He knew she would be disappointed. South Africa was the place that they had always planned to visit together. It was their dream destination. Dana loved animals, and she had spent most of her adult life planning to go on safari, 'hunting' the Big Five with a camera and a pair of binoculars, and sleeping out under the stars on warm, summer nights.
Then Dana's accident had temporarily put a halt to their dream. Afterwards they had promised themselves that they would still go together, but somehow, although they knew they would be able to cope, they just never got round to booking the trip. The wheelchair had taken away the spontaneity which had once made life so much fun for them.
"Oh, by the way, your big friendly boss called. Wants you to check in with him as soon as you get back. Told me to tell you that you still worked for him,…just in case you forgot! Oh…and he wants to know who's paying for your tickets to Cape Town tomorrow,…and why you're going?"
"Oops…"
"Exactly. Care to explain, Mr Husband-of-mine?"
"Where do I begin?"
"The beginning?…It's usually the best place."
"Can you remember Alex Swinton? A friend and work colleague of Martin's?"
"Vaguely…"
"Well, out of all of the core team that Martin worked with, Alex is the only one left alive. He's in South Africa. I need to get to him and tell him about the others…and to warn him that whoever killed the others will be after him too. Dana, I need to speak to him: he could be the only person alive who knows why Martin and the others died!"
"But South Africa is our special place……" Dana choked for a second, and Kerrin noticed her visibly fighting to regain her composure. "No…forget that…that's just being childish. Okay, so I can see why you have to go, but if he's the only person left alive from that group, has it not occurred to you and that little brain of yours that perhaps he's the one that killed the others, and that's maybe why he's in hiding?"
Kerrin looked at his wife, taking his eyes off the road ahead for just a second.
"You're the second person to say that in twenty four hours. Maybe you're right…but I've got no choice. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it though. Elizabeth said he and Martin were good friends,…I don’t believe that Alex could have killed him."
"Aha! So you're pretty sure that Martin was killed then, and that it wasn't just an accident?"
His wife didn’t miss a trick. It was obvious, that despite his misgivings, the easiest thing was going to be to tell her everything. Otherwise it would probably all just come out in dribs-and-drabs anyway. So he started to tell her exactly what had happened over the past week. They were just pulling up into their driveway when he finished. Dana had remained pretty silent throughout, but as Kerrin switched off the car and turned to face her, she whistled.
"Wow…are you sure you're not just making this all up? Because if you're not, this would make a brilliant book. Maybe when it's all done, you could write a bestseller, and we can retire! If you're still alive, that is." A tear grew in the corner of her eye and started to roll down her cheek.
"Kerrin, I'm scared. Promise me you'll be careful?"
"Yes, I promise."
He leant over to her, and gently kissed her cheek, catching her salty tear on the edge of his lips.
"And when it's all over…I promise I'll take you to South Africa, just as we’ve always planned."
Dana had a point though. The whole thing was just beginning to sound like the plot to a best-selling thriller. If only he could just flick to the last chapter and find out who'd done it. Instead, he was going to jump on a plane and fly half way round the world to meet someone who could very well be the killer who had just murdered all his work-colleagues and could somehow be responsible for the death of Kerrin's own brother-in-law. In which case, Kerrin could end up just as dead as the others, and Dana would become just another widow with a nice house.
It didn’t bear thinking about it.
--------------------
"So what's the deal, pal? I hear South Africa is beautiful this time of the year? Should I come too, or would I just be intruding on your holidays?" Paul, Kerrin's boss bellowed down the phone. It was seven o'clock in the evening, and Kerrin was half hoping that by the time he called, his boss would have gone home and he would have been able to just leave a voice message. No such luck.
"Sure. If you want to. And if you don't mind a little bit of danger. I could do with a man of your great experience, and girth, to act as a body shield from any stray bullets that may come my way."
Kerrin knew that although his boss was a tiger in the newspaper office, in spite of his harsh words and aggressive business style, in the world outside his office door he was really a closet coward.
"Perhaps not then…Can't leave the office and all that! But seriously pal, what the hell is going on? Vicki brought in a pile of invoices to sign, and top of the list is a business class flight down to Cape Town! Is there any particular reason why you’re going to South Africa?"
"Paul, suffice it to say there are several. But, and I'm not kidding when I say this…I can't talk to you over the phone…I think it's bugged." He said, half in truth, and half as an excuse not to talk to him just now.
"Well, how about stopping by the office tomorrow morning and explaining to me why I should pay for all of this?"
"Sorry boss, no-can-do. First flight out and all that…just no time…Trust me on this one. Something strange is going down…I'll make it worth your while!"
"Trust you? You're a newspaper man. I can’t trust you! Okay kiddo, enjoy yourself in Nelson-Mandela-land, but go easy on the champagne…and it would be nice to see some decent copy from this one day. For what this is costing me, it had better be front page stuff!"
"How's Ed Harper doing with my work?" Kerrin asked, but immediately wished he hadn't.
"Brilliantly. The guy's good. He could be a little competition for you. If I were you I'd make sure this thing you're working on is great stuff…just in case…"
"I'm glad he's doing so well. The paper needs good people."
"Like you, I suppose?"
"Exactly. And while we're talking about good people Paul, can you pop your head round your door and see if Fiona is still there? I need her to do some stuff for me."
Fiona was one of the researchers at the paper, who had helped Kerrin out in the past by chasing down material for some of his articles. There was a few moments silence before his boss returned to the phone.
"She's still here. I'll transfer you. Take it easy, Kerrin, And if there is anything dangerous happening down there, just make sure you get back in one piece…I can't afford any insurance or liability claims, okay?"
"…And for a second I thought you cared," Kerrin replied, smiling.
There was the sound of electronic pulses down the line, as Paul redialed and transferred his call to Fiona.
"Kerrin? Long time no see. How's tricks?" Fiona bubbled. She was one of the liveliest people in the office.
"Excellent. Listen, I need you to do a few things for me over the next few days. I'll be out of the office till next week, but it would be great if you could give me some of your time to help track down some information?"
"Sure thing. What sort of stuff are you after?" Kerrin could already hear her gearing up for the challenge of the search. She seemed to thrive in finding out information about the most obscure things. The people in the office had nicknamed her the 'Wunderkind' because she could seemingly work miracles and find information that no one else could.
"I want you to check out a company called Gen8tyx. Until last month it was based in Orlando in Florida, but it's moved to somewhere in California now. I want anything you can get on it. They're a genetics company. Try to find out what they were doing, if they have printed any white papers or scientific articles…"
"Okay, anything else?"
"Yes, can you talk to your friends in Wall Street, and find out what the buzz is on the Gen8tyx stock? Although, it could be a private company, so maybe it's
not listed…And can you check the company records to see who the directors are? And if it is public, then look at their internal share dealings, the sales and purchases of the directors etc?"
"No problem, I've got that…anything more?"
Kerrin could hear her champing at the bit, rearing and ready to gallop off into the archives to find out everything there was to be found.
"That's all for now…but use your initiative…anything that strikes you as odd, check it out. Okay?"
"Like I said…'no problemo'. I'll get right down to it!"
As Kerrin thanked her and hung up, he was already beginning to wonder what the wunderkind would dig up on Gen8tyx. Whatever she found, he was sure it would be good.
Chapter 18
Day Thirteen
Purlington Bay
California
Colonel Packard opened his eyes. The anesthetic was beginning to wear off. A wave of nausea rolled over him and he groaned. He felt the room wobble and distort.
The light was bright. Slowly, the silhouette of a woman came into focus beside him.
It was Nurse Peterson. She was leaning over him, mopping his brow and smiling.
He smiled back.
"Colonel Packard…Welcome back. How do you feel?" Nurse Peterson asked softly.
"Like a train just hit me…but I'll survive."
"You'll feel a little strange for about an hour, but after that you'll start to feel a lot better. If you don't mind, we'd like to do some tests then?"
"No problem…" The Colonel closed his eyes again. The room span, and he gripped the edge of the bed with his hands, riding out the nausea. Thankfully it passed quickly.
When he opened his eyes again, he felt well enough to look around the room.
He focused on the view of the sea, and the blue sky above. It was a beautiful day outside. A fantastic day.
And if the Orlando Treatment worked, he hoped to spend many more just like it with his wife and grandchildren.
That was the reason he was doing this.
That and the fact that if the Orlando Treatment worked, he would be able to walk again for the first time in thirty years.
--------------------
Miami
Florida
Laura sat at her desk, puzzled. She wasn't often puzzled, but there was something in the file in front of her that she didn't quite understand. At least, it wasn't immediately obvious.
It had taken a little bit of leg-work and persuading, a few smiles and sexy looks at hideously ugly men who she would never consider dating in a million years, but it had worked.
She picked up the phone and dialed a number in New York.
"John, it's Laura. Sorry to bother you again so soon, but I have a little question for you."
She didn't like dealing with John. He was a shady character at best. Laura had always suspected that although he was employed by Chymera, he was really working for the government. Almost like her, but in reverse.
"Are we secure?"
"Yes. With the latest 1024 bit key voice encryption."
"Okay, so what's your question?"
"I've just received a copy of a report from the Coroner's office here in Miami. The Coroner was persuaded by someone in the police department to do another autopsy on Henry Roberts. It makes interesting reading. It confirms again that he suffered severe trauma from a suicide attempt, by hanging himself, but it then goes on to say that he didn't have a heart attack as was first believed by the doctors…I was just wondering if your guys had any more involvement with him, after they botched up the initial attempt to kill him?" Her words were pointed. She enjoyed pointing out other people's mistakes.
The man at the other end of the phone seemed relatively unfazed by the blatant dig at his professionalism.
"No. When David Sonderheim called us, we picked Roberts up from Sonderheim's home as requested. Then we took Roberts back to his house, and dangled him from the tree. But not before we got the rest of the information from him that we needed. Anyway, he'd already divulged most of what we needed to know directly to Sonderheim quite willingly on the phone, before we arrived. Seems he'd had a falling out with the rest of the group. They didn't see eye-to-eye on everything…Anyway, after we got the rest of the information we needed from him, we carried out the order to kill him …"
"Well almost, but after your men botched up the fake suicide, did they finish the job in the hospital?"
"No. We knew he was in a coma and not likely to come out of it. I had a man waiting outside the hospital round the clock, just to make sure that if he did wake up, then we could silence him properly before he could talk…but with all that hospital security, it just seemed madness to risk sending someone inside, especially when he was already in a coma, and not expected to pull through. And I resent your reference to a 'botched job'. Please do not refer to it again. If you had provided us with better information, if we had known about the dogs…we would have killed him somewhere else."
"Let's not start throwing blame around like a couple of kids. All I am trying to establish here is whether or not your group were responsible for murdering dear old Henry. According to the coroner's report, someone gave him a lethal injection of a muscle-relaxant, which induced paralysis and death…and made it look like a heart attack."
"That's very interesting…but it wasn't us." John replied, an element of surprise almost breaking through his incredibly boring, monotone voice.
"Are you telling me that someone else beat you to it?"
"Looks that way, doesn't it!"
"If it wasn't you, who the hell was it then?”
--------------------
There was no direct flight from Miami to Cape Town, so she would have to fly to Washington first, spend the night in George Town, and then catch the South African Airways flight the next day. It was going to be a long trip.
It was a thirty minute drive to the airport from her apartment by the beach. She hit a button on the dash board, and the roof of her Audi coupé import slid back silently into its awning at the back of the car. She reached up and pulled the pin from her hair, shaking it out and letting it flow freely in the warm air as she sped down the outside lane of the freeway.
With one hand on the steering wheel, she ran her spare hand through her long, auburn curls. The question went round and round her brain, and it was beginning to bug Laura.
"If we didn’t kill Henry Roberts, who did?"
Until this afternoon Laura hadn't quite made up her mind if she would handle this personally or not. She had a few FBI contacts in South Africa who could do the job for her, but this business was beginning to intrigue her.
And besides, after she had ribbed John and his team for messing up the Henry Roberts killing, she had to make sure that there were no mistakes in getting rid of Alex Swinton. If her team messed up, she would be no better than he was.
No, this one definitely called for the personal touch. She would direct the operation herself.
Chapter 19
Day Fourteen
Washington Airport
Even though it meant setting the alarm clock for 4. 30 a.m., Dana had insisted on taking Kerrin to the airport.
They arrived early, giving them the chance to check in then grab a coffee together in Starbucks. He didn’t want to admit it, but Kerrin was a little nervous. He was a good reporter. He enjoyed his work, but it had been years since he had been a policeman, and he had grown accustomed to a relatively quiet life. Although he was enjoying the thrill of the chase, it was a sudden jolt to the system to be thrown back into the stress of living on the edge. What had started out as a few visits to some mourning widows had now turned into an adventure which at every turn thrust him closer to an unknown danger. A danger which seemed to lurk in the shadows, becoming more menacing the closer he came to revealing the hidden face of the person lying in wait around the next corner, the person who was responsible for the deaths of his brother-in-law and the others he worked with, and the person whose identity Kerrin had
vowed to uncover.
He couldn't admit to Dana that she could be right. Perhaps he was flying to South Africa only to come face to face with the man who had murdered his work colleagues in cold blood. Yet, he had to know. Like a moth drawn to a burning flame, Kerrin could not avoid the task before him. He had to find and meet with Alex Swinton.
When the loudspeakers announced his flight, he gave Dana a hug, kissed her passionately in a public display of affection that surprised even himself, and walked through the departure gates.
When he got to gate nineteen, he found the flight was not yet boarding, so he walked back to the nearest shop and picked up a selection of magazines to read en route. Checking on the gate again, he found that the flight was still not boarding, so he walked across to the bar and sat down. Time for another coffee. As he waited for the waitress to come to his table, he noticed a paper lying on the seat opposite him, recognizing it immediately as the Miami Chronicle. He leant across and scooped it up, checking the date to see how old it was. It was yesterday's, the late edition. A passenger from Florida must have brought it up on a flight last night.
His coffee arrived and as he lifted the cup to drink from it, he spread the broad-sheet out on the table in front of him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the main story of the local paper: "Two Miami Policemen die in Bungled Raid".
Immediately below the by-line were two pictures of the policemen who had died.
The one on the left was his friend James 'IceBreaker' Callaghan.
The picture had been taken some years ago, probably just after he had graduated from the academy and before he had started to put on the extra weight, but Kerrin recognized the picture of his friend immediately.
He scanned the story quickly, sat back in his chair and took a few deep breaths, then leant forward across the table and read the story again slowly. The article only took up a third of the front page, but it took Kerrin several minutes to take it all in and digest it properly.
BOX SET of THREE TOP 10 MEDICAL THRILLERS Page 67
