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bedpan, just ring for George.”
    â€œGeorge?”
    â€œHe’s on duty from eight to five this week. He’ll be glad to assist you.”
    Hannah contemplated being assisted with a bedpan by a male nurse. She reminded herself of how wonderful it was that men were getting into nursing these days and discovering the nurturing side of their personalities. She thought about the young male sophomore she had guided toward a nursing career that spring, knowing instinctively that he would be happy in a caring profession. And then she assessed the distance from the bed to the bathroom.
    â€œI think I can make it to the bathroom on my own,” she advised Mrs. Broadcourt.
    â€œFine. I’ll get a walker.”
    Hannah wondered how frequently Mrs. Broadcourt used George as a means of encouraging female patients to get on their feet.
    Nick appeared in the doorway half an hour later, clearly on his way to work. He looked very up-and-coming in the gray suit and dark tie—ready to take his place among the movers and the shakers in the Silicon Valley North that was developing around Bellevue, Washington. Hannah took heart.
    â€œDoes that outfit mean you’ve still got a company to run?” she asked.
    â€œBarely. God knows for how long.” He came over to the bed. “Feeling better?”
    â€œThanks to George.”
    â€œGeorge?” Nick cast a puzzled look at the flowers. “Is he the guy who sent the roses?”
    â€œNot exactly. George is into bedpans, not flowers. The roses are from Gideon Cage.” She gave her brother a level glance, waiting for an explanation.
    Nick’s mouth tightened. “Hannah, what happened down there in Vegas?”
    â€œI tried a little salvation work. I haven’t been able to figure out yet whether it was effective.” Hannah struggled to a more elevated position on the pillows, wincing as the throbbing increased in her left knee. “Tell me what happened, Nick. I can’t stand the suspense. Cage called off the takeover attempt, didn’t he?”
    â€œOh, yes, he called it off.”
    â€œThen why all the cryptic comments? Why did I get that message on the card?”
    â€œWhat message?” Nick leaned across the bed and glanced at the card that was still attached to the roses. He read it quickly and shook his head sardonically. “I think, sister dear, that you can forget about giving Gideon Cage any guidance counseling. He’s way ahead of you. Way ahead of both of us.” He straightened.
    â€œTell me what happened, damn it!”
    â€œTo put it simply, Cage never intended to take over Accelerated Design. He just wanted us to think he did. He bought a big chunk of stock and then made all the right moves to simulate a takeover bid. The activity in the stock market got everyone excited and drove the price of the stock sky-high. I and everyone else were properly terrorized. Yesterday he let it be known that he was willing to consider selling his stock back to us and bow out of the picture.”
    A distinctly uneasy chill went down Hannah’s spine. Perhaps it was just caused by incipient bed sores. Warily she eyed her brother. “I think I’m beginning to get the drift. By the time he offered to let you buy back his shares they were worth four times what he’d paid for them a few months ago.”
    Nick sighed, running a hand through his neatly styled hair. “You’ve got it. Yesterday afternoon while you were sleeping off the anesthesia, I scrounged money from every source I could find. We had to liquidate a lot of assets, Hannah. Accelerated Design is now ass-high in debt. I cleaned out my own personal account and borrowed heavily on my line of credit at the bank.”
    â€œOh, my God.” Hannah felt sick but it wasn’t from the ache in her leg.
    â€œGideon Cage made a tidy bundle on the deal and then washed his hands of the whole thing. I’m stuck with a firm that will have