Paging the resident on call, Jason instructed him to ask the family for an autopsy. Jason explained he might not be immediately available. Then, feeling as ineffectual as ever, after these deaths, he left the hospital and returned to his apartment. He lay for some time, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He wondered what kind of job he could get in the pharmaceutical industry.
CHAPTER 9
Cedric Harring, Brian Lennox, Holly Jennings, Gerald Farr, and now Matthew Cowen. Jason had never lost so many patients in such a short period of time. All night the parade of their faces had interrupted his dreams, and when he awakened about eleven he was as exhausted as though he’d never slept at all. He forced himself to do his regular Sunday six miles, then showered and dressed carefully in a pale yellow shirt with white collar and cuffs, dark brown pants, and a muted brown plaid jacket of linen and silk. He was glad he had the meeting with Carol to distract him.
The Hampshire House was on Beacon Street, overlooking the Boston Public Gardens. In contrast to Saturday’s rain, the sky was filled with bright sunshine and scudding clouds. The American flag flying over the Hampshire entrance snapped in the late autumn breeze. Jason arrived early and asked for a table in the front room on the first floor. A fire crackled comfortably and a piano player kept up a stream of old favorites.
Jason regarded the people around him. They were all respectably dressed and were engaged in lively conversation, obviously unaware of whatever new medical horror was sweeping their city…. Then Jason warned himself not to let his imagination run wild. Half a dozen deaths didn’t mean an epidemic. Besides, he wasn’t even sure it was infectious. Still, he couldn’t get the fatalities out of his mind.
Carol arrived at five minutes after two. Jason stood up, waving to get her attention. She was appealingly dressed in a white silk blouse with black wool pants. Her fresh, young innocent appearance away from the club always amazed Jason. Noticing him, she smiled broadly and made her way over to the table. She acted mildly out of breath.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said, arranging her things, which included a suede jacket, a canvas bag full of papers, and a shoulder handbag. As she did so, she glanced frequently at the entrance.
“Are you expecting someone?” Jason asked.
“I certainly hope not. But I have this crazy boss who insists on being overprotective. Especially since Alvin died. He’s keeping someone with me most of the time, supposedly for my protection. At night I don’t mind, but during the day I don’t like it. Mr. Muscle showed up this morning, but I sent him on his way. He may have followed me anyway.”
Jason wondered if he should mention he’d met Bruno, but decided against it. It was only after they had been served without glimpsing Bruno’s hulk that they both began to relax a bit.
“I probably should be more grateful to my boss,” Carol said. “He’s been so good to me. Right now I’m living in one of his apartments on Beacon Street. I don’t even pay rent.”
Jason didn’t want to consider all the reasons for which Carol’s boss might want her to have a nice apartment. Embarrassed, he turned his attention to his omelette.
“So…” Carol said, brandishing her fork. “What else did you want to ask me?” She took a sizable bite of her French toast.
“Have you remembered anything else about Alvin Hayes’s discovery?”
“Nope,” Carol said, swallowing. “Besides, even when he used to discuss his work with me, I found it incomprehensible. He always forgot that not everyone is a nuclear physicist.” Carol laughed, her eyes sparkling attractively.
“I’ve been told that Alvin free-lanced for another bioengineering company,” Jason said. “Did you know anything about that?”
“I guess you’re referring to Gene, Inc.” Carol paused, her smile fading. “That was supposed to be a big secret.” She cocked her head to the side. “But now that he’s gone, I guess it doesn’t matter. He’d worked for them for about a year.”
“Do you know what he did for them?”
“Not really. Something with growth hormone. But lately they’d gotten into a row. Something to do with finances. I don’t know the details….”
Jason realized that he’d been right after all. Helene had been holding back. If Hayes had been feuding with Gene, Inc., she must have known.
“What do you know about Helene Brennquivist?”
“She’s a nice lady.” Carol put down her fork. “Well… that’s not quite sincere. She’s probably okay. But to tell you the truth, Helene is the reasou Alvin and I stopped being lovers. Because they worked together so much, she started coming over to the apartment. Then I found out they were having an affair. That I couldn’t handle. It irked me she’d been so secret about it, especially right under my nose in my own house.”
Jason was amazed. He’d guessed that Helene was withholding information, but it had never dawned on him that she was sleeping with Hayes. Jason studied Carol’s face. He could see that mentioning the affair had brought back unpleasant feelings. Jason wondered if Carol had been as angry with Hayes as she was with Helene.
“What about Hayes’s family?” he asked, deliberately changing the subject.
“I don’t know much about them. I spoke to his ex-wife on the phone once or twice, but never in person. They’d been divorced for five years or so.”
“Did Hayes have a son?”
“Two. Two boys and a girl.”
“Do you know where they lived?”
“A small town in New Jersey. Leonia or something like that. I remember the street though — Park Avenue. I remembered that because it sounded so pretentious.”
“Did he ever say anything about one of his sons being sick?”
Carol shook her head. Motioning to a waitress, Carol indicated she wanted more coffee. They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the food and the atmosphere.
When Jason’s beeper went off, it startled them both. Luckily, it was just his service saying Cowen’s family had finally arrived from Minneapolis and hoped to meet him at the hospital around four.
Returning from the phone, Jason suggested they take advantage of the nice weather and walk in the garden. After they’d crossed Beacon Street, she surprised him by taking his arm. He surprised himself by enjoying it. Despite her somewhat dubious profession, Jason had to admit he enjoyed her company immensely. Aside from her wholesome good looks, her vitality was infectious.
They skirted the swan boat pond, passed under the mounted bronze statue of Washington, then crossed the bridge spanning the central neck of the waterway. The swan boats had been retired for the season. Finding an empty bench under a now naked willow tree, Jason turned the conversation back to Hayes.
“Did he do anything out of the ordinary over the last three months? Anything unexpected… out of character?”
Carol picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water. “That’s a hard question,” she said. “One of the things I liked about Alvin was his impulsiveness. We would do a lot of things on the spur of the moment, like taking trips.”
“Had he done much traveling recently?”
“Oh, yes,” Carol said, searching for another stone. “Last May he went to Australia.”
“Did you go?”
“No. He didn’t take me. He said it was strictly business — and that he needed Helene to help him with various tests. At the time I believed him, chump that I was.”
“Did you ever find out what his business was?”
“Something involving Australian mice. I remember him saying they had peculiar habits. But that’s all I knew. He had lots of mice and rats in his lab.”
“I know,” Jason said, vividly picturing the revolting dead animals. Jason had asked if Hayes had been behaving oddly. A sudden trip to Australia might be considered bizarre, but without knowing his current studies it was hard to be sure. He’d have to take the issue up with Helene.