But Allie had been won over within two weeks. Letty was in her midfifties, with short red hair and hazel eyes that gleamed with humor. She had boundless energy only matched by her intelligence. That intelligence translated in letting Allie go her own way, but she was always there when she wanted to talk or had a problem. Now they were close friends.
Allie reached out and gave Letty's arm a quick squeeze. "Thanks for coming to night. I knew Rachel would worry if someone wasn't with me."
"No problem," Letty said. "Finish your coffee. Your body temperature always goes down when you get tired."
"Stop sounding like a nurse." She took another sip of the coffee and started for the elevator. "My body temperature is plummeting because I'm scared to death. I almost lost her, Letty."
"But you didn't, and the police will find out who did it."
"They'd better. I'm not taking any bullshit. They've got to find that bastard." Her lips tightened. "If they don't, I'm going to be camped out in their squad room."
"That idea would be funny except I know you're fully capable of doing it." Letty punched the elevator button. "And making Rachel bail you out of jail."
"At least she'd be too busy to run around getting herself shot at." She held up her hand as Letty opened her lips. "Okay, okay. I won't do anything right away. Not until I see if the police are doing their job, and Rachel is on her way to recovery." She threw the empty cup into the trash. "I'll meekly play the part of Rachel's albatross. I'll finish that painting I'm working on. I'll give your SUV a tune-up." She added grimly, "Four days. Then I'll go after their asses."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate your forbearance." She hesitated. "There's something you should know. I ran into Dr. Lowen while I was waiting for you. He was called to take care of Norah Beldwick."
"Norah? She was admitted again?"
Letty nodded. "Seizures. She's grown resistant to the anti-convulsive medicines."
"Dear God." It was one of her worst nightmares. Years ago she'd been admitted three times for seizures herself, and they went on for hours if not controlled. The effects and ramifications of GLD were all over the board. Blindness, deafness, paralysis; it could attack any part of the nervous system, and the violent seizures were one of the worst symptoms. "Can't Lowen do anything? Find anything that will work for her? He did for me."
"He's trying," Letty said. "He knew that you'd gotten to know each other when you were at his clinic." She paused. "He said to tell you that he didn't want you visiting her."
"Why? Of course, I will."
Letty shook her head. "She's bad, Allie. You don't want to see it."
She braced herself. "What else?"
"Brain damage. She wouldn't recognize you."
"Oh, damn."
"I didn't want to tell you. Lowen was afraid that one of the nurses might mention it and let you see her. They know you're here."
"I'm going to see her." She turned away from the elevator. "What room?"
"Are you a glutton for punishment? She won't even know you."
"I don't care. She has GLD. That could be me. I won't ignore her. What room?"
"Three twelve."
"It's okay, Letty." She moved down the hall. "I won't be long. I wouldn't be able to stand it. I'm not that brave. But I just have to let her know she's not alone."
* * *
"It's almost eleven. Why are you so late?" Rachel said as soon as Simon appeared in her room. "Did you bring me anything to wear?"
"I was dealing with those police detectives at the lab. They were going through the client list and asking questions."
"What kind of questions?"
"About the people involved, the kinds of projects we're working on, that kind of stuff. They said to tell you that they needed to talk to you today." He dropped a tote on the bed. "Allie packed it for you last night. She wanted to come herself, but I stalled her."
"It didn't do any good. She paid me a visit in the middle of the night."
He shrugged. "Sorry. But you know how determined she can be."
"Yes." That determination had probably kept Allie alive. She tapped the tote. "Is my laptop in it?"
"Of course. I knew you'd want to start working while we were driving down to Galveston."
"I wish I'd had it this morning while I was waiting for you." She grabbed the tote and headed for the bathroom. "Check me out of here before Norton shows up. I don't want to deal with him right now."
"But he wants to deal with you." Wayne Norton stood in the doorway, his expression grim. "You seem to have recovered quickly, Dr. Kirby. I'm sure you won't mind sitting down and having a short discussion."
"I do mind." But she could tell by glancing at his face that he wasn't going to listen to anything he didn't want to hear. "Five minutes." She sat down in the visitor's chair. "It's okay, Simon, go and pay my bill. I'll meet you at the front entrance."
"I could stick around."
"Go." She gazed at Norton. "Talk."
"Who's taking potshots at you?"
"How do I know? It could be you. You were sputtering like Vesuvius the last time I talked to you. Maybe you decided that if I weren't around, you could get my replacement to give you what you want."
"What a pleasant thought," he murmured. "I'm sure almost anyone else would be more cooperative. However, I don't have time to negotiate, and you're the only one who knows how to provide me with what I need as quickly as I need it. You know your process is unique. I don't want someone to kill you and leave me in the lurch."
"Then find out who did it. I have no idea."
"I'm trying to do that. I've started to investigate every charity and research facility that you accepted or refused. Ordinarily, I'd go for personal ties first but you seem to have practically no personal life." He paused. "Except for your relationship with your sister."
She could tell that pause was the deliberate crouch before the pounce. "I'm busy. Tell me, do you have a personal life, Norton?"
"We're not talking about me. We're talking about your sister, Allie Kirby." His lips tightened. "And the reason why you cut my computer time."
"That has nothing to do with Allie."
"I think you're lying. Do you believe I wouldn't have had you investigated before I chose you? By the time you were twenty-three, you'd managed to locate an obscure research facility in Ohio that was dedicated to finding a cure for Globoid Leukodystrophy—your sister's illness. GLD is an extremely rare disease of the central nervous system. So rare, in fact, that research funds were almost non ex is tent. The big pharmaceutical companies aren't interested in putting money into developing a medicine that wouldn't pay decent dividends. Did that make you angry?"
She didn't answer.
"It probably did, but you found a way to work your way around it. You talked three business tycoons into funding the facility and suddenly it became the GLD Hope Foundation. But they probably wanted a payback, so you had to offer them something. You went after the control of the supercomputer recently donated to the university by Alvin Jones. You talked Jones into getting behind you and influencing the university board to let you manage the projects. Pretty amazing." He paused. "And those three businessmen who are funding the research lab for your sister's illness are still listed on your client list."
"There's nothing illegal about that. I've been completely aboveboard in my records. Their businesses require only a small percentage of the computer time Jonesy distributes."