Part one. Meghan Collins stood somewhat aside from the cluster of other journalists in Emergency at Manhattan's Roosevelt Hospital
Meghan took a cab to her apartment in Battery Park City, at the very tip of Manhattan
Tom Weicker, 52-year-old news director of PCD Channel 3, had been borrowing Meghan Collins from the radio affiliate with increasing frequency
Somehow Meghan was able to accept Weicker's offer calmly
Catherine Collins' hair always looked as though she'd just run a hand through it
Mac, as Dr. Jeremy MacIntyre was known, lived with his 7-year-old son, Kyle, around the bend from the Collins family
When Meghan arrived home she found her mother sitting in the darkened living room, her hands folded in her lap
The Collins and Carter Executive Search office was located in Danbury, Connecticut
When Meghan arrived at the Collins and Carter Executive Search offices at 2:00 on Saturday, she found three men working with calculators at the long table that usually held magazines and plants
At 3:00 on Sunday afternoon, Meg met Steve Boyle, the PCD cameraman, in the parking lot of the Manning Clinic
On the way back to Newtown, Meghan used the car phone to call her mother
Bernie Heffernan spent Sunday evening with his mother, watching television in the shabby sitting room of their bungalow-type home in Jackson Heights
When Meghan went downstairs Monday morning at 6:30 she found her mother already in the kitchen
On Monday morning, Phillip Carter reached the office at 8:00
Helene Petrovic loved her job as embryologist in charge of the laboratoy of the Manning Clinic
By Monday afternoon, the Manning Clinic had settled down from the excitement of the weekend reunion
At 7:30 Tuesday morning, Mac watched his lively son leap onto the school bus
On Tuesday morning, from the front windows of her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, Frances Grolier could see the first glimmer of light begin to define the McDowell Mountains
Mac found his work in the LifeCode Research Laboratory, where he was a specialist in genetic therapy, to be rewarding, satisfying and all-absorbing
In Helene Petrovic's charming colonial home in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, her niece, Stephanie, was cross and worried
By 8:00 on Tuesday evening, traffic in the garage had slowed down to a trickle
The body of Helene Petrovic lay all Tuesday in the bedroom where she had died
Phillip Carter heard the news report detailing Dr. Helene Petrovic's death on his way to the office
Despite the best efforts of the entire staff of the Manning Clinic there was no hiding the tension that permeated the atmosphere
Victor Orsini and Phillip Carter never socialized for lunch
Bernie stopped at a diner on Route 7 just outside Danbury
Catherine Collins touched the button at her hand, and the hospital bed tilted noiselessly up.
Part two. On Wednesday afternoon, investigators from Connecticut drove to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to question Stephanie Petrovic about her murdered aunt
The shock that Meghan had felt at once again seeing the dead woman who resembled her had dulled by the time a vial of blood was drawn from her arm
Just before 5:00, Victor Orsini received the call he was afraid might come
Dr. Henry Williams, the 65-year-old head of the Franklin Assisted Reproduction Center in the renovated old town section of Philadelphia, was a man who looked vaguely like everyone's favorite uncle
Bernie's first fare on Thursday morning was from Kennedy Airport
Catherine Collins had an early breakfast with Meghan before Meg left to meet with the investigators at the Danbury courthouse and then to drive to Philadelphia
At 4:00, Mac phoned Catherine at home to see how she was feeling
It was 9:30 when Meghan arrived home on Thursday night, relieved to find that Mac was waiting with her mother
Early Friday morning, Bernie watched again the replay of the interview he had taped at the Manning Clinic
Meghan slipped into St. Dominic's church at 12:30, at the midpoint of the sparsely attended mass for Helene Petrovic
Dr. George Manning left the clinic at 5:00 on Friday afternoon
"It always rains on Saturday," Kyle grumbled as he flipped from channel to channel on the television set
There was an auction coming up on property near the Rhode Island border
Late Saturday in Danbury Medical Center, a sedated Dina Anderson was dozing in bed, Jonathan asleep beside her
On Sunday morning, Catherine Collins attended the 10:00 mass at St. Paul's, but she found it difficult to keep her mind on the sermon
Stephanie Petrovic had a fitful night, finally falling into a heavy sleep
Meghan decided to skip going to the office and reached her apartment building at 4:00.
Part three. On Monday evening when Mac got home from work, Kyle was his usual cheerful self
Monday had been a bad day for Bernie
Frances stood, looking out the window at the back of the house
On Tuesday morning, Victor Orsini moved into Edwin Collins' private office
On Wednesday morning, as soon as Kyle was on the school bus, Mac left for Valley Memorial Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey
Catherine went to the inn on Wednesday morning and worked in her office until 11:30
Phillip was the first one to call on Thursday morning
Special investigators Bob Marron and Arlene Weiss requested and received permission from the Manhattan district attorney to question Frances Grolier late Thursday morning
Donald Anderson had taken two weeks off from work to help with the new baby
"Kyle, shouldn't you be starting your homework?" Marie Dileo, the 60-year-old housekeeper gently prodded
After her mother went back to the inn, Meghan phoned Phillip at home
When Bernie's mother regained consciousness, she tried to shout for help, but she knew none of the neighbors could hear her
The squad car pulled into the driveway of the shabby one-story frame house in Jackson Heights, and two policemen jumped out
Victor Orsini had agreed to be at John Dwyer's office in the Danbury courthouse at 3:00
It was nearly 4:00 when Mac completed his last errand and started home
"Phillip, before Dad gets here, I think I know the reason for Helene Petrovic being at Manning"
When Meghan regained consciousness she was lying on the ground, her head in someone's lap
The helicopter landed at the Danbury Medical Center.
