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“How so?”

“He’s bigger than life Always striving for perfection He not only needs to excel and to surpass others, but to surpass himself And when all the pieces fall into place, he’s unstoppable But when they don’t” A helpless shake of her head “He’s his oorst enemy”

“Did you say he was or he is the head of the cardiothoracic surgical unit?” Casey asked, having not missed Madeline’s hesitation over the past or present tense

“Is He’s just taken a leave of absence”

Soave Casey pause “When you say ‘a leave of absence,’ do you o abroad and study some new aspect of his craft?”

“Neither” Madeline looked down at the floor for a e, but Conrad has been staying at Crest Haven Residential Treatment Center It’s a private facility in Connecticut”

“I’ve heard of it It’s a top-notch mental health facility”

Madeline nodded “This has been a devastating tio, he lost a dear friend who he’d just operated on He’s never forgiven himself I doubt he ever will”

“Why did he operate on a close friend?” Casey asked “As I understand it, that’s ill-advised”

“It is But the friend was Ronald Lexington, the hospital adery was a delicate one, and Ron wouldn’t allow anyone but Conrad to perform it”

“Wow” Ryan let out a lohistle “Talk about pressure That’s a tough one to live with”

“It e toll on whatever was left of your e,” Casey said tactfully

“Our htforward, but she was fiddling with the pleat of her pants leg “We’d been talking on and off for a year and a half about separation The divorce process was already well under hen this happened But no, our relationship wouldn’t have been strong enough to hold up—not given the severity of Conrad’s reaction or his resistance to share his pain with me”

“Was he sharing his pain with anyone else?” Ryan asked

Claire winced There was brilliant but blunt Ryan “Anyone that you know of—like a colleague or a clergy implications of Ryan’s question