Raymond quickened his pace. One patient lived in New Jersey, the other in Dallas. He thought he’d better get on the phone and talk with the recruiting doctors.

CHAPTER 9

March 5, 1997

5:45 P.M.

Cogo, Equatorial Guinea

“Hello!” Candace’s voice called out. “Anybody home?”

Kevin’s hand flinched at the unexpected noise. The lab techs had long since left for the day, and the laboratory had been silent save for the low hum of the refrigeration units. Kevin had stayed to run another southern blot analysis to separate DNA fragments, but at the sound of Candace’s voice, he’d missed one of the wells with the micropipette. The fluid had run out over the surface of the gel. The test was ruined; he’d have to start again.

“Over here!” Kevin yelled. He put down the pipette and stood up. Through the reagent bottles atop the lab bench, he could see Candace across the room, standing in the doorway.

“Am I coming at a bad time?” Candace asked as she approached.

“No, I was just finishing up,” Kevin said. He hoped he wasn’t being too transparent.

Although he was frustrated about the wasted time he’d spent on the procedure, Kevin was pleased to see Candace. During lunch that day, he’d worked up the courage to invite Candace and Melanie to his house for tea. Both had accepted with alacrity. Melanie had admitted that she’d always been curious to see what the house looked like on the inside.

The afternoon had been a big success. Undoubtedly, the key ingredient for the afternoon’s success was the personalities of the two ladies. There was never a pause in the conversation. Another contributing factor had been the wine that they’d all decided upon instead of tea. As a member of the Zone’s elite, Kevin was given a regular allotment of French wine which he rarely drank. Consequently, he had an impressive cellar.

The major topic of conversation had been the U.S., a favorite pastime for temporary American expatriates. Each of the three had extolled and argued the virtues of their hometown. Melanie loved New York and contended it was in a class all its own; Candace said that Pittsburgh’s quality of life was rated one of the highest; and Kevin praised the intellectual stimulation of Boston. What they had purposefully avoided discussing was Kevin’s emotional outburst at the commissary during lunch.

At the time, both Candace and Melanie questioned what he’d meant by being terrified of overstepping the bounds. But they didn’t persist when it became clear that Kevin was overly upset and reluctant to explain. Intuitively, the women had decided it best to change the subject, at least for the time.

“I’ve come to see if I can drag you over to meet Mr. Horace Winchester,” Candace said. “I told him about you, and he’d like to thank you in person.”

“I don’t know if that is a good idea,” Kevin said. He could feel himself tense.

“On the contrary,” Candace said. “After what you said at lunch, I think you should see the good side of what you have been able to accomplish. I’m sorry that what I said made you feel so terrible.”