She grabbed the leash to lead a wired Rosa downstairs and out to the park. Walking briskly along the trail in the cool dawn, Lopez’s thoughts turned to Seth Cohen. She sensed a profound character beneath his quiet exterior. And she found his sharp features, dusky complexion, and deep brown eyes easy on her own eyes. As was Graham Kilburn. Fair-skinned with a square jaw and a crooked smile, he looked nothing like Cohen. But Lopez found his outdoorsy looks and laid-back charm appealing. None of the men she had dated in the past two years seemed as interesting in comparison as either of these two.

“Snap out of it, Lina!” she scolded herself. She felt silly for having entertained the thoughts about the men whom she barely knew professionally, let alone personally, and who lived more than a hundred miles on either side of her.

Returning from her walk, she refilled Rosa’s water bowl, showered, and then sat down at her computer. The sixth of twenty-nine new overnight e-mails caught her eye. One of them, from the CDC’s surveillance center, read: “Two cases of MRGAS were confirmed at Orange County Hospital. One patient, a known intravenous drug user, has died from necrotizing fasciitis.”

“Not L.A.!” she groaned to the dog who lay at her feet. With a population of ten million people to hide among, Lopez wondered how they could ever to hope to root MRGAS out of Greater Los Angeles.

Her phone vibrated and she brought it to her ear. “Lina, it’s Graham. Sorry to call so early.”

“No problem.” She checked her watch, which read 6:55 A.M. “I’ve been up for a while.”

“Have you heard?” Kilburn asked excitedly.

“About L.A.?”

“Has MRGAS reached Los Angeles?” he asked calmly.

“Yes.” She read the e-mail aloud to him.

“Hmmm,” he said with surprising indifference. “Good thing Oraloxin seems to work.”

“It’s working?!?” Lopez sprang up so quickly that Rosa jumped in surprise.

“Some very promising developments at Harborcenter,” he said. “I’ll give you the full lowdown over breakfast.”

Too impatient to wait even a few minutes to hear the details, Lopez tried David Warmack’s number but reached his voicemail. Keyed up on adrenaline and bursting with curiosity, she grabbed her purse and raced out the door. Hair still damp, she hopped into her car, not bothering to lower the top, and sped over to the restaurant.

She ran into Kilburn standing at the PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED’ sign at the front of the restaurant. As soon as he saw her, his face broke into a huge smile. “Lina!” He startled her by wrapping her in a tight hug.

Releasing her, he cleared his throat and glanced down “Sorry … er … guess I got a bit carried away by the moment,” he said. “It’s nice to have something to celebrate for a change when it comes to MRGAS.”