The Secret Patient

by Vaughan W. Smith

  “No, please tell me.”

  “They saw you handing him a brown paper bag and then leaving.”

  “And?”

  “Do you know what that looks like? You need to come clean with me Elizabeth.”

  “Alright fine. That wasn’t about the museum story. I was looking into something else connected with the missing person story. Are you happy now?”

  “You need to explain yourself right this instant.”

  “I don’t need to tell you anything. Why are you snooping behind my back?”

  “It’s my responsibility to protect the reputation of this newspaper. I take my responsibility seriously, and I won’t have rogue reporters going off and creating problems for the paper.”

  “Is that what you think I am doing?”

  “That’s what it looks like. If it’s so innocent then just tell me what you were doing there!” George said, his voice increasing in volume.

  “I can’t, not yet. You need to trust me.”

  “I do trust you, which is why you still have a job. If you refuse to explain your actions, you have to stop working on that story. I won’t suffer another minute on it until you explain yourself.”

  “Fine. Is that all?”

  “No, you can go back to working the Museum story. I haven’t seen any more updates. If you can’t get anything useful there, I’ll assign you something else.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Don’t be like that Elizabeth. I’m running a paper, and I need my reporters contributing to the success of the paper. You should understand that.”

  “I do, I just thought we had a different relationship. I got the message, I’ll focus on the Museum story,” Elizabeth said.

  “Good,” George said. He said nothing else and watched Elizabeth leave the room.

  21

  The Inconvenient Truth

  Elizabeth couldn’t stay in the office after that clash.

  “I can’t believe he’s keeping tabs on me like that. First that creep Don, and now George!” Elizabeth thought. She was furious. After all she had done for the newspaper, in breaking the Mayor story and keeping that coverage going for weeks, and this was the level of trust she had. She collected her things and left the building. She went down to the car, put everything inside and then just sat at the wheel, thinking.

  “I need to be very careful now. I’ll work on the Museum story a bit more, meet with Dr Malberg for Dean and then assess where I’m at. I can’t visit Nathan at the moment, way too risky,” she thought. With her thoughts collected she decided to drive to the hospital and do her work in the cafeteria. She didn’t want to see Dean until after her meeting with Dr Malberg.

  Elizabeth was distracted during lunch, and didn’t do much work on the Museum story. Sure, she had a few interesting ideas based on the information that Frank had given her, but she couldn’t focus properly. There were too many things going on, and George’s behaviour had thrown her off.

  “Have I really misjudged him?” she wondered. She didn’t know what to think about him. He had always been a tough customer, but generally fair. In a way he was being fair now, but she felt like she deserved a bit more faith. She always delivered the story.

  Time was creeping forward, so she finished the boring sandwich she had purchased, drank some water and packed up her things. It was showtime.

  She walked through the hospital leisurely, following the signs to find her way to the Research Department. It wasn’t well sign-posted, but she got there eventually. The reception area was fairly compact, with only two chairs and the reception booth. There was a narrow corridor leading off to a series of rooms, most likely offices. Elizabeth walked up to the desk and waited for the woman there to notice her. She had dark brown hair tied up in a bun, and black rimmed glasses.

  “Hello how can I help you today?” the woman asked.

  “Hi, is it Emily? We spoke on the phone. I’m Stephanie and I have an appointment with Dr Malberg at three today.”

  “Yes, that’s me. I’ll just check to see if he’s available,” Emily said, before disappearing into the corridor. She returned two minutes later.

  “I’m sorry, he’s not in his office. I’ll try paging him,” Emily said. Elizabeth nodded and waited patiently. The phone rang within a few minutes and she answered.

  “Yes, your next appointment is here. Sure I’ll pass that on,” Emily said into the phone. She hung up then addressed Elizabeth.

  “He’s on his way back, he’ll only be a few minutes.”

  “Great, do you mind if I wait in his office, I’m in a bit of a hurry and I need to report back as soon as possible.”

  “Well, that’s not normal, but he will be here soon. I’ll show you through,” Emily said. Elizabeth smiled and followed her down the corridor. All the doors were closed, and the woman opened the third door on the right. Elizabeth noticed that it wasn’t locked.

  Inside was a bookshelf, a desk and a computer sitting on it. There was a big lush leather chair behind the desk, and two basic plastic chairs on the other side.

  “Please take a seat, he will be with you shortly,” Emily said. Elizabeth thanked her and sat down. As soon as Emily had left, Elizabeth stood up and walked around the room. She noticed some papers on his desk and had a closer look. The one that caught her eye looked like a patient file. She didn’t want to risk flipping through, but had a peek at the name.

  “Susan Ambrose,” Elizabeth whispered. That was interesting. She was in the same ward as Dean, and was related to Albert at the Museum. Maybe the Museum story wasn’t as irrelevant as first thought. Elizabeth thought she heard something, so sat back down on the chair and started pawing through her bag, as if she were looking for something.

  “Hello there, Stephanie?” a man said. Elizabeth stood up and looked him over. He had dark hair and seemed to be in his thirties. Nothing interesting at first glance.

  “Yes, nice to meet you Dr Malberg,” Elizabeth said.

  “Please, sit,” he said and then walked around to his desk. He spotted the patient file amongst the papers and swiftly grabbed it, inserting it into a filing cabinet below his desk. Elizabeth noted that with interest.

  “Please tell me more about why you are here,” he said.

  “Well, let me cut to the chase. I’m here on behalf of someone with stomach cancer. I want to see what treatment options are available.”

  “Why come to me? I’m a researcher not an oncologist.”

  “Well, how do I put this? The person I’m asking for, is very wealthy and well-connected. So they learned about you and your program. The results are worth investigating.”

  “I’m intrigued about how you would have come to that conclusion. None of my research has been published, and any patients I have dealt with have strict confidentiality agreements.”

  “Well, like I said, these things don’t matter if you are asking the right questions and have the right connections and influence,” Elizabeth said. She wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but she knew she had to keep Lucy out of it.

  “Of course, I mean no disrespect. I ask because I’m intrigued at how you came to talk to me. The reason I am intrigued is because I’ve been having quite a few of these meetings. You could say that a queue of well-connected, influential people are lining up to talk to me. And yet I haven’t made a single effort to reach out to anyone.”

  “Well, if you have the right product, people will find you.”

  “True, true. Well I guess you aren’t at liberty to enlighten me more, but that’s ok. I will tell you what I have told the others who have come here,” Dr Malberg said. He paused for a moment, and then began once more.

  “I am trialling a revolutionary new treatment in the fight against Cancer. This treatment is effective against every single type. It is low risk, and very successful in the limited trials so far. However it is a slow process, and manufacturing the required components cannot be sped up at this stage. So while the demand for such a treatment is quite high, the suppl
y is very low.”

  “So how do you choose?” Elizabeth asked.

  “There are many factors. The order in which people came to us, their need...” he said but Elizabeth cut him off.

  “Their money,” she said. Dr Malberg nodded.

  “Of course this program requires funds to continue, so any generous donations will be accepted and would factor into our decision.”

  “I see, that’s good to know. So how would this work?”

  “Well, the patient will need to visit me and we can start the enrolment process. However there is a waiting list, with many people on it. Of course I will do what I can, but I can make no promises.”

  “What about the effectiveness of the treatment? When is too late?”

  “To be honest, we have not tried it at the bitter end. But from what I have seen, if the body has enough strength and will to continue, the treatment should help buy enough time to enable further treatment, and eventual remission.”

  “So the Cancer would be gone completely?”

  “If the treatment is successful, then yes. Unlike other treatments this is not a blunt instrument which destroys everything. It is certainly remarkable.”

  “I see. Are there any plans for making it more available?”

  “That would be nice, but for now we need to do more testing. And research on how to increase the supply. Scaling up will be very tricky.”

  “Ok I understand. Well, thanks for your time. I’ll be in touch, and next time will have the patient with me.”

  “I look forward to being of assistance. Goodbye,” Dr Malberg said. Elizabeth stood up and walked out of the office. She waved to Emily on her way out, but didn’t stop to talk. She only had one thing going through her mind.

  “What a piece of work,” she thought. She couldn’t get over his arrogance, and self-importance. Clearly he was on to something, but he was profiting from it. Keeping the supply low and working the demand in his favour. There was no way that Dean would get a look in, even though there was a good chance of getting some traction with his Cancer, or even get rid of it for good. If Dr Malberg could even be trusted.

  “He was too confident, and Lucy was cured. He knows it works, that’s why he’s so damn smug,” Elizabeth thought. She decided to visit Dean and tell him the news. She didn’t want to, but delaying it would make it worse.

  Elizabeth took her time walking through the hospital, but eventually she arrived before his door. She just stared at it, frozen. But she forced herself to push it open and step inside.

  “Hello there Elizabeth. What’s going on?” Dean said. His voice started excited and quickly turned to concern. Elizabeth’s face told a grim story.

  “I just had a meeting with Dr Malberg, and it’s not good news. I had to pretend to be representing a VIP just to get a meeting. He was very cagey and evasive, but did confirm that he is running a treatment program.”

  “That’s good right?”

  “Yes that part is good, and is promising. But he’s using it as a bargaining chip, says the supply of his treatment is so low he’s got a waiting list. One that is heavily influenced by how much you can pay.”

  “So you’re saying there’s a possible treatment out there, but I’ll never get my hands on it?”

  “That’s what I’m saying, as much as it pains me to admit it. Although I did discover something strange there. A woman in your ward is being treated by Dr Malberg. I ran into her by accident, and I’ve even met her father. He doesn’t seem that rich or powerful, even though he has a good position.”

  “Well from what you said he must have something,” Dean said. Elizabeth could see the disappointment on his face. But it was also tinged with something else.

  “I just can’t believe they would do that. Is it just the money? Or am I too far gone?” Dean asked, the pain in his voice touching Elizabeth. She wanted to lie to him, to try and make him feel better. But she couldn’t, she had to be honest.

  “Obviously it’s mainly the money. I think there’s a chance for you based on what he said about the treatment, but I can’t say for sure. He kept insisting that the supply of the treatment is very low, and that’s why there is a waiting list. There’s probably some truth to that, but I dare say he’s exploiting it.”

  “Unbelievable! How can people be treated this way? Why isn’t this all over the news? Someone has an experimental treatment and people are lining up. Even if it didn’t work it would be news. How can they keep this in the dark? It’s not right! Without you I wouldn’t have even had a clue!” Dean said, his voice rising in anger. His face was red and his eyes bulging.

  “I know, I know. I’m going to keep doing what I can. I’ll bring this to light Dean, it won’t stay hidden. People deserve to know.”

  “I still can’t believe it,” Dean said, his voice trailing off. The burst of anger had subsided, and he withdrew into himself.

  “Thanks, thanks for telling me. I know it must have been hard, but you did it. It hurts, but it’s better to know. Wondering about the possibilities, it gave me hope. But it also consumed all my thoughts. Maybe I can focus now on what’s important, in the time I have left.”

  “Dean, it’s not the end.”

  “Yes it is. It’s been staring me in the face for so long, and I haven’t noticed. I’m scared Elizabeth. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m not ready, and maybe I’ll never be.”

  “You don’t have to say that. Yes, things are bad. But you can’t give up hope.”

  “For a cure, yes I can. It’s too late now. I’ll save my hope for something else. Listen, I think I need some time. If you don’t mind.”

  “Of course. Take care Dean, I’ll be back tomorrow,” Elizabeth said and left. Before she had closed the door she had tears in her eyes. At first they were little droplets, and she wiped them away quickly. But once they started, the pent up emotion flowed out and she couldn’t stop. She rushed to her car as quickly as possible and once she was inside just bawled and bawled.

  She had been dreading this moment, for a long time. She just hadn’t realised it. Her delays and inaction in researching a cure for Dean had been purposeful. She feared this result, having to tell him that he couldn’t be cured. Or wouldn’t be. But she had done the investigation, she had spoken to Dr Malberg and knew the truth. Dean wasn’t going to get any better, and they weren’t going to treat him. And this wasn’t something she could just fix.

  She let the tears run their course, and then she turned on the car and drove home. She just needed to get there and crash. It had been an emotional day, and she needed for it to be over.

  22

  A Warning

  Elizabeth turned off the car and sat back in the seat for a moment. She was finally home, and could rest up. She turned to get out of the car and jumped back in fright. There was a face pressed up against the driver’s side window. The balaclava gave away who it was immediately.

  “Hello in there,” Nod said. Elizabeth wound down the window, forcing him to step back.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Boss needs to talk to you.”

  “Right, is this really necessary?”

  “I’m here, so yes. Please step out and come with me,” Nod said. Elizabeth sighed, removed her keys and opened the car door.

  “This way,” he said, and started walking down the street. Elizabeth looked back at her apartment, wondering if she should just make a break for it.

  “No, they let you go last time and they’re not being violent. It’s alright just get this over with,” she told herself. Nod stopped around the corner next to a black van.

  “In the back,” he said and opened the back doors. Elizabeth climbed up and turned only to see the doors being slammed shut. She leaned back and tried to sit down comfortably. The van jerked suddenly and then started driving away. She had to cling to the wall, but then relaxed once the van settled down.

  “At least I’m awake this time, that’s an improvement,” she thought. She needed to figure out
what Don wanted. She had been careful to not visit Nathan just in case. So at least they couldn’t use that against her. Maybe her visit to the police station had tipped them off, but she could explain that away easily enough. It all depended on what they were after.

  As much as she hated to admit it, she was rattled. She knew it was the response they wanted, and that they were trying to break her down and find out what she knew. But knowing didn’t help, they were still quite obvious in their communication. They had just proved that they knew where she lived, and could come after her at any time. She would not be safe until this was all over.

  After half an hour the van slowed at a gentle pace, and then finally stopped. She heard footsteps on gravel, and then the rear doors of the van swung open. She tried to look out, but Nod jumped in and blocked her view.

  “Wear this,” he said, thrusting a black T-shirt at her. Elizabeth wrapped it around her head comfortably, but making sure that she couldn’t see.

  “Rather I do it nicely, than he does it,” she thought. Nod checked and seemed happy, so he grabbed her hand and led her outside. They walked slowly, the gravel crunching under their shoes.

  “This is probably the same place. Interesting that it’s within half an hour of my apartment,” Elizabeth thought. They went down stairs, and then along a concrete corridor. She heard a door open, and then she was roughly guided down into a chair.

  “You can take it off now,” Don said. She removed the shirt and let her eyes adjust. They were sitting in the same room at the same table, and Don was across from her.

  “Here we are again,” Elizabeth said.

  “I told you we would be watching. And you will be back here as many times as I need you to be.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Yes, I want you to know this. There is nothing you can do without our noticing. Do not forget.”

  “I won’t.”