The Proteus Cure (37 page)

“Hey, you’re my dad.”

Another embrace, then Paul said, “Why don’t you go out by the fire. Make sure the blinds are drawn. I have some things to talk over with Sheila.”

Coog grinned. “Lovey-dovey things?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as the boy was gone, Paul moved closer to Sheila and lowered his voice.

“I need to tell you what Kaplan said. There’s definitely a correlation between KB-twenty-six, VG-seven-twenty-three, Innovation Ventures or Lee Swann or whoever is trying to erase all the evidence. Kaplan told me all about Coog. And the same with other KB-twenty-six kids: O-negative blood and an eventual usurpation by the donor DNA. That’s why Kaplan stopped the trials. The kids were all becoming their donors. IV knocked him into bankruptcy then their guy Lee Swann bought the assets for VecGen.”

“Swann works for IV?”

Paul nodded. “When Coogan and I were hiding out at IV, a guy called in from VecGen’s legal department for a Mister Swann. Swann’s not a front man. He
is
IV. It’s just a shell office. Swann, on behalf of IV, funded Kaplan then shut him down when he refused to use the therapy he’d discovered. Then Swann bought the assets in bankruptcy and used them at the newly IV-funded VecGen. And then
they
started using the same therapy with a new moniker, marketing it as VG-seven-twenty-three.”

“Administered by Tethys,” Sheila said.

“Just like KB-twenty-six.”

“I overheard Bill yelling at someone on the phone one day. Knowing all this, I’m pretty sure it was Swann. Bill said something like, ‘You’re the boss.’ I think Bill is just a puppet for Swann.”

“Interesting. Because after the VecGen message, someone called to retrieve it. I used Star sixty-nine to get the number and then called the operator for the address. Swann called from Tethys.”

The news rocked Sheila. Every path led back to Tethys.

“But who?”

“I don’t know. Abra?”

“No. No way she’s the boss. She’s too passive. Whoever Bill talked with, he was kowtowing to. At one point he said something like, ‘sorry that was disrespectful.’”

“I think he’s in love with you, Sheila—or whatever approximates love in someone like him. He’ll kill you if he has to, but I think he’ll first do whatever he can to try to divert you from the truth. I don’t know who’s in charge of all this, but Gilchrist must have enough pull to keep you safe. At least for now.”

“He said he didn’t want to do something but would if he had to. Mentioned something about
she
being tenacious but
she
was under control. I know he meant me. God, I wish I could remember everything he said. But you may be right. It seems killing me is a last resort. What’s the number from that IV/Tethys call? Maybe I’ll recognize the extension.”

When he showed her, she shook her head. “No idea. I’ll call it and hang up if anyone answers.”

“No, Sheila. What if they have caller ID?”

“My number’s unlisted and unpublished. Won’t show up.”

She dialed the number and waited as it rang a few times. She heard it pick up, hoping to get an answering machine or voicemail with a name on it. Instead she heard a high-pitched screech.

“It’s a fax line.” She hung up. “No help there.”

Paul said, “Bill has probably done what he can to keep you safe. But if he finds out how much we know, I don’t see a way to turn back.”

“I think my office is bugged.”

She explained why and Paul agreed. Then part of the phone conversation she’d overheard rushed back at her.

“Bill said ‘All of Proteus hinges on this’ or something like that. Any idea what that means?”

Paul frowned. “Proteus? You’re sure that’s what he said?”

“Positive.”

“It’s got to mean something.” Paul closed his eyes. “Proteus … Proteus … Pro—” His eyes snapped open as he turned to her with a shocked stare. “Jesus Christ! Proteus was the Greek god who could change his shape at will!”

Sheila understood in a flash. “The new DNA … changing people.”

Paul was shaking his head. “Proteus’s father was the god Poseidon. But his mother was one of the Titans. Care to guess her name?”

Sheila struggled to remember high school Greek mythology.

“You’re going to tell me her name was Tethys, right?”

“Right.”

“But this means that the genetic makeover—or maybe
takeover
is a better term—is intentional. They’re not trying to cover up an unwanted side effect. They
want
to replace DNA. Why on earth—?”

“What are they up to? What can they be thinking?” He paused. “If Bill Gilchrist is arguing about Proteus, he’s not innocently administering it to patients, being guided by VecGen. He knows exactly what it’s doing. He ever give you a clue as to what he might think he’s getting out of it?”

Sheila shivered in the darkness. “No, never. It’s not as if he needs the money. And he’s always been devoted to curing people. I can’t believe he’d be involved in knowingly replacing his patients’ DNA without their consent.”

“You’re absolutely sure about that?”

“Well, no. First thing in the morning I’m calling the FDA and blowing the whistle—tell them VG-seven-twenty-three is replacing recipients’ DNA without their consent. They’ll have to investigate. Once JCAHO finds out what Tethys and Innovation—”

Sheila felt a rush and her vision started to dim. She felt dizzy and sick. Paul’s arm wrapped around her.

“Dek,” she mumbled.

“What? Who?”

“My husband Dek.” She looked up at Paul, snuggled closer. Her speech felt slurred. “He worked for JCAHO.”

“So?”

“He was working on a big case, he said. Something that would make his career. He said he was waiting to show his boss his files until he had all the facts but he said he was close. Impropriety with a cancer hospital. Something about collusion. But all his cases were like that so I didn’t—I mean that was his job, finding out the bad stuff.”

“What are you saying Sheila?”

“If Dek was about to uncover what we’re uncovering now—his motorcycle skidded on the road and he died. While I was still in a fog, trying to get over his death, I got a call out of the blue from Tethys. Interviewed with Bill, the head of the whole hospital. Even though I was an emotional train wreck he hired me on the spot. The other residents were jealous and I was incredulous. A golden opportunity just handed to me.”

“Jesus,” Paul said, leaning his head all the way back on the couch. “Sheila, he hired you to watch you, to make sure your husband hadn’t told you anything. Then kept you on and watched you all these years.”

She nodded. “After a while, I was just another staff oncologist. I befriended Abra and Bill grew convinced I knew nothing. And everything would have gone on fine, until Kelly Slade walked into my office.”

“I don’t want you going back there, Sheila. It’s not safe.”

“That
bastard
killed my husband! I was pregnant, Paul. I was pregnant and had a miscarriage when Dek died. Then Bill set me up and hired me under false pretenses. I’m not going to rest until Bill Gilchrist and Lee Swann are in jail and Innovation Ventures and Tethys are a pile of rubble.”

She had never been this angry. Never, and it scared her. If Bill were in front of her, she’d kill him without hesitation. She had a new appreciation for Paul’s situation.

“I’ll help you put them away, Sheila, but we have to use the right channels. You call the FDA, the AMA and every other government acronym you can think of. Tell them everything. And I’ll work on proving I didn’t kill Kaplan. We’re going to beat this, Sheila. From now on, I tell you everything. No secrets.”

“All right.” She took a deep breath. “All right. We’ll do it together. So what’s our next step? I mean, after I blow the whistle—anonymously, of course.”

“I get you two out of here. Fly you somewhere safe while I sort this out.”

“It’s safe here. Bill’s gone to Switzerland for a couple of days on business.”

“But what about Swann? The one calling all the shots?”

“From what I heard, Bill is the action man. The one “doing” everything. With him gone, I’ll be safe.”

“I don’t know, Sheila.”

“Trust me. Swann is the head man but he’s not going to get his hands dirty.”

“I hope you’re right. Okay, Bill’s being gone can work in our favor. See what you can learn while he’s gone. See if there’s anything that will link him and Swann. And me—I’ll stay out of sight. I’m supposed to turn on my phone about now for a call from Swann but I’ve decided not to. I’ll hide in his old office and—” He snapped his fingers.

“What?”

“Can you do an Internet search on the building where IV’s office is?”

“I think so. Why?”

“Let’s see who owns it.”

It didn’t take long but the answer was a stunner: Tethys Corporation.

It all fit. Tethys
was
Innovation Ventures. They funded Kaplan Biologicals and VecGen. They administered both the KB26 and VG723. And they killed everyone who made the connection.

Paul glanced at his watch. “I’ve stayed too long. Can I ask a huge favor?”

“Anything.”

“Keep Coog for me? I don’t trust him with anyone else and I’ll feel a lot better knowing he’s safe while I’m trying to stay under the radar.”

“Say no more. I’d love to have him.”

“Great. Now I have to convince him to stay.”

Sheila walked into the living room and drew her blinds, then called Paul in. They sat on the floor in front of the fire, facing Coogan.

“You okay?” Paul asked him.

Coog nodded. “Yeah. It’s a lot to take in, but yeah.” He sat up straight. “So what’s next?”

Paul shook his head. “Next is that I have to do some risky stuff and you have to stay here with Sheila.”

“No, Dad, I have to come with you. I can handle anything you can.”

Sheila could see the hurt and fear in his eyes. Paul looked at Sheila and then at his son.

“Yes, you can handle anything. You’re a strong, smart boy. But I need to do this alone; if I have to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure you’re okay, it’ll slow me down. Might even get me in hot water.”

Coogan’s eyes teared up. “I’ll be in the way?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I want you with me, but I can’t take you. Not now. It’s not safe. I’ll be able to handle this better knowing you’re here with Sheila.”

Sheila reached over to Coog, wondering what to say. Sorry, your dad just confessed to killing someone, but now he has to evade the police to do some more illegal things to prove he didn’t kill someone else?

“Coog,” she said, “I don’t feel safe here and I’d sleep a lot better if you stayed with me. I’m in the middle of all this too.”

“The middle of what?” he asked.

Paul chewed his lip. “We’ll tell you later when we have the answers. Right now what you need to know is that someone is doing something bad and Sheila and I, and you, are working together to stop him. The best place you can be is here, hiding out. The best place Sheila can be is here, or at work, pretending everything’s okay. And me? I’ll be underground trying to straighten things out. You have to trust me on this, Coog.”

“Okay. But Dad, please be careful. You’re all I have.”

“You’re all I have too.” He hugged his son. “Sheila, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?”

They walked together to the other room, out of earshot of Coogan. Sheila went into caretaker mode.

“I know this is the last thing on your mind right now, but let me pack you some food and drinks. You can’t risk going into a store; and you have to eat.”

“Food would be great, thanks.” He then drew her away from the counter. “But, listen, this is more important.”

He pulled her close, pressed his body against her. She could feel her heart speed up as he whispered in her ear.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. You don’t want to hear this, but I might end up like Kaplan. And if I don’t, I might go to jail. Rose is out of the picture and the rest of my family represents everything I’m against. This is a lot to ask but, please, if anything happens to me, will you take care of Coogan?”

She pulled away. Sheila felt tears streaming down her face. Take care of his son? The responsibility didn’t rattle her. It was that he had asked. She meant that much to him that he’d entrust her to raise his son if something happened. God, she hoped nothing did, but—

She hugged him and sobbed on his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ll be back, I just need to know he’ll be taken care of, just in case.”

She broke the embrace, wiped her eyes, mascara smearing the backs of her hands.

“I’d be honored. But Paul, you have to come back. For both of us. No ifs. You
have
to.”

“I will. We’ll get through this, okay? And then we’ll figure out you and me. After all the stuff I told you, I’ll understand if you back away.”

She nodded. “We’ll work it out.”

She packed him a couple of sandwiches and a box of Wheat Thins while he hugged Coogan goodbye again. And then she watched Paul walk out the back door into the rain.

Would they really get through this? And what would become of Tethys and all the people it had saved?

Sheila awoke to a pounding noise. She sat up in bed. Wan light filtered through the windows. That noise … from above her. After a moment, she realized it was rain pounding against her bedroom skylight like a heavy-metal drummer on speed. A cascade of water ran down the skylight and, as she looked to the window, down the side of the house as well.

Like being inside a waterfall. She hit the clicker on the TV. Every channel was broadcasting the flood conditions in Northern Massachusetts. The governor declared a state of emergency. The National Guard was being called in. She hadn’t realized it was
that
bad. Enough about the weather, she thought. She had larger concerns: like the Paul situation.

Paul!

She suddenly remembered that Coogan was in her guest room. She glanced at the clock: not quite seven. Too early to call the FDA. And way too early for any self-respecting teenager to be awake, but she needed caffeine.