“Once. The driver had had a heart attack and had crashed into the sidewalk.” She paused. “Everyone was talking about it the next day…it became a joke.”

“A joke?”

“Yeah, the bad news is you had a heart attack at the wheel of your car. The good news is Dr. Sparks was in the neighborhood. And it’s true. The accident victim was lucky. She wouldn’t have made it if Dr. Sparks hadn’t stopped.” Tara thought a moment. “You know that wasn’t the only joke going around.”

“Tell me.”

“Everyone used to josh that Dr. Sparks secretly carried a paramedics scanner.”

Decker wrote sloppily, his tired brain trying to decipher what she was saying. “Why?”

“I’m not sure why. Maybe to hear if there were any auto accidents near to where he was. So he could help out. One of his many famous lectures dealt with the importance of the first few minutes when treating the victim of a cardiac infarct. Or it could be the joke came about because of Dr. Sparks’s incredible dedication to saving people’s lives. If someone needed help, he was there—Oh, there’s Dr. Berger. Excuse me.”

Tara scuttled away.

Round but compact, Berger moved quickly toward Decker. But his carriage belied his energy level. Of medium height, he appeared to be in his sixties with fleshy features—a bulbous nose and thick lips. His lids drooped, puffy pillows under his eyes, cheeks sagging with wan flesh. A face that had been dragged under the wheels of exhaustion. The dome of his head was pink, shiny skin dotted with sweat. A small gray ring of hair clothed the bottom and sides of his cranium. His clothes were stylish but in need of a pressing. In fact, his whole body seemed wrinkled with fatigue.

“I really am very busy, Lieutenant.”

“I know you are, Dr. Berger. All I need is just a few minutes of your time.”

Berger nodded. “Step out into the hallway.” On his way out, he said, “Tara, what the hell is going on in 4D?”

Tara looked up from behind the nurse’s desk. “Pardon, Dr. Berger?”

“Where is Mrs. Gooden?”

“She was moved to 6B yesterday.”

“Who moved her? Dr. Sparks?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, move her back here. I want all my patients in one wing, okay?”

Tara paused. “You want me to move Mrs. Gooden now?”

Berger barked, “By eight o’clock tomorrow. Unless she’s fibrillating. Then you can leave her until she stabilizes. You might think I’d be allowed to have one division to myself since Dr. Sparks has the other five.”

Tara blinked rapidly. “Yes, sir.”

Berger glanced back at Decker, a blush rising to his cheeks. “This way.”

Decker followed Berger into the hallway.

Berger said, “It may seem petty to you, but it makes my life a hell of a lot easier…to have all my patients together.”

Decker didn’t answer.