Chapter NineteenOstend, Belgium, March 1977
The man and the woman sat at either end of the large, comfortable sofa, the two boys, Arturo and Alexei, between them. They were watching the television, which was reporting the news. The picture showed a scene of flaming conflagration as the reporter stated that earlier that day fire had destroyed the Clinique Sobel, a fertility clinic on the outskirts of Brussels. The clinic had been operated by Doctor Alexander Renaud under the overall direction of Doctor Margherita Dumas, one of the world's most prominent pioneers in the field of human infertility. The reporter went on to state that there had been no casualties, all the staff and patients having been evacuated at the first signs of fire having broken out. Neither Doctor Renaud nor Doctor Dum
