Chapter 10

"Suzan!"

Dr. Suzan Dwyer's assistant, Vanda Portillo, had come into the lab and addressed her boss, hoping to snag the doctor's attention.As usual, Suzan Dwyer was bent over her electron microscope, peering at whatever slide she had beneath the powerful lens.

"Suzan?"Vanda tried once more, a little louder this time."Oh, Dr. Dwyer!Calling Dr. Suzan!"She finally elicited a response when her boss glanced up from the microscope and blinked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Van," Suzan offered and rubbed her eyes, both rimmed red from her close work."I guess I got a little intense here." She had been studying the effect of a new proton fusion that would stimulate good blood cell production and eliminate diseased cells.

"I don't mean to disturb you," her assistant continued, "but there is a man in the waiting room who has been here for almost three hours.I tried to tell him that you had no time today to see anyone, let alone patients, but he's insisting that he needs to see you."Vanda referred to her wrist watch."And it's now a quarter to seven, time to call it a day."

Suzan glanced out the window and confirmed that time, indeed, had grown late with the softer blue of twilight making way for a cool indigo night.Sitting back in her chair, she weighed her decision as she absently bit at her lower lip."You say this visitor insists on seeing me, and no one else?"

"I tried to refer him to another doctor but he wants to see you specifically.He says you are the foremost expert on blood disorders."

Suzan smiled."Well, I wouldn't say foremost.He's not a reporter, is he?"

Vanda shook her head."Oh, no.He's just well...if you want, you can see for yourself, just take a peak out the door.He says his name is Charles Lambert.That's all the information he gave me."

Scooting back her chair, Suzan got to her feet."I suppose I better see him, at least for a few minutes, if that's the only way we can get rid of him."

"Thank you, boss lady!The man gives me the jitters.He just sits there like a statue, his face set in cement.And his eyes...well, they just stare ahead at the wall."

Vanda shivered."It's creepy, like Halloween, even if Halloween is months away.But this guy's good-looking, probably in his early thirties.If not for his zombie act, I'd say he's rather attractive and certainly has some money by the looks of his clothes.Definitely designer."Divorced for several years now and with no children, Vanda always appreciated a seemingly unattached man who showed promise.

"I'll try to find out more about this Mr. Lambert," the doctor promised, "besides why he's here to see me."

"In the meantime," Vanda added, "I'm going to hover in back until the coast is clear."

"I'll get rid of him as fast as possible," Suzan promised. "After all, we're closing up shop and he certainly can't stay here overnight."

"Well, you never know.This guy might not have a home, but he certainly doesn't look homeless.Homeless guys don't wear Armani slacks and jackets, or Italian leather boots."

Suzan smiled at her assistant's insightful observations.In fact, Vanda's excellent observation skills and her knack for picking out subtle details often made the job easier for both assistant and boss, especially when Suzan engaged in comprehensive forensic work.One expected Vanda herself to be precise and petite, but she possessed a tall, big-boned and curvaceous figure, large toffee eyes and full features in a round face.Only the fine gray feathering along the temples of her thick, dark hair hinted at her age, older than thirty but less than seventy, as Vanda put it.Suzan knew her assistant had just celebrated her fortieth birthday, a natal event the doctor herself would be seeing in just four short years.

"See you real soon...hopefully," Vanda speculated as she headed for the storage area to wait out the ensuing confrontation.But, pausing in mid-stride, she turned back to her boss and added, "Tell you what, if I don't hear from you in ten minutes, I'll send in the National Guard."

Suzan chuckled."Yikes!Let's hope it doesn't come to that.Go on, I'll see you in a few."

"Well, good luck."Vanda turned and jogged away.