Unknown by Unknown

obstetrics and gynae resident, whom she had not seen since she had come in herself as a patient.
    'Remember me?' he said, grinning.
    'How could I ever forget you?' Lisa smiled.
    'How are you and the baby?'
    'We're both good.'
    'Say...' He frowned. 'Aren't you married to Marcus Blair? He was with you that night.'
    Looking around her hastily—not wanting to have her personal affairs aired in public—Lisa saw that there were several people in the waiting room who appeared to be listening to the hasty verbal exchange. 'Shh!' she said. 'Not so loud, Dr Kates.'
    She took his arm and marched him towards the cubicle containing the woman with pelvic pain. 'We've been waiting for you,' she said. 'No, I am not married to Marcus Blair. It was just a subterfuge because he happened to be around when I needed someone. It's a long story.'
    'OK.' Dr Kates grinned. 'I won't press you for details. Pity he's not married to you. I reckon that guy needs a wife.'
    'Why?'
    'Working in this place, you need some one to go home to.'
    'Now, about this patient, Dr Kates. She's a probable pelvic inflammatory disease. There's a gynae examination tray in the cubicle. I'll be with you in a couple of minutes when you want to examine her.'
    With that, she left him and went back to Ed Reese to check on the intravenous line to make sure it was still dripping and at the required rate. She felt breathless and a little irritated, wishing that Dr Kates hadn't recognized her, although she didn't doubt that he would say no more about it to her or anyone else.
    The rest of her shift went by in a flurry of activity, with no time for a break. It was half past two when she finally hurried out of the main doors to go home, having made a hasty telephone call to her mother to say that she was on her way.
    Preoccupied with thoughts of Emma Kate, she didn't at first see the woman who had stepped into her path on the sidewalk outside the emergency department until she came face to face with her.
    'Are you Lisa Stanton?' the woman said, as Lisa stopped abruptly in front of her to avoid a collision.
    'Yes, I am,' she said immediately, without thinking. Then the words of Sadie Drummond came to her about never giving out your real name, and she could have kicked herself.
    The woman appeared to be in her thirties, although she looked a little older. Her face was tired, thin and heavily made-up, and the word 'raddled' came to Lisa's mind as she looked at her at close quarters, before stepping back. She had long, blonde dyed hair that might have looked appropriate on a teenager, but looked somewhat bizarre on this woman. She was quite attractive, with large, pale eyes.
    'Are you married to Marcus Blair?' the woman said.
    Surprised, Lisa could only stare for a few moments. Then the recollection of where she had seen the woman before came to her. The woman had been sitting in the waiting room at the time she and Dr Rick Kates had exchanged words. And another thing. . . This woman hadn't registered at the front desk—Lisa was pretty sure of . that. Yet she had been sitting in the waiting room. Perhaps she had accompanied a patient.
    'Who are you?' she said slowly, more careful this time. 'Why do you want to know that?'
    'Just answer the question,' the woman snarled, an expression of dislike on her face.
    'I don't know you,' Lisa said. 'Why are you questioning me?'
    'Marcus Blair's in love with me,' the woman said, 'and it's mutual. I come here to be near him while he's working.'
    Lisa assessed the woman, who wore a short metal-coloured raincoat, black stockings and high-heeled shoes—an outfit too flimsy for the cool weather. She carried a garishly coloured handbag.
    The feeling of disquiet deepened as Lisa's professional instincts told her that something very odd was going on and that she had to be careful. Swallowing an apprehensive lump in her throat, she lifted her head up and stared at the woman full in the face.
    'I see,' she said, keeping her voice without inflection.
    'No, you