Chapter 42
When I got to the office I took a glance at my desk before sitting down. Everything seemed in the right spot, so perhaps nobody was trying to dig into my files after all. I told myself that the stress of the last days had probably plunged me in a state of paranoia. I turned on my PC in a tense mayhem of mixed feelings, oscillating between the hope and the fear to receive a message from Dr. Mori. A part of me wanted to get off the hook and leave the whole business to the police, forget any of this ever happened and go back to a life where my lab games had no major consequences in real life. After all I had invented the polymer, but I had never decided that it should be released. And yet another part of me needed to know what my polymer had done. Leaving aside all rationalizations, the polymer was my piece of art and I felt responsible for it. I had created the black potion, so I felt I was the one who had to break its spell. And deep down, in spite of all that was happening, I wanted to crack the mystery behind its effects, inspired by the same irresponsible and purely scientific curiosity that had led to its creation.
I accessed my mailbox and there it was, the reply from Dr. Mori.
Dear Iris,
I had a look at the structure of your polymer and it has indeed some similarities with the compounds we tested. I suspect that it can have similar effects to the chemicals we used, possibly causing changes in some of the bacteria found in the intestine and eventually leading to malfunctions of the human body. Of course these are simple hypotheses, which need to be tested experimentally before drawing conclusions. We have great facilities here, and I would be more than happy to investigate the effect of your polymer on bacteria. Assessing its impact on the human body is not as simple, but we could begin by conducting preliminary tests using human cells and tissues to get some insights about what your polymer can do. If travelling is an option for you, we could conduct some interesting research together on the subject here at my research center in Milan.
All the best,
Mauro Mori
My heart was pounding so loud its beat resounded in my thoughts. Thump, I cannot travel, thump, I really want to go, thump, isn’t it a strange coincidence that Mori lives in Milan, where my grand-grandparents were born and where I always wanted to go?, thump, what do I tell McMurrich?, thump, Do I lie to her and tell her this is about a family emergency?, thump, I need to talk to Jack, but let’s go see Alice first, thump.
I heard someone coming from my back, minimized the window and turned around, trying to look casual. My ears buzzed and I wondered what my face looked like.
“What is happening?”, McMurrich asked, looking annoyed more than concerned
“Why?”
“You look quite distraught”
“Something bad happened, in my family”, I heard myself say, and I was surprised by how the lie flew out my mouth faster than my thoughts
“I am sorry to hear that”
“I might need to ask you for some time. I need to reach the hospital”
“Sure, you can have the morning off”
“Unfortunately the hospital is on the east coast, and I want to spend some days there”
“Days?”
“I will use my holidays this way. This is important to me”
McMurrich frowned.
“The authorities have called saying that they will pass by in the next couple of days for an inspection, I need you here. I don’t understand what this is about”, McMurrich said, eyes bugged
“The authorities are coming?”, I asked.
Mariam Avery acts fast, I thought. But was this her doing or was this inspection a coincidence? The speed of my heartbeat ramped up a bit more.
“Yes”, McMurrich said
“When?”
“As I said, in the next couple of days, but they didn’t give me an exact date”, McMurrich replied, irritated
“Perhaps I can leave Thursday night, but I cannot wait longer than that. I don’t want to get there when it’s too late. I hope…”
“Yes, yes, I understand”, she said, cutting me short
I thought it would have been good to have a few days to get organized, but I needed my departure to sound urgent for my story to be convincing. I knew the whole set-up was insane, but I had gone too far to pull back. I wondered what Mori would think about my rushed trip following a couple email exchanges. Could I tell him what was happening? First rule, don’t rush when you are not lucid. I am not lucid, thump.
“Let me know when you’ll be leaving as soon as you decide”
“Will do”, I said, trying to match my tone to McMurrich’s
McMurrich started to walk away, then turned around.
“You haven’t told anybody about this polymer, have you?”
“What do you mean?”, I asked, trying to sound casual
“The question is: have you shared any information about the polymer?”, she reiterated
“You haven’t discussed it with anybody except Mark from the DNA center and…I also went to get it analyzed at the cross cancer institute”
“Yes, of course”, McMurrich said, corrugating her eyebrows.
She would have been a pretty woman if only her facial mimicry hadn’t been so abrasive
“From now on, don’t have anyone else analyze it”
“Why, what happened?”, I asked, trying to sound as innocent and surprised as I could
“Because I have been talking with people who are really interested in buying it, and I want to make sure its composition remains proprietary. MagnaSize, that’s how we’ll call it”
“MagnaSize?”
“Yes, do you like this brand name. I came up with it last night”
Geez lady, is this how you spend your nights? You are a complete idiot McMurrich, and you even believed my lie, I thought so loud I wondered if she heard. No, she didn’t, she was too dry for that type of intuition. I sighted, relieved.
“Of course, I understand very well that all this is confidential. And the name…sure, why not?”, I said
“Good”, she said and walked away tic-tacking her stiletto heels.