Evil Intent (19 page)

Ted Duncan was watching the news, that evening, too.

“Holy fuck! What the hell do they mean,
investigating a major Pharmaceutically Company?
Oh shit, this is not good! How in God’s name am I going to explain this to Joe Black?”

Chapter 24

F
ollowing the news report on TV last evening, Kathryn felt certain the story would be in both the New York Post and The Daily News. That meant, people commuting to work would, more than likely, see the story. The last thing Kathryn looked forward to, was to receive more questions about this case buzzing throughout the office all day. Her nerves were already frayed beyond repair, and she needed to hear idle chit chat about this mess about as much as she needed a hole in the head.

Kathryn arrived in the office bright and early, as she told Richard she would be. When Barbara appeared, the first thing she did was poke her head into Kathryn’s office.

“Good morning Kathryn. Hey, did you see the news last evening?”

“Yes, Barb. It was horrible. I really hope people aren’t going to be talking about it all day. It’s not my favorite subject, you know.”

“Oh dear, and right away I brought it up.”

“That’s ok, don’t worry about it. What I really dread the most, is the call from Ted. He’s bound to have seen it, or find out about it and when he does, I expect him to hit the roof. The only person I can think of, that really doesn’t give a shit, and probably wouldn’t want to talk about it, is Dr. Andreyushkin.

Something triggered in Kathryn’s brain at the mention of Anton’s name.

Hey, that’s a good place to go and hide, and I do need to talk to Dr. Andreyushkin.

“Speak of the devil, I think I’ll walk down to Dr. Andreyushkin’s office. I’ll be back shortly.”

Fortunately, when Kathryn arrived at his office, he had just arrived and his secretary was handing him coffee and telling him all about some crazy movie she watched last evening.

“Good morning Kathryn,” said Dr. Andreyushkin. “Did you need to see me?”

“Only if you have a few minutes, I don’t mean to interrupt. It’s nothing important, just a personal question. I could come back later, if you’d prefer?”

“No, no.”

“By all means, come into my office. We can talk. Would you like some coffee?”

“If you don’t mind, that’d be wonderful. Just cream please,” she said looking at the secretary. “I only take cream.”

“Certainly, I’d be happy to get that for you,” replied his secretary.

The two walked into his office.

“Please, sit down Kathryn. I haven’t talked with you in a while, is everything going well?”

“Yes, fine in fact.”

Dr. Andreyushkin acted much more, friendlier than normal. Surprisingly, to Kathryn, he even brought up the sales goals from the past staff meeting that they both attended. He was expressing his sympathy regarding just how difficult her job was, under the current budget restraints.

“You are doing extremely well, Kathryn. I’m impressed.”

Just then, the secretary returned with the coffee.

“Thank you so much.” Kathryn said looking at the secretary.

“You’re very welcome,” she answered, exiting the office and closing his door behind her.

“So, what is this personal matter you care to discuss with me?” Anton asked.

“It’s about a computer. I have some questions about a MacBook Air, do you happen to own one?”

“No, I’m afraid I do not own one of those, but I am somewhat familiar with the Apple products.”

That’s odd. I thought Eric said he had a MacBook Air.

“Oh, I thought, maybe....sorry, let me explain. Are you aware of the murders that took place at a restaurant around the block
-
at
The Cafe 63 -
this month? Suki and I were having lunch there at the time.”

“Yes, Kathryn, I did here something about that. Terrible, such a terrible tragedy.”

“There was another murder this passed Wednesday, on East 68th Street, a young lady. The police have talked with me several times, and two of the victims - one from the Cafe and the young lady I just mentioned - were diabetics who were wearing our Diage insulin pump.”

“Yes, so I heard. What is strange to me is they say she died from insulin overdose. How is that possible? You know the pump regulates the dosages with meticulous accuracy.”

“Exactly. I don’t understand how that is possible, either.”

“I must assume there is a logical answer aside from the functionality of the pump.”

“The cops found something, a computer accessory, at the scene of the second crime, the one that happened this week. The police keep asking me if anyone in the company has a MacBook Air. I don’t understand the relevance of the computer or why the police would look at us? The Company, I mean.”

“I can understand your concern, Kathryn. Did the police ever mention, or talk at all about application programs? Software?”

“No, I don’t think so, why?”

“What I am thinking, Kathryn, is this. In a city this size, it would be an amazing coincidence, if not impossible, for two similar deaths, to occur in the same month, and the victims both were using the Diage pump. Not an insulin pump, I might add, but an identical pump manufactured by the same company and one that has only been on the market for a short period of time. So, I assume the police are thinking the death could not be coincidental but only, intentional, that is murder. However, perhaps, they are thinking the murderer could be someone in our company. My second thought, specifically concerning the police questions about a computer, would be to keep in mind that the Diage pump contains a micro-processor and RF technology that allows uploads. A computer could send signals to the microprocessor.”

“You mean someone could intercept or change the instructions internal to the pump?”

“Technically, yes.”

“Are you saying a Hacker? Someone with a computer, could Hack an insulin pump changing the performance or altering the instructions the patient sent to the pump?”

“Precisely.”

“Wouldn’t that be considered a defect in the device? How would the FDA allow that to get by?”

In today’s world, hundreds of thousands of computer programs are not encrypted thus vulnerable to hacking. My corvette has twenty-two computers, none of which are encrypted. Technically, a hacker can start it, unlock doors, apply brakes and worst of all turn it off remotely while I’m traveling 60 miles per hour on the Long Island Expressway! And, this is true for company mainframe applications, heart pacemakers, aircraft, and even diabetic insulin pumps. We have a long way to go before our country is safe from cyber attacks

“And the FDA is ok with that?”

“They have no choice. The government can’t do everything and what they do try to accomplish they often screw it up!”

“Let me ask you something else. Is it remotely possible the Diage pump is at fault here?”

“Impossible! I said theoretically it could be hacked and altered. The reality is that there are so many built in alarms and sensors that even if something went wrong, the device would alarm the user long before it became dangerous or harmful to that person’s life. I wouldn’t worry about it, Kathryn.”

“Thank you Anton. You actually made me feel better. I better let you get back to work.”

Kathryn, was walking back to her office reflecting on all that Dr. Andreyushkin told her. She actually did feel slightly better, but something he said was bugging her. Was it his comment on the FDA reportable events? Dr. Andreyushkin made that comment while discussing encryption, yet there is no FDA standard, as yet, governing or requiring adoption of an encryption standard. She continued going over that in her mind until finally she recollected something Donald Gingrich had said.

I get the encryption thing, but the reportable event standards cover a lot of shit. And, I believe Ted needs to worry about that more than Anton. But, what did Anton say about the safety net? He talked about the warning system - alarms that are in place. That’s it. That’s what Donald Gingrich was bitching about! Sensors. Something about a sensor. Damn it, what exactly was that all about?

She was approaching Barbara’s desk when the look on Barbara’s face indicated something must have gone wrong!

“What is it? I can tell from the look on your face, something ran amuck!

“You said it this morning, and you were right. Ted called.”

“Oh shit.”

“I told him I would send you over as soon as you got back.”

“Oh, thanks. Maybe you should have said she quit. I guess this one should be fun.”

Moments later, the secretary was walking Kathryn into Ted’s office.

“Hi Ted, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes come in, close the door.”

Ted stood up, grabbed the newspaper and walked over to the sitting area in his office. Kathryn, followed his lead and sat down on the sofa.

“I’m certain you’ve seen this?” He began, holding the newspaper article in the air.

“Yes, and the late night news story as well. You are aware I have spoken to the police on several occasions, too.”

“I know. Can you explain how the press came up with this story? The
NYPD actively investigating several strange events involving a major Pharmaceutical Company?”

“No sir I can’t, and please don’t think for a second that I told them that shit.”

“I’m not aware of the police talking to anyone else.”

“Well, I’m aware, that the NYPD have spoken to Eric, Suki, and supposedly Dr. Andreyushkin to name a few. But regardless, I seriously doubt if any of us would throw the company under the bus. It’s a damn murder investigation, Ted. Perhaps, you’d like to explain to me why the police are acting like I committed the murders.”

With that comment, Ted could immediately see the anger escalating inside her. Suddenly, her face turned a deep red as she started to raise her voice.

“They even went so far as to ask me if I happen to routinely carry hypodermic needles of insulin with me in my purse. Why would they ask that Ted. Really? So, while I’m freaking-out over their suspicions, you go ahead and have your little meltdown, because frankly Scarlet, I don’t give a damn.”

“Enough Kathryn! A national paper that publishes articles saying the police are investigating the company is damning to say the least. We need to figure out a plan of action.

“First of all, we were not named in any national newspaper so stop acting so paranoid. But, if you really want to be concerned, I told you already that this could possibly be a reportable event under the Federal FDA laws. You want an action plan? Fine. Why not notify our Corporate Offices, and get the right folks in here looking at this? With all due respect, relying on Anton’s opinion is unacceptable. He’s not objective!”

“Notify them with what, Kathryn? What do we have to go on? Some employee rumor? The police have officially classified this as a homicide, so why should we think anything other than that?”

“Maybe, you are right Ted, but shouldn’t we lean conservative in a case like this?

“There are serious consequences with the FDA if we’re wrong. That concerns me Ted.”

“Like what? What are you implying?”

“Criminal penalties for one. Against you, me, Anton and Lord knows who else. Look, we don’t know shit about what happened other than two people wearing our device are dead. No coincidence in the world would yield that result. Therefore, they were both murdered by the same person, but no arrests have been made, not even a charge of suspicion of murder. Or, if not murder, this is a random act caused by a product defect.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe. But, the FDA regulations specifically state we have 30 days to report an event in which a device MAY Ted, just may have caused the death of an individual. There are also regulations concerning tampering with a device and both you and I have talked about a potential problem with testing. If the testing was flawed as some people believe, or falsified, the FDA could assert fraud. This is serious shit, Ted. Why refuse to notify Corporate Headquarters or our legal department on what could be the Company’s worse nightmare. Get someone in here who knows how to review this.”

“
Maybe the legal department is the right direction. Let me think about this and talk with someone in legal. Meanwhile, can you do anything to find out if it was the police that released the news story? I expect the Corporate Office to find out about this shortly, if not already. They’re going to be all over my ass looking for answers.”

“Ok, I’ll try to get back with you quickly.”

Of course, Ted had no intention of calling the legal department. Waiting to see what Kathryn can dig up was more important to him, and meanwhile if the police somehow come up with murder charges, then Ted would be out of the doghouse. Procrastinating any action seemed to be the right course of action for Ted to take.

Chapter 25

I
t had been awhile since Kathryn spoke with Suki. She walked over to Suki’s office thinking maybe the two of them could get together during the weekend. When she arrived, Suki was alone at her desk, head down and deep in thought.

“Hey Kid-o, got a minute?”

“Hi! Your ears must have been burning. I was just thinking about you. You holding up alright, with all this shit flying around?”

“I guess. Did you hear another murder was committed?”

“Yes, I saw it on the evening news, and in the morning paper. I tried to call you but you must have been in bed already.”

“I was over Richard’s place. Sorry I missed you. The police found some crazy computer part at the scene of the crime. They’ve been asking me if I have one or do I know of anyone in the office that has a MacBook Air. It’s been driving me nuts.

“Holy shit, Kate. Does that mean they think the murderer is inside our company?”

“Possibly, yeah. I’m trying to find out if anyone here has a MacBook but it hasn’t been easy.”

“Did you ask your buddy, Donald? He’d probably know.”

“I wanted too, but he didn’t come to work the next day, but thanks for reminding me. He should be here, now. Maybe I can catch him.”

“That’s a good idea, go check.”

“Before I forget, I was hoping you and I could get together. You could really help me get my head on straight.”

“Sure, Kate. Maybe we could play tennis or racket ball or something. I’m sure we could both use the exercise, and it would be good to burn off some of the stress, too.

“Yeah, and it’ll be fun, too.”

“The only thing is I was about to race out of here to a client out on the Island, so we can’t do anything tonight. But, what about Saturday afternoon?”

“That’s fine.”

“How about I come get you at your place?”

“That’s fine, too.”

“Say, are you sure you’re really doing ok, Kate? You kind of look down. I mean bad. Like depressed.”

“I guess I am feeling pretty shitty, but it’ll pass. I just came from Ted’s office. I was questioning him, whether we have a reportable event with the new pump. He doesn’t want to hear it. He said if it is murder, we’re off the hook.”

“Wow. That’s serious shit, although he might be right if the cops prove its murder. Keep us all out of it.

“Yeah, but then maybe I’m on the hook.”

“What?”

“Police are acting like I did it!”

“You’re not serious, Kate, are you?”

“I’m scared Suki, but Richard is really helping me. He doesn’t believe the police will ever come after me.”

“I agree! Not in a million years. Who is the man in the trench coat? It ain’t you, and that’s who they should be looking for.”

“I know. That’s what I keep saying. Whoever it is, I just hope they find him soon. I’d feel a lot safer if I knew the man in the trench coat is responsible for the whole thing. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your work. I’m going to find Donald.”

“Ok, see you Saturday.”

Kathryn left Suki and first went back to her office before heading over to Donald’s. She wanted to make sure nothing urgent came up and didn’t want Barbara wondering what happened to her. When she arrived, Barbara again had a puzzling look on her face. Kathryn ignored it, walking directly into her office. She sat down, opened her email and began combing the messages to see if anything important had to be handled immediately.

Great, just a bunch of poppycock! These emails can all wait until next week.

Suddenly Barbara was standing at her desk.

“What? Don’t tell me more bad news.”

“No, I think you might like this one.”

“What is it?” She said, noticing Barbara holding an envelope in her hand.

“Detective Peters and Detective O’Donnell just left.”

“Oh no, they were here to see me again? Enough is enough, Barbara. I’m all questioned out!”

“No, no they weren’t here to see you.”

What?”

“They came back to talk to Dr. Andreyushkin.”

“They did? Did they talk with him?”

“Yes. I apologize Kathryn, but when they asked for you, I told them I didn’t expect you back. Then, they wrote this note and told me to give it to you. Sorry, but I read it, couldn’t resist. I think it’s something you’re going to like.”

“Kathryn, jumped up and grabbed the note, quickly opening it and reading it.”

Miss Becker,

We managed to meet with Dr. Andreyushkin, as you suggested. He doesn’t own a MacBook and not aware of anyone in the company who does. We asked several questions, and frankly we have no interest in him. As it turns out, he was in California, with the president of your company, on Friday, the night of the first murder. Because of his alibi, there is no reason to question him any further.

Thanks,

Detective Peters

“Well, I’ll be damned. Isn’t that a surprise? Maybe now, they’ll give up the search for the mysterious MacBook.”

Thank you, Anton. I bet the man in the trench coat has a MacBook
.

“I agree Barbara that was good news. Now, I think I’m going to try and find Donald Gingrich. This shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back soon.”

She just rounded the corner, and walked straight through the doorway into Donald’s office without even knocking. Not certain he would be there, she suddenly stopped cold and gasped! Donald’s office looked like a tornado just blew through it tossing everything in its path. Donald, personally was on his knees crawling around on the floor near several piles of papers, books, computer parts, and other junk stacked in messy piles adjacent to his desk.

“Donald! What the heck are you doing? Did you lose something?”

Donald’s office always looked atrocious with random stuff, usually computer related, lying all over the place. Extra Ethernet cables, a mouse or two, mouse pads, keyboards, even a couple of monitors could always be found throughout his office. In addition, magazines, books, loose papers were scattered everywhere. It always looked a mess, but amazingly, Donald normally seemed to know where everything was. His normal disposition was organized chaos not only in his cluttered office, but in the way he dressed and his overall appearance. But, today was not organized clutter. He obviously looked like he was in a panic trying to find something that had been lost or misplaced.

“Kathryn! Ah, sorry,” he said looking up at her from the floor. “I seemed to have dropped something. It’ll turn up eventually. These things always do. What are you doing here? Do you need something?”

“Oh just a quick question. But, what is it you’re looking for?” she asked.

“Oh nothing, just a small converter.”

“A small what?”

“Converter. A little plug of sorts that connects two normally non-compatible devices. It’ll show up, I’m sure.”

“I’ll help you find it, if you’d like. What color is it?” She said getting down on the floor near Donald.

“It’s white, but you don’t need to get down on your knees. I’ll get it later,” he said starting to get up off the floor. “Come on Kathryn, get up. You’ll get all dirty down there.”

As Kathryn, started to get back up, she reached over to the small table nearby, and placed her hand on the surface for balance.”

“I can do this later. Please, let me help you up. What was it, you came in here for anyway?”

As she tried to steady herself leaning on the table, it shook and several books and magazines fell from under her hand, knocking them to the floor. Oh no, look what I’ve done, she said as she looked down at a MacBook Air sitting on the table that was hidden by the pile of books and magazines.

“What was your question? Did you need something?”

Kathryn couldn’t believe what she saw. It flustered her so, she stuttered realizing she was going to ask him about the MacBook mystery.

Holy shit, what do I say to him? This can’t be!

“Oh, nothing much, I was...... I happened to be.....I was walking back from her office......thought maybe you......” She spluttered out, panicking over what to say.”

“What?” Donald asked completely confused over what she was trying to say. “Why don’t you come sit over here? Can I get you some coffee?”

“Oh Donald, that’d be wonderful. Thank you,” she said as Donald went to fetch a cup of coffee, and she tried to compose herself. She was still shaky over the realization that Donald had a MacBook Air.

When he returned with the coffee, she looked much more relaxed.

“So, what was it that brought you in here?”

“I just wanted you to know Donald that I do listen to you. You are very smart, and, well, I know I’ve been rude to you and I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize to you.”

“That’s ok Kathryn, but you don’t have to ever apologize to me, I understand you. You have always been a good friend to me, and I tell you certain things because I not only trust you, but I know you can get certain things accomplished that, well, I probably could never achieve. I appreciate what you do for me.”

“But, honestly Donald, I think you give me more credit than I deserve. I can’t always do what you think I can. I know you don’t like Dr. Andreyushkin, and I understand. He got the job that you wanted during your entire career. Ted just completely ignored your ability and choose Anton. I’m sorry.”

“Yes. And look at the mess we’re in! I warned folks this would happen.”

“I know. I know how you feel. Donald you really scared me when you came to my office telling me the Diage pump is a killer. Then those horrible deaths happened? You have no idea how I felt.”

“But Kathryn, it’s not too late. You can help convince them to take down the device. That’s why I keep telling you, that you must go to Ted Duncan and explain or to the police or something and expose Andreyushkin as the problem that he really is.”

“I did Donald, and I just don’t know what else I can possibly do.”

“Wait a minute. What’d you say? You did what?”

“I went to the police.”

“What did you tell the police, Kathryn? I don’t understand.”

“They were asking me all sorts of questions, Donald. The police even started questioning me as if I was the one who committed the murders. I told the police they had to talk to Dr. Andreyushkin. He was the one who invented the pump. He knows everything about it, what it can do, everything. I just wanted them to question him, that’s all. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do?”

“Yes, but what happened? Did they do it?”

“Yes. But after they spoke with him, they told me they have no further interest in Dr. Andreyushkin. Apparently, Anton was in California when the murders were committed and because of his alibi, they dismissed him as a suspect. They refuse to bother with him anymore.”

“That’s unacceptable. I’m telling you, he’s a problem.”

“Maybe, but the problem is people died, and the police are convinced it’s murder, not some defective pump. And, Anton is not the murderer. The police are looking for someone else.”

“Shit!” Donald screamed. “I can’t believe this.” Donald started acting pretty weird, once again scarring Kathryn with his volatile, and explosive personality.”

“Donald, maybe you’re wrong. Maybe everything really is ok and Dr. Andreyushkin hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Bullshit. I also told you about the testing Kathryn, it’s flawed. The device is a problem.”

“I don’t know what to tell you Donald. Nothing’s going to change. I even went to Ted about it.”

“Ted Duncan? You went to Ted about the pump?”

“Yes. You wanted me to do that too, and I did. I told Ted all these problems could be a violation of the FDA laws. We probably at the very least have a reportable event that must be disclosed to the FDA within 30 days of our first suspicions that something could be wrong with the pump. I told Ted, we’re running out of time.”

“Excellent! He probably paid attention to that one. Hell. That should have knocked his socks off. Probably scared the shit out of him, too!” Donald said, as if talking to himself. He laughed out loud at the thought, too.

“He didn’t.”

“He didn’t what?”

“He didn’t pay attention. He didn’t believe me. Said my idea was preposterous and he didn’t want to hear any more ......rubbish. I think he called it rubbish.”

“What did you do?”

“Donald, what could I do? Nothing and you need to do nothing. Just drop all this crap, Donald. No one believes there is any problem with the pump or with Dr. Andreyushkin, and frankly I’m beginning to think they’re right. I can’t do anything else.”

“Yes you can. You can’t quit. I’m telling you, I’m right and if they don’t do something fast things will get a lot worse, I promise.”

“I’m over it Donald. I don’t know of anything else I can do, so I’m just going to do my job and ignore this bullshit.”

“Kathryn, no! Please don’t be like all the rest of these idiots. You’re not like them, you’re different. I know you can convince them. There is always something we can do until we win!”

“Well, good luck, Donald. It was nice knowing you. I hope you win! I gotta go!”

With that, Kathryn got up and left his office.

Donald Gingrich was not happy.