“And insulin wouldn’t show up on a tox screen,” she added.

A perfect murder, Ted thought. “Can I see her?”

“She’s not leaving. Get your butt in bed. And by the way, there are two policemen waiting to talk to you.”

“Are they here?”

“I’ll tell them you’re awake.” She stood and took two steps toward the door.

“Wait,” he almost yelled. “The guy who attacked me. How is he?”

“Sorry. I have no idea.”

He turned back and was, for a moment, disoriented. Which room was his? He shuffled along, peeking in doors until he found an empty rumpled bed that had a familiar look. A clear plastic bag was hanging from the bed frame. He was wearing a hospital gown with his suit pants and socks, but there were the rest of his things. His shirt had been bloodied, but his wrinkled jacket looked salvageable, despite the small tear in the upper arm. He located his cell phone and wallet. He could communicate and provide evidence of his existence. Things were looking up.

He turned on the phone and found four missed calls. Three from Lester. One from Jill. He hit the call-back button as two uniformed policemen entered the room. He disconnected and shoved the phone in his pants pocket.

“How are you feeling, sir?” the older of the two asked.

“Good.” Ted was surprised to find that this was the truth. He had not slept enough, and he ached in certain areas that had taken the brunt of the abuse the night before, but overall he felt ready to tackle another murderous Eastern European if need be.

“We have orders to keep you here until you’ve been interviewed by the detectives on this case,” the officer said.

“Am I under arrest?”

“Not at this time. Make yourself comfortable and I will give them a call.”

Ted wasn’t surprised. He would need to make a statement. He imagined that the nurses and other staff would back up his story. Waiting was an annoyance but nothing more.

The phone buzzed as he was about to dial. Lester.

“I thought I might have heard from you by now.” Lester’s voice had lost the slushy quality.

“Kenzie is asleep, but they keep telling me she’s going to be okay.”

“Do you believe them?”

“Yes and no. Mostly yes. I couldn’t call, because there was some excitement here last night. One of the Corona Partners showed up.”

Lester made appropriate sounds as Ted spun the story of the night’s events. “The nurse told me I saved her life,” Ted said. “I haven’t really grasped that as yet. The whole night was like a bad dream, and I’m not fully awake.”

“But you’re all right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get much of a dose.”

“Are you going to stay and keep watch over her?”

“I don’t know. The police want to talk to me.”