“True enough,” Dr. Wingate said. He briskly walked down the hallway to his office. They entered a back door directly from the corridor, bypassing his secretary. Wingate closed the door behind them.

“I’ll be brief,” Mrs. Hargrave said. “It’s come to my attention that Mrs. Buchanan . . . actually, I should say Dr. Buchanan. You do remember that she is a doctor, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” Dr. Wingate said. “Dr. Carpenter told me that two years ago. It was a surprise, I recall. Dr. Carpenter only knew through reading it in the Globe.”

“I think the fact that she is a physician herself should be kept in mind,” Mrs. Hargrave said. “As you know, doctors can be difficult patients at times.”

Dr. Wingate nodded.

“At any rate,” Mrs. Hargrave continued, “I believe she is suffering from a certain amount of depression.”

“That’s not unexpected,” Dr. Wingate said. “Almost all of our in-vitro patients experience depression at one time or another.”

“There is a suggestion of marital discord as well,” Mrs. Hargrave said. “Even some talk about stopping after this cycle.”

“Now that would be unfortunate,” Dr. Wingate agreed, interested at last.

“Depression, marital problems, and the fact that she is a physician make me think we should perhaps alter the treatment protocol.”

Dr. Wingate leaned against his desk, hooking a thumb under his chin and resting his nose on an index finger while he pondered Mrs. Hargrave’s suggestion. She definitely had a point, and flexibility had always been an approach he’d advocated.

“She also witnessed the scene with Rebecca Ziegler,” Mrs. Hargrave added. “That can only have contributed to her emotional distress. I’m very concerned about her.”

“But she has been stable up until now,” Dr. Wingate said.

“That’s true,” Mrs. Hargrave replied. “I suppose it is the problem of her being a physician that makes me feel uneasy.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Dr. Wingate said. “It’s attention to detail that makes the Women’s Clinic so successful. But I think it will be safe to continue as usual with Dr. Blumenthal-Buchanan. She’ll tolerate another couple of cycles, but perhaps it would be wise to recommend some in-house counseling for both her and her husband.”

“Very well,” Mrs. Hargrave said. “I’ll suggest it to her. But as a physician, she might be resistant to such an idea.”

With the matter decided, Dr. Wingate moved to the door and opened it for Mrs. Hargrave.

“Speaking of Rebecca Ziegler,” said Mrs. Hargrave, “I trust she’s being well taken care of?”

“She’s reading her records as we speak,” Dr. Wingate said, following Mrs. Hargrave into the hallway. “Unfortunately, it will be upsetting for her.”

“I can well imagine,” Mrs. Hargrave said.

3
March 19, 1990
11:37 A.M.

Dorothy Finklestein hurried under the overhead walkway and entered the brick courtyard of the Women’s Clinic. As usual, she was late. She was always late. Her appointment for her annual exam had been scheduled for eleven-fifteen.