“I was told all of them died,” Calhoun said. “Is that true?”
“That’s right,” Clara said. “Just like Clark Davenport. These are the people whose deaths had particularly upset Dennis. For a while I heard about them every day.”
“Were their deaths all unexpected?” Calhoun asked.
“Yes and no,” Clara said. “I mean it was unexpected for these people to die at the particular time they did. As you can see from these papers, most of the people were hospitalized for problems that usually aren’t fatal. But they all had battled terminal illnesses like cancer, so in that sense their deaths weren’t totally unexpected.”
David reached out and took the papers back. He glanced through them quickly, then looked up at Clara. “Let me be sure I understand,” he said. “These admission summary sheets are the admissions during which these people died.”
“I believe so,” Clara said. “It’s been a while, but Dennis carried on so. It’s hard to forget.”
“And each of these patients had a serious underlying illness,” David said. “Like this one admitted for sinusitis.”
Clara took the sheet and looked at the name. “She had breast cancer,” Clara said. “She was in my church group.”
David took the sheet of paper back from Clara and rolled it up with the others. Then he stood up and walked over to the window. Pulling back the drapes, he stared out over the Charles River, ignoring the others. He seemed quite distracted.
Angela was mildly embarrassed at David’s poor manners, but it was apparent that Clara didn’t mind. She simply poured them all more tea.
“I want to ask a few more questions about the rapist,” Calhoun said. “Did Dr. Hodges ever allude to his age or height or details such as whether or not he had a tattoo?”
“A tattoo?” Clara questioned. A fleeting smile flashed across her face before her frown returned. “No, he never mentioned a tattoo.”
With a swiftness that took everyone by surprise, David returned from the window. “We have to leave,” he said. “We have to go immediately.”
He rushed for the door and pulled it open.
“David?” Angela called, astonished at his behavior. “What’s the matter?”
“We’ve got to get back to Bartlet immediately,” he said. His urgency had grown to near panic. “Come on!” he yelled.
Angela and Calhoun gave a hurried goodbye to Clara Hodges before running after David. By the time Angela and Calhoun got out to the truck, David was already behind the wheel.
“Give me the keys,” he ordered.
Calhoun shrugged and handed them to David. David started the truck and gunned the engine. “Get in,” he shouted.
Angela got in first, followed by Calhoun. Before the door was closed behind them, David hit the gas.
For the first portion of the trip no one spoke. David concentrated on driving. Angela and Calhoun were still shocked by the sudden, awkward departure. They were also intimidated by the rapidity with which they were overtaking other motorists.
“I think we’d better slow down,” Angela said as David passed a long row of cars.
“This truck has never gone this fast,” Calhoun said.
“David, what has come over you?” Angela asked. “You’re acting bizarre.”
“I had a flash of insight while we were talking to Clara Hodges,” he said. “It concerns Hodges’ patients with potentially terminal illnesses dying unexpectedly.”
“Well?” Angela asked. “What about them?”
“I think some disturbed individual at Bartlet Community Hospital has taken it upon himself to deliver some sort of misguided euthanasia.”
“What’s euthanasia?” Calhoun asked.
“It translates to ‘good death,’ ” Angela said. “It means to help someone who has a terminal illness to die. The idea is to save them from suffering.”
“Hearing about Hodges’ patients made me realize that all six of my recent deaths had battled terminal illnesses,” David said. “The same as his. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before. How could I have been so dense? And the same is true with Caroline.”
“Who’s Caroline?” Calhoun asked.
“She was a friend of our daughter,” Angela explained. “She had cystic fibrosis which is a potentially terminal illness. She died yesterday.” Angela’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no! Nikki!” she cried.