“A doctor was testing new pharmaceuticals on the patients, some were terminal and some…some could be cured with well-established methods, but he still decided to give his new products a shot”
“I see…”, I said, and felt the nausea bound like when I had been in the car
“And many patients died, there are strong indications that there is a link. I spoke with the families, they want to see clear through this and they’ve helped me understand a lot of what was happening. I also have other sources of course…”
I was listening in silence
“Are you still there?”
“Yes”, I said
“This doctor, Alfred Bloomberg, is collaborating with a guy who works at the Cross cancer institute”
“Sandeep Rana and Wilhelm Larson?”, I asked
“No, not directly. Well…they certainly know each other and there are pictures of them together at conferences and events, but Alfred Bloomberg mainly collaborates with Dr. Jonathan Woods, who practices in the same institute where Sandeep Rana and Wilhelm Larson work. Now, does Jonathan Woods collaborate with Sandeep Rana and Wilhelm Larson? Is there a circular link there? I don’t know yet, but maybe since you are there…”
“I will talk to the police…”, I begun saying
“No”, Christine cut me off, “This is unofficial information, and whatever I have learned from the police here was told to me in private, in exchange for other favours”
“Other favours?”
“Other information, other types of help”, she said
“You’re secretive now?”, I asked, and for this first time since we started talking I giggled
“I can give you the details if you want, but I don’t think you’d be interested”
“I wouldn’t be. Anyways there’s a detective I trust, I will tell her about this”
“Who is she?”
“No, I won’t tell. I don’t know if she wants me to…the situation here is messy”
“So, who is being secretive here?”, Christine poked me
I giggled again
“Ok Christine, I have to go now. I’ll call you again, but now it’s even hard to stand for me…”
“Yes yes, of course. Take care, will you darling?”
“I will Christine”
“Bye, call me back and if you don’t I’ll chase you down!”, she said, her tone merrily carefree as usual
“All right”, I said smiling and hang up
Avery was standing at the bedroom door. I had turned my back to her as I spoke and almost forgotten she was there listening to my conversation. I dragged myself back to the bedroom, collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes.
“What happened?”, she asked after a moment
I opened my eyes and saw she was on the chair again. Real scenes seemed to float in a lake of dreams, as I was under the effect of some drug. I heard my voice describe the conversation I had with Christine.
“I will have to look into this. I will call my colleague, get the investigation started”, Avery said
“Yes you should…”, I replied, smudging the words
And that’s the last thing I remember. My words, my heart beating fast and then slow down. One, two, three heartbeats, loud but far, very far, from one another. I felt the strength flow out of me. And then my eyes filled with charcoal black, and my body plunged in a state of peaceful lightness.
Chapter 91
McMurrich was sitting in her office, with the door slightly open. FoodTech labs had the same feeling to it, the same colours, temperature and smell, but the floor plan was not as it used to. McMurrich’s office used to be in a conveniently secluded spot, so that I never had to pass in front of it when walking from my desk to the lab. But now it was sitting in the middle of the hallway and, as I was heading to the labs to look for Alice, McMurrich saw me passing by and called out, “Iris, do you have a moment?”.
I stopped short, starting. Talking with McMurrich displeased me no matter when it happened, but it was even worse when I didn’t know what to expect and was genuinely busy. I gave myself a moment before replying. I breathed deeply and stepped in her office
“Sure I do”, I said.
“Have a seat”, McMurrich told me
She waited for me to sit, and then looked at me for a moment before speaking. She seemed worried.
“Are you feeling sick?”, she asked
I felt my heartbeats become irregular. Sick? Why would I feel sick?
“Why would I feel sick?”, I repeated out loud
“Is your heart functioning normally or is it accelerating, then slowing down, and then racing again? Are you dizzy?”, she continued
Yes, now I remembered. That’s how I had felt, but when?
“Perhaps it did happen at some point, long ago probably”
“Long ago? When?”
“I don’t remember”
“You do. Where were you?”
I tried to dig into the archive of my memories. What happened? I was at FoodTech labs, yes. Now I remembered. I was at FoodTech labs, it was my first day of work after I had come back from Italy. But why was I in Italy? Dr. Mori. Dr. Mori and the polymer, the MagnaSize. Yes, that was it. We had done tests and we had discovered…that the polymer affected the heart, it made it race till it collapsed like a strained horse.
“At FoodTech labs”, I replied, not exactly knowing where this was going, but feeling a sense of unease mount inside me
“And what happened before you felt sick?”, McMurrich asked
“What happened, what do you mean?”
“What did you do at FoodTech labs before you felt sick?”
“I went to the cafeteria”, I said
“What about the cafeteria? What happened there?”
“I was with Brad…”
Was she playing a trick on me? What was she trying to learn?
“You guys were talking and eating?”
“Yes”
“What were you eating?”, she asked
What game are we playing, mediaeval inquisitor or something?
“I don’t know…”
“You do”
Did I? But wait, wasn’t McMurrich dead? So she wasn’t dead. Had she pretended to be dead? Like the cleaning lady. Yes, in Italy I thought I had seen the cleaning lady dead but it wasn’t so.
“What I knew about was your death”, I replied, grinning with satisfaction at my revenge
“I am dead”, McMurrich said calmly
“Ah so you are dead and I am dead and this is a sci-fi movie”, I laughed hysterically
“What were you eating?”, she insisted, ignoring my reaction
“A chocolate bar”, I said, remembering
She nodded
“Have that chocolate bar analyzed”, she told me, looking at me straight in the eyes
“Why?”, I asked, more and more uneasy
“Time is over, I am busy now”, she said, moving her eyes on the computer screen
“Tell me why”, I insisted as I would have never done in other moments
“You are so innocent, how can you not understand?”, McMurrich said with a hint of ironic despise in her tone
“What are you referring to?”, I asked again in angry panic
But before I could get an answer the lights in her office flashed, grew bright and blinded me. Through my blurred view I saw two figures. I wanted to ask them who they were but all I could utter was a moaning sound.
Chapter 92
“Iris…”, I heard
Jack. Yes, this was Jack, but what were we doing? Where were we?
I opened my eyes slowly. He was standing beside my bed, and this bed – I immediately knew – was not mine. I looked at my arms and saw a fluid being infused into me with a needle, a drop at a time. I turned my head slowly, the room swirled. Then I saw Avery, her features fuzzy but recognizable.
“I had to call 911 and have them bring you to the hospital”, she explained
“What happened exactly?”,
I asked with a furred voice
“You didn’t feel well, I drove you home and all of a sudden you passed out”, she told me
I began to remember.
“For how long have I been unconscious? What time is it?”, I asked
The day was bright and the light seeped through the windows, its intensity sliced by white shades. It could have been 10 am or 4 pm, it was impossible for me to tell. Avery pointed at a clock on the wall. 5.15, it said. I hadn’t noticed the clock before, although I would have sworn I had looked into that direction when I woke up.
“I had a strange dream, you know…”, I begun
“What did you dream?”, asked Jack, caressing my forehead
“McMurrich was in her office, she insisted that I remember what I ate. I told her I had a chocolate bar before leaving FoodTech. Analyze it, she told me, but then she wouldn’t say why…I woke up before she told me why…”
Jack stopped his hand on my forehead, looking at me with the worried expression of a mother who just realized her kid has very high temperature.
“What?”, I asked, and since he wouldn’t reply I turned to Avery.
Her eyes were bugged, and she looked at me with a clouded face.
“What’s happening guys?”, I asked again
“Well, what McMurrich’s ghost told you makes a lot of sense”, Avery said at last
“Why? What do you mean with McMurrich’s ghost, I was just talking about a random dream…”, I asked, but even before Avery spoke the nightmarish vision of what had happened began forming in my mind
“Why?”, I repeated, the despair resounding in the three letters and breaking my voice
Avery produced a tape recorder from a black bag she had laid in a corner. Still crouching, she raised her eyes and looked at Jack, asking for an answer to a question I didn’t know. He stood there looking at her with a dark expression, without moving.
“Mark Gill confessed”, Avery said at last, pushing on her knee to get up
“Did he kill McMurrich?”, I asked
“Do you want to listen to this?”, she replied, holding the recorder in her hand
My head was spinning and a lump tightened my stomach. I nodded slowly. Yes, I replied in silence, let me hear about this. Yes, go ahead and tell me, I want to know how my game has produced a lethal discovery, which now gnaws on my wasted body and my exhausted mind. Every suicide knows how he gets to end his days, why shouldn’t I?
Chapter 93
Avery turned on the tape recorder.
Background noises, chairs being moved.
Avery: Mr. Gill, what where you doing on between 7 pm of Wednesday July the 25th and 3 am of July the 26th?
Mark Gill: From 7 to about 7.30 I was at home, and then I met Janna McMurrich
Avery: where did you meet her?
Mark Gill: at her place
Avery: were you and Janna McMurrich the only two people at McMurrich’s place?
Mark Gill: no
Avery: Who else was there?
Mark Gill: Michael Gill
Avery: Are you related to Michael Gill?
Mark Gill: Yes. He is my brother
Avery: Did you and your brother arrive and leave Janna McMurrich’s place at the same time?
Mark Gill: Yes, approximately
Avery: can you be more precise about the timing? Who got there first and who left first?
Mark Gill: I got there first and left before Michael did
Avery: at which time did you leave?
Mark Gill: Around 1 am, I would say
Avery: Could it have been later than that?
Mark Gill: No, I don’t think so
Avery: why don’t you think so?
Mark Gill: because when I got in the car I remember checking the time and it was approximately 1
Avery: do you have witnesses?
Mark Gill: no
Avery: did you go home immediately after leaving from the house when Janna McMurrich lived?
Mark Gill: I drove around for a while, to get some fresh air
Avery: Is this something you usually do? Drive around to get some fresh air?
Lawyer: This question is not relevant to the case
Avery: In a previous conversation with you we assessed that your car was speeding on the highway at 2.15. Why were you around at 2.15?
Mark Gill: as I said, I wanted to get some fresh air
Avery: Other than driving on the highway, where did you go get some fresh air?
Gill: I don’t remember exactly, I drove around Janna’s neighbourhood, it’s a nice neighbourhood…
Avery: for how long did you drive around Janna’s neighbourhood?
Gill: I don’t know…half an hour, maybe more…
Avery: and where did you go after that?
Gill: I don’t remember exactly. I was around here place for a while…and then I began heading home
Avery: and you used the highway to get home
Gill: yes
Avery: the highway is the fastest route from where Janna McMurrich lived to your place, and the exit closest to your area is exit 8. At the speed at which you were driving it must have taken you approximately 15 minutes to reach exit 8 from the moment you entered the highway. A camera shot a picture of your car speeding at 2.15 am, which means that you had started driving on the highway shortly before that.
Gill: I don’t know, maybe the watch on my car was wrong then…or maybe I drove around Janna’s neighborhood for more than 30 minutes
Avery: what was the purpose of your visit to Janna McMurrich?
Mark Gill: it was just an evening among friends
Avery: Last time you said you and Janna McMurrich were in an intimate relationship
Mark Gill: Not so intimate, occasional I would say
Avery: Michael Gill had a professional relationship with Janna McMurrich, is this correct?
Mark Gill: Yes, but Janna and Michael were also friends
Avery: Were they friends before they started working together?
Mark Gill: no
Avery: it seems like a strange coincidence that you and Michael Gill are brothers, that Janna McMurrich is your lover and your brother’s friend
Lawyer: this question is not relevant. Mark, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to
Avery: I will get my answers one way or the other, but if you make things easier for me I will make things easier for you
Mark Gill: I knew Janna from grad school, our research groups had some collaboration going on and we published a paper together. We kept in touch after we graduated, and we worked for a while in the same company, Diet Clinical. After a while I moved on, and got the current position. Janna was not making the greatest career at Diet Clinical and when I knew from Michael there were opportunities at FoodTech I gave her a hand.
Avery: You asked Michael to give McMurrich a hand?
Mark Gill: Yes, and so she got her current position
Avery: Thank you. So what was the position your brother Michael had with regard to what was happening with the polymer synthesized at FoodTech labs?
Mark Gill: what do you mean? What polymer?
Avery: Recently Iris Celati synthesized a polymer at FoodTech labs. I know you ran analyses on this polymer.
Mark Gill: It is possible, I don’t exactly remember though
Noise of papers being moved on the table
Avery: Look at these analyses. You ran these tests and gave these results to Iris Celati. Do you remember now?
Mark Gill: Yes, I am starting to remember now…
Avery: Good. The polymer could bring huge economic benefits to food companies, but its effects on human health have not been tested. Did Michael Gill believe the polymer should be released or did he have concerns?
Lawyer: How is this relevant to the investigation?
Avery: Mr. Gill?
Mark Gill: Why don’t you ask him? How would I know about this?
Avery: did you and your brother go to Janna’s McMurrich ho
use to discuss the polymer? Were you there to act as a mediator?
Mark Gill: no, it was supposed to be an evening among friends
Avery: Michael Gill lives in the States. He is the head of the FoodTech lab office in New York. Why was he in town?
Mark Gill: He is my brother. He came to visit.
Avery: Your brother was staying at your place?
Mark Gill: yes, why?
Avery: Is it a case that your brother flew to the States right after the murder and came back shortly after to take over McMurrich’s position?
Lawyer: if you are implying that my client murdered McMurrich to put his brother in her place, you are making is pure speculation. Mark is not expected to answer questions that concern his brother
Avery: unless he is involved in his brother’s doings
Avery: Mr. Gill, when you tested the polymer you saw that was it did on the bacteria was strange, very strange, and understood that a product like that could not be released. At least not before its safety was tested further. You didn’t tell Iris Celati or her colleague, but you phoned your lover, Janna McMurrich, and told her to be careful. She didn’t listen. So you called your brother in the head office and told him what was happening. He begun the testing in NY and understood you were right. He called McMurrich and tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen to your brother either. She felt this was her chance to become a big shot, she wanted to claim that her own research group had come up with the discovery of the century. She felt that information was starting to leak, and that the creator of the polymer herself had doubts about the safety of the product. Janna McMurrich wanted to release the polymer immediately. So Michael came over to meet Janna McMurrich in person, and the two of you went to her place to discuss business. You tried to talk her into producing a second generation polymer, which was equally effective but safe. Janna McMurrich is a determined woman though. Around 12 pm Michael Gill gave up and left. You two both have the habit of speeding, and he was driving along the highway 20 km above the limit at 12.15. But you couldn’t give up. You stayed with Janna for longer, perhaps cursing her greediness, perhaps trying once again to reason with her, but you didn’t have more success than your brother. Perhaps she even accused you of wanting to spoil her career as second time, after you had done the same at Diet Clinical. When you worked there with her you had alerted her about the risks of her formulation, am I right?
Silence
Avery: So around 2 am you got up, angry and shouting, and told McMurrich to go ahead if she wanted to. Maybe you menaced to break your relationship with her, maybe you shouted to report her to the police, and started the engine of your car blind with rage. You just wanted to leave, efface this night and this relationship. Janna was outraged too, and she ran after your car as you were driving off. It was dark and after drinking one glass after the other your anger was fully fueled and your senses numbed. Janna wasn’t in a much better state, and after chasing your car she managed to catch up, and jumped in front of it trying to stop you. You pressed the break a moment too late. You got out of the car and saw her lying on the ground, a pool of blood spreading around her. She was still alive, but you didn’t realize that. You panicked. You stared at Janna’s wasted body for a moment and thought you’d killed her. If you had called for an ambulance she would probably be still alive, but you drove away instead. Janna McMurrich died hemorrhaging after about one hour after your car hit her.