, it was a horrid example of how the practice of medicine could be distorted from having evolved into big business with business interests in the ascendancy. He was personally aware that there were people hidden in the top-heavy administrations of these huge, sprawling managed-care and hospital-management companies similar to AmeriCare that were so far removed bureaucratically and often geographically from the professed primary mission of the organization that they could easily be blinded by the needs of the bottom line, and ultimately, the share price.

A commotion in the hall interrupted Jack's thoughts. A group of nurses had arrived, and there was a great titter about the presence of the police, who were checking IDs before letting them into the CCU. Jack watched them laugh and joke, and he wondered if they would be carrying on as they were if they knew what was going on behind the scenes in their hospital. Even more than the doctors, the nurses were in the trenches on a daily basis, involved in hand-to-hand combat with disease and disability. He was certain they would be outraged if they heard that one of their own was suspected of such treachery.

Such thinking brought Jack's mind back to Jasmine Rakoczi. If she was the culprit, as he thought was possible, then she surely had to be severely antisocial. Jack couldn't help but think he had to be wrong about her. How could someone who is antisocial be a nurse? It seemed an oxymoron to him. But, in the unlikely case she was antisocial, how could she have gotten a nursing job at such a prestigious hospital? It didn't make any sense, especially with the idea that some bean counter buried deep in the fabric of AmeriCare's organizational structure had to tell her who to pump full of potassium.

The door to the CCU burst open and another group of both male and female nurses emerged. They were equally surprised and curious about the uniformed police. The police were polite but noncommittal, and within a few minutes, the nurses' voices trailed off as they disappeared down the hallway.

Jack's eyes wandered up to the wall clock. It was a little after seven in the morning. All of a sudden, it dawned on his tired mind why the group of nurses had come in and another group had gone out. It was the shift change. The day people were taking over from the night people.

Jack leaped off the sofa. It hadn't even occurred to him that Jasmine Rakoczi would be getting off before Lou got there. If she was the culprit and if she sensed that Jack knew it, she might disappear for good. Several strides took him out into the hall, where he quickly told the two police officers that he was going up to the sixth floor. He said that if Detective Lieutenant Soldano came in while he was away, they should tell him where he had gone and send him up there.

Then Jack rushed down to the elevator lobby, where it was apparent that the hospital had transformed itself: The busy day had begun. There were at least a dozen people waiting for an elevator, which included a number of orderlies with gurneys on their way to fetch patients for their scheduled surgeries.

The first up elevator that arrived appeared full when its door opened. Several people boarded just the same, and, not to be deterred, Jack literally pushed on as well. He could sense people's indignation as the door was barely able to close. Pressed cheek to jowl, no one spoke as the car rose.

To Jack's chagrin, the ascent was frustratingly slow. The elevator stopped on every floor and disgorged passengers, more often than not, from the rear, making Jack and a few others step out at each successive elevator lobby. By the time the elevator got to the sixth floor, Jack was having trouble controlling his impatience, and when the door opened, he was the first one out. His plan was to rush to the nurses' desk to inquire about Jasmine Rakoczi. He hoped by chance she'd been delayed so he could catch her before she left.