Authors: Avi Domoshevizki
New York, October 23, 2013, 5:15 PM
The sound of an incoming call found Ronnie two blocks from
Presbyterian Hospital, where Liah had been admitted. The number was unlisted.
“Good afternoon,” he answered, quickening his pace, hurrying to
see Liah and also to warm himself a bit.
“Mr. Saar?” A resolute masculine voice was heard.
“Yes. Who’s asking?”
“This is Special Agent Archibald Bukowski from the FBI. I’d
appreciate it if you could come to our office at 26 Federal Plaza. I’ll be
waiting for you.”
“May I ask what this is about? I’m terribly busy at the moment.
I’d love to meet with you tomorrow, anytime that would be convenient for you.”
“The time that’s convenient for me is
right now
. If you
don’t get here in the next hour, I’ll get a warrant for your arrest and you’ll
have the NYPD and the FBI looking for you. Ask for Special Agent Bukowski when
you get here.” The phone went silent.
Twenty-five minutes later, Ronnie emerged from the exit of the
number 5 subway at the corner of Chambers and Centre and began to march toward
Broadway, where he turned right and headed to the FBI building.
“I have an appointment with Special Agent Bukowski,” Ronnie addressed
the redhead behind the reception desk.
“Name?”
She raised her eyes and gave
him a bored look.
“Ronnie Saar.”
“Please sit down.” She pointed a chunky hand toward the black
armchairs in the lobby.
Ronnie sat down, closed his eyes and waited, sunk in thought.
Fifteen minutes later, he heard the receptionist calling his name, so he
approached the reception desk.
“I need your ID, please.” She collected his driver’s license and
gave him a visitor’s badge in return. “Please attach the badge to the right
side of your jacket and don’t take it off while on the premises,” she recited.
Then she added, “Take the elevator to the tenth floor. Agent Bukowski will be
waiting for you.”
“Mr. Saar?” A stout man in his fifties was waiting for him when
he stepped out of the elevator. He wore a gray suit, his tie hanging loosely
from his neck. Ronnie nodded and followed the agent through the maze of
corridors. Bukowski opened a door in one of the corridors and waited for Ronnie
to step inside. Then he motioned to the only chair on the near side of the
desk, which was not stacked with paperwork.
“Thanks for coming so quickly,” he began, speaking in a
completely different tone than the one he’d used over the phone. “I invited you
to have a conversation, and at this point, it’s just a conversation. I am
interested to learn everything you know about the case at Mount Sinai in which
a patient involved in a medical experiment you approved died.”
Ronnie managed to control the wave of panic that rose in him.
“I’ll be happy to answer all your questions.”
“Why did you approve a procedure that could endanger lives?” the
detective fired at him, giving him a hostile look.
“Before the procedure you are referring to, eleven identical
clinical trials had been conducted; they were all successful. The only
difference between the last procedure and the ones that preceded it is that no
company representatives participated in the surgery. Because the previous
trials didn’t call for the company representative’s involvement, there wasn’t any
apparent reason not to approve the next set of clinical trials.” Ronnie went
silent.
“Apparently, there was a very good reason, seeing that the
patients died.”
“When the decision was made, we had no information that could
even hint at a possible danger.” Ronnie managed to maintain his calm.
“I’ve checked into the financial situation of your company. You
ran out of money, and it seems like you couldn’t afford to give up the
operation. Was that the reason you approved it?
Money?”
Bukowski leaned on his elbows. His jacket opened a bit, exposing
a large handgun and armpit stains on a once white shirt.
“The company is indeed experiencing some cash flow issues. But
that has nothing to do with me authorizing the trials. There’s no way in hell
I’d risk a man’s life for money. I approved the experiment because all the
information I had at the time supported this decision —”
“And then a father of five died,” Bukowski cut him off.
“
Which is truly tragic.
I visited the
family only yesterday, and my heart bled when I spoke with the widow and her
children. But this still doesn’t make my decision an erroneous one.”
The agent kept quiet, continuing to closely examine Ronnie’s
face.
Ronnie was the first to break the silence, “Agent Bukowski, I
don’t know if you’re aware of it, but another patient died in an operation
conducted simultaneously in a Philadelphia hospital and using the same
medicine. Unfortunately, in both cases, the families refused an autopsy, which
could’ve shed some light on what happened and, to the best of my
knowledge,
clear our company of any suspicion. As I
mentioned before, in both cases, our representatives weren’t present in the
operating room, so I don’t have any information about what actually happened
during surgery. We’ve invested a lot of effort in trying to understand what
went wrong with the procedure from the doctors, but they were all instructed by
the hospitals’ legal advisors to keep quiet. As I said at the beginning of the
conversation, I’m eager to help in any way I can, but I’m in the dark just as
much as you are, and have no idea what could have gone wrong. Even though I
can’t ignore the horrible coincidence — two operations in which medicine
developed by TDO was used, performed at the same time in locations about a
hundred miles from one another, ended up with patients dying — I still can’t
see how the medicine could’ve been responsible for the deaths of the patients.”
“I’m aware of the second death, and I have to admit I was
positive you wouldn’t be the one to bring up the subject.” Bukowski’s mouth
stretched into a thin smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I think you’re lucky
the autopsies weren’t allowed, otherwise we would be having this conversation
in a jail cell.” The agent stood and began to pace in the room, his hands clasped
behind his back and his thumbs tightened.
“Forgive me for asking, but why is the FBI even investigating
this matter? Were there any criminal accusations?”
“The FDA asked us to look into this case before they prosecute
your company,” Bukowski fired back.
“Even though the obvious assumption is that the company’s
responsible, there are too many suspicious things going on that can’t be
ignored,” Ronnie erupted.
Bukowski stopped pacing, approached Ronnie, and bellowed, “If
you have any information, now’s the time to share it with me, because honestly,
my patience is wearing thin.”
Ronnie leaned back and said, “What I’ll describe to you now is
the
result of some sniffing around my people have
been
doing at the hospital and my own conclusions about the findings. As you must
know, I have neither the manpower nor the authority to investigate this case
thoroughly, but—”
“Enough bullshit.”
A vein began to
pulse in the agent’s forehead. “I’m tired of all the wise guys sitting in front
of me and trying to prove just how brilliant they are. Somehow, at the end of
the day, they all end up in prison. There, they discover their brilliance to be
absolutely useless.”
“You may not believe me, but I want to find out the truth just
as much as you do. I didn’t come here with a lawyer, and I’m doing whatever I
can to help. The threats you’ve been bombarding me with from the moment I
entered the room are completely unnecessary.”
“Talk,” grumbled the detective and dropped into his chair.
“As mentioned, in the investigation I’ve conducted, two points
arose which made me think we’re not faced with a mere coincidence, but with a
malicious act —”
“So why didn’t you go to the police?” Bukowski interrupted him
and straightened in his chair.
“Because I have no proof for anything I’m about to tell you now.
Some of the pieces of the puzzle came together in my mind only while I was on
my way here,” Ronnie explained calmly. “In both cases, the families objected to
a postmortem for religious reasons. Statistically speaking, that doesn’t make
sense. In my digging, I learned that the Philadelphia patient scheduled his
operation two months ago, but the one in New York was scheduled shortly before
the operation. In fact, there was another patient scheduled for that time,
whose operation was cancelled and the appointment given to the deceased. The
reason given to the patient originally scheduled for surgery proved to false.”
Ronnie went silent and looked at the detective.
“And the other thing?”
“The clerk who’d switched the dates of the operations suddenly
decided to take a trip to Central America a day before the surgery.”
“And what’s so special about that? People take vacations, unless
they work for the FBI, that is.”
“It wasn’t a vacation. Her work friends say there wasn’t any
indication that she’d been planning such a trip, and that she’s not the type to
just leave everything and go on a spur-of-the-moment adventure. She took care
of her elderly grandmother, and her job was too important for her to just wake
up one morning and tell her supervisors she was quitting. She could’ve at least
tried to get an unpaid leave, couldn’t she?”
“Who can figure out young people nowadays… what’s her name?”
“Roselyn D’Angelo.”
“All right, I’ll check it out. But I have to tell you, I don’t
buy your story. You signed, people died, you’re guilty. That’s the way I see
it. In my experience, the world is a simple place. Most people spend their
entire lives thinking it’s beyond their grasp. The rest of them spend their lives
trying to make it complicated, but, after so many years in this business,
I
know
the world is simple. And when we find out what happened in these two
cases, we’ll discover, one more time, that this was not about some crazy
statistics or an unfortunate coincidence. Someone was responsible for this. If
I have to guess, it is probably someone from your company.” He got up from his
seat. “Come, I’ll walk you outside. Try not to disappear on me in the next few
weeks. By the way, don’t try to leave the United States with your Israeli
passport,
you’d be arrested as soon as you reached passport
control.”
They walked together toward the elevators, and when they reached
the entryway, the agent pressed the call button. They both stood facing the
elevator and keeping quiet. When the elevator arrived and the doors opened,
Ronnie stepped inside but noticed Bukowski was preventing the doors from
closing.
“What?”
“We haven’t spoken about Christian Lumner yet, the company CEO
who committed suicide. Do you consider that to be just another unlucky
coincidence?” The agent released the doors and disappeared.
The subway ride to Presbyterian Hospital lasted an eternity.
Ronnie ran from the station to the hospital. Liah gave him a faint smile when
he finally reached her room.
“How are you?” she whispered.
“How I am is not very important right now. How are you feeling?”
“Weak, but the pain has subsided and the doctors told me if I’m
able to inject myself with cortisone shots, as far as they’re concerned, I can
be discharged as early as tomorrow morning.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Isn’t it better for you to be
here, so you’ll be taken care of?”
“No, I’m not sure at all. Where’ve you been all this time? Is it
so insanely busy at work?”
Ronnie debated whether he should tell her about the recent
developments. He was afraid more stress would aggravate her medical condition.
Liah, who’d noticed his hesitation, gathered her strength, sat
up in bed, and with a surprisingly steady voice, demanded, “Tell me everything,
right now.”
With a sigh of acceptance, Ronnie described to her what had
happened from the moment he’d been notified about the death of the two
patients. When he was finished, she smiled at him feebly, leaned back tiredly,
and said, “The moment I leave you alone, you get into trouble. We’ll talk about
it later.” Liah lay back in bed and was asleep in seconds, exhausted by the
effort of following his story. Ronnie kissed her forehead and went out of the
room quietly.
Half an hour later, he reached his apartment and was surprised
to discover the front door ajar. He pushed it open slowly, preparing himself
for the worst, and stepped carefully inside, his eyes scanning his
surroundings. The house seemed quiet and it appeared nothing was missing. He
locked the door behind him, and when he headed to the kitchen to grab a beer
from the refrigerator he saw a piece of paper under Liah's favorite magnet:
"A house without a dog is not a home." It was a printed note
that said, “Stay away from the hospitals, and we’ll stay away from you and your
lady friend.”
New York, October 24, 2013, 7:20 AM
Ronnie wasn’t surprised to find Evelyn at her station, totally
consumed in her work as if the workday had begun hours ago.
“He’s in his office,” she said without being asked.
David looked worried.
“There are two important points I’d like to bring you up to date
on,” Ronnie began.
“Please . . .” David sent him a forced smile, his hands moving
restlessly.
“I’ve spoken with Robert and all the investors.” Ronnie was careful
to maintain a neutral and straightforward tone. “I’ll try to close the
deal this coming Friday.”
“Can’t you do it before that?”
“Friday was the earliest day Robert had available for the
meeting.”
“Excellent. What’s the other thing?”
“You don’t care about the terms of the purchase?”
“I’m already aware of them. Robert updated me right after your
conversation. As I told you, we’ve been close friends for many years.”
Perhaps too close
, Ronnie thought.
“Well? What’s the other thing?”
“Yesterday, I was summoned to the FBI office. They’re
investigating the deaths of the two patients. I believe the next time they call
me down I’ll need a criminal lawyer. Do you know any good ones?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.” David wrung his hands. “I never thought
it would come to this… I’ll check with the fund’s attorneys and send you their
recommendation later on today. Will there be anything else?”
“No, thank you.” Ronnie rose and went out of the room.
The corridors were silent as he returned to his office. It appeared
only Ronnie, Evelyn and David
were
in this early.
Ronnie closed the door behind him, sat down, tipped his chair back, rested his
feet on the desk and analyzed all the facts that had turned his life into a
miserable mess in just a single week:
I’ve been questioned by the FBI and
the police, who won’t let me off the hook even after the company’s been sold.
I’ve been unable to make even the slightest progress in understanding how the
operation date switch was related to Christian’s death, or understanding the
connection between the operation’s failure and what’s been going on with the
company or with me. Someone has broken into my house and left a clear threat,
and all this time Henry and David have been working behind my back…
Ronnie
allowed his fingers to dance across the touch screen of his phone.
“Yes, Ronnie.” Apparently Jim recognized his number; he was glad
to hear Jim’s voice.
“Is there anything new I need to know about?” Ronnie took a shot
in the dark.
“Sorry, but no.
We’ve examined
everything we could think of, and the conclusion is that all company procedures
have been closely followed. If there’s any relation between the deaths and the
medicine, it can’t possibly be the result of a malfunction on our end. The only
thing I can think of is that the medicine was tampered with on the way from the
factory to the hospital or while it was in the hospital.”
Jim sounded certain of his conclusion, but that didn’t cheer
Ronnie up. “Please send me the list of procedures and the results of the
investigation so I can go over them myself. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can
discover something missed by someone too close to the subject.”
“Gladly.
I’ll send you a link and a
password so you’ll be able to access the company’s database. There, you’ll find
all the procedures, production reports and all the other information related to
the medicine monitoring process.”
“The procedures will be enough. It would be very helpful if you
could place them in a single folder and email them to me.” Ronnie decided not
to let Jim know he’d gotten the password from Christian. “But that’s not what
I’m calling you for.” He got back to the subject he’d originally called Jim to
discuss. “We need to appoint a new CEO. I don’t want to rush the appointment.
It’s no secret that Christian valued your work highly, and in the past few days
I’ve come to realize why. Furthermore, I don’t believe there’s anyone who knows
the organization better than you do. So, I’m hoping you will agree to
temporarily serve as CEO, until I’m able to decide, along with the board of
directors, who to recommend as permanent CEO.”
“You don’t think I can be the next CEO?” Jim sounded openly
disappointed.
“Perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly enough. I don’t know
anyone who could do a better job than you would. But at the same time, I’m not
willing to force a decision on the rest of the investors or future buyers,
assuming there will be any. I need time, and I ask you to give me that time.
You can count on my vote.”
“Yes, of course.” The usual appeasing tone returned to Jim’s
voice. “I’ll do anything for this company to keep it operating at full steam
until a CEO who’s acceptable to everyone can be found.”
“I’ll issue an appropriate letter of appointment.” Ronnie sighed
with relief. “I won’t be in New York tomorrow. Will you be able to come and
meet with me on Monday afternoon, so we can decide on the next set of company
goals?”
“No problem. I’ll get there in the afternoon and buy a return
ticket for eleven PM from LaGuardia. I believe that will give us enough time to
discuss all the topics.”
“Excellent. It’ll be nice to finish the day with a good dinner.
I’ll make restaurant reservations.
My treat, of course.
I’ll see you on Monday, then.” For the first time since he’d woken up that
morning, Ronnie felt things were starting to head in the right direction.
“So… eh… all right. See you.”
“Did you want to say anything else, Jim?”
“There’s something that’s been bothering me for a few days, but I
didn’t want to involve you in it. Perhaps it’s best if we discuss it
face-to-face.” Jim’s voice was filled with hesitation.
“If something’s bothering you, it’s best that you get it out of
your system as soon as possible. Do you want me to Skype you?”
“Good idea. I’m at the office. I’ll be waiting for your
call.”
A few minutes later, Ronnie saw Jim’s round, troubled face on
his monitor.
“Ronnie, I’m sorry to involve you in personnel issues, but like
I told you, in the comprehensive analyses we conducted, we weren’t able to come
up with even a theoretical way for someone to tamper with the medicine.
Christian was the only one who had the key to the safe, and I can’t believe
he’d ever do something to hurt the company. The company was his entire life. The
only other man who had access to the medicine is Brian, whom you met at Mount
Sinai. The moment the medicine reached his hands, he was the one responsible
for it. I’ve raised objections in the past about giving that playboy such a
responsible job. He spends all his time flirting with anything wearing a skirt.
More than once, he disappeared for hours without providing a reasonable
explanation. I don’t trust him, and I’d like to fire him or bring him back from
the hospital to the company offices, where I’ll be able to keep a close eye on
him,” Jim insisted with unexplained determination.
“Jim, you surprise me. You’re the one who recommended I speak
with Brian just a few days ago. He’s been very helpful. What’s happened since
then?”
“I tried to put my personal feelings about him aside and
concentrate on what’s best for the company. But now that I’m convinced that if
anything happened it took place after the medicine left the factory, suspicions
are gnawing at me again. Maybe I’m wrong, but you can’t be too careful.” Jim’s
voice rose. “I’m telling you, Brian’s dangerous.”
“If you’re right, perhaps it’s better that he doesn’t know we
suspect him. I recommend that we keep him in the hospital for now. After all,
he can’t do any more damage.
Right?”
“I want him next to me, Ronnie.” There was disappointment mixed
with anger in Jim’s voice. “I don’t know what damage he can or can’t do. I
don’t trust him.”
Ronnie was surprised by Jim’s intensity of emotions. “Let me
think about it over the weekend, and we’ll reach a decision about it together
on Monday.” He tried to calm Jim down.
“So what you’re saying is, even though I’m CEO now, I’ll need
your seal of approval for every decision I make?” Jim erupted.
“No. You brought up something, and I told you what I think about
it. Let’s talk some more about it on Monday. Have a good day and a relaxing
weekend.” Ronnie ended the conversation and stared at his computer with a
pensive look.
Could I have been so wrong about Brian? After all, he was the
only one who provided me with some sort of breakthrough. On the other hand,
perhaps he just did that to draw the fire away from him.
His cell phone announced a new incoming message.
Stop all your investigations. If
they find out something was wrong with the medicine, your signature approving
the test trial will get you in trouble with the law.
Ronnie reread the message. Its tone was different than the other
ones he’d received. This was the first time he felt the concern of the previous
messages had changed into a threat. Has the sender changed his tune? Was it the
same person who’d left the message on his refrigerator? And if so, where was he
getting his information from?