Either way, it’s there, and I don’t see it going away anytime soon.
Chapter Eleven
Dr. Marcum
Grace
When Jace told me he’d set up a time for me and his doctor friend, I was expecting something in a back alley or a darkened parking lot. I wasn’t expecting to discuss perpetrating a fraud involving a clinical trial over seafood on the bank of the river.
I haven’t talked to Jace in a couple of days. Really, I don’t know what to say to the man.
A man comes over to my table and sits down.
“Dr. Marcum?” I ask, but the man doesn’t look up.
The waiter comes over and asks if me and my friend are ready to order, but I tell him we’re going to need a few more minutes.
“Excuse me, are you Dr. Marcum?” I ask the man across from me after the waiter leaves.
The man is reading a newspaper and completely ignoring everything I have to say. Maybe I’m just not saying the right thing.
“We’ve already got the scans,” I tell him. “I don’t know what more you thought we should discuss, but I’m ready to hear whatever you have to say.”
The man looks up at me for a moment, but then turns back to his paper.
“I get that this is supposed to be a covert op kind of thing,” I tell him, “but I really would appreciate some guidance as to what to do next.”
“Excuse me, miss?” a man behind me says, tapping my shoulder.
I turn around. “Yes?”
“Are you Grace Miller?” the man asks.
“Yes,” I answer. “And you are…”
“I’m Dr. Marcum,” he says. “I was under the impression Dr. Churchill had told you who I was.”
I look across the table at the man sitting there with his newspaper. He’s still ignoring me completely.
“Excuse me, sir?” I ask the man sitting across the table.
The man looks up, cocks his head to one side, and, with a loud burst, he says, “What?”
“We’re going to need that chair if you don’t mind,” I tell him.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the man says, but doesn’t get up. He just returns to his paper like I hadn’t said anything of consequence at all.
I look up at Dr. Marcum, saying, “Maybe we should find another table.”
“Let’s take a walk,” the doctor says.
“You know, I was really looking forward to the sushi,” I protest as I rise to my feet. “I’ve heard that it’s spectacular here.”
“Well, it appears that man is more than willing to hold your table for you,” Dr. Marcum says. “I’d really prefer discussing this in a more private venue.”
“What did you have in mind?” I ask as we walk back through the restaurant.
“It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it?” he asks.