was almost a year ago. She was an obstetrics resident, and I can't even remember her name."
"In the interest of a level playing field, are you going to ask about my last date?"
Nick flashed a shy grin. "No, all I'm interested in is your next date. Can it be with me?"
It seemed to Nick like only a moment passed before he and Anna were sipping cups of coffee and dabbing the last remnants of cannoli from their lips. The courses had been spaced nicely, allowing ample time for talk. The buffer zone of empty tables around them told Nick that Maria had decided to give them privacy. Benny's service had been efficient and unobtrusive. If only the evening didn't have to end.
"Nick, thank you for this," Anna said. "I really needed a lift tonight."
Nick waited while Benny refilled their coffee cups. "Well, I hope this has helped. Do you think you've got things straight with MasterCard now?"
"It gets better, or worse, I guess," she said. "It's not just my MasterCard. The call I was finishing when you arrived was to VISA. I thought I'd better check my limit there, because I'd need to use that one until my new MasterCard arrives. And that's when I found out that my VISA was over its limit."
"Same scenario?"
"Exactly the same. So now both my accounts are closed. The new cards will be here soon, but until they arrive I'm on a cash and carry basis." She shrugged. "It's no big deal. It just complicates things, and I don't need another complication in my life right now."
"And someone has been papering the area with Vicodin 'scripts using your name and DEA number?"
"Right again," Anna said. "My chairman put me on leave until that's sorted out, so I'm in limbo. I can't practice for who knows how long. The only thing that could make it all worse is if somebody ran over my dog—if I had a dog."
Nick could relate to her gallows humor. "You're a victim of the law," he said.
"Which law is that?"
Nick grinned. "My favorite—Murphy's Law. If something can go wrong, it will."
Anna shook her head. "I don't know what to call it, but I certainly don't see how things could get any worse."
Nick tried to pick his words carefully, tiptoeing around the minefield of the tension he saw in Anna. "Is there something I can do?"
"You can help most by doing some research on anaphylaxis. I still can't figure out why the antibiotic killed Hatley. He tolerated it a few weeks earlier when they gave it to him in the Emergency Room."
Nick sneaked a peek at his watch. He'd managed to keep the conversation away from medicine for a half hour or so, but now they were back to the incident that had brought them together in the first place. "And that's all I can do?"
"The other problems are mine, and I have to deal with them," Anna said. "I'm the one who has to make sure this stolen card doesn't ruin my credit. I've heard friends talk about what a pain it is to get those things taken offyour record. As for finding out why someone's been writing narcotics prescriptions using my DEA number, I don't have a clue how I'll do that. But one thing at a time, I guess."
"Okay. I'll do what I can. From what I remember, if somebody is allergic to penicillin, they stand a decent chance of being allergic to the class of drugs Hatley received. I'm pretty sure that the generally accepted way to test for penicillin allergy is a skin test, although obviously that's not possible here. What I need is a blood test for allergy to drugs like Omnilex, one I can run on the samples I took at the time of the autopsy. I'll start researching that tomorrow morning."
" Scusi." Benny seemed to materialize at Nick's side. "Would you like anything else?"
Nick looked at Anna and received a brief headshake in response. "No, Benny. That's fine. This was a wonderful meal."He pulled out his wallet and handed over a credit card.
When Benny had shuffled away, Anna said, "Would you at least let me pay my share of this? I can write you a check."
"No, unless somebody's been charging things to my
"In the interest of a level playing field, are you going to ask about my last date?"
Nick flashed a shy grin. "No, all I'm interested in is your next date. Can it be with me?"
It seemed to Nick like only a moment passed before he and Anna were sipping cups of coffee and dabbing the last remnants of cannoli from their lips. The courses had been spaced nicely, allowing ample time for talk. The buffer zone of empty tables around them told Nick that Maria had decided to give them privacy. Benny's service had been efficient and unobtrusive. If only the evening didn't have to end.
"Nick, thank you for this," Anna said. "I really needed a lift tonight."
Nick waited while Benny refilled their coffee cups. "Well, I hope this has helped. Do you think you've got things straight with MasterCard now?"
"It gets better, or worse, I guess," she said. "It's not just my MasterCard. The call I was finishing when you arrived was to VISA. I thought I'd better check my limit there, because I'd need to use that one until my new MasterCard arrives. And that's when I found out that my VISA was over its limit."
"Same scenario?"
"Exactly the same. So now both my accounts are closed. The new cards will be here soon, but until they arrive I'm on a cash and carry basis." She shrugged. "It's no big deal. It just complicates things, and I don't need another complication in my life right now."
"And someone has been papering the area with Vicodin 'scripts using your name and DEA number?"
"Right again," Anna said. "My chairman put me on leave until that's sorted out, so I'm in limbo. I can't practice for who knows how long. The only thing that could make it all worse is if somebody ran over my dog—if I had a dog."
Nick could relate to her gallows humor. "You're a victim of the law," he said.
"Which law is that?"
Nick grinned. "My favorite—Murphy's Law. If something can go wrong, it will."
Anna shook her head. "I don't know what to call it, but I certainly don't see how things could get any worse."
Nick tried to pick his words carefully, tiptoeing around the minefield of the tension he saw in Anna. "Is there something I can do?"
"You can help most by doing some research on anaphylaxis. I still can't figure out why the antibiotic killed Hatley. He tolerated it a few weeks earlier when they gave it to him in the Emergency Room."
Nick sneaked a peek at his watch. He'd managed to keep the conversation away from medicine for a half hour or so, but now they were back to the incident that had brought them together in the first place. "And that's all I can do?"
"The other problems are mine, and I have to deal with them," Anna said. "I'm the one who has to make sure this stolen card doesn't ruin my credit. I've heard friends talk about what a pain it is to get those things taken offyour record. As for finding out why someone's been writing narcotics prescriptions using my DEA number, I don't have a clue how I'll do that. But one thing at a time, I guess."
"Okay. I'll do what I can. From what I remember, if somebody is allergic to penicillin, they stand a decent chance of being allergic to the class of drugs Hatley received. I'm pretty sure that the generally accepted way to test for penicillin allergy is a skin test, although obviously that's not possible here. What I need is a blood test for allergy to drugs like Omnilex, one I can run on the samples I took at the time of the autopsy. I'll start researching that tomorrow morning."
" Scusi." Benny seemed to materialize at Nick's side. "Would you like anything else?"
Nick looked at Anna and received a brief headshake in response. "No, Benny. That's fine. This was a wonderful meal."He pulled out his wallet and handed over a credit card.
When Benny had shuffled away, Anna said, "Would you at least let me pay my share of this? I can write you a check."
"No, unless somebody's been charging things to my
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