“Maybe tomorrow,” Janice said as she led them past the other ICU MRGAS patients, each of whom appeared sicker than Haley, but Janice assured them that all were looking better than the previous day. And she added, as if it were a massive accomplishment, “No deaths in fourteen hours.”

Janice steered them out of the ICU section and into the other side of The Unit, which looked like the hospital ward it was. Some of the doors were wide open. A few masked patients even milled about in the hallways. They stopped in front of a room. “Angie’s in here. Legally, we have to keep the door locked, but she’s been pretty cooperative so far.” Janice called over to a security guard who unlocked the door. “Angie hates wearing the mask. And since she’s not growing any MRGAS in her sputum, we don’t force her.”

Janice led them into the room. In a hospital gown that draped over her skinny body, Angie Fischer sat upright over the side of the bed reading a teen magazine. Her hair was still blue, but now it was neatly combed back and pinned with barrettes. With her face tidied and her formerly crystal meth-dilated pupils no longer hiding her bright green eyes, Lopez realized that Angie was a nice-looking kid despite the scrawniness and pallor.

“Angie, I believe you’ve met Dr. Kilburn and Dr. Lopez before,” Janice said.

Angie nodded shyly.

“And this is Sergeant Cohen,” Janice pointed to Seth. “I’m going to leave you in their good hands for a while.” She sauntered to the door and turned back to the visitors. “Give us a holler when you’re ready to come out.” She closed the door, and Lopez heard a lock click.

Kilburn pulled up three chairs to the bedside. Lopez sat between the men, facing Angie directly. “Angie, how are you?” she asked.

“I was already better.” Angie pouted slightly. “I told you that at Jake’s.”

“And we explained why you had to be quarantined,” Lopez said evenly.

Angie didn’t protest. She looked down at her bed for a moment. When she looked up, her eyes were red. She pointed beyond the door. “Did I really make all these people sick?”

Lopez shook her head. “We don’t think you did.”

She swallowed. “But some of the others around here said that I spread this thing from Vancouver to Seattle.”

“That’s not true.” Lopez leaned forward in her chair. “But Angie, we do need your help.”

“Jake hasn’t come to see me since I got here,” Angie digressed. “I bet those rent-a-cops have stopped him from getting in.”

“Or maybe he’s too scared,” Lopez said.

“Yeah, maybe.” Angie sniffed and nodded. “You think he’ll come later?” She looked at Lopez desperately. “He will, don’t you think, Doctor?”