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filling out the ER sheet. She could hear Dr. Carey in the trauma room, his voice raised in complaint. They'd dragged him out of bed at five-thirty in the morning, and for what? A patient who couldn't be stabilized? Couldn't they think first before they ruined his night's sleep? Didn't they know he had a full day in the OR coming up?
    Why are surgeons such assholes? Toby wondered, and she dropped her head in her hands. God, would the night never end? She had one more hour to go....
    Through the fatigue clouding her brain, she heard the whoosh of the ER doors swinging open. "Excuse me," said a voice. "I'm here to see my father."
    Toby looked up at the man standing across from her. Thin-faced, unsmiling, he regarded her with an almost bitter tilt to his mouth.
    Toby rose from the chair. "Are you Mr. Slotkin?"
    "Yes."
    "I'm Dr. Toby Harper." She held out her hand.
    He shook it automatically, without any warmth. Even the touch of his skin was cold. Though he had to be at least thirty years younger than his father, the man's resemblance to Harry Slotkin was immediately obvious. Daniel Slotkin's face had the same sharply cut angles, the same narrow slash of a brow. But this man's eyes were different. They were small and dark and unhappy.
    "We're still evaluating your father," she said. "I haven't seen any of his labs come back yet."
    He glanced around the ER and made a sound of impatience. "I need to be back in the city by eight. Can I see him now?"
    "Of course." She left the desk and led him to Harry Slotkin's room.
    Pushing open the door, she saw that the room was empty. "They must have him in X-ray. Let me call over and see if he's done."
    Slotkin followed her back to the front desk and stood watching her as she picked up the phone. His gaze made her uneasy. She turned away from him and dialed.
    "X-ray," answered Vince.
    "This is Dr. Harper. How's the scan coming?"
    "Haven't done it yet. I'm still getting things set up here."
    "The patient's son wants to see him. I'll send him over."
    "The patient isn't here."
    "What?"
    "I haven't gotten him in here yet. He's still in the ER."
    "But I just checked the room. He's not . . ." Toby paused. Daniel Slotkin was listening, and he'd heard the dismay in her voice.
    "Is there a problem?" asked Vince.
    "No. No problem." Toby hung up. She looked at Slotkin. "Excuse me," she said, and headed up the hall to exam room three. She pushed open the door. There was no Harry Slotkin. But the gurney was there, and the sheet they'd used to cover him was lying crumpled on the floor.
    Someone must have put him on a differentgurney, moved him to a different room.
    Toby crossed the hall to exam room four and shoved aside the curtain.
    No Harry Slotkin.
    She could feel her heart thudding as she moved down the hall to exam room two. The lights were off. No one would have put the patient in a dark room. Nevertheless she flicked on the wall switch.
    Another empty gurney.
    "Don't you people know where you put my father?" snapped Daniel Slotkin, who had followed her into the hall.
    Pointedly ignoring his question, she stepped into the trauma room and yanked the curtain shut behind her. "Where's Mr. Slotkin?" Toby whispered to the nurse.
    "The old guy?" asked Maudeen. "Didn't Vince take him to X-ray?"
    "He says he never got him. But I can't find the man. And the son's right outside."
    "Did you look in room three?"
    "I looked in all the rooms!"
    Maudeen and Val glanced at each other.
    "We'd better check the hallways," said Maudeen, and she and Val hurried out into the corridor.
    Toby was left behind to deal with the son.
    "Where is he?" demanded Slotkin.
    "We're trying to locate him."
    "I thought he was supposed to be in your ER."
    "There's been some kind of mix-up�"
    "Is he or isn't he here?"
    "Mr. Slotkin, why don't you have a seat in the waiting room? I'll bring you a cup of coffee�"
    "I don't want a cup of coffee. My father's having some kind of medical crisis. And now you can't find him?"
    "The nurses are