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Kate and Jude were polishing off their eggs Benedict when Nikki texted again. And while it wasn’t polite when Kate was dining with her family, she spared a glance at her Apple watch under the table.
They’ve moved someone else into Nico’s room.
Kate’s stomach plummeted.
Nikki continued: No one will tell me where he’s been relocated.
Kate gasped. Caught herself and shrugged as several pairs of eyes snapped to her. “I was just lamenting over taking the last bite of my eggs Benedict.” She slipped the forkful into her mouth. After swallowing, she said, “Mm, so good. A triumph, really.”
This pleased Charlotte’s mother. Conversations resumed. Kate secretly exchanged a dire look with Jude, then glanced down at her watch again.
No chart and the two nurses who look after him this time of day are no longer on the floor. WTF?
Kate tapped out: Morales?
He was Nico’s cardiologist.
Nikki: Nowhere in sight.
Kate: Bustamante?
The neurologist.
Nikki: Indisposed, I’m told.
Kate wanted to tell her friend to calm down. To breathe. There might have been a complication and Nico was rushed into surgery.
Of course, Nikki would know this and would have asked around until she’d gotten the answers she wanted and needed. The fact that she was panicking now told Kate she’d done her due diligence…and Nico had disappeared.
She hated to ask, but queried: Still alive?
Not a soul seems to know…
Okay, that was odd.
Jude leaned toward Kate and whispered, “You’re drawing suspicion.”
Kate sighed. “We really need to go—we absolutely cannot miss our flight. Something’s wonky at the hospital, and for Nik to be so on edge about it means it’s serious.”
“Sophie?” he urgently inquired.
Kate smiled, despite the tension suddenly gripping her. The fact that Jude instantly, instinctively, responded with such concern was endearing to her and warmed her heart.
“No. Nico.”
His brow furrowed. “He didn’t—”
“No one seems to know.”
He appeared duly taken aback. “That’s peculiar.”
“Precisely.”
“Something you’d like to share with us, Kathryn?” her mother prompted.
“We have a plane to catch, remember?” Kate shot a remorseful look toward Charlotte and Denny. “We’re so sorry. It’s just that—”
“I do not find this acceptable,” Betsy said, aghast. “We’re still eating.”
