There was no valet out front. The new arrival parked himself and rang the bell. Almost instantly, a tall, gorgeous black woman in a shimmery dress answered the door, smiling, and let him right in.

“Skuba, stay on the windows.”

“I know, I know. Doin’ my best to make Steven Spielberg proud. Jaguar must be a regular.”

Villanovich rubbed both hands up and down his face, trying to stay sharp. “Any chance of calling this early tonight? We’ve already got more than we need here, don’t we?”

“Negative,” Command came back right away. “We want you there for departures.”

Another round of shots from Skuba’s camera pulled Villanovich’s attention back to the house. The Jag’s driver had just passed a window on the stairs, walking with a girl on his arm. Tall and black, but not the woman from the front door.

“Jesus Christ.” Skuba lowered the camera and muted his headset. “Did you see the rack on her? I don’t mind saying, I’m a little jealous out here. And, uh, horny.”

“Don’t be. Quantico’s on the case now,” Villanovich told him, still watching the empty window. “When this place goes down, they’re all going down with it.”

Chapter 31

BEFORE NANA WAS allowed to come home, I had to meet with Dr. Englefield one more time. In the confines of her office on the first floor at St. Anthony’s, the doctor was considerably more relaxed and easygoing and human.

“We’ve unloaded the fluid in your grandmother’s chest and gotten her blood pressure back to a baseline level, but that’s only a start. She, and you, are going to have to be vigilant. Regina won’t admit it, but she’s over ninety years old. This is a serious problem.”

“I understand,” I said. “And so does my grandmother— believe it or not.”

Nana was already on a whole new regimen of medications—ACE inhibitors, diuretics, and a hydralazine-nitrate combination that had been shown especially effective with African American patients for some reason. There was also a new no-salt diet to think about, and daily weight monitoring to make sure she wasn’t retaining excess fluid.

“It’s a lot to get used to all at once,” Dr. Englefield said, offering a rare half smile. “Lack of compliance is a major contributor to cardiac arrest for someone in her position, and family support is crucial. It’s critical.”

“Believe me, we’ll do whatever it takes,” I told her. Even Jannie had been researching congestive heart failure online.

“I’d also recommend bringing in a home care provider any time you and your wife are out of the house.” Englefield had met Bree only once in passing; I didn’t bother to correct her. “Of course, that might be a tough sell with your grandmother. I suspect it will be.”

I grinned for the first time. “I see you’ve been getting to know each other. And yes, we’ve already started looking into it.”

The doctor smiled too—for about a tenth of a second. “Regina was lucky to have someone on hand when she collapsed the other day. You’d be wise to make sure she’s just as lucky if—or when—it happens again.”