Robin Cook - Marker

"Sue, I think you are telling me more than you need to. I don't need to know the guy's history. All I want to know is if you're reasonably confident he'll listen to what I have to say, act on it, and leave my name out of it until there's official word from the OCME. Is that your take?"

"I told you he's the picture of discretion. And personally, I think you two will hit it off famously. And all I ask in return is that you name your firstborn after me. I'm joking, of course. Now, let's see if he's here." Sue pushed back her chair, stood up, and started scanning the crowd.

Aghast at suddenly comprehending Sue's romantic intentions, Laurie reached out and tugged insistently on her white coat. "Hold on! This is not the time or place to try to fix me up."

"Hush, girl!" Sue said, batting Laurie's hand away while continuing to search the room. "You dared me to find somebody suitable, and this dude fills the bill. Now, where in tarnation is he? He's always here with women around him like he's dressed in flypaper. Ah, there he is, and no wonder I couldn't see him. He's holding court at the far table."

Without a second's hesitation, and oblivious to Laurie's appeals to the contrary, Sue strode off. Laurie watched her wend her way among the crowded tables. Almost fifty feet away she tapped a medium-brown-haired man on the shoulder. He stood up, and being a head taller than Sue, Laurie guessed he was close to Jack's height. For a moment Sue talked with him, utilizing lavish hand gestures capped off with her finger pointing in Laurie's direction. Laurie felt herself blush, and she looked down at her tray. The last time she had experienced this kind of social humiliation was in middle school, and although that episode turned out reasonably well, she didn't feel confident now.

The next few minutes crawled by. Laurie redirected her eyes out the window at the empty fountain, wondering if she should flee. The next thing she knew, Sue was tapping her shoulder and calling her name. With a sense of resignation, Laurie turned and found herself looking up into the rugged, smiling face of an attractive and vigorous-appearing man standing next to her friend. He could have been a sailor or someone who had spent a good deal of time in the sun. He was carefully groomed, dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and colorful tie. Over his clothes, he had on a clean, highly starched white coat similar to Sue's. All in all, he exuded an urbane, refined, even elegant aura that stood out markedly from the other mostly frumpy doctors. As far as the nose was considered, Laurie felt it fit in just fine.

"I want you to meet Dr. Roger Rousseau," Sue said. Her hand gripped his shoulder.

Laurie scrambled to her feet and shook the hand that was extended toward her. It was warm and forceful. Looking into his eyes she was surprised to find them a pale blue. After stumbling over saying she was glad to meet him, Laurie winced internally. She felt like she was acting as she had back in middle school, during that previous awkward introduction.

"Please call me Roger," the man said warmly.

"And me Laurie," Laurie added, regaining her composure. She noticed the man's smile that Sue had described and found it appealing.

"Sue mentioned that you had some confidential information that you were willing to share with me."

"I do," Laurie said simply. "I assume she also mentioned it has to stay anonymous. A leak could put my job in jeopardy. Unfortunately, I've had some bad experiences in the past."

"I have no problem with your need for secrecy. I give you my word." He glanced around the busy cafeteria. "This isn't the best place for a confidential conversation. May I invite you up to my modest but at least private office? We won't have to shout, and we surely won't be overheard."

"That would be fine," Laurie said. She glanced at Sue, who winked, smirked, and waved good-bye all at the same time. When Laurie started to pick up her tray Sue motioned for her to leave it, saying she'd take care of it.

Laurie followed Roger as he threaded his way out through the cafeteria entrance, which was now even more crowded than when Laurie first arrived. Just beyond the throng, Roger stopped and waited for Laurie to catch up. "It's only one flight up. I usually take the stairs. Do you mind?"

"Heavens, no," Laurie said. She was surprised he'd even thought to ask.

"Sue told me you were part of the Médecins Sans Frontières," Laurie said as they climbed.

"I was indeed," Roger said. "For about twenty years."

"I'm impressed," Laurie said, knowing something of the good works carried out by the organization, for which it had received a Nobel Prize. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Roger was taking the stairs by twos. "How did you happen to join that organization?"

"When I finished my residency in infectious diseases in the mid-eighties, I was looking for some adventure. I was also an idealistic, far-left liberal who wanted to change the world. It seemed like a good fit."

"Did you find adventure?"

"Most assuredly, as well as training in hospital administration. But I found some disillusionment as well. The need for even the most basic medical care in so much of the world is staggering. But don't get me started."

"Where were you located?"

"The South Pacific first, then Asia, and finally Africa. I made sure I made the rounds."

Laurie remembered her trip to West Africa with Jack and tried to imagine what it would be like to work there. Before she could mention her experience, Roger sprinted ahead and opened the door at the top of the stairs.

"What made you leave the organization?" Laurie asked as they descended the busy main corridor en route to the administration area. As Roger was a relatively new employee she was impressed by how many people greeted him by name as they passed.

"Partly the disillusionment of not being able to change the world, and partly because I felt the need to come home and settle down and have a family. I'd always seen myself as a family man, but it wasn't going to happen in Chad or Outer Mongolia."

"That's romantic," Laurie said. "So love brought you back from the wilds of Africa."

"Not quite," Roger said as he held open the door that lead into the carpeted, peaceful realm of the administrative offices. "There was no one here waiting for me. I'm like a migratory bird instinctively flying back to the nesting site where I began as a chick, hoping to find a mate." He laughed as he waved to the secretaries who were not at lunch.

"So you're from New York," Laurie commented.

" Queens, to be exact."

"Where did you go to medical school?"

"Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons," Roger said.

"Really! What a coincidence! So did I. What year did you graduate?"

"Nineteen eighty-one."

"I was eighty-six. Did you happen to know a Jack Stapleton in your class?"

"I did. He was one of the best basketball players in Bard Hall. Do you know him?"

"I do," Laurie said without elaborating. She felt strangely uncomfortable, like she was cheating on her relationship with Jack just by bringing up his name. "He's a colleague of mine over at the OCME," she added lamely.

They entered Roger's office, which was, as he had said, modest. It was situated on the inside area of the administration wing and accordingly had no windows. Instead, the walls were covered with framed photos of numerous places around the world where he had worked. There was a number of himself with either local dignitaries or patients. Laurie couldn't help but notice that in all of them, Roger was smiling as if each photo had recorded a celebratory event. It was particularly noticeable, since the other people were expressionless or actually frowning.

"Please, sit down!" Roger suggested. He angled a small straight-back chair toward the desk. After closing the door to the hall, Roger sat at the desk, leaned back, and folded his arms. "Now then, tell me what's on your mind."