Kashmira then embarked on the usual socially acceptable questions concerning the trip and how Jennifer liked her room and the hotel, and whether the transportation had been acceptable. Even after such a quick exchange, the smile had essentially disappeared except for a few short, subsequent de rigueur bursts at appropriate junctures.

At that point Kashmira became extremely serious as she conveyed the sympathies of herself, the doctors, and, indeed, the whole hospital staff for Jennifer’s grandmother’s passing. “It was a totally unexpected tragic event,” she added.

“That it was,” Jennifer said, eyeing the woman and experiencing a reburst of the anger she’d felt that morning about the whole affair, not only losing the person closest to her in all the world but also having been dragged away from possibly one of the most important rotations in her entire medical-school career. She knew her pain-in-the-ass father was probably as guilty as anyone for the current situation, but at the moment she leveled it all at Queen Victoria Hospital in general and Kashmira Varini in particular, especially since Jennifer’s immediate impression was that she was conveying less-than-sincere sympathy to boot.

“Tell me,” Kashmira said, totally unaware of Jennifer’s sleep-deprived state of mind, “where should we go to get the unpleasant arrangements business out of the way? We can either go into the coffee shop or into my private office. It’s totally your decision.”

Taking her time, Jennifer looked beyond the information counter at the open door where Kashmira had emerged and then, turning in the opposite direction, glanced into the glass-fronted coffee shop. What made the choice was concern that if she didn’t have another cup of coffee, she might fall asleep. When Jennifer communicated her verdict to Kashmira, the case manager acted quite pleased, which was the cause of one of her brief smiles, since it suggested Jennifer would prove easy to manipulate.

Jennifer did get coffee, though it failed to have much of an impact, and she soon decided it was imperative she get back to the hotel for a nap. As a further explanation of how bad she was feeling, a quick computation told her that had she still been in L.A., she would be soon settling in for the night.

“Mrs. Varini,” Jennifer said, interrupting her host, who was describing the hospital’s lack of mortuary facilities. “I’m very sorry, but I’m finding it hard to concentrate due to lack of sleep, and I’m certainly less capable than normal to make any significant decisions. I’m afraid I’m going to have to return to my room for a few hours of rest.”