These excerpts from a novel detail a private investigator's inquiry into a deadly car accident that severely injured a young man named Bobby Callahan and killed his friend, Rick. The protagonist, Kinsey Millhone, is hired by Bobby because he believes his accident was an attempted murder related to something he uncovered while working in the Pathology Department at St. Terry's Hospital. As Kinsey investigates, Bobby is killed in a subsequent car crash, which deepens her suspicion of foul play and leads her to continue the case despite the family's reservations. The narrative follows Kinsey's interviews with family and associates, uncovering complex family dynamics, substance abuse issues involving Bobby's stepsister Kitty, and a web of secrets—including a blackmail plot linked to a murder and the involvement of hospital staff like Dr. Fraker and Sufi Daniels—culminating in Kinsey being targeted by the suspected murderer at an old hospital annex.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.