“I think my office is bugged.”
She explained why and Paul agreed. Then part of the phone conversation she’d overheard rushed back at her.
“Bill said ‘All of Proteus hinges on this’ or something like that. Any idea what that means?”
Paul frowned. “Proteus? You’re sure that’s what he said?”
“Positive.”
“It’s got to mean something.” Paul closed his eyes. “Proteus … Proteus … Pro—” His eyes snapped open as he turned to her with a shocked stare. “Jesus Christ! Proteus was the Greek god who could change his shape at will!”
Sheila understood in a flash. “The new DNA … changing people.”
Paul was shaking his head. “Proteus’s father was the god Poseidon. But his mother was one of the Titans. Care to guess her name?”
Sheila struggled to remember high school Greek mythology.
“You’re going to tell me her name was Tethys, right?”
“Right.”
“But this means that the genetic makeover—or maybe takeover is a better term—is intentional. They’re not trying to cover up an unwanted side effect. They want to replace DNA. Why on earth—?”
“What are they up to? What can they be thinking?” He paused. “If Bill Gilchrist is arguing about Proteus, he’s not innocently administering it to patients, being guided by VecGen. He knows exactly what it’s doing. He ever give you a clue as to what he might think he’s getting out of it?”
Sheila shivered in the darkness. “No, never. It’s not as if he needs the money. And he’s always been devoted to curing people. I can’t believe he’d be involved in knowingly replacing his patients’ DNA without their consent.”
“You’re absolutely sure about that?”
“Well, no. First thing in the morning I’m calling the FDA and blowing the whistle—tell them VG-seven-twenty-three is replacing recipients’ DNA without their consent. They’ll have to investigate. Once JCAHO finds out what Tethys and Innovation—”
Sheila felt a rush and her vision started to dim. She felt dizzy and sick. Paul’s arm wrapped around her.
“Dek,” she mumbled.
“What? Who?”
“My husband Dek.” She looked up at Paul, snuggled closer. Her speech felt slurred. “He worked for JCAHO.”
“So?”
“He was working on a big case, he said. Something that would make his career. He said he was waiting to show his boss his files until he had all the facts but he said he was close. Impropriety with a cancer hospital. Something about collusion. But all his cases were like that so I didn’t—I mean that was his job, finding out the bad stuff.”
“What are you saying Sheila?”
“If Dek was about to uncover what we’re uncovering now—his motorcycle skidded on the road and he died. While I was still in a fog, trying to get over his death, I got a call out of the blue from Tethys. Interviewed with Bill, the head of the whole hospital. Even though I was an emotional train wreck he hired me on the spot. The other residents were jealous and I was incredulous. A golden opportunity just handed to me.”
“Jesus,” Paul said, leaning his head all the way back on the couch. “Sheila, he hired you to watch you, to make sure your husband hadn’t told you anything. Then kept you on and watched you all these years.”
She nodded. “After a while, I was just another staff oncologist. I befriended Abra and Bill grew convinced I knew nothing. And everything would have gone on fine, until Kelly Slade walked into my office.”
“I don’t want you going back there, Sheila. It’s not safe.”
“That bastard killed my husband! I was pregnant, Paul. I was pregnant and had a miscarriage when Dek died. Then Bill set me up and hired me under false pretenses. I’m not going to rest until Bill Gilchrist and Lee Swann are in jail and Innovation Ventures and Tethys are a pile of rubble.”
She had never been this angry. Never, and it scared her. If Bill were in front of her, she’d kill him without hesitation. She had a new appreciation for Paul’s situation.
“I’ll help you put them away, Sheila, but we have to use the right channels. You call the FDA, the AMA and every other government acronym you can think of. Tell them everything. And I’ll work on proving I didn’t kill Kaplan. We’re going to beat this, Sheila. From now on, I tell you everything. No secrets.”
“All right.” She took a deep breath. “All right. We’ll do it together. So what’s our next step? I mean, after I blow the whistle—anonymously, of course.”
“I get you two out of here. Fly you somewhere safe while I sort this out.”
“It’s safe here. Bill’s gone to Switzerland for a couple of days on business.”
“But what about Swann? The one calling all the shots?”
“From what I heard, Bill is the action man. The one “doing” everything. With him gone, I’ll be safe.”
“I don’t know, Sheila.”
“Trust me. Swann is the head man but he’s not going to get his hands dirty.”
“I hope you’re right. Okay, Bill’s being gone can work in our favor. See what you can learn while he’s gone. See if there’s anything that will link him and Swann. And me—I’ll stay out of sight. I’m supposed to turn on my phone about now for a call from Swann but I’ve decided not to. I’ll hide in his old office and—” He snapped his fingers.
“What?”
“Can you do an Internet search on the building where IV’s office is?”
“I think so. Why?”
“Let’s see who owns it.”
It didn’t take long but the answer was a stunner: Tethys Corporation.
It all fit. Tethys was Innovation Ventures. They funded Kaplan Biologicals and VecGen. They administered both the KB26 and VG723. And they killed everyone who made the connection.
Paul glanced at his watch. “I’ve stayed too long. Can I ask a huge favor?”
“Anything.”
“Keep Coog for me? I don’t trust him with anyone else and I’ll feel a lot better knowing he’s safe while I’m trying to stay under the radar.”
“Say no more. I’d love to have him.”
“Great. Now I have to convince him to stay.”
Sheila walked into the living room and drew her blinds, then called Paul in. They sat on the floor in front of the fire, facing Coogan.
“You okay?” Paul asked him.
Coog nodded. “Yeah. It’s a lot to take in, but yeah.” He sat up straight. “So what’s next?”
Paul shook his head. “Next is that I have to do some risky stuff and you have to stay here with Sheila.”
“No, Dad, I have to come with you. I can handle anything you can.”
Sheila could see the hurt and fear in his eyes. Paul looked at Sheila and then at his son.
“Yes, you can handle anything. You’re a strong, smart boy. But I need to do this alone; if I have to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure you’re okay, it’ll slow me down. Might even get me in hot water.”
Coogan’s eyes teared up. “I’ll be in the way?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I want you with me, but I can’t take you. Not now. It’s not safe. I’ll be able to handle this better knowing you’re here with Sheila.”
Sheila reached over to Coog, wondering what to say. Sorry, your dad just confessed to killing someone, but now he has to evade the police to do some more illegal things to prove he didn’t kill someone else?
“Coog,” she said, “I don’t feel safe here and I’d sleep a lot better if you stayed with me. I’m in the middle of all this too.”
“The middle of what?” he asked.
Paul chewed his lip. “We’ll tell you later when we have the answers. Right now what you need to know is that someone is doing something bad and Sheila and I, and you, are working together to stop him. The best place you can be is here, hiding out. The best place Sheila can be is here, or at work, pretending everything’s okay. And me? I’ll be underground trying to straighten things
out. You have to trust me on this, Coog.”
“Okay. But Dad, please be careful. You’re all I have.”
“You’re all I have too.” He hugged his son. “Sheila, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?”
They walked together to the other room, out of earshot of Coogan. Sheila went into caretaker mode.
“I know this is the last thing on your mind right now, but let me pack you some food and drinks. You can’t risk going into a store; and you have to eat.”
“Food would be great, thanks.” He then drew her away from the counter. “But, listen, this is more important.”
He pulled her close, pressed his body against her. She could feel her heart speed up as he whispered in her ear.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. You don’t want to hear this, but I might end up like Kaplan. And if I don’t, I might go to jail. Rose is out of the picture and the rest of my family represents everything I’m against. This is a lot to ask but, please, if anything happens to me, will you take care of Coogan?”
She pulled away. Sheila felt tears streaming down her face. Take care of his son? The responsibility didn’t rattle her. It was that he had asked. She meant that much to him that he’d entrust her to raise his son if something happened. God, she hoped nothing did, but—
She hugged him and sobbed on his shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ll be back, I just need to know he’ll be taken care of, just in case.”
She broke the embrace, wiped her eyes, mascara smearing the backs of her hands.
“I’d be honored. But Paul, you have to come back. For both of us. No ifs. You have to.”
“I will. We’ll get through this, okay? And then we’ll figure out you and me. After all the stuff I told you, I’ll understand if you back away.”
She nodded. “We’ll work it out.”
She packed him a couple of sandwiches and a box of Wheat Thins while he hugged Coogan goodbye again. And then she watched Paul walk out the back door into the rain.
Would they really get through this? And what would become of Tethys and all the people it had saved?
THIRTEEN
SHEILA
Sheila awoke to a pounding noise. She sat up in bed. Wan light filtered through the windows. That noise … from above her. After a moment, she realized it was rain pounding against her bedroom skylight like a heavy-metal drummer on speed. A cascade of water ran down the skylight and, as she looked to the window, down the side of the house as well.
Like being inside a waterfall. She hit the clicker on the TV. Every channel was broadcasting the flood conditions in Northern Massachusetts. The governor declared a state of emergency. The National Guard was being called in. She hadn’t realized it was that bad. Enough about the weather, she thought. She had larger concerns: like the Paul situation.
Paul!
She suddenly remembered that Coogan was in her guest room. She glanced at the clock: not quite seven. Too early to call the FDA. And way too early for any self-respecting teenager to be awake, but she needed caffeine.
A jug of strong coffee was her norm for breakfast, but a thirteen-year old would need real food. With her car still in the Tethys lot, plus all this rain and melting snow, no way she could get to the doughnut shop or the grocery store. She’d have to make him something.
She got out of bed and started to walk into the kitchen in her T-shirt and underwear but stopped. Needed more clothes than this. Having a boy stay with her would take some adjusting. She added baggy sweatpants and the outfit was complete.
Sheila ground and brewed some Starbucks and then fished through the cabinet for something Coogan might like. The only cereal she had was shredded wheat. The fridge yielded skim milk, fat free yogurt, some cold cuts, shrimp. She had eggs, so maybe an omelet? When she spied a few brown bananas on her counter she recalled her mother’s staple—banana bread.
The old paperback Better Homes and Gardens cookbook with its red-and-white plaid cover was worn and stained, but a corner was folded to page 166. Banana nut bread. She scanned the recipe and smiled when she saw she had everything she needed except the nuts, which she always omitted anyway.
Buoyed at having someone to cook for, she got to work mixing. She didn’t bother separating the wet and dry ingredients so it was a messy venture, but fifty minutes later, just as Coogan came down the stairs, the golden-brown loaf was done.
“What’s that smell?” he asked, smiling.
She noticed he was wearing the same T-shirt and jeans as yesterday. Not that he had much choice. Poor kid needed a change of clothes.
“You like it?”
“Smells so good it woke me up.
“Great. I hope you like banana bread.”
“I love it.”
Sheila smiled. “Have a seat in here. I’ve got coffee, but it’s kind of strong. I don’t know if you’d like it. I’ve got milk too.”
“Milk’s great but you don’t have to wait on me. I can get stuff myself.”
“You’re my guest. I’m going to go into work for a while. When I get back we’ll see about getting you some new clothes.”
Coogan blushed and sniffed his armpit. “Yeah. I guess I can’t go home to get anything, huh?”
“Not a good idea. The police might be keeping a watch on your house.” With a start she realized they might be watching hers as well. “I don’t mean to sound paranoid, Coog, but it might be best if you stay out of the living room, away from the windows. The spare room has a TV and bathroom and it’s in the back. I’ll give you a T-shirt and some sweats. They’ll be too short, I’m sure, but they’ll do for now. I’ll throw your clothes in the laundry.”
“Cool. But I’ll do my laundry. Just show me where the machine is. It’ll give me something to do.”
“Okay. The laundry room is next to the spare room.”
“I’m glad you’re helping us like this, helping my dad. You like him huh?”
“Yes, I like him.”
“Like like him?”
She laughed. Some terminology never changed. “Yes, Coogan, I like like him.”
“And you believe him, right, that he didn’t kill that Doctor Kaplan?”
“I believe him. I know he couldn’t do something like that.”
Coogan dropped his gaze. “But he did kill that other guy.”
“But he told us he didn’t mean to. He’s been living with that secret for so many years. I think he was glad to get it out. Whatever happened, it was a long time ago. The man your father is now is the one who matters. He’s the one who raised you and would do anything to keep you safe.”
“He’s a good guy,” he said with that charming Paul Newman smile.
“He is. And I have to run. Here’s your milk and a plate for the bread.”
Coogan said thanks as Sheila headed for the shower.
•
Sheila called Tethys security and a guard came to pick her up in one of the medical center’s Land Rovers. As they splashed into the nearly-empty flooded parking lot a flash of lightning startled her. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Sheila shook her head. Maybe it wasn’t just a lot of rain.
The driver dropped her off in front of the hospital and she spied her car in the distance, parked there since yesterday, water up to the bottom of the door. She stumbled and almost fell as she hurried over the water-loosened cobblestones.
Once inside, her anxiety grew. She wished she could contact Paul. Hearing his voice would be a tonic. Knowing he was all right would set her at ease. But his cell phone was off.
Thankfully no life-or-death situations on the ward right now. All Tethys required of her today was a body and a pulse, which was good because she couldn’t offer much more.
She looked at her watch. Time to call the FDA.
Sheila stepped into the ladies’ room and checked to make sure the stalls were empty, and then used her Blackberry to find the number in Washington. What followed were fifteen minutes of frustrat
ion. No one had the authority to launch an investigation based on a “hysterical phone call.” Could she submit something in writing? Which entity was it exactly she was reporting? The hospital, or the manufacturer? The best anyone could do was assign her to a representative, take her number, and have someone call her back later.
She clicked off and resisted the urge to hurl her phone against a wall.
The stone wall of bureaucratic incompetence made her crazy.
She stalked out to the nurses’ station.
“I’m going to my office for a while,” she said to the charge nurse. “I have my beeper and cell phone if you need me.”
She wanted to find the bug in her office.
The tunnels felt damper than usual. The rain had brought more water than the ground above could absorb so the ceilings and walls were dripping. Water seeped from every available crack. And a building this old had a lot of cracks.
Drip-drip-drip she heard along with the squeak-squeak-squeak of her wet shoes. Some high-tech hospital.
Water pooled along the edges of the floor. Not a lot, but something maintenance should be alerted to. If the rain didn’t stop they’d have inches in here by tomorrow.
She made it to her office and turned on the light. Though late morning, the day still had a predawn gloom.
Time to look for that bug.
She glanced around. Probably hidden in something that didn’t move. Something bolted in. The heater vent in the ceiling?
She got up and looked. Nope, nothing she could see, even standing on her chair with a penlight.
She stepped down and looked around. She checked along the wall. Pictures, framed diplomas.
She checked the phone. Negative. She looked down at her desk. A lip ran around the edge. She felt along its underside. Nothing. Where could it be?
Her mouth went dry as she looked at her pencil cup. The place she would never look. She peered inside and saw the contact paper had a bulge. She peeled it away and a small circle fell inside to the bottom. A bug.
Mother of God. Her desk … sex with Paul. Someone had recorded the sounds they’d made. She remembered moaning. Bill had heard it all and then looked her in the eye and said nothing.
The Proteus Cure Page 30
