Closed and locked. A slide-in sign said ALICEJANOS, M.1:H PH.D.
I knocked. Between the first and second raps a voice said, 'One minute.'
Heel-clicks. The door opened. A woman in her fifties said, 'Dr. Delaware.'
I held out my hand. She took it, gave an abrupt shake, and let go.
She was short, plump, blond, bubble-coiffed, and expertly made up and
wore a red-and-white dress that had been tailored for her. Red shoes, matching nails, gold jewelry. Her face was small and attractive in a chipmunkish way; when she was young she'd probably been the cutest girl in school.
'Come in, please.' European accent. The intellectual Gabor sister.
I stepped into the office. She left the door open and came in after me. The room was pin-neat, minimally furnished, scented with perfume, and hung with art posters in chromium frames. Miro and Albers and Stella and one that commemorated a Gwathmey-Siegel exhibit at the Boston Museum.
An open box of chocolate truffles sat on a round glass table. Next to it was a sprig of mint. On a stand perpendicular to the desk were a computer and a printer, each sheathed with a zippered cover. Atop the printer was a red leather designer purse. The desk was universityissue metal, prettified with a diagonally set lace coverlet, a floralpatterned Limoges blotter, and family photos. Big family.
Albert Einstein look-alike husband and five good-looking, college-age kids.
She sat close to the chocolate and crossed her legs at the ankles. I faced her. Her calves were ballet- thick.
'You are a physician?'
'Psychologist.'
And what connection do you have to Ms. Herbert?'
'I'm consulting on a case at the hospital. Dawn obtained a medical chart belonging to the patient's sibling and never returned it.
I thought she might have left it here.'
'This patient's name?'
When I hesitated, she said, 'I can't very well answer your question without knowing what I'm looking for.'
'Jones.'
'Charles Lyman Jones the Fourth?'
Surprised, I said, 'You have it?'
'No. But you are the second person who's come asking for it. Is there a genetic issue at stake that makes this so urgent? Sibling tissue typing or something like that?'
'It's a complex case,' I said.
She recrossed her legs. 'The first person didn't give me an adequate explanation either.'
'Who was that?'
She gave me an analytic look and sat back in her chair. 'Forgive me, Doctor, but I'd appreciate seeing the identification you just showed Merilee upstairs.'
For the third time in half an hour I presented my faculty card, augmenting it with my brand-new full-color hospital badge.
Putting on gold-framed half-glasses, she examined both, taking her TIME The hospital ID held her interest longer.
