Conrad was still staring. “Is that what they’re saying?” he asked. “That I tried to kill myself?” He broke off with a bitter laugh. “Of course they are. Crest Haven is protecting itself and its employees. A murder attempt wouldn’t do much for their image. Plus, I might initiate a lawsuit. Bad for them, either way.”
“I told Forensic Instincts that you’d never do such a thing,” Madeline said. “Casey agreed with me.”
“I’m glad to hear someone has the ability to read people.” Conrad rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’ve been severely depressed—I’ve never denied that—but suicide? Never.”
Patrick pulled a chair to the foot of the bed and sat down. “What sequence of events do you remember?”
Conrad grew thoughtful. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I watched a movie in my room. My aide brought me my nighttime meds, which I counted and identified, as always. I took them with the glass of water on my nightstand. Now that I think about it, I became very groggy very quickly, but that didn’t raise any red flags for me. I haven’t been sleeping well, so Dr. Oberlin has increased my bedtime dosage. That’s all I recall.”
Patrick processed that. “The water itself—did the aide bring it in or was a pitcher of it already on your nightstand?”
“He poured me a glass. That and the pitcher were already on my nightstand.” Conrad paused, abruptly meeting Patrick’s gaze. “I remember that the pitcher had been refilled when I returned to my room.”
“When was that?”
“A little after ten, when I got ready for bed. I’d been playing cards with a group of men.” His expression turned grim. “Are you thinking that someone spiked my water pitcher with additional drugs?”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Patrick replied. “Which means that whoever wants to kill Madeline, wants to kill you, too.”
* * *
Marc was in the office by 6:00 a.m.
He waited until a little before seven, and then called Ryan.
“Hey.” Ryan sounded wide-awake and a little breathless.
“Did I interrupt something?” Marc asked drily. “You sound winded.”
“No, smart-ass. I just ran five miles. If you were ‘interrupting’ something, I would have let your call go to voice mail.”
“Nice to know.” Marc poured himself a second cup of coffee. “So I need your help.”
“Shoot.”
Marc explained the whole situation.
“Piece of cake,” Ryan replied. “I’ll jump in the shower, and then head right over to the office.” He paused, and then went for it. “You hanging in?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Come on, Marc, I’m not an asshole. You’ve got some major history with our client. I’m not asking for sordid details. I’m just checking on you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Not even a little.”
“Okay.” Ryan didn’t seem the least bit surprised by Marc’s answer. Marc was Marc. “If you change your mind—”
“I’ll let you know,” Marc interrupted. “Now get moving. I’ve got a long night to plan for.”
“The shower’s already on.”
“Good. Hey, Ryan?”
“What?”