At the information booth, I told the guard where I was going. He handed me a campus map and used his pen to circle the Health Sciences Building.

“What about parking?”

“The lot’s this gray area,” he said. “Have your ticket validated and you won’t have to pay the parking fee.”

I thanked him and drove on. I hadn’t been to the university for years and I was disconcerted by all the new buildings that had sprung up. Vacant lots were gone. A two-tiered parking structure had been razed and a five-story garage had gone up in its place; new dorms; a new student union building. I had my sheet map on the steering wheel, trying to get my bearings. I finally found the lot and pulled in, waiting while the dispenser buzzed and pushed a ticket through the slot. I took it and the gate arm swung up.

I grabbed the first place I spotted, then paused to check my teeth, hair, and makeup before I got out of the car. By makeup, I’m referring to the four passes with a mascara wand that had left a small black clot on one lash. I’d also applied lipstick, but that was already gone. Really, I don’t get the point.

The doors to the Health Sciences Building were open. Students strolled in and out, most of them in scanty clothing—tank tops and short shorts; lots of boobs, bare arms, and flat abdomens. Footwear seemed equally divided between flip-flops and thick-soled army boots. At least a hundred bicycles had been chained to a corral of fencing outside.

Once in the building, I rounded the corner to the elevators and checked a directory posted on the wall. The only clinic was on the ground floor. As I passed the entrance, I glanced in. Several students were seated in the waiting room. I walked on, keeping track of room numbers. Several clinic doctors had offices in the same wing, strung out on either side of the corridor. I found the administrative offices, where two secretaries and three clerk-typists were hard at work.

Linton Reed’s secretary, Greta, was away from her desk. I’d expected to announce myself, reminding her of my name and the time of my appointment, but her chair was empty and all the other women were intent on their computers. Her appointment book was open in plain sight, but today’s schedule was blank. I’d seen Dr. Reed’s name on a white laminated tag mounted on the wall as I’d come down the hall. I retraced my steps.

Dr. Reed’s door was open and I stepped into the anteroom. In the larger office beyond, he was seated at his desk, focused on a medical chart on which he was scribbling notes. He was left-handed, always of interest to me. I knocked on the door frame. “Dr. Reed?”

He looked up. “Yes?”

“Kinsey Millhone.”