Chapter 38
When we reached my place Jack was sitting on the steps.
“Is that your date”, Alice asked.
“You like him?”, I asked, waving at Jack
“Yes, but I consider my friend’s men off limit, so you don’t need to worry”, Alice teased me
I shook my head laughing.
“Thanks for the ride silly”, I said, getting out of the car.
“Yup. See you tomorrow and try not to think about work tonight, ok?”
“Yes mam” I said, giving her the military salute.
When Alice drove away I ran towards Jack, with my arms open. He got up from the steps and stood there still, hands in his pockets, smiling his melancholic calm smile, his clear eyes squinting at the brightness of the sky.
“I’m so glad you’re here”, I said, without letting go off him.
“Hey, what’s happening?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I am really glad to see you”
Jack held me back, gripping my arms, and looked at me tilting his head.
“So, can you tell me what is happening?”
“More than I can handle”, I replied sighting.
“Let’s go talk inside, ehm?”, Jack said, guiding me to my home by the hand.
When Jack closed the door behind us the cool dimness of my place blinded me for a few moments, and I stood at the entrance, easing into the familiarity of the space. Jack slipped off his shoes, and took my hand again, taking me to the kitchen and pulling up a chair for me.
“I’ll get you a lemonade”, he said, opening the fridge.
“Dr. Mori replied to my emails. The guy who wrote about how the genetic patrimony of E. Coli could change in the presence of chemicals…”
Jack laid the lemonade in front of me, and filled a glass for himself.
“And what did he say?”
“He found that bacteria commonly present in the human body can also change in the presence of chemicals. When that happens they can affect the functionality of processes occurring in the human body…”
“So you think that somehow the polymer you brought at the cross cancer institute contaminated the environment, weird bacteria began to develop and people died?”
“More or less yes…and Christine told me that at the NY cancer institute the same thing is happening. Isn’t this too odd to be a coincidence?”
“But what does your polymer have to do with NY? Someone had to bring it there for it to contaminate places on the two opposite coasts”
“Exactly. So what if someone actually brought the polymer on the other coast for reasons I don’t know? I told you the guy from the Cross Cancer told me not to bring more sample there…why?”
“This is too far-fetched, and if you weren’t so scared and worried you wouldn’t come up with such ideas”
I was silent for a moment.
“Maybe you’re right. I want to call Christine though, I promised her”
“Remember that journalists love scoops, so she will try to find one. Call her, but don’t rush to make conclusions”
“I won’t…”
I punched Christine’s number and sat there hearing the free tone on the line with one ear and Jack digging in the fridge and moving around pans with the other.
“Come on girl, pick up the bloody phone”, I mumbled between my teeth, feeling anxiously impotent.
I was about to hang up when Christine picked up the phone.
“Finally!”, I exclaimed
“Woah! I was about to miss you, I just walked in. You sound worried”, she said, her tone rushed and airy as usual
“I sound worried because I am”, I said, with a note of bitterness I did not intend
“Well, then hold on tight. I made my checks today and I found that the cross cancer institute and the NY cancer institute collaborate closely. There are pictures of an Indian guy and a red-haired disturbing geek shaking hands with a doctor from the NY institute, a big shot apparently”
“Sandeep and Wilhelm…”, I whispered, the phone shaking in my hand
“You know these people?”
“I do…”, I said
“Who are they?”
“The people with whom I collaborated at the cross cancer institute to understand how my polymer could swell dairies”
“Ah!”, Christine exclaimed, sounding as excited as I was faint.
“When did the deaths start to happen at the NY cancer institute?”
“The first patient died on July 16, and after that there were other 10 casualties in the next two following weeks, and another 21 deaths this month. And the dates when patients began dying at the Cross cancer institute are not too far from these. Too many coincidences for all this to be random, right?”
My mouth was dry. July 16. I had met Sandeep at the Cross cancer institute around the beginning of June, and handed him a sample of pure polymer. After that Wilhelm got involved, and asked me for more polymer. “I would care to duplicate the analyses on it, to ensure that the results are reliable”, he had said. I remembered his words with the strange sharpness I often have in recalling details.
“Are you still there?”, Christine asked
“The dates match. Sandeep and Wilhelm could have very well passed my polymer some guy at the NY cancer institute”
“Can you try to work the people at the cross cancer institute and try to get some hints as to what they are up to?”, Christine said
“Ehm uhm. Nope, I cannot. Sandeep contacted my colleague and told him that we should keep away from him and Wilhelm, and avoid bringing more sample there. I want to go talk to the police”
It was Christine’s turn to fall silent.
“I must. If they are up to some dirty business with dead bodies involved you don’t want to be one of the suspects”
“Christine, I will go tonight. Now”, I said, my heart pounding so hard I felt dizzy
“Stay calm. You haven’t done anything wrong, so you will be fine as long as you tell the police all you know”
“I’ll have to call the colleagues who are collaborating with me before going”
“Sure. Let me know how things go”
“Thanks Christine”, I said, and hang up.
I walked to the kitchen and let myself fall on the chair. Jack saw my devastated expression and turned off the stove, wiping his wet hands on the jeans.
“I’ll go to the police”, I said.
“I know. Let’s go, you can call your colleagues on the way there”
If only I hadn’t seen John Wheeler with another woman in his car while I was driving home I probably would have knocked on the Wheelers’ door that night. John was my neighbour and he was a detective, so it made sense to talk to him first to ask for advice. And yet I couldn’t get myself to talk to Mrs. Wheeler, and walk again in the odd atmosphere of their living room.
“Sure, let’s go”, I said, and we drove off to the police station.