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“Essentially it’s the duration of action, but clinically it means the point in time at which the drug’s concentration is reduced by half. In other words, when you should expect to see signs of improvement.” He looked between each of them. “Any other questions?”
Ava rested her head against the pillow. She might have questions if she understood anything he’d said.
“How are Pen and Tara?” Aine asked.
“We’re keeping them overnight as well. At the moment the staff on the medical floor is working hard to arrange for you to have rooms side-by-side.”
The doctor stood to leave.
“Wait,” said Ava. “A man was brought to this hospital via helicopter. Do you know his condition?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not aware of any flight of life arrivals today.”
“What happened?” Aine asked after the doctor left.
“Someone shot Tabon. It may even have been Dad.”
Aine rolled to her side.
“Start at the beginning, Ava. Tell me how Dad is involved in all this.”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure.”
Ava told her twin about the night Dash called her. “He asked me to meet him at a specific time, but I ended up taking a cab because I didn’t feel like dealing with the subway, so I arrived early.”
She told her how she’d seen Dash hand over several large manila envelopes to another man, who in turn, gave Dash a briefcase full of cash.
“How did you know it was cash?” asked Aine.
“Because he opened it and looked inside.”
“What were you doing?”
“Hiding and trying not to make a sound. Believe me, if I thought I could leave without either of them knowing I was there, I would’ve.”
“Then what happened?”
“When the other man left, Dash saw me. He grabbed me and started yelling at me, threatening to kill me if I told anyone about what I saw.”
“How did you get away from him?”
Ava closed her eyes, remembering the events of that night. What had seemed like circumstance at the time, no longer did.
“Dad. We were walking—actually, Dash was pulling me toward the elevator—when Dad walked up. I was so afraid of what Dash would do, and so relieved to see Dad, that I didn’t think about anything other than getting away from him. Dash, that is.
“Dad walked me out and called me a cab. He asked me again and again if I was okay, and I told him I was. I made up this story about Dash asking me to get back together with him, and I was so emotional because I turned him down.”
She explained that a few days later, she’d been contacted by a federal prosecutor and was brought in for questioning.
“I was scared shitless, as you can imagine, thinking I was in some kind of trouble. Instead, they told me Dash had been arrested, and asked me what I knew about the events that took place the night I saw him with the other guy.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I didn’t think it was much, honestly. But now that I think back about it, they were particularly interested in what Dad was doing there. I told them it must’ve been a coincidence and a lucky one for me.”
Ava groaned.
“God, what if that was the start of all of this?”
