Several weeks pass without incident. The injured man from Hell’s Kitchen recovers well in a nearby ward, and Una visits him daily. Edwin is no longer needed to fill in as the ambulance surgeon. He and Una meet secretly in stairwells, storerooms, and Central Park on Sundays. The more Edwin shares about his past, the more Una hates deceiving him, but she cannot end the relationship.

One night in the library, Dru confronts Una about her Sunday excursions, saying she does not believe Una’s story about visiting her cousin. Dru asks if Una is having an affair with her cousin’s husband, causing Una to choke on her milk. Dru apologizes and explains she has noticed Una taking more care with her appearance. When Dru observes that Edwin is smitten with Una, Una worries others have noticed. A slight smile betrays her, Dru realizes they have been meeting in secret, and Una confesses the truth. They talk until Mrs. Buchanan sends them to bed. Lying awake, Una feels giddy rather than regretful, enjoying having a friend to confide in.

Una is sent to the basement examination room to assist with an influx of patients from a factory accident. The room becomes chaotic as ambulances arrive with injured workers. Una tends to less critical cases while a second-year nurse and the house physician handle severe injuries. Edwin arrives to assess patients for surgery. Una helps treat the factory workers, including a man with severe burns whose prognosis appears grim

Then, Conor brings in a drunk woman, expressing revulsion and saying the city would be better off without such people. When Una attends to the woman, she realizes with horror that it is Deidre. Una pretends she does not recognize her, but Deidre grabs her, threatening to alert the police and collect the reward money for finding Mike Sheeny’s murderer. Panicked, Una offers Deidre $7 a month to keep quiet. Deidre accepts but also demands a quart of whiskey and a bottle of laudanum with each payment. When Edwin comes to examine the patient, Deidre tells him that Una has given her everything she needs.

Unable to sleep, Una wakes before dawn and takes $7 from her savings. She goes to the ward for those with alcohol addiction, which is in the hospital basement. Seeing the women in cells, she feels unexpected compassion, thinking of her father and herself. She considers poisoning Deidre but dismisses the idea, instead planning to steal the whiskey and laudanum gradually. She also considers running away but decides to try renegotiating with Deidre first.

When Una reaches Deidre’s cell, she finds it empty except for a helper cleaning the floor. Panicked, Una searches all the cells but cannot find Deidre. Fleeing the ward, she runs into Edwin, who has come to check on the patient. However, Edwin stuns Una by declaring his love for her. The ward attendant interrupts to announce that the patient died during the night from a laudanum overdose.

The attendant produces an empty bottle of laudanum from the Bellevue Drug Department found in Deidre’s pocket, which is not the one Una gave Deidre. Una suggests that Deidre must have stolen it from the exam room. The attendant describes finding Deidre with her eyes wide open and red, not breathing. Later, the house doctor declared her dead. Determined to see for herself, Una asks where the body is and is told it is in the morgue.

Una walks to the morgue, leaving Edwin behind. In the courtyard, she sees coffins stacked haphazardly. She meets Bartlet, the morgue keeper, who leads her inside. The building smells of disinfectant and decay. He shows her several bodies in open coffins, including a frozen infant she cannot bear to look at. In the viewing room, bodies are displayed on stone tables under running water for identification, but Deidre is not there.

In the autopsy room, Una finds Deidre’s body. She touches her chest, confirming she is cold and dead. Bartlet explains that since the cause of death is known, there will likely be no autopsy. If unclaimed, Deidre’s body will go to potter’s field or be sold to a medical college for dissection under the Bone Bill. Remembering her past adventures with Deidre, Una pays Bartlet to ensure her body is not dissected, and threatens to report him if he breaks the deal. She will pay him $3 more in three days.

The chief pathologist and several interns enter, mocking Una’s presence. However, Una notices bruising around Deidre’s neck and suggests she was strangled. The pathologist dismisses it as lividity, ridicules her, and says her fantastical ideas are why women will never be physicians. He states the official cause of death is laudanum overdose and threatens to report Una to her superintendent, so she backs down and leaves.

Three days later, Una pays the morgue keeper again plus an extra dollar to ride the tugboat transporting coffins to Hart Island. The boat, ironically named Hope, is loaded with coffins from Bellevue. Una reflects that for three nights she watched the morgue’s viewing window, but no one claimed Deidre. The experience made her feel hollow, realizing she could have easily ended up in the same position.

That morning, Una confirmed Deidre’s body was in a coffin marked with a chalk “X.” The bruising on her neck had faded, making her doubt her suspicions. Aboard the tugboat, Deidre’s coffin is piled haphazardly with the others. The boat stops at Blackwell’s Island to collect more coffins before continuing. Una recalls a grim joke about Bellevue doctors sending patients to Hart Island and remains convinced Deidre was murdered.

The tugboat arrives at Hart Island. Una is horrified by the barren, unfenced potter’s field where mangy dogs roam freely. Workers throw the coffins into two long, deep trenches. Una sees one of the dogs carrying a human bone, causing her to vomit. She watches as Deidre’s coffin is tossed into the trench and covered with dirt. She says a prayer, crosses herself, and flees back to the boat.

Two nights later, Una is still haunted by the experience at Hart Island. After their shift, hurries her to change into her Sunday dress for a surprise outing. On the streetcar, Dru’s cheerful chatter serves as a distraction. They alight at Madison Square Park and walk past the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Una reflects on her past and her ambitions now feel pointless.

Dru takes her to the Eden Musée, a newly opened wax museum. Una is initially awed by the splendor and lifelike wax tableaus of famous people like Queen Victoria and Pope Leo. However, she notices the figures’ pale, vacant expressions resemble the corpses she saw in the morgue. Believing the figures are actual corpses from potter’s field, Una has a panic attack. Dru calms her by explaining the figures are made of wax.

An attendant leads them to the music hall for tea. Una apologizes for her outburst. Dru explains she brought Una to cheer her up, having noticed her recent gloom. Una reveals that a woman she knew named Deidre died. Dru tries to order brandy for Una’s nerves, but the waiter refuses, citing a rule against serving unescorted ladies. When the waiter suggests they go to a saloon, an indignant Dru accuses him of implying they are “women of ill repute” (257). The incident causes Una to laugh, releasing her tension. She thanks Dru for the evening. A somber violin piece brings back the memory of Hart Island, and Una confesses to Dru that she thinks Deidre was murdered.

On the way home, Dru is quiet, and Una regrets her confession. Una had explained she could not go to the police for fear of being expelled. Back at the nurses’ home, Una worries what Dru thinks of her. When Una tries to retract her statement, Dru reassures her she believes her and says they will investigate together before telling anyone.

Dru shows Una an Edgar Allan Poe book she got from the library and reads “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” aloud. While listening, Una rests her head on Dru’s shoulder, relishing their friendship and imagining what a different life might have been like. After the story, Dru explains they must emulate the detective, C. Auguste Dupin, by using observation and inference and not rejecting any possibilities.

Dru proposes a plan: Visit the crime scene, review Una’s memories of the body, and examine the pathologist’s findings. Una is concerned about getting caught. Dru playfully mentions that Una and Edwin have managed to sneak around successfully. The mention of Edwin makes Una wince. Then, Dru suggests they present their findings to Miss Perkins once they solve the mystery. Una, still guided by her rule of self-preservation, asks why Dru is willing to help her. Dru smiles and replies that they are friends.

Una resolves to focus on her nursing duties and decides to end things with Edwin, viewing him as a liability. She is assigned to the surgical ward under Nurse Hatfield, forcing her into daily contact with Edwin and Dr. Pingry. Dr. Pingry summons Una to assist with a patient who has been shot. He begins examining the wound before she can administer morphine. Una brings the requested items along with carbolized water for disinfection. Dr. Pingry berates her for taking the initiative, calling antiseptic unnecessary. Edwin gently suggests giving the patient morphine first.

Una is hurt that Edwin refuses to make eye contact with her. Pingry probes for the bullet with unhygienic methods, using his own handkerchief and even his bare finger in the wound before giving up. He throws his bloody handkerchief at Una and tells her to help Edwin dress the wound. Edwin cleans the wound with carbolized water and uses an antiseptic dressing to prevent further contamination.

As Una’s resolve to reject Edwin wavers, he remains cool toward her. Before he can leave, she stops him and impulsively confesses she loves him too. She quickly adds that her confession does not change anything. Edwin’s demeanor changes completely. He says it changes everything and pulls her into a storeroom. They kiss passionately, and then he proposes marriage after she finishes her training. She dismisses the idea, but he insists he will wait. The reality of her situation as a fugitive makes her realize a future together is impossible. She offers weak excuses, but he dismisses them.

Dr. Pingry’s voice interrupts them. As Edwin leaves, he reveals he is going to a symposium in Philadelphia the next day and asks her to think about his proposal. She tries to tell him the truth but is interrupted again. When he tells her to trust him, she lies and promises to think about it.

P. T. Barnum’s circus troupe arrives at Bellevue to put on a show for the patients. Dru tells Una the performance provides perfect cover to investigate the alcohol addiction ward. Una is wary of the plan, but Dru is determined, insisting they must proceed to prevent another murder. Una agrees and devises a careful plan: they will use blankets as props and meet in the empty basement lodging room.

During the show, Una settles her patients on a balcony and is moved by their happiness. She grabs a blanket and is momentarily captivated by an acrobat’s performance. On her way to meet Dru, Conor appears beside her and makes judgmental comments about the city’s poor. Una hides her disagreement to avoid suspicion. She spots Dru approaching, acting conspicuously nervous and awkwardly declaring her cover story. Una distracts Conor and covertly directs Dru to the basement stairs.

Downstairs, Una finds Dru hiding in the dark. They proceed to the ward where they find the ward attendant perched on crates, watching the circus outside. A ring of keys sits on her desk. Dru stealthily takes the keys, and they unlock Deidre’s former cell, now occupied by another sleeping woman. Una feels their search is hopeless as any clues would be long gone. While trying to return the keys, Dru trips and knocks over a pail. The noise startles the attendant, who falls and angrily confronts them. Una improvises, claiming they are lost, and distracts the attendant by talking about the sword-swallower performance. She secretly returns the keys to the desk, and they escape up a nearby staircase.

Dru finds the experience exhilarating, but Una calls it a waste of time. Dru argues they made two important discoveries: First, the ward is insecure—the attendant was easily distracted, the keys were accessible, and the cell door was quiet, meaning a killer could enter and exit unnoticed. Second, the killer must be someone familiar with the hospital’s layout, like a doctor or orderly, to navigate the basement unseen.