stood up. “Two men and a woman. That’s good, too.
But the height differentials could be better. The
woman’s too tall.”
Dirk Farrar had stepped aside as the medics began
their task. The woman—who was indeed over six
feet—waved the other onlookers away. “Clear the
area,” she commanded. “We need some room here.”
Judith, Joe, Renie, and Bill returned to the dining
room. The women sat down at the dining-room table;
the men remained standing, Bill by the window, Joe
next to the big breakfront that held three generations of
the Grover family’s favorite china.
“What could have happened to Angela?” Judith
mused in a fretful voice. “Stress?”
“In a way,” Joe said, rocking slightly on his heels.
“That is, if you figure that stress can lead to drug addiction.”
“Drugs!” Judith exclaimed. “You think Angela
overdosed?”
Joe nodded. “I’m certain that the white powder you
found in the downstairs bathroom was cocaine. I’m
having Woody analyze the residue to make sure. I
found traces of it upstairs in the bathroom that Dirk
and Angela shared when they usurped Bruno’s room.”
“Not surprising,” Bill remarked. “How many showbusiness people have a drug habit?”
“How many ordinary people do, too?” Renie said
with a touch of anger. “It’s everywhere.”
“Bruno!” Judith breathed. “What if he overdosed,
too?”
Joe, however, shook his head. “No traces of drugs
were found by the ME.”
Slipping out of her chair, Judith tiptoed to the door
that led to the entry hall and peeked around the corner.
An oxygen mask had been placed over Angela’s face
and an IV had been inserted into her arm. The two
male medics were preparing to remove her on a gurney. The woman was speaking in low tones to Dirk
Farrar. Judith couldn’t hear a word they said.
She barely had time to duck out of sight before Dirk
Farrar came into the dining room. Without his usual
bravado, he addressed Joe.
“I assume it wouldn’t break any rules if I went with
Angela to the hospital?” he said.
“Go ahead,” Joe responded. “What’s her condition?”
Dirk frowned. “Not so good. But they think she’ll
be okay.” He hurried out of the room.
“Halftime,” Bill murmured. “Let’s see how the other
guests are taking all this.” He, too, left the dining room.
Judith and Joe trailed behind him. Bill was correct:
The Packers and the Bears had retired to their respective dressing rooms to regroup for the second half.
