Gaining the fifth floor, Laurie hesitated for a moment, building up her courage. She wanted to drop in to Jack's office to talk with him but was concerned about what she'd be confronting, after what Riva had said. Although Laurie accepted that the current estrangement with Jack was largely her fault due to the affair with Roger, it didn't make it any easier. At the same time, she was not about to apologize.

Taking a fortifying breath, Laurie started down the hall. In contrast to the day before, she didn't hesitate. She let her momentum carry her all the way into the room, where she found both Jack and Chet bent over their respective desks, peering into their microscopes. Although she hadn't been trying, she'd come in silently, such that neither man knew she was there.

"I'd be willing to bet five bucks I'm right," Jack was saying.

"You're on," Chet responded.

"Excuse me!" Laurie called.

With obvious surprise, both men's heads bobbed up and turned to face their visitor.

"Forsooth!" Jack exclaimed. "Speak of the devil! The ghost of the missing Dr. Montgomery has just materialized in our midst."

"Miraculous!" Chet added. He drew back, pretending to be terrified.

"Come on, you guys!" Laurie said. "I'm in no mood to be made fun of."

"Thank God she's real!" Jack said as if relieved. He pressed the back of his hand against his forehead in the stereotypical fainting gesture.

In a similar fashion, Chet put his hand to his chest as if he were experiencing palpitations.

"Come on! Knock it off!" Laurie said while looking from one to the other. It seemed to her that they were carrying the charade a bit too far.

"We thought you were gone for good," Chet explained with a snicker. "The rumor was that it had been a sudden dematerialization. As the day's scheduler, I was supposed to know where you were, but I had no idea. Even Marlene in reception didn't see you leave."

"Marlene had stepped away from her desk when I went out," Laurie said. It was apparent to her that her absence had been the subject of speculation, which, under the circumstances, was not a good sign.

"We're all a little curious about where you did go, since, according to Calvin, you were supposed to be in your office."

"What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?" Laurie asked, hoping a bit of humor would deflect the question. She looked directly at Jack. "Riva said you stopped by, so I'm returning the favor. Was there something specific on your mind?"

"I was going to give you the final lowdown on Mulhausen's autopsy," Jack said. "But first, we are all truly curious about where you so mysteriously went. Can't you fill us in? We've got a lot of money riding on it."

Laurie's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men. They were watching her expectantly. This was the question she feared, and she frantically tried to think up an appropriate response without lying. Nothing came to mind.

"I went over to the Manhattan General Hospital -" Laurie began, but Jack cut her off.

"Bingo!" Jack said. He pointed at Chet with his fingers positioned to make his hand appear like a gun. "You owe me five bucks, hotshot."

Chet rolled his eyes in apparent disappointment, shifted his weight to get his wallet out of his back pocket, and plopped a five-dollar bill in Jack's waiting hand.

Jack clutched the money triumphantly and looked back at Laurie. "Looks like I get to profit from your assignation after all."

Laurie felt her ire rising, but she held it in check. She didn't like this public gamesmanship at her expense. "I went over to the Manhattan General because I had an idea that might solve the mystery of my serial-killer series."

"Oh, sure!" Jack said. "And just by coincidence, you had to share this idea with your current flame."

"I think I'll head down and get some coffee," Chet said, hastily getting to his feet.

"You don't have to go on my accord," Laurie said.

"I think I will just the same," Chet responded. "It's time for lunch." He stepped out of the office and pulled the door shut behind him.

For a moment, Laurie and Jack eyed each other.

"Let's put it this way," Jack said, breaking the silence. "I find it demeaning that you would spend considerable effort convincing me to have dinner with you and then immediately disappear for four hours to see the man with whom you are currently having an affair."

"I can understand, and I'm sorry. It didn't dawn on me that it would affect you like this."

"Oh, please! Put yourself in my position!"

"Well, after the fact, I must admit I was afraid you would ask where I had gone. But, Jack, I went only for the reason I said. The Queens cases gave me an idea of how I might be able to come up with a list of potential suspects. It was not a tryst. Don't belittle me with that kind of talk!"

Jack tossed Chet's five-dollar bill onto his desk, lowered his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

"Jack, believe me! Part of the reason I had the idea I did was your comments about the plot thickening and a pall being over AmeriCare. In fact, I wanted to ask you what you meant specifically."

"I'm not sure I had anything specific in mind," Jack said without taking his hand from his forehead. "It's just that if your series jumps to thirteen cases at two hospitals, both of which are AmeriCare institutions, it makes you wonder."

Laurie nodded. "I thought you had something about managed care in mind. If these are murders, I'm getting the impression they are not random. The demographics are too similar. For instance, I learned today that all of them, at least those at the Manhattan General, have been relatively recent AmeriCare subscribers. How that fits into the picture, I haven't a clue."

Jack took his hand away and looked up at Laurie. "So you're now thinking this might be some kind of conspiracy thing?"

Laurie nodded. "I thought that was what you were implying from your comments."

"Not really, and from a capitation standpoint, it doesn't make sense, so it can't have anything to do with managed care per se. On the other hand, medicine has become big business, and AmeriCare is one enormous organization. That means there are actuarial types and their bosses who are so far removed from patient care that they forget what the product of the company ultimately is. They see everything in terms of numbers."

"That may be true," Laurie said, "but getting rid of new, healthy subscribers is diametrically counterproductive to any actuarial goal."

"It might seem that way to us, but my point is that there are people involved, at high levels, whom we cannot hope to understand. Some kind of conspiracy still could be involved whose rationale might not be immediately apparent."

"Maybe so," Laurie said vaguely. She was disappointed. She thought Jack might have something specific to offer.

Laurie and Jack gazed at each other for a few beats. It was Jack who broke the silence. "Let me ask you something straight-out that I alluded to down in the pit. Is this dinner date tonight some kind of elaborate setup to tell me you're getting married, because if it is, I'm going to go ballistic. I just want to warn you about that."

Laurie didn't answer right away, because the comment reminded her of how complicated everything in her life had become. It was hard for her to keep everything and everybody in perspective.

"This silence is not giving me a good feeling," Jack warned.

"I am not getting married!" Laurie said with sudden vehemence, jabbing her finger at Jack. "I told you that in no uncertain terms down in the autopsy room. I told you that I needed to talk to you about something that involves you and me and no one else."

"I don't think you included that 'no one else' part down in the pit."

"Well, I am now!" Laurie barked.

"All right, all right. Calm down! I'm the one that's supposed to be upset, not you."