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Dio. What was she doing? She was a scientist. She knew better than to theorize without at least some basis in fact. And she was a woman. She had watched her mother live for dreams.

It was far wiser to live for the moment.

Besides, she thought, as she went back into the cottage, she had work to do.

• • •

She sat up in bed, her computer in her lap, and checked her email. Some of it she dumped; some she put aside for later.

Only one message had to be dealt with now.

It was from Lacey.

Hope you and The Hunk are having fun! Canceled and rescheduled your appointments for the rest of the week. Hey, why would you only spend a weekend with Mr. Gorgeous? Told Epstein you were called away unexpectedly. A frown, but no complaints. Only one thing you might want to know about. Your patient Susan Abrams called. Sounded very upset. Gave me an earful. Know how you don’t like to put personal details of patients in email, so give me a call and I’ll fill you in.

Lacey

Bianca frowned. Give her a call. How?

She looked at the nightstand. C

hay’s phone lay on it. Of course! She’d use that. The bug had been in her phone, not his.

She grabbed the phone, pulled Lacey’s home number out of her memory. It was nine back East; Lacey was probably up.

She was, and after some jokes about how Lacey was spending her weekend compared with Bianca’s, Lacey told her about Susan Abrams and gave her Abrams’s telephone number. She told her, too, about Dr. Epstein.

“She was surprised, like I said, but she didn’t froth at the mouth or anything. But, you know, you might want to touch bases.”

Bianca ended the call. She dialed her patient’s number. Abrams’s crisis, which hadn’t been a crisis at all, was history. “See you next week,” she said happily. “Ta-ta.”

Two calls down. One to go, this one to Dr. Epstein.

No lies, but she wasn’t going to tell her she’d left New York because someone was terrorizing her…or worse.

So she said that something very important had come up.

Epstein asked how she could reach her if that became necessary.

“Not that I think it will, but…”

“You can reach me at this number,” Bianca said. “I’m staying with a family friend.” True, more or less. Chay was Tanner’s friend, and Tanner was her brother-in-law. “I can’t use my phone. It, uh, it died.”

“Ah. Too bad. And your friend is…?”

“Chay. Chay Olivieri.”

“Great,” Epstein said briskly. “Let me just write all this down. I probably won’t have to call, but if I should… Oh. My son just walked in. Remember him?”

“Of course.”

“David, I’m talking with Bianca Wilde. Do you want to say…”

Bianca rolled her eyes. “Marilyn. Look, I’m kind of busy…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Epstein lowered her voice. “David is in one of his moods. He doesn’t want to talk to you. Nothing personal, you understand. He’s just—”

Bianca stopped listening.