“Fine,” Pia said. “I wouldn’t mind a few minutes of rest. Whatever drug I was given has me feeling sleepy again. I could use a bit of rest while you take care of business. Do you mind if I just lie down here on your bed? Call me when you’re ready.” Pia moved from the desk chair over to the bed and lay down. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She was tired and wired at the same time.

George went over to her and, taking out his pocket light, made her open her eyes. He quickly checked pupillary light reaction. It was normal.

“Jesus, that’s bright,” she complained, turning her head to the side. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m just worried about a concussion,” George said.

“That’s a happy thought,” Pia said.

“It’s something to think about, especially if you’re sleepy.”

“Good point, but I think I’m fine, just tired.”

“I’ll go back to Radiology and make my excuses. I’ll be right back. Wedge the chair under the door handle. Do you have your phone?”

Pia nodded.

“Make sure it’s charged. My charger’s on the desk. And call me if you need me.”

George would have been far happier calling the police or renting a car and driving Pia as far out of the city as he could. But he’d come this far with her. He just had to cover himself, and he’d be clear to stay with her for as long as it took to resolve this thing. They’d get a Geiger counter and find the proof if it existed. Or they wouldn’t find the proof, and Pia would have to drop this theory as she had all the others. Perhaps then she would quit sleuthing.

Chapter 43.

43.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
NEW YORK CITY
MARCH 25, 2011, 2:01 P.M.

Pia’s brief sleep was interrupted by George knocking gently on his own door. She woke up with a start and recognized that she was in a room that was not her own. She sat up feeling like she had a hangover. All at once she realized where she was, and the whole previous night’s experience came flooding back. Pia got up from the bed, swayed for a moment, and went to the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s George.” Pia took the chair away from under the door handle. She then hurried into George’s compulsively clean bathroom and checked out her face, wincing when she touched her bruised left jawbone and wincing again when she noticed for the first time that she also had the makings of a good black eye. Reflexively, she closed her uninjured eye to make sure she could see normally. She also examined her cut lip, and then wiped away a bit of blood encrusted in her nostrils. Then she began to fill the sink to wash her face.