Life in the Wycliff household had become remarkably uneventful, even though two of the residents had serious chronic conditions that required regimens of potent drugs. Melissa had moved in a month ago, and that transition was not as difficult as Evan feared. Chuck Holloman wanted the girl off his caseload for his own reasons, and her attending physician at the clinic supported the move, assuming she could be carefully prepared in advance for a soft landing.
A week before they broke the news of her sister’s condition to her, they put Melissa on a daily regimen of diazepam, and she got a mild sedative each night to make sure she was well-rested. The dosages would be tapered gradually after she got home. Talk therapy accompanied this program, eventually getting around to informing her about
