A hospital social worker explained what had happened. Soline had been admitted with severe pneumonia, made more frightening by old lung damage from the Harren fire. Earlier that evening, her breathing had worsened, doctors had rushed in, and Toby had seen his mother frightened.
He had been moved to the family waiting area with a volunteer while the team treated Soline. The volunteer had stepped to the desk when Soline’s sister called from the road. At the same moment, a large visiting family left through the lobby. Toby had slipped out behind them, small enough to be missed in the confusion.
Leo learned that Toby had not wandered blindly. He and Soline had passed Station 42 many times by bus on the way to appointments. Soline would point to the red doors and tell him, “That is where the fireman worked.”