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When she heard Cassi she got unsteadily to her feet. “Well, what did you learn?” She tried to sound casual.
    “Not much,” said Cassi. “Joan, are you all right?”
    “Just a mortal wound to my pride,” said Joan. “I should have known better than watch an autopsy.”
    “I’m terribly sorry ...” began Cassi.
    “Don’t be silly,” said Joan. “I came voluntarily. But I’d just as soon leave if you’re ready.”
    They walked down to the elevators where Jerry decided to use the stairs since it was only four flights to the medical floor. He waved before disappearing into the stairwell.
    “Joan,” said Cassi, turning back to her. “I really am sorry I forced you up here. I’d gotten so accustomed to autopsies as a path resident that I’d forgotten how awful they can be. I hope it didn’t upset you too much.”
    “You didn’t force me up here,” said Joan, “Besides, my squeamishness is my problem, not yours. It’s just plain embarrassing. You’d think after four years of medical school I’d have gotten over it. Anyway, I should have admitted it and waited for you in Robert’s office. Instead I acted like a fool. I don’t know what I was trying to prove.”
    “Autopsies were hard for me at first,” said Cassi, “but gradually it became easier. It is astounding what you can get used to if you do it enough, especially when you can intellectualize it.”
    “For sure,” said Joan, eager to change the subject. “By the way, your men friends do run the gamut. What’s the story with Jerry Donovan? Is he available?”
    “I think so,” said Cassi, punching the elevator button again. “He was married back in med school but then divorced.”
    “I know the story,” said Joan.
    “I’m not sure if he’s dating anyone in particular,” said Cassi. “But I could find out. Are you interested?”
    “I wouldn’t mind asking him to dinner,” said Joan pensively. “But only if I could be sure he’d put out on the first date.”
    It took a moment for Joan’s comment to penetrate before Cassi burst out laughing. “I think you sized him up pretty well,” she said.
    “The macho medicine man,” said Joan. “What about Robert?” Joan lowered her voice as they got on the elevator. “Is he gay?”
    “I suppose so,” said Cassi. “But we’ve never discussed it. He’s been such a good friend, it has never mattered. He used to rate my boy friends back in medical school, and I used to listen until I met my husband because Robert was always right. But he must have been jealous of Thomas because he never liked him.”
    “Does he still feel that way?” asked Joan.
    “I can’t say,” said Cassi. “That’s the only other subject that we never talk about.”
    CHAPTER 2
----
    “THE PATIENT IS READY for you in No. 3 cardiac cath room,” said one of the X-ray technicians. She didn’t come into the office but rather just stuck her head around the door. By the time Dr. Joseph Riggin turned to acknowledge the information, the girl was gone.
    With a sigh, Joseph lifted his feet off his desk, tossed the journal he’d been reading onto the bookshelf, and took one last slug of coffee. From a hook behind the door he lifted his lead apron and put it on.
    The radiology corridor at 10:30 A.M. reminded Joseph of a sale day at Bloomingdale’s. There were people everywhere waiting in chairs, waiting in lines, and waiting on gurneys. Their faces had a blank, expectant look. Joseph felt an unwelcome sense of boredom. He’d been doing radiology now for fourteen years and he was beginning to admit to himself that the excitement had gone out of it. Every day was like every other day. Nothing unique ever happened anymore. If it hadn’t been for the arrival of the CAT scanner a number of years ago, Joseph wondered if he’d have quit. As he pushed into No. 3, he tried to imagine what he could do if he left clinical radiology. Unfortunately he didn’t have any bright ideas.
    The No. 3 cath room was the largest of