Zero Separation by Philip Donlay Page B

small memories begin to bubble into the conscious mind. There could also be varying degrees of partial amnesia, meaning that the memory loss before the injury could reach back from several hours to several days. We’ll know much more when Mr. Ross regains consciousness.”
    â€œThank you,” Montero said, and abruptly left the room.
    â€œDoctor, before you go,” William said, “when can we take him home?”
    â€œThis is a serious injury, and there are still some risks. I’m afraid he’ll be with us for several days. I’ll be making rounds later today to check on his progress. After that we’ll be able to make a further assessment.”
    â€œThank you so much,” Lauren said as the doctor excused himself.
    â€œMy guess is that FBI agent is headed for Susan,” William said. “If you’re going to be okay here for a little while, I’m going to go after her. Susan doesn’t need to be interrogated right now.”
    â€œGo.” Lauren nodded in agreement. She sat down on the sofa next to Abigail. Patrick and Billy were sleeping on an adjacent couch. Lauren cradled her child’s head in her hands and offered up a silent prayer of thanks that Michael was going to live.
    Her cell phone rang and when she saw it was Donovan, she felt both immeasurable relief that he’d finally called, as well as a flash of irritation that it had taken so long.
    â€œWhere are you?” Lauren shot up from the sofa and hovered in the doorway so she could talk to Donovan without disturbing the sleeping kids.
    â€œI’ve been at the police station giving my statement. Have youtalked to Susan or William? I’m assuming they’ve made it to the hospital by now. Do we know anything about Michael?”
    â€œI’m with them here at the hospital. Michael just came out of surgery. The doctor said everything went well and that he should be fine.”
    â€œYou’re here in Florida?”
    â€œI had to come. I couldn’t just sit at home and wait.”
    â€œI understand.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Lauren could hear the tension in his voice.
    â€œI just hadn’t expected you to be here in Florida, I had it in my mind you were at home. We may have a problem,” Donovan lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “You need to ask William if he kept the chartered jet on standby.”
    â€œHe stepped out. An FBI agent was here a little bit ago wanting to talk to Susan. William went after her to try and run some interference.”
    â€œSpecial Agent Montero.”
    â€œYou know her?”
    â€œShe’s our problem. She may have put some things together. We may need to start thinking about going to visit Stephanie.”
    Lauren stiffened. Stephanie was William’s niece and one of the few who knew the truth about Donovan. There had been many discussions about what they’d do if his identity were going to be made public. The first phase had always been to leave the country and get to Stephanie’s flat in London. From London, they’d make their way to a secluded chateau in Switzerland to try and ride out the initial wave of public condemnation. The agreed upon code was:
go visit Stephanie
.
    â€œHow could this have happened?” Lauren replied, angry and scared. “What makes you think she could possibly know? Is she someone who knew you from before?”
    â€œThey lifted fingerprints. Robert’s mug shot was right in front of her. It’s just a gut feeling, but I think she suspects.”
    Lauren had no idea that Robert Huntington had a police recordor that Donovan had done nothing to alter his fingerprints. She wondered if that was why the FBI agent had such a curious reaction at meeting William.
    â€œAre you still there?” Donovan asked.
    â€œHow soon?” Lauren said with more anger than she intended. Lauren looked across the room at her daughter and felt sick, like all of the dreams