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I’ll be about twenty minutes or so behind you.”
    â€œI wish you’d tell us what’s going on,” Kate said. “Obviously you suspect something.”
    â€œI don’t want to say anything until I’ve got a little more information.”
    One of the crew members walked halfway down the hall and said, “There are two detectives out here who’d like to talk to you.”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “Kate, why don’t you talk to them?”
    â€œThey’ll want to know about today. How he was acting and everything. You saw him a lot more than I did.”
    â€œI need to talk to somebody else. You saw what I saw. You saw more, in fact, since you were in the makeup room longer. And you’re the campaign manager. You’re the public face. And Laura’s the communications director.”
    â€œWe’re going to lose this argument, Kate. We may as well give in.”
    â€œThanks for speaking up for me, Laura. We all want to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Teresa has my cell number. You heard her. She’ll keep in touch.”

    â€œYeah,” Billy said, “but that doesn’t mean that you’ll tell us anything she said.”
    â€œLet’s get going,” I said.
    I walked to the opposite end of the hall and took a short staircase down to the main floor. I was looking for the woman who’d seemed to be in charge of the event. I remembered seeing a line of glassed-in offices to the right of the stage.
    She was on the phone when I walked in. She was saying, with strained patience, “I don’t know anything more than I’ve told you. I don’t want to be quoted as saying it was a stroke or heart attack, because I don’t know for sure what it was.” She signaled for me to take a chair in front of her desk. “Of course he wasn’t drunk.” Pause. “Everybody saw what happened onstage. He obviously had some kind of medical problem that I can’t speak to. If you want that kind of information, you should call the hospital.” Pause. “It’s not my problem that the hospital won’t release information. He’s probably only been there for ten minutes or so. Now, I’m really busy, all right?”
    As she hung up, she said, “God. I’m beginning to wonder if the idea of a free press isn’t better in theory than in practice.” Then she laughed. “Don’t quote me on that. I’m all for a free press, of course. It’s just when they start moving in on you—”
    Her oblong name plaque on the desk read PAULINE DOYLE. She was probably forty or so, a few pounds overweight, with wonderful little teeth that gleamed when her full lips parted. In her dramatic dark blue dress with a slash of lighter blue stretching from the left shoulder to the right hip, she was definitely in the desirable category.
    After I introduced myself, she said, “Any word on the senator?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    â€œI couldn’t believe it. No matter how you prepare for these things, you never quite know how to respond.”
    â€œYou can’t prepare for anything like this. I just hope he’s all right.”

    â€œWould you like some coffee?” she asked, inclining her head in the direction of a Mr. Coffee.
    â€œNo, thanks. I just wanted to ask you about the makeup woman we used.”
    â€œOh, yes. Megan, uh, Caine.”
    â€œDo you use her regularly here?”
    â€œI guess I’m confused about that.”
    â€œOh? Why?”
    â€œFirst of all, I’d never heard of her before. But second, somebody in your office called me yesterday and said that you wanted your own makeup person and that this Megan Caine would be here tonight promptly at six-thirty.”
    â€œDoes that happen very often? That people bring their own makeup person?”
    â€œDepends. Some do, some don’t. I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it’s not