‘First, it’s been all over the news that you and your team rescued Addis Kensington and Emerson Childress, so nice work. But that’s not the point of this call. Late last night, Elizabeth’s situation was upgraded from critical to serious, and I suspect before long, we’ll be elevating that status to stable. She’s doing remarkably well – actually, no, that’s not quite accurate – her recovery is nothing short of miraculous. That’s the good news.’

‘That is good news, Dr. Homa, so now hit me with the bad.’ Alyssa watched Cord’s eyebrows shoot upward as he studied her face.

The doctor sighed before diving in. ‘Because of Ms. Monroe’s cardiac episode, I wanted to run some tests. Now, on the surface, her heart strain is understandable considering the amount of trauma she suffered, as well as somehow managing to survive the bacterial infections she received from being in that dumpster. However, Ms. Monroe’s heart was near poster perfect. I’ll cut to the chase: the lab found high levels of nifedipine in Elizabeth’s blood.’

‘Nifedipine?’ Alyssa asked.

‘It’s a blood pressure medication that comes in capsule or pills but can also, in rare circumstances, be ordered as a liquid. Though a few doctors will still prescribe an extended-release version of the medicine, many of us in the medical field no longer prescribe nifedipine due to its tendency to drop a person’s blood pressure unpredictably and rapidly, raising the risk of a cardiac episode,’ Dr. Homa explained.

‘Such as Elizabeth Monroe’s.’

‘Such as Ms. Monroe’s. But there’s more. I had my nurses pull the IV line and send it to the lab as well for testing. Detective Wyatt, someone introduced an elevated level of nifedipine into Elizabeth’s IV line. Her cardiac arrest was not caused by her injuries.’

Alyssa was sure Cord could hear the thumping of her heart. ‘Dr. Homa, if Detective Roberts and I swing by, what are the chances we can speak with Elizabeth and take a look at the hospital security cameras?’

‘Well, there are privacy laws to consider, but I think the chances are high on both counts. Have me paged when you arrive, and I’ll see what I can do to smooth the way for you.’

‘Thank you, Dr. Homa. I appreciate it.’

‘One more thing, Detective. I do want to warn you that Ms. Monroe, at this time, has no recollection of the attack. All she knows is what she’s been told, so if you’re hoping she’ll hand you the smoking gun that tells you who her assailant is, I’m afraid you’re out of luck there. And just to be clear, it’s quite possible she’ll never recover that part of her memory.’

Though deflated by the news, Alyssa wasn’t surprised. ‘I understand, and again, thank you.’