The Bluff City Butcher

by Steve Bradshaw

  The audience in the hall applauded.

  “Dr. Medino is an accomplished professional. He is a medical doctor, once specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Prior to that, he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in advanced organic chemistry and cellular biology from UTEP, and Master of Science in molecular biology from the University of Texas, his medical degree from Southwestern Medical School and PhD in genetics from Vanderbilt in Nashville. Our guest is a physician, researcher, visionary, and pioneer. I am honored to have you on The Talk of Memphis.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Doyle. You are a kind man.”

  “Doctor, I have you a very short time. I hope you won’t mind if I get right to the heart of the matter, areas of great interest to our listeners, your esteemed colleagues, and the world.”

  “Yes, it would be all right with me, Mr. Doyle.”

  “What is the LIFE2 Corporation working on now, doctor?” Jimmy threw his slow ball first. He would wait for the perfect time to send his change-up pitch, the one Medino should let go but would want to hit out of the park.

  “Yes, of course I can do that for you. LIFE2 was formed in 2004 by me and my partner, a very special businessman and respected entrepreneur, Dr. Jack Bellow. Our company is working on genetic-based solutions for the improvement of the quality of life. Our first biotechnology solution only took thirty years of research to develop.”

  The crowd laughed.

  “We have new answers for the non-invasive treatment of osteoarthritis.”

  “That is a prevalent and disturbing degenerative disease of the aging musculoskeletal system, painful joints like knees, hips, and spine,” said Doyle.

  “Yes. A common factor is the degeneration of cartilage.”

  “Can you educate us, Doctor?”

  “The joint is where bones meet and motion is permitted, bones articulate. At the end of each bone is a rubbery tissue called cartilage, lubricated naturally. Over time these surfaces become damaged and wear away, exposing bone. When bone rubs on bone, we have pain. This discomfort limits motion. Eventually we lose mobility. The aging process is called osteoarthritis, and is the number one degenerative condition affecting our aging population and younger people who suffer a joint injury.”

  “What do we do now to treat osteoarthritis?” Doyle asked.

  “It depends on the stage of degeneration. Early stages can often be treated with aspirin and exercise, but it eventually progresses to the next stage where pain is so great treatment may require aggressive pharmaceuticals and injections. When it no longer manages pain, mobility is lost. The joint must be repaired or replaced. This is a surgical procedure to resurface the articulating joints.”

  “Why is it not good enough? I mean, why do we want to avoid joint replacement?”

  “It is a major surgical procedure. We like to avoid major surgery when possible, especially as we get older: anesthesia, operating risks, possible infection, long recovery, and expense. A hip replacement can cost $100,000. Also, the artificial joint replacement does not restore normal function. It allows joint function, but has limits. All implants fail at some point. When the implant fails, another surgery—more aggressive—is next. This is an increased risk to patients who are older. I think we can do better.”

  “What does your company hope to do, Dr. Medino?”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if our body could fix the problem? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our osteoarthritic condition went away without doctors and medicine and surgery?”

  “It would be ideal.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if your joint felt like it did when you were young?”

  “Yes,” Doyle said while raising his hands for audience participation. They clapped as if the first act of a Broadway play closed.

  “At LIFE2 we will soon offer a biotechnological solution to eliminate the need for pain medication and surgery. We have learned how to talk to the cartilage cell no longer functioning as before.”

  “The cartilage cell damaged, sick, or dead?”

  “An outside force—disease and injury—can cause a cartilage cell to malfunction. We call this necrosis. There are also internal forces causing cells to fail. We have names for these conditions. Apoptosis is a word meaning programmed death. A cell mechanism says ‘it is time to stop’ and everything shuts down. And we have senescence. This is when a cell loses the ability to replicate or repair.”

  “Your biotech breakthrough helps deal with those words you said?” Doyle was going for the laugh and got it.

  “Correct, we deal with those words,” Medino said with a smile as he got more comfortable as the center of attention.

  “Your biotech solution—genetic solution—talks to dying cells and somehow convinces them to act young again?” Doyle tried to sound simple. He pulled Medino into his trap, still too soon to spring.

  “Today, we will avoid making claims. LIFE2 is in development phase. We want to learn about the patients we can help. We will find out the cells we can talk to, those we can convince to act young again.”

  Doyle scratched his head to appear confused. “I guess your company has figured out how to talk to cartilage cells, or why would investors put $150 million in the game?”

  “You are correct. We can talk to cartilage cells,” Medino said.

  “If LIFE2 can restore vitality to a cartilage cell, wouldn’t it follow you are close to doing the same with other cell types?”

  “Yes, we are close, Mr. Doyle.”

  “If you can keep cells from aging, does it mean the person would not age? Is that how it works?”

  “In the simplest of terms, the answer is yes.”

  “Do all cells have limited lifespans?” Doyle asked as he referenced Bear’s notes.

  “Living organisms are composed of billions of cells. We call them somatic cells. They specialize and become heart, skin, hair, livers, and so on. Some replicate millions or thousands of times, some hundreds of times, and some only once—like brain cells.”

  “We are replacing our cells already?” Doyle asked.

  “The average child between ages eight and fourteen replaces thirty billion cells each day.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know that.”

  “Every day, we produce billions of new replacement cells. From the beginning of my research I wondered why some cells replicate a lot and others not. What if all cells could replicate thousands of time indefinitely?”

  Doyle had Medino right where he wanted. The fine doctor was back in his lab, tackling a problem. He relived his quest for revolutionary solutions. Medino might talk about his real breakthrough on the radio. This could be my moment.

  “Leonard Hayflick published his works in 1965. He talked about the Hayflick Limit, the number of times a normal cell population will replicate before it stops. Geneticists and molecular biologists have been looking for ways to extend or eliminate the Hayflick Limit. We have been approaching the phenomenon from many directions.”

  “You figured it out for the cartilage cell. Seems to me you are in the best position to apply your anti-aging biotechnology to other somatic cells.”

  “Yes. Your statement is logical. I am the first.”

  A hush moved through the reception hall. Doyle could not believe what just happened. Medino confirmed his osteoarthritis breakthrough was an anti-aging breakthrough, but it was a soft declaration—he changed a Hayflick limit.

  Jack Bellow and the entire LIFE2 Corporation had dodged the worm hole of discussion since inception. On day one, the world tried to tie their work to anti-aging medicine. Jack would not allow it, and they kept Enrique away from the media.

  I don’t think he knows what he just did, Jimmy thought. I will push a little more; he is eating up the attention. There is nothing like the admiration of peers, tuxedos, and a glass of wine. After all, if I discovered how to extend the human lifespan and was still keeping my secret, I would explode. I would want all the credit and accolades. After all, Dr. Medino is a man . . .

  “Has there been any progress
in the field of anti-aging medicine?”

  “Over the last decade there have been great strides in understanding the human genome, where genes are located, what they do, and how they relate to one another. We are learning how to manipulate genes, alter participation in a biological process, and how to turn them on and off.”

  “Is that how the Ossi2 product works?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.” He did it again. Oh my God! Did he forget the world is listening? He might give it all up.

  “Many conservative, molecular biologists, geneticists, and researchers believe we are ten to twenty years away from stopping the aging process.”

  “Your biotechnology somehow allows a cartilage cell to stay young. So it seems to me you stopped the aging process for that cell type.”

  “Yes,” Medino whispered.

  Ok, that was big. I must keep pushing. “I have done a little homework. If all our somatic cells begin as stem cells, then it is logical your remarkable discovery could empower all somatic cells to live forever. And it follows, people could live forever. Dr. Medino, you could be the father of life extension, or even human immortality.”

  Would he bite? Would he take this tempting pitch and hit it out of the park in front of his peers? Can he resist hitting that ball in front of his hometown crowd?

  “I think the first objective of the research is to slow the aging process. The second is to stop the aging process, and the third is to reverse the aging process.”

  “Doctor, you are modest. Your landmark breakthrough in orthopedics is already at stage three. Your associates understand your accomplishment. That is why they are all standing with you tonight.”

  Will he take that bow now? Over a thousand people in the room.

  But the director of the AABR stepped in and gently tapped Dr. Medino on the shoulder and whispered into his ear. Medino said, “I’m sorry Mr. Doyle, Director Grouse has informed me the banquet hall is ready. I am to invite everyone to enter the dining room at this time.”

  Jimmy’s jaw dropped. His best pitch hung over the plate. “I understand, sir. And I thank you for giving me some of your time this evening.” I had the interview of the century stopped by the buzzer.

  “Mr. Doyle, you are a good man. I look forward to visiting again one day. It has been my pleasure.”

  The room erupted into applause as both stood to remove microphones and earpieces. But Jimmy Doyle could not leave it alone. He had to take one last shot. He could not stand being so close. The hall turned into a soft buzz as people began to flow from his show into the dining room.

  “Dr. Medino, before you go . . .”

  Thirty-Two

  The lights in the reception hall were up, but moving tuxedos, flowing gowns, and sparkling jewelry stopped. They turned back. Doyle leaned in and Bear turned on the spotlight illuminating Dr. Enrique Medino with the microphone clip in his hand.

  “Before you go, sir, allow me to speak for the fifty million people across the country listening to you this day.”

  Medino’s eyes lit up as another hush rolled through the crowd.

  “Dr. Medino, you are a humble man, a treasure to all humanity. You are a modern day Copernicus, an Isaac Newton, an Albert Einstein. Sir, you may even be the greatest pioneer to ever live.”

  The room was still. Bear dimmed the banquet hall lights increasing the celestial mood surrounding Enrique Medino. This was a moment. Doyle threw his best pitch, and Bear got it right.

  “DNA is immortal, Mr. Doyle. I found the way to maintain the cell environment to allow DNA to do precisely what God intended—to make life happen.”

  The room erupted. House lights went up. Dr. Medino smiled as he melted into the adoring swarm.

  Jimmy Doyle might have been an over-the-hill, potbellied, arrogant radio talk show host, but he just had the attention of the world at his finest moment. Doyle would forever be known as the one who revealed the most important story of all time.

  “You heard it here first my friends. On The Talk of Memphis Dr. Enrique Carlos Medino announced the significance behind his biogenic cure for osteoarthritis. You heard Dr. Medino say, and I quote; ‘DNA is immortal. I found the way to maintain the cell environment to allow DNA to do precisely what God intended—to make life happen.’”

  In seconds the sound-bite from The Talk of Memphis would be picked-up by all major networks. Before morning the world would know about the LIFE2 in Memphis. Everyone would be talking about Dr. Medino and his discovery—the sacred pathway to the fountain of youth. Dr. Medino had dipped his toe in the waters of immortality.

  * * *

  The WKRC bus would return to Memphis soon. Jimmy Doyle sat outside, puffing on his third cigarette. It was 9:00 p.m. and the crowd was finishing their dessert in the main dining room. As his staff packed the mobile broadcasting equipment, Doyle reveled in his alone time.

  He sat in the shadow of the building. Two vans on the other side of the highway caught his eye. Two men were moving white jugs from one into the other. Doyle smelled kerosene.

  They were dressed in black like cat burglars. Doyle’s imagination ran wild—maybe two arsons? But nothing that exciting happened except in the movies. At one point, he could see their faces. One looked familiar. Not until the WKRC bus pulled into Memphis did Doyle remember. He met Dexter Voss at a fundraiser. It explained everything. The FBI could have been on some undercover assignment.

  The next day, the phone woke Doyle around noon. Bear knew a call after a late show had to be important.

  “Go outside and get your newspaper,” Bear said. “Or turn on the news.”

  Doyle slammed down the phone, pulled on his pants, ran outside, and commandeered the neighbor’s paper. They wouldn’t need it until after work. He froze. It was on the front page.

  The Memphis Tribune

  December 23, 2008

  Medino Family killed—Fiery Crash on Austin Peay

  Crash Kills Five in North Memphis—December 22, 2008. Around 11:30 p.m. an automobile traveling south on Austin Peay Highway left the road at a high rate of speed north of the Pleasant Ridge exit. The vehicle went down a steep embankment, through a small wooded area and into an open field where it collided with scrapped farm equipment.

  According to witnesses, after the car came to rest it burst into flames. The driver and four passengers were pronounced dead at the scene by the County Medical Examiner’s Office. The deceased are Dr. and Mrs. Enrique Carlos Medino, Mrs. Ellen Hernandez (mother of Mrs. Medino) and their two children, Bryan (age 23) and Martha (age 25).

  The Medino family was returning from a biomedical banquet in Covington, where Dr. Medino had received a special recognition award from the American Academy of Biotechnology Research for his pioneer work in the biogenic treatment of osteoarthritis. Dr. Medino was a guest on the Talk of Memphis radio show hours before the tragic accident that took his life. Medino had said his work opened doors into the emerging field of anti-aging medicine. Medino was a co-founder and the chief technology officer of the LIFE2 Corporation, headquartered in downtown Memphis. His partner, Jack Bellow, President/CEO, was not available for comment.

  An inquest will be held later today to rule on cause and manner of death. The Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office had no comments. The accident is under investigation by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone who witnessed the accident or has information they believe could be helpful is asked to contact the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

  Thirty-Three

  Carol Mason drove to Little Rock, Arkansas, to meet her most reliable source. The narrow window of opportunity necessitated an emergency trip. The contact had to leave the country and the sensitive package could not be dropped in the mail.

  The collaboration meeting with the Memphis PD confirmed she had been outside the loop. She concluded her status would not change overnight, and she had no intention of sitting on the sidelines. Carol had given more information than she received. Either the MPD had nothing, or they did not intend to s
hare. Either way, she would not wait any longer.

  They met at a busy mall. The transfer was like in the movies—sitting for lunch, and leaving with the other’s shopping bag. Carol drove around Little Rock for an hour to confirm no tails, and then checked into the downtown Hilton. She chained the door, closed the curtains, and tore into the thick brown envelope. Two sets of documents were separated by large black metal clamps. The sticky note said it all. “Not easy to get. Someone doesn’t want this on the outside.” Carol stared at the cover sheet on the first set of documents. She had wanted a summary page. Instead, she had gotten the entire MPD investigation report—the Raymond Munson homicide:

  * * *

  C O N F I D E N T I A L

  Memphis Police Department

  Homicide Division and Investigation

  HD.54736.2008

  Raymond T. Munson, 73/W/M

  HOMICIDE

  Detective Antonio D. Wilcox

  October 17, 2008

  * * *

  Carol pulled out the second one-inch thick set of documents, and looked at the front cover. She also had the complete medical examiner report on Raymond Munson.

  * * *

  CONFIDENTIAL

  Shelby County Medical Examiner

  INQUEST

  Raymond Travis Munson - DOD 10/17/2008

  Henderson Bates, M.D.

  Date of Report: 10/24/2008

  * * *

  She kicked off her shoes. Thank you, Little Rock PD. Her source was an insider with an attitude. The medical examiner report—Introduction Summary—was a good place to start . . .

  * * *

  CONFIDENTIAL