It was getting to the point where Marissa wasn’t surprised to see her suspicions borne out. It was almost gratifying to have the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall so neatly into place. If Goldman didn’t come through with that record, she resolved to contact Evelyn Welles’ husband herself.

There was a knock on her door, then her secretary appeared. She had Marissa’s scheduling book in hand. “Do you want to go over the scheduling book now?” she asked.

“No, not now,” Marissa said. “I’ve had a slight change of plans. I’ve got to go out for a little while. We’ll do it as soon as I come back.”

Marissa got her coat. She’d made a snap decision. The salpingitis problem was too important to ignore. She had to follow up on it. Robert had to understand. What she needed to do was have a real talk with him. No more of these halfhearted attempts. She decided to go to his office. Now that they’d both had a good night’s sleep, maybe they would be in better shape to discuss their problems.

Getting into her car, and pulling out of the clinic’s garage, Marissa already felt better than she had for months. She was doing something she should have done long ago. She had to explain to Robert what her feelings were and listen to his. They had to stop the downward spiral.

Parking was at a premium in downtown Boston. Marissa left her car with the doorman at the Omni Parker House Hotel, slipping him a five-dollar bill. When his expression didn’t change, she gave him another five. She wasn’t in a position to bargain.

Crossing School Street, she entered the elegant, refurbished old City Hall building that housed Robert’s office. She took the elevator to the fourth floor, making her way to a door with HEALTH RESOURCE CORPORATION etched on the glass. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.

The reception area of the office was handsomely decorated with rich mahogany paneled walls, leather seating, and Oriental rugs. The main receptionist recognized Marissa and smiled. She was on the phone.

Marissa passed the receptionist’s desk. Familiar with the office, she walked straight back to Robert’s corner office. His secretary, Donna, wasn’t at her desk but the steaming cup of coffee in the middle of the blotter indicated she couldn’t be far away.

Marissa went to Robert’s door. She glanced back at Donna’s telephone to see if any of the extension lines were lit. She didn’t want to interrupt Robert if he was in the middle of a call. Seeing that no one was on the phone, Marissa knocked softly and entered.