“At last Winn Mayfair asked me in a very quiet and respectful voice whether or not he and the others could do anything for me. Did I perhaps have questions for those who’d been questioning me?

“I was completely taken aback by this. I never expected anything so friendly or reasonable. Common sense told me to stop and think this over. But then I heard myself responding:

“ ‘No, I think this has gone on long enough. I presume you will confer and send us word of your diagnosis?’

“ ‘We’ll do that, if you like,’ said Dr. Winn. ‘We thank you for coming.’

“ ‘You talk like I’m a specimen,’ I said, ignoring Aunt Queen’s little gasp. ‘Was I brought here for your sake or mine?’

“Dr. Winn was unfazed by the sharpness of my tone.

“ ‘This is a teaching hospital, Quinn,’ he said. ‘It’s reciprocal what goes on. As for your diagnosis, let me tell you now it’s perfectly obvious that you’re not a manic-depressive, a schizophrenic or a sociopath. Those are the ones that worry people.’

“He rose to his feet—a signal to all those present—and this time he shook my hand and ‘applauded’ my patience.

“The two antiseptic young men vanished, the woman went with them, the huge, heavy, depressed captain of the team wished me good luck, and Aunt Queen said jubilantly that we could now go up to the rooftop Grand Luminière for a nice supper.

“Goblin remained locked to my side, and in the elevator going up to the roof, I felt his right arm tight around me.

“I was calculating; I was going to break in Mr. Nash Penfield right. I wasn’t going to let him find out about all this in some delicate manner.

“The restaurant proved a marvelous surprise. Even Aunt Queen’s glowing compliments had not fully captured it. We were quite high up over New Orleans, which was great, and huge arched windows were open everywhere to the glowing afternoon around us. There was a colonnade along the east side, where one could stroll in the open air, along a balustrade with Tuscan columns. And within the circular room itself, between the vast windows, there were rich paintings in heavy ornate frames—a sampling of art from all different centuries.

“I noticed the Dutch art right away. ‘My God,’ I said to Aunt Queen, ‘we’re surrounded by Rembrandts.’

“ ‘No, dear, they’re all fakes, or reproductions, as Rowan Mayfair likes to put it. They were commissioned especially for the restaurant, but don’t you worry. You’ll be in Amsterdam soon enough, seeing some of the originals.’

“ ‘What a dazzling idea,’ I said. ‘Bringing it all here for people who don’t want to go wandering.’

“ ‘Now, now, toots,’ she said. ‘Don’t fret about wandering. There’s Nash. He’s already at the table. Please follow me.’