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for
Scientific American
about weather-related cataclysms and the efforts to monitor them. I picked up the issue because it contained an article about new drought conditions in Africa. It also started me thinking about how ill prepared we were for a sudden catastrophe.
    “I had always assumed that the Red Cross and the Red Crescent could handle anything that came their way, but I found out how untrue that assumption is. Generally speaking, the Red Cross, the International Red Cross, and the Muslim-led Red Crescent are remarkably efficient, but like all organizations they are limited in what they can do. I wondered if Barringston Relief could supplement their efforts. I also wondered if we could predict some of these disasters.
    “That’s where Osborn Scott came in. I did a little researchon him and discovered that he’s considered tops in his field. He’s earned two doctoral degrees, one in meteorology and one in geography. I approached him about leading a department that would monitor and catalog catastrophes so that we might be better able to respond. At the time he was with the California Institute of Technology and reluctant to leave. I told him about our research arm and gave him a tour of the labs on the forty-ninth floor. He was dutifully impressed, as was I when I first came here. Once I assured him that he could continue his research and pick his own team, he agreed. And that, dear Kristen, is how Dr. Scott became one of our own.”
    “What do you know about him personally?”
    “Personally? Not much. He’s single and devoted to his work. He passed the security check, if that’s what you mean.”
    “No, that’s not what I mean. What do you know about him as a person?”
    David sat quietly. Finally he admitted, “Not much, I guess.”
    “Men,” Kristen exclaimed. “I think he’s more than concerned about this hurricane, David. I think there’s some history there, probably painful history.”
    “You picked this up from the RRT meeting?”
    “I learned from the best.” She winked.
    David was an authority on public and interpersonal communication. Before going to seminary in the San Francisco area, he had earned a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas. He was especially adept at reading body language. It was his skill as a speechwriter that had prompted A.J. Barringston to hire David in the first place. And David had needed the job.
    Only a few people knew of David’s painful past, thatwhile he was the pastor of a growing church, his wife had left him for someone in the congregation. An unwanted yet uncontested divorce followed, along with depression and loss of confidence. He had regained his confidence and shed his depression during a heartrending, eye-opening trip through Ethiopia last year. Today he was a new man who, through adversity and sorrow, had regained his faith. Still, he kept his emotions to himself and was slow to form relationships. Only Timmy and Kristen had broken through. He loved them.
    Because of his recent pain, he never pried into the lives of others.
    “All right,” David conceded. “What should I have noticed?”
    “His agonizing concern,” Kristen replied. “I know he didn’t say anything about it, but you could see it in his eyes. This thing has him scared. Now before you interrupt me, let me say this: We are all concerned about the hurricane and the lives it will affect. That’s why we work here. But his concern was different. There was fear in his eyes and his mannerisms. Surely you noticed.”
    “Actually, I hadn’t. I was trying to take in all he was saying and formulate some plan of action. I was preoccupied.”
    “That’s understandable. All the decisions fall on your shoulders now. I have less pressure and, therefore, more freedom to notice these things.”
    “So you think something has him scared?”
    Kristen nodded. “I suspect something has happened to him, something he doesn’t talk about.”
    “Do you think I should be concerned that he