“Will Patrick be joining you?”
“He’s finishing up a night shift at Madeline’s,” Casey replied. “My guess is that he’ll swing by here in a while, but I’ll conference him in on my iPad.”
“I’ll connect FaceTime for you while you get settled.”
“Great, Yoda, thanks.”
Once inside, everyone settled down, and Patrick’s face appeared on Casey’s screen. Despite having put in a long overnight shift, he looked totally awake and ready to go.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning.” Casey shook her head in admiration. “You’re unbelievable. If it weren’t for your five-o’clock shadow, I’d never know you worked all night.”
Patrick gave a half grin. “Maybe I’m getting older but better. Plus, Madeline made me a terrific dinner and an equally terrific breakfast. A meat loaf that rivals my wife’s and a Western omelet. Tons of protein, flavor and energy.”
Casey smiled back. “I’m beginning to wish I’d done security duty there last night.” She paused. “Patrick, after I bring you up to speed and we have our meeting, could you put Madeline on the screen?”
“Sure. Right now she’s calling her doctor to see when she can go back to work.”
“Isn’t it too soon?” Claire asked.
He shrugged. “That’s her doctor’s decision, not ours. She seems to be coming back to herself pretty quickly.” Patrick leaned forward. “Bring me up to date.”
Casey did just that, filling in details for Ryan and Claire, as well. Marc knew more than the others, since he’d been at the office when Casey was rolling out theories and strategies. The only part he wasn’t aware of was her early morning thinking and the conclusions that had arisen from that.
“I convinced Crest Haven to allow one of my security guys to stand outside Conrad’s room,” Patrick informed Casey. “He has to be invisible and agree not to interfere with any of the treatment center’s schedules or procedures. But they do not want a lawsuit. So, since it’s costing them nothing, they’ll accept the added protection—just in the event that Conrad didn’t try to kill himself, but someone else did.”
“How magnanimous of them,” Casey said drily. “They should be thanking you.”
“That’ll never happen. I’m just glad Conrad will be protected. Whatever the hell is going on here, he’s as much at risk as Madeline.”
Casey nodded, and then glanced around the room. “So, is everyone good?”
“One more thing,” Ryan said. “I’ve run a thorough background check on every single name on that personal list Madeline gave us. The combined stories read like a soap opera, but individually each of them is a Boy or Girl Scout. There isn’t a shred of evidence to suggest motivation for murder. It’s time we kissed this angle goodbye.”
“Then it’s time to set Emma into motion, and have her do what we put her in that hospital to do,” Casey replied, speaking directly to Ryan. “She’ll steal the access card so that you can dig into the hospital computer systems.”
“Yes.” Ryan pumped his fist in the air. “Finally. A real challenge.”
“I’m still in the dark,” Claire chimed in. “I have no idea what you want me to do.”
“We’ll take care of that now.” Casey looked back at Patrick’s face on her screen. “Now that you’re current on everything, you don’t have to stop by the office before heading home. Get some sleep. We’ll talk later today. Maybe we’ll have updates for you by then.”
“Thanks.” Patrick stifled a yawn. “Dave is due here in about forty minutes. Then I’ll head home to catch some sleep and to see if Adele remembers me.”
“Your wife is a sweetheart, and you guys are great together,” Casey replied. “She won’t be forgetting you anytime soon.”
“I’ll tell her that when she’s pissed at me.” Patrick glanced over his shoulder. “I think Madeline just hung up. You want me to get her?”
“Please.” Casey nodded.
A minute later, Madeline’s face appeared on the screen. She looked better but annoyed. “Hi.”
“Let me guess,” Casey said. “The doctor didn’t give you the go-ahead to resume your E.R. duties.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Madeline responded, running her fingers through her hair. “I feel fine. I’m a little sore. I won’t lift anything heavy, but I’m perfectly capable of doing my job.”
“How much longer does he want you to wait?” Claire asked.