Ask Not For Whom The Panther Prowls

by Astor James Monroe

  “We can do that. What do you know so far?”

  The provost replied, “Nothing.” This was not a helpful answer. He continued, “and as you're a GSU employee, we expect you will work for your normal salary as part of your normal duties.”

  “Argus does not do pro bono work.” This was not strictly true, we occasionally would help out a poor client who was stuck in a bad situation, but never with something that was likely to be shady, and this already seemed mired deep in the shadows. Pro bono was absolutely out of the question when the client had deep pockets and could easily pay. My statement caused more than a little consternation. I continued, “I'll inform my boss, Mr. Ellis, of your interest, and see what he has to say.”

  They quickly decided that would not be necessary, and told me to forget what I'd heard. I mumbled something that they could take as an assent, if they wanted to.

  Once I was outside on Courtland street, I immediately emailed my recording to Arthur. Insurance was always a good idea, especially with such slippery characters.

  I wondered what to do. Clearly the administration was worried there was criminal activity involved. Why else would they want Argus to investigate it? I wondered what they knew and weren't telling me. It wouldn't surprise me if impeding the investigation or conspiring to cover it up wasn't criminal in itself. But I had no dog in that fight and the costs might be severe. Cross one of the deans and you could find your laboratory shut down until another suitable space for it could be found. It wasn't as if they'd hurry to find it. As entrancing as private detection was, I still sort of liked teaching and research.

  The sound of sirens as another ambulance from Grady rushed to campus made my decision for me. As much of a nuisance as teaching undergrads could be, there was no excuse for killing them. Laura, was scheduled to be in court this afternoon, so I knew I couldn't get in touch with her. I reached for my cell and called my friend Alvin Morrison, a detective at the APD. He'd know who I should talk to.

  “Detective Morrison here.”

  “Alvin, it's me Will Sharpe.”

  “Will, it's been a while, thought we'd be seeing you and Ms. Brown in a few weeks at your party. What's up or is this business?”

  “Business, sort of. Did you know that there have been a lot of students dying at GSU lately?”

  “No. I guess the AJC hasn't paid much attention to you.”

  “What else is new? But it's probably for the best. I had one die in my class day before yesterday.”

  “Damn, Will. What did they die from?”

  “I don't know. A student helped with the CPR, but it didn't help. There was at least one more at the same time because the AED was gone when I went for it.”

  “Gone?”

  “Gone and active. The alarm was going off.”

  “Nineteen, twenty year olds don't have heart attacks very often, do they?”

  “No they don't, and the EMT's said that there had been about ten of them in the last couple of weeks. Even discounting their natural story telling, there are many more deaths than there should be. There was one just a few minutes ago. I saw the ambulance.”

  “So what do you want me to do?”

  “Could you ask the medical examiner to take a look?”

  Morrison paused. “Will, you aren't freelancing again, are you?”

  “Sort of. The university president almost asked Argus to investigate, then backed away. There's something going on.”

  “Talk to Laura. If she asks me I'll do it. You can't get involved without a client.”

  I walked back to my office. The sixth floor of 25 park place wasn't that far away, but it seemed to take forever. I felt distressed, something was going on at GSU, and 'by the pricking of my thumbs' it was something evil.

  About mid-afternoon Laura called.

  “Will, the court has a brief recess. I'm going to be late. Can you pick up Danny?”

  “Sure, no problem. I need to talk with you about getting some death records looked at.”

  “What? Will you're not freelancing again, are you?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Don't. Talk with Arthur.”

  “I will, but something is going one here.”

  “This isn't related to that student who died in your class is it?”

  “It is. He wasn't the first one nor was he that last. There are something like ten of them.”

  “Oh. I see. We'll talk this evening, the judge is coming back. Love you.”

  While Laura loved me, her son Danny's feelings were less favorable.

  3

  Danny's school had an after-school program for the youngest children. Since Danny's friends were there, we enrolled him in it. Danny was not pleased to see me, and wanted to continue playing for a bit. There was a student teacher supervising them, and I took advantage of a chance to learn a bit about child psychology from her.

  “Are you Ms. Jane? Danny mentioned you a couple of days ago.”

  “Yes, I suppose you're Will, the evil stepfather?”

  “Not quite the stepfather yet, but yes that's me, and no I'm not evil. I've heard you're a student teacher.”

  “Yes, at GSU.”

  “Can I ask you for pointers about young children? I'm not exactly an old hand at being a parent, and Danny's had a hard time.”

  We discussed things, but mostly it was a matter of patience and remembering who was the adult. Danny was still happily playing with his friends, so we continued to talk and inevitably GSU came up. She finished with “Danny will be fine, Dr. Sharpe, he's healthy and healthy children are tough. Just be patient.”

  She was starting to tell me how excited she was about her courses and tutoring when she suddenly said, “I don't feel well.” She started to rise, then sat back and seemed to lose consciousness. I immediately called 911, and felt her pulse. It was there, but feeble. Fortunately schools are required to have an AED, and by the time I retrieved it from the main office it was needed. The children she was watching were standing, perplexed at what was wrong with Ms. Jane.

  Ripping her shirt open and sliding her bra strap off of her shoulder, I applied the pads, on in the upper left and one lower right of her chest.

  Danny starred at me in bewilderment, and asked, “Will, what are you doing to Ms. Jane?”

  “I hope this will save her life. Now stand back.” The AED measured her pulse or rather the lack of a regular one, and in a mechanical voice said “Charging,” followed by telling me to press the red button. I did, and her body jerked, She began to breath a little, with a shallow gasping breath, then stopped. I tilted her head back, cleared her mouth and began rescue breathing.

  The EMT's arrived and carted her off; leaving behind a confused and tearful set of children, a frightened and confused teaching staff, and yours truly trying to figure out what to do.

  In the end Laura was home before we were.

  “What took you so long?”

  “Will took the teachers shirt off. Then he kissed her.”

  “What?”

  “One of the student teachers, Ms. Jane, had a heart attack. I used the AED, then I had to breath for her in CPR. She was still alive when the EMT's came.”

  “Is she another GSU student?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sounds like a night for pizza, wine and taking it easy.” Danny approved the pizza and made sure he sat between us on the couch while we watched a DVD. This was a big improvement. It used to be that he'd stand in front of the screen and glare at us.

  After Danny's bedtime, Laura curled up next on the couch to me and asked, “What's this about the deaths?”

  “Something is wrong. Healthy nineteen year olds just don't die from heart attacks. I'd like the medical examiner to take a look.”

  Laura thought for a few minutes, then replied like the lawyer she was, “Will, are you a qualified medical doctor?”

  “No, you know that.”

  “Then all you have are your hunches, isn't it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Th
at's not enough. You're probably right, but you'll need more evidence.”

  “Which I don't have.”

  “Which you don't have. So until you do, it has to wait.”

  “Damn.”

  She snuggled up closer and asked, “Any news about your money?”

  “No, most of the funds were turned into gold, and the gold is buried somewhere in North Georgia. It's quite a treasure hunt. It's been written off as a loss so they're up for grabs.”

  “Tell you what, after our honeymoon, let's buy a metal detector and go camping.”

  3. Argus Gets a Client.

  With all the excitement, Danny's school was canceled. As Laura's case had to go on, it was he and I, alone together. My student Tom could handle the class. A little suffering would do Tom a world of good. I tried reading a book to Danny, one of his favorites, and it went OK.

  “I still like it better when Mommy reads, Will.”

  “So do I.”

  It was near ten when my cell rang. It was the principal from Danny's school. “Mr. Sharpe?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you doing this morning?”

  “Watching Danny, not much else. Why?”

  “Jane's parents wanted to meet you, and I was wondering if you could see them.”

  “Depends where they want to meet, I'd have to be able to take Danny with me.”

  In the background Danny called out, “Take me where? I don't want to go. I don't want to go anywhere with you.”

  “Excuse me.” I pulled my face away from the phone and told him, “I think it's about Ms. Jane. Her parents want us to visit them.”

  Ms. Jane was one of his favorite teachers. “Oh, I'll do that.”

  Putting the phone near my face I continued, “I think Danny would come if he's allowed.”

  “They'll meet you at the visitors waiting room at Northside.”

  “When?”

  “They'll be there all day. Jane's alive, but in the ICU.”

  Since the last one I tried to help wasn't alive, this was very good news. “If you have their number, tell them we'll be there soon.”

  Danny was already getting his coat from the closet. Shoes, no, coat yes.

  2

  The visitor's waiting area at Northside was clean and tried to have a calming cheerful feeling. Still, it was hard to miss the dejection on the faces and in the posture of the two older people who had spent the night waiting in a corner to see if they would outlive their daughter. Danny and I walked over and introduced ourselves.

  “You're the Dr. Sharpe who used the AED?”

  “Yes. I'm so sorry for you. Jane was.”

  “Jane is.” That was good, and unexpected, news.

  “Jane is one of Danny's favorite teachers. She had the knack.”

  They smiled. “We just would like to know why this happened.”

  Danny and I both replied, “Why?”

  “Jane was so healthy. There's no way she could have hidden heart disease. It's almost out of a James Bond movie where some secret oriental poison was used to kill the hero.”

  “If you'd entertain Danny, I have a few calls to make.”

  “Will!”

  “Danny, these are Ms. Jane's parents. Her mommy and daddy. I need you to be a big boy and look after them.”

  He nodded, suddenly serious with a sense of his responsibility.

  I wandered out into the hall. Strictly speaking, I could have made these calls in front of them, but it might have been embarrassing.

  “Argus Detective Agency, Arthur Ellis here.”

  “Arthur, it's me, Will. I think we have a client for these students.”

  “Not GSU?”

  “No, parents of a victim, but”

  “But what?”

  “I doubt they're rich. I don't want to charge them.”

  “Pro bono, again?”

  “Sorry.”

  Arthur laughed, “It's a good thing one of us has a good business head. Go ahead, I know I can't stop you, but try to find someone who can pay next time.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  My next call was to Morrison.

  “Alvin, I've got a client. Can you tell me how to put in a formal request for the medical examiner's records on the students who died?”

  “I'll do it. Who's your client?”

  “The parents of Danny's favorite teacher. She was a student teacher from GSU working in his school.”

  “Was?”

  “She's in the ICU at Northside. She might make it, but it will be awhile before she teaches if I'm any judge.”

  “Damn, how do you find these cases Will? What do you need to know?”

  “Did the M.E. Look for any poisons? Any drugs or signs of injection? Is there any connection between the ways the students died, other than they appeared to be in good health first?”

  “That's a vague and big question. Don't know that they'll bite.”

  “But you'll try?”

  “Yes. Your hunches have more than occasionally been correct.”

  I returned to the waiting area. Jane's mother was reading to Danny. Her father pounced on me as I entered.

  “What did you find out?”

  “Are you willing to be clients of Argus Detectives?”

  “How much will it cost? We're not rich.”

  “They'll do it for free. It's good publicity for Argus.”

  “Aren't they the detectives who cracked that murder ring last year?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know they'll do it?”

  “I'm one of the two detectives at Argus. Jane's not the first student to fall ill. So far, she's the first to live.”

  “Oh.”

  “I had one student die in my class.”

  “What!”

  “'Physics for Poets', last week. He collapsed towards the end of class.”

  “So why us?”

  “Without a formal client, I'm 'freelancing'. The law frowns on that. With a client, I can investigate.”

  “Show me where to sign.”

  We'd just about finished the paperwork when a doctor came into the room.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Phillips?”

  Jane's parents looked up at him with a mixture of exhaustion, anguish, fear and dread on their faces.

  “Yes?”

  “Jane was asking about you. Would you come?”

  Danny asked, “Can I come?”

  “I'm sorry, not without an escort.”

  “I'll carry him. Jane is his favorite teacher.”

  Danny and I stood outside the room, while Jane and her parents talked. I held Danny up so he could see Jane and while he was waving to her, I asked the doctor.

  “Are there any poisons that could do this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said, is there any way this could be a poisoning? She's not the first healthy student at GSU to have a heart attack this Spring.”

  “Oh. Before I talk about this, who are you?”

  “Dr. Will Sharpe, Argus detectives and Professor of Physics at GSU. Jane's parents are my clients.”

  “You don't wait do you? I've heard of ambulance chasing lawyers but this is new, an ambulance chasing private eye.”

  “There are something like ten, possibly more, students who died at GSU with the same pattern as Miss Phillips. nineteen year olds don't have many heart attacks, do they?”

  “No.”

  “One was in a class I taught. His best friend helped me with the CPR. So I'm -”

  “Sorry. You're involved aren't you?”

  “Much more than I'd like.”

  Danny asked, “Will, Jane waved at me. What's that machine do?”

  “That's monitoring her heart and breathing.”

  I asked the doctor, “Is there anything odd about the case, besides being a heart attack in a young healthy woman?”

  “It is a bit weird, more like respiratory arrest, her heart seems fine. Her EKG is surprisingly normal for a heart attack.”r />
  “So back to my first question, could it be poisoning?”

  The doctor continued, “Most of the poisons I know of that could do this are things like tetrodotoxin, you have to eat them. Fugu poisoning is an example.”

  “Fugu?”

  “A fish the Japanese like to eat. Prepare it incorrectly and you're dead.”

  “Doesn't sound right, unless there's a way to make a time release version. She wasn't eating sushi at kindergarten.”

  “I suppose you could. Dr. Sharpe, I'm not really a toxicologist. It's not my field, but one of my old prof's at the Medical College of Georgia could give you an exhaustive list.”

  “Thanks, who?”

  “Dr. Martin Shelby”

  “I'll find him.”

  3

  It didn't take that long to find Dr. Shelby the next day. The reorganization of the Medical College into the Health Sciences University and then finally into the 'Georgia Regents University' meant that there were more than a few dead links on the way, but it wasn't long before I called his lab.

  “Is Dr. Shelby in? I'm Dr. Sharpe from Georgia State and I have a few questions for him.”

  The person on the other end of the line was very upset and I had to repeat myself. “Can I talk to him?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “He just had a heart attack. He's”

  “I'm sorry to hear that, you have my sympathies.”

  “Thank you. What was this about?”

  “It's about toxins, I'm investigating whether there is a toxin that could be used to cause a heart attack or symptoms of one.”

  “He would have loved to help you. Oddball toxins were his field.”

  “Is there another expert I could call?”

  “Did you say you were at GSU?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don't you talk to Dr. John Craft in the neurobiology institute? He worked with Dr. Shelby. He'd know about them.”

  “Thank you, and once again, you have my deepest sympathies.”

  Gee, that was convenient for someone. The expert I needed just died. I could try Dr. Craft, but he was at GSU and it was just barely possible he was involved. I'd have to discreetly check before I talked to him.

  4

  Since the Georgia Regents University is in Augusta, Morrison's contacts were of very little help. To be accurate, no help at all. Dr. Shelby's obituary was published that afternoon and it said he died from a massive heart attack. It was not unexpected as he had a history of heart disease and had been 'bravely working' up until the end.