me as soon as you're finished with Steph.'
He hung up. I waited another ten minutes before Stephanie's call came in.
'Morning, Alex,' she said. 'What's up?'
'That's what I wanted to ask you.'
'Nothing much. I saw her about an hour ago,' she said. 'She's feeling better-awake, alert, and screaming at the sight of me.'
'What's the latest on the hypoglycemia?'
'The metabolic people say there are no metabolic problems, her pancreas has been examined from every possible angle-clean as a whistle-and my Swedish friend and everyone else is back on Munchausen. So I guess I'm back to square one, too.'
'How long are you planning to keep her in?'
'Two or three days, then back home if nothing else comes up.
I know it's dangerous letting her out, but what can I do, turn the hospital into her foster home? Unless you've got some suggestions.'
'Noneyet.'
'You know,' she said, 'I really let myself go with that sugar thing.
Thinking it was real.'
'Don't bludgeon yourself. It's a crazy case. How did Cindy and Chip react to the continuing uncertainty?'
'I only saw Cindy. The usual quiet resignation.'
Remembering Al Macauley's comment, I said, Any smiles?'
'Smiles? No. Oh, you mean those spacey ones she sometimes gives?
No.
Not this morning. Alex, I'm worried sick over this. By discharging Cassie, what am I sentencing her to?'
Having no balm, I offered a Band-Aid. At least discharging her will give me the chance to make a home visit.'
'While you're there, why don't you sneak around and look for hot clues?'
'Such as?'
'Needles in bureau drawers, insulin spansules in the fridge. I'm kidding-no, actually I'm only half-kidding. I'm this close to confronting Cindy, let the chips fall. The next time that little girl gets sick, I just may do it, and if they get mad and go elsewhere, at least I'll know I did everything I could- Oops, that's me on pageNeonatology, one of my preemies. Gotta go, Alex. Call me if you learn anything, okay?'
I phoned Milo back. 'Working weekends?'
'Did a trade with Charlie. Saturdays on in exchange for some flexibility in my moonlighting. How's old Steph?'
'Off organic disease, back on Munchausen. No one can find an organic reason for the hypoglycemia.'
'Too bad,' he said. 'Meantime, I've got the lowdown on Reggie Bottomley, the nurse's bad seed. Guy's been dead for a couple of years.
For some reason his name never got off the files. Suicide.'
'How?'
'He went into the bathroom, got naked, sat on the toilet, smoked crack, jacked off, then turned his head into bad fruit with a shotgun. Very messy. The Tujunga detecti'e-a gal, actually, named Dunn-said Vicki was home when
