They charged up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallway to Charles Pierce's suite . Eleanor was running toward the room from the other direction, and Karen and Jack were at the doorway .

"It's the old man," Jack told them, his face reflecting his concern and rage . "I think he's dead ."

Nancy rushed past him into the suite . She found Nila sitting on the edge of the bed, sobbing as she embraced Charles Pierce, who lay unconscious in bed, his face white as chalk .

Nancy didn't waste time asking the distraught Nila questions . Instead, she felt for Pierce's pulse and was relieved to find that he was still alive . The heartbeat was weak and uneven but still there . "Bess, call an ambulance !" she shouted . Her friend ran to the nearest phone .

"It's his heart," Nila managed to say between sobs . Either she was the best actress Nancy had ever seen or she was truly, deeply upset . "I came in to give him his medicine, and I found him like this ."

Nancy saw the bottle of pills and the nearly empty glass of water on the bedside table . As Nancy got up to examine them,...