"First of all," Laura said when Laurie had finished, "there's no need to apologize. In fact, I would have preferred you call sooner. I don't want to alarm you, but it we should consider an ectopic pregnancy until we can rule it out. You might be bleeding internally."

"I thought as much," Laurie admitted.

"Are you still diaphoretic?"

Laurie felt her brow. It was damp with perspiration. "I'm afraid so."

"What's your pulse, approximately? Is it fast or normal?"

Using her shoulder to hold the phone, Laurie felt her pulse at her wrist. She knew it had been fast earlier, and she wanted to be certain it had remained so. "It's definitely on the fast side," she admitted. She had hoped the sweating and the rapid heartbeat had been due to her anxiety, but Laura's questions had made her acknowledge that there could be another explanation: She could be going into shock.

"Okay," Laura said in a controlled, businesslike voice. "I want to see you in the emergency room at the Manhattan General Hospital."

Laurie felt a shiver descend her spine at the thought of being a patient at the General. "Could we pick another hospital?" she questioned.

"I'm afraid not," Laura said. "It's the only hospital where I have privileges. Besides, they are fully equipped if we have to be aggressive. Where are you at the moment?"

"I'm in my office at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner."

"On First Avenue and Thirtieth Street?"

"Yes."

"And where is your office in the building?"

"It's on the fifth floor. Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to send an ambulance."

Good God! Laurie thought. She didn't want to ride in an ambulance. "I can take a taxi," she suggested.

"You are not going to take a taxi," Laura stated unequivocally. "One of the first rules about being a patient in an emergency medical situation, a rule which is particularly hard for doctors to accept, is that you must follow orders. We can argue about the necessity later, but right now we are not taking any chances. I'm going to send an ambulance ASAP, and I will meet you in the ER. Do you know your blood type?"

"O positive," Laurie said.

"See you in the emergency room," Laura said and disconnected.

With a shaking hand, Laurie hung up the phone. She felt shell-shocked. Upheavals were becoming the norm. In a single day she'd been forced to identify a friend's corpse and now face the terrifying prospect of a medical emergency and possibly surgery at a hospital where a suspected serial killer was killing patients like her. The only consolation was that the most likely suspect was in custody.

Laurie snatched up the phone. She'd been reluctant to call Jack for a variety of reasons, but with this new development, her hand was forced. She needed his support, she needed him as an ombudsman or guardian in the hospital if she did end up having emergency surgery.

The phone rang once, then twice. "Come on, Jack!" Laurie urged. "Answer it!" The phone rang again, and Laurie knew he wasn't there. As she suspected, after the next ring, his answering machine picked up. As Laurie waited to leave a message, she felt a wave of resentment wash over her. It seemed uncanny how Jack managed to irritate her in so many different ways. Undoubtedly, he was out on his neighborhood basketball court, pretending he was a teenager. Laurie knew she was being unreasonable, but she couldn't help it. She was actually angry that he wasn't there. Although she knew it was an unfair comparison, she couldn't help but think that had Roger not been killed, he would have been available.

"A major problem has come up," Laurie said when it was time for her to speak. "I need your help again. At the moment, I am waiting for an ambulance to take me to the Manhattan General. Dr. Riley thinks I might have a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. On the plus side, it will mean that the pressure will be off you, but on the negative side, I'll be facing emergency surgery. I need you to be there. I don't want to become part of my own series. Please cornel"

After pressing the disconnect button, Laurie dialed Jack's cell phone. She went through the same process, leaving a similar message in hopes he'd get one or the other. Then she pushed away from the desk with the idea of getting her coat before heading down to the basement level, where she expected the ambulance to arrive. As she stood up, she kept her hand pressed against her lower abdomen, hoping to avoid another severe cramp. Instead, she heard ringing in her ears and felt a wave of dizziness.

The next thing Laurie was aware of was voices, particularly the voice of a man seemingly talking on the telephone. He was saying something about the blood pressure being low but steady, the pulse at one hundred, and the abdomen being slightly tense. Laurie realized her eyes were shut, and she opened them. She was on the floor of her office, facing up at the ceiling. A female EMT was busily taping an IV line against her left arm. A male EMT was standing to the side while speaking on his cell phone. Behind him, she recognized Mike Laster. Alongside Laurie was a collapsed gurney with an IV pole.

"What happened?" Laurie asked. She started to get up.

"Easy," the female EMT said, placing her hand on Laurie's chest. "You just had a little fainting episode. But everything is okay. We're going to be getting you out of here in two seconds."

The male EMT snapped his phone shut. "All right, let's go!" He walked around behind Laurie's head and insinuated his hands beneath Laurie's back and into her armpits. The woman went to her ankles. "On three," the man said, and then quickly counted.

Laurie felt herself lifted over onto the gurney. The EMTs quickly secured her with straps, raised the gurney to waist-height, and jockeyed it out into the corridor.

"How long was I unconscious?" Laurie questioned. She'd never fainted before. She had no recollection of falling to the floor.

"It couldn't have been for very long," the woman said. She was at the foot pushing, while the man was at the head, pulling. Mike walked alongside.

"Sorry about this," Laurie said to Mike.

"Don't be silly," Mike responded.

They took the elevator down to the basement level. As they passed the mortuary office, Laurie saw the evening tech, Miguel Sanchez, standing in the doorway. Laurie waved self-consciously. Miguel waved back.

The gurney bumped across the morgue's concrete floor, past the security office, and out onto the loading dock. The ambulance was parked next to one of the Health and Hospital's mortuary vans. Laurie thought of the irony that she was going out the same way the bodies came in.

Once in the ambulance, the female EMT inflated a blood-pressure cuff around Laurie's right upper arm.

"What is it?" Laurie asked.

"It's fine," the woman said, although she reached over and opened the IV a little more.

For Laurie, the ride over to the Manhattan General Hospital was surprisingly rapid. She'd felt detached enough to close her eyes. She could hear the siren, although it seemed as if it were in the distance. The next thing she knew, the doors of the ambulance were flung open, and she was rolled out into bright light.

The emergency room was typically chaotic, but she didn't have to wait. She was whisked into the depths and directly into the acute care section. As she was being transferred onto an examination table, Laurie felt a hand grip her forearm. Laurie turned and found herself gazing up into the face of a youthful woman dressed in scrubs, complete with a hood.

"I'm Dr. Riley. We are going to be taking good care of you. I want you to relax."

"I'm relaxed," Laurie responded.

"Since we've not met before tonight, I need to ask if you have any medical problems, whether you are taking any medication, or whether you have any allergies."

"No to all of those questions. I've been blessed with very good health."