Decker checked his watch. Almost midnight. “Call her up. Tell her you’ll be down there tonight. Did you check out the rest of the hospital staff?”

“Not yet,” Oliver said.

“We’re going to do that now,” Marge said. “Unless you want us to see Fulton first.”

Decker said, “Webster and Martinez are just about done over here at the crime scene. I’ll send them over to the hospital. You go interview this Dr. Fulton. What happened to the secretary, Heather Manley? She still around or did she go home?”

“Went home,” Marge said.

“No reason to keep her.” Oliver felt his lips arc upward into a grin. “Well, I’ve got a reason to keep her, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the case.”

“Good-looking?”

“Very nice, Loo.”

“Affair material?”

“Definitely,” Marge said. “But Heather claims no. Sparks was way too close to Jesus to do something like that.”

“What do you think, Scott?”

Oliver brushed the lapel of his Armani blazer. Got this baby used from a secondhand shop, but it was in perfect condition. Wonderful fabric, the wool was lightweight but warm. “What do I think? Sure I think it’s a possibility despite what Manley says.”

“He doesn’t sound like the kind to me, Pete.” To Oliver, Marge said, “You know, there are some men who don’t do it, Scotty.”

“Two classes of men, Marge,” Oliver said. “Those who cheat and those who’re going to cheat. Only thing that separates them is timing.”

Decker said, “Who’s taking over Sparks’s patients right now?”

“Residents,” Oliver said. “As soon as Dr. Berger is reached, Decameron is sure that he’ll fill in. There have also been lots of surgeons from other places volunteering to help out. Everyone speaks highly of Sparks.”

Decker said, “Okay. Go interview Dr. Fulton. By the way, did Decameron mention a drug called Curedon to you?”

“Did he mention Curedon?” Oliver laughed. “Marge and I have doctorates in immunosuppressants.” He brought Decker up to date on Sparks’s research.

“See, that’s why Decameron swiped the data from Sparks’s fax machine,” Marge said. “It was good news. Lately, Curedon had undergone some problems in its death rate. This particular batch of data was positive. Decameron said he just didn’t want to wait until Sparks handed him the sheets.”

“And that was the only thing that pissed off Sparks?” Decker asked. “Sure there wasn’t more to the argument?”

“Not according to him,” Oliver said. “Of course, one of the other doctors might offer a different version.”

Decker said, “Why should Decameron care so much if it’s Sparks’s drug? He doesn’t make money off of it, does he?”

“Decameron says no,” Oliver said. “But…”