Ten minutes later, as if God had finally decided to give him a break, Carol emerged. Dressed in jeans and a turtleneck, with her thick brown hair gathered in a ponytail, she seemed the young college student the Club Cabaret advertised. Feeling the light drizzle, she opened a flower print umbrella and started up the street, passing within a few feet of Jason, who scrunched down in his car seat, unreasonably afraid she’d recognize him.
Giving her a good lead, Jason got out of his car to follow on foot. He lost sight of her on Dartmouth Street, but picked her up at Commonwealth Avenue. As he continued to follow her, he kept a sharp eye out for the likes of Bruno or Curran. At the comer of Dartmouth and Boylston, Jason stopped at a magazine stand and thumbed through a periodical. Carol passed him, waited for the light, then hurried across Boylston. Jason studied the people and the cars, looking for anything suspicious. But there was no indication that Carol was not alone.
She was now passing the Boston Public Library, and Jason guessed she was heading for the Copley Plaza Shopping Mall. After buying the magazine, which turned out to be The New Yorker, Jason continued after her. When she folded her umbrella and went into the Copley Plaza, Jason quickened his step. It was a large shopping and hotel complex, and he knew he could easily lose her.
For the next three-quarters of an hour, Jason busied himself by pretending to study window displays, reading his New Yorker, and eyeing the crowds. Carol happily hopped from Louis Vuitton to Ralph Lauren to Victoria’s Secret. At one point Jason thought she was being tailed, but it turned out the man in question was simply trying to pick her up. She apparently rebuffed his advance when he finally approached her, because he quickly disappeared.
At a little after three-thirty, Carol took her bags and umbrella and retreated into Au Bon Pain. Jason followed, standing next to her as they waited to order and taking the opportunity to note her lovely oval face, smooth olive complexion, and dark liquid eyes. She was a handsome young woman. Jason guessed she was about twenty-four.
“Good day for coffee,” he said, hoping to start a conversation.
“I prefer tea.”
Jason smiled sheepishly. He wasn’t good at pickups or small talk. “Tea’s good, too,” he said, afraid he was making a fool of himself.
Carol ordered soup, tea, and a plain croissant, then carried her tray to one of the large communal tables.
Jason ordered a cappuccino and then, hesitating as though he could find no place to sit, approached her table.
“Do you mind?” he asked, pulling back a chair.
Several of the people at the table looked up, including Carol. A man moved several of his packages. Jason sat down, giving everyone a limp smile.
“What a coincidence,” Jason said to Carol. “We meet again.”
Carol eyed him over her teacup. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Her expression reflected her irritation.
At once Jason recognized that his whole act appeared to be a come-on and that he was about to be sent packing. “Excuse me,” he said. “I don’t mean to be a bother. My name is Dr. Jason Howard. I was a colleague of Dr. Alvin Hayes. You’re Carol Donner, and I’d like very much to talk with you.”
“You’re with GHP?” Carol asked suspiciously.
“I’m the current chief of the medical staff.” It was the first time Jason had ever used the title. At a regular academic hospital it had great significance, but at GHP the job was a bothersome sinecure.
“How can I be sure?” Carol asked.
“I can show you my license.”
“Okay.”
Jason reached behind for his wallet, but Carol grasped his arm.
“Never mind,” she said. “I believe you. Alvin used to speak of you. Said you were the best clinician there.”
“I’m flattered,” Jason said. He was also surprised, considering the little contact he’d had with Hayes.
“Sorry to be so suspicious,” Carol said, “but I get hassled a lot, especially the last few days. What would you like to talk about?”
“Dr. Hayes,” Jason said. “First, I’d like to say that his death was a real loss to us. You have my sympathy.”
Carol shrugged.
Jason wasn’t sure what to make of her response. “I still have trouble believing Dr. Hayes was involved with drugs. Did you know about that?” he asked.
“I did. But the newspapers had it wrong. Alvin was a minimal user, usually marijuana but occasionally cocaine. Certainly not heroin.”
“Not a dealer?”
“Absolutely not. Believe me, I would have known.”
“But a lot of drugs and cash were found in his apartment.”
“The only explanation I can think of is that the police put both the drugs and the money in the apartment. Alvin was always short of both. If he ever had extra cash, he sent it to his family.”
“You mean his ex-wife?”
“Yes. She had custody of his children.”
“Why would the police do such a thing?” Jason asked, thinking her comment echoed Hayes’s paranoia.
“I don’t know, really. But I can’t think of any other way the drugs could have gotten there. I can assure you, he didn’t have them when I left at nine o’clock that evening.”
Jason leaned forward, lowering his voice. “The night Dr. Hayes died he told me he’d made a major discovery. Did he tell you anything about it?”
“He mentioned something. But that was three months ago.”
For a moment Jason allowed himself to feel optimistic. Then Carol explained that she didn’t know what the discovery was.
“He didn’t confide in you?”
“Not lately. We’d kinda drifted apart.”
“But you were living together — or did the newspapers get that wrong too?”
“We were living together,” Carol admitted, “but in the end just as roommates. Our relationship had deteriorated. He really changed. It wasn’t just that he felt physically ill; his whole personality was different. He seemed withdrawn, almost paranoid. He kept talking about seeing you and I tried to get him to do it.”
“You really have no idea what the discovery was?” Jason persisted.
“Sorry,” Carol said, spreading her hands in apology. “The only thing I remember was that he said the breakthrough was ironic. I remembered because it seemed an odd way to describe success.”
“He said the same to me.”
“At least he was consistent. His only other comment was that if all went well, I would appreciate it because I was beautiful. Those were his exact words.”
“He didn’t elaborate?”
“That was all he said.”
Taking a sip of his cappuccino, Jason stared at Carol’s face. How could an ironic discovery help her beauty? His mind tried to reconcile that statement with his guess that Hayes’s discovery had something to do with a cancer cure. It didn’t fit.
Finishing her tea, Carol stood up. “I’m glad to have met you,” she said, thrusting out her hand.
Jason stood up, awkwardly catching his chair to keep it from falling over. He was nonplussed by her sudden departure.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” she said, “but I have an appointment. I hope you solve the mystery. Alvin worked very hard. It would be a tragedy if he’d discovered something important and it was lost.”
“My feelings exactly,” said Jason, frantic not to see her disappear. “Can we meet again? There’s so much more I’d like to discuss.”
“I suppose. But I’m quite busy. When did you have in mind?”
“How about tomorrow?” Jason suggested eagerly. “Sunday brunch.”
“It would have to be late. I work at night and Saturday is the busiest.”