EARLY IN THE MORNING agent Boulanger informed Scott that the San Diego Police had confirmed that Lacey Edmonds and Jana McNally were the only two Canadians taken as hostages from Bus 38 yesterday afternoon in Tijuana. The police believed they were taken so the gunmen under siege could escape without being shot by the Mexican Army on the scene. So far there had been no demands and no contact from the criminals. There appeared to have been eighteen people abducted. The other sixteen were all Americans.

BY MID AFTERNOON, Toronto time, Scott was exhausted. He had not slept at all. After tossing and turning and trying unsuccessfully to read, he had got up at five and made coffee. He knew he would be unable to concentrate at the hospital, so he had canceled his appointments and informed his colleagues about the kidnapping. Richard had offered to come right over, but Scott had declined. All his co-workers had offered to help, but there was nothing to be done but wait, and that inability had eaten at Scott all day.

In an effort to dissipate his tension he had worked out in the exercise room and had gone for a long walk. He'd kept flicking on the TV and checking the Net news for latest developments.

He called Foreign Affairs again.

"Please, Dr. Sanderson," said agent Boulanger as patiently as he could. "I have nothing new to report." He added, "The American State Department is in contact with Mexican authorities and a vigorous air and land search is under way. I'll call you the minute I hear anything. Meanwhile there's nothing we can do."