She did not want to be here.
Being shoved into a tiny tube while strapped to a table wasn't Roseanne's idea of fun. She ground her teeth and took calming breaths. She'd much rather be out making phone calls with Lisa than having the CT scan she'd insisted on this afternoon.
The test was taking entirely too long. Didn't they realize she was claustrophobic?
The machine buzzed and whirred, and the table retracted from the tube.
Thank God.
Lisa was waiting for her in the reception area when she reemerged from the dressing room. Her head was down, her fingers rubbing her temples. Tension surrounded her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she walked across the room. Lisa hadn't looked that worried before she'd gone in.
"Lisa?"
When Lisa glanced up, those worry lines faded from her beautiful face. A forced smile curved her lips, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Done?"
"Yeah. Dr. Wang said to come back in an hour."
She rose. "Let's get something to eat while we wait." With a hand at the small of her back, Lisa urged her toward the elevator.
Roseanne settled into the dimly lit booth in the pub a block from the hospital. After their orders were taken, she said, "What did you find out?"
Lisa draped an arm over the back of the booth and tapped a straw against the wooden table. "Nothing."
She was lying. She could feel it. "Come on, Lisa. Don't hold out on me."
"How do you feel about a vacation? We take the kids and go off somewhere for a while, use the time to let Miles and Aurora get to know each other. Beach or mountains, your pick."
"Jisoo told me you never take vacations, Ms. Manoban. You're starting to worry me. What's going on?"
As Lisa glanced around the bar as if to see who was listening, her gaze followed. A bartender worked at the long, mahogany bar. Two patrons sat on barstools at its sleek surface. A few tables throughout the space were occupied by tourists.
She looked back at her. "Lisa, what aren't you telling me?"
Lisa finally fished out from her pocket the torn slip of paper they'd taken from Irene Bae's house earlier that morning and passed it to her. "Each of the people crossed out are dead."
"What?"
Lisa looked pained when she pointed at the names on the list. "Heart attack, car accident, drowning. One even died of a drug overdose just a few days ago. No indication of foul play in any of the incidents."
Four names were still uncrossed, including hers. "What about the others?"
"The top two I couldn't find, or there was no answer. The last one before yours, Mina Song— I didn't have time to go through the phonebook for her yet."
Roseanne's brow creased. Why was that name so familiar?
Their food was served, and she set the paper on the table next to her beer, though the last thing she felt like doing was eating.
Lisa squeezed her hand. The casual connection sent a tingle of awareness over her skin. But when she looked up, she saw the worry in her eyes. "It doesn't mean anything," Lisa said gently. "It could just be a coincidence."
"You don't believe that. I can see it on your face. You think those people may have been at the nursing home too, don't you?"
Lisa sat back, trying to look shocked, not doing a very good job of it. "Where'd you get that idea?"
