I looked down at Charlie. “Actually, yes. Would you be able to pop in and check on Charlie? Just for the next few days.”

“Absolutely!”

I rummaged in my purse for the spare key and handed it to her. “He has the dog door out back, so he’ll just need a few walks and some food. I’ll leave it out on the counter.”

“Of course. Anything to help.”

I moved toward the house, hoping to get away as fast as possible. “Thanks, Jennifer. See you later.”

BACK AT the hospital, I headed first to the clinic, planning to talk to Marjorie about reducing my hours while Josh was in treatment. But as I got out of the elevator and strode down the hallway, I noticed a cluster of people crowded around the clinic’s entrance.

I pushed past them and entered the reception area. Marjorie, Brittany, and a handful of doctors and nurses who were working today were gathered in a little cluster near reception.

“What’s going on?” I asked Marjorie.

Marjorie jumped. “Emma! I didn’t see you there.” Her eyes were red, like she had been crying. “It’s just terrible. I found the supply closet open this morning. Someone had left it unlocked, and when I went in I noticed that almost all the Oxy samples were gone. I told Lawrence, up in administration, and he called the police. They found—”

Just then two burly police officers came out of an exam room, their mouths pressed into grim lines. Between them, her arms handcuffed behind her, was Julia.

The fluorescent lights cast stark shadows across her face, her eyes like dark bruises. She was looking right at us but not really seeing us. Her brown hair had come out of its ponytail, clinging to her neck in damp patches. She moved stiffly between the officers, as if she were a remote-controlled dummy and someone else had taken over.

A shocked silence settled over the room. Marjorie’s hand flew to her mouth, her chubby throat bobbing up and down.

She lowered her voice and leaned toward me. “The police found OxyContin samples in her purse. Looks like she’s been stealing them!”

“No!” My skin went cold and clammy.

Julia’s head swung toward me. Her face was ashen, her eyes damp and shiny. She strained, trying to pull away from the officers, but they held her tight.

“Emma, I didn’t do this!” she shouted, breaking out of her reverie. “Come on! Tell them!”

Julia… My mouth formed her name, but no sound came. My vocal cords were paralyzed with shock.

I could feel the weight of the prescription pads in my purse, the bulk of them pressing against my side. Guilt oozed, black and sticky, through my core. But nobody had noticed they were gone. The Oxy samples were so much more obvious.