“So it could be that.”
“He wasn’t showing any symptoms until just before his death,” Wiltshire reminded him. “CJD is fast, but not that fast.”
“Variant CJD is even faster,” Kenzie said thoughtfully, careful not to refer to it as mad cow disease. Even though variant CJD was, in fact, the disease dubbed mad cow. “But still. Not a week. Sometimes as fast as six to eight weeks.”
Dr. Wiltshire nodded, but his expression was disapproving. He didn’t want Kenzie getting Fletcher wound up about the possibility of vCJD in the food chain. Kenzie looked down at her notebook, writing a few more details. She’d never heard of a case of vCJD that had taken someone that fast. But it was something to consider.
“We need to be thinking about how this is going to play out in the media,” Fletcher said. “If this is a case of mad cow disease—”
“It isn’t. If we find it is CJD, we can talk about the impact then, but right now, nobody is saying that it is Creutzfeldt-Jakob, and we are not going to start talking about it to the public. We are just investigating the death of a man who may have died of old age, a viral or bacterial infection, or Alzheimer’s Disease. All routine illnesses that everyone is familiar with. No one in my office is talking about CJD or releasing anything to the public. When we know what killed him, then we’ll issue a report. Until then, no one talks about it.”
“I’ll need to take this to the governor,” Fletcher said, still not calming down. He was acting as if he were in crisis mode already, trying to deal with an epidemic or another threat to public safety before anyone had any idea what they were dealing with.
The man needed to cut down on the caffeine.
24
After they were finally able to end the call with Fletcher, hopefully having deterred him going off like a cannon to the governor and telling him that there was an outbreak of mad cow disease, Kenzie stayed with Dr. Wiltshire for another half hour or more, going over the various points for each of them to follow up on while they tried to sort out the case. More swabs and samples to be taken and sent off for testing for bacterial, viral, or prion diseases. Research to get started on. Dr. Wiltshire had a few doctors to follow up with whose specialty areas would give them a better feel for what they might be looking at than Dr. Wiltshire or Kenzie had.
And there were other cases that they couldn’t let drop off the radar either. The John Doe had not yet been identified. They would wait for a while, hoping to release him to his family rather than the city for a pauper’s burial. And there was the new case that Dr. Wiltshire had been called out to that morning. Kenzie had done the intake forms, and they would need to get to the postmortem as soon as they could to keep bodies moving through the system. They couldn’t let one case block everything up.
Kenzie left Dr. Wiltshire’s office, rubbing her forehead and temples. She wasn’t sure whether the headache that was starting was from tension, or lack of sleep, or lack of food. Maybe a combination of all three. It had been a long, intense day. She hadn’t expected to be pulled into Wiltshire’s office for so long. Poor Julie had been pressed into service for much longer than they had expected and was probably bored silly. And Kenzie had a lot of jobs to do that she would have to let slide until the next day. There was no way that she was staying any later with the headache that was starting to settle in.
“Sorry to be so long,” Kenzie apologized. “I thought it would only be a few minutes.” She looked at the time again, even though she had already done so at the end of the conversation with Dr. Wiltshire. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you to just go home if it got to be past closing time. You really didn’t need to stay.”
“It’s okay,” Julie looked up from the conversation or game she was involved in on her phone and gave Kenzie a warm smile. “Really. I didn’t have anywhere else I needed to be. And I can claim overtime. Pay off my school bills faster.”
“Then I did you a favor,” Kenzie teased. But she knew it wasn’t true, and she shouldn’t have left Julie there to her own devices for so long. “Did everything go okay? Any problems?”
She had only been down the hall; Julie could have fetched her if something had really blown up while they were busy.
“No.” Julie pushed herself back from the desk, sighing and stretching. “The only one was your boyfriend.”
“My boyfriend? Zachary?” Kenzie’s mind spun into high gear, forgetting about her headache and fatigue. “What happened? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think that anything had happened to him.” Julie held her hands up in a calming gesture. “No, just that he called.” She grimaced. “A few times.”
Kenzie swore under her breath. She moved in beside Julie to get out her purse and lunch bag and to gather up the rest of her papers to put securely away for the next day. “Did he say what was wrong?”
Julie said he was fine, so he hadn’t done something stupid like overdose on his meds or slit his wrists. But he knew better than to call her multiple times. He could call her once, and if she didn’t answer, just leave a message and wait for her to call him back. Sooner or later, she would. He knew that her job was important and that sometimes it had to come before their relationship. Dinners and dates could be put off. Death and high-powered politicians could not.
“He said that the two of you had an appointment. He wanted to know if you were on your way.” Julie shrugged, looking apologetic. “He wanted me to interrupt you, but I knew you and Dr. Wiltshire were on a conference call. He called back a few times. He wasn’t screaming or rude or anything... but I could tell... he was pretty ticked off. Sorry,” she said again.
“No, no, you did the right thing.” It wouldn’t have been good for Julie to interrupt the conference call. Not unless Zachary were in the hospital or there were some other dire news.
But she knew what she had missed.
Their couples therapy. The appointment she had reminded him of just that morning.
25
Kenzie would have kicked herself all the way home if her feet weren’t already occupied with the pedals of the little red convertible. She had hurried past the security guard without their usual friendly conversation, focused solely on getting home and dealing with Zachary.
She couldn’t believe she had missed the appointment. It was on her calendar. She knew about it. Dr. Wiltshire knew about it. She had reminded Zachary and she had always been there for him any time before then that he needed her. Other than when they were broken up. He had been so distant and remote then, angry at her for a conversation she’d had with Pat and Lorne without his knowledge. His anger over her talking behind his back had made him furious and had set their relationship back so far she had been afraid that it was unsalvageable.
And now she had screwed up again.
But that was the way relationships were. Sometimes, one person or the other fell short of expectations. No one was perfect. The important thing for them was to keep talking. She would tell him how sorry she was. Explain how Dr. Wiltshire had called her into the phone call without prior warning. He knew her job was important to her. He wouldn’t hold that against her.
That was what she kept telling herself all the way home.
Kenzie was relieved to see lights on when she reached the house. At least he hadn’t abandoned her and returned to his own apartment in his anger. There was still a chance for her to apologize and explain.
She entered from the garage and took a quick look around the kitchen. Had he eaten? Had he been drinking?
But the kitchen was clean, looking pretty much how she had left it that morning, as if he hadn’t even been in there. If he had eaten, he had remembered to put all his dirty dishes into the dishwasher, which would be rare. Normally even if he remembered, he would still neglect one bowl or mug, either thinking he would use it again later or just getting distracted by something else.
“Zachary?” she called, not just wanting him to know she was home, which he had probably figured out when the
garage door opener had ground into action, but because she wanted him to know that her first thought was of him and connecting with him.
There was no answer. Kenzie went from the kitchen into the living room, where he was sitting in front of his computer with headphones on. Kenzie glanced at the screen to see what he was doing. She didn’t want to walk in on some conference session with a client. The moving image on the screen appeared to be a surveillance video. Maybe one he had taken, or maybe one taken from a camera at a business or someone’s doorbell camera. Cameras were so omnipresent in their lives.
Kenzie took a few steps to the side, trying to get into Zachary’s peripheral vision so that she wouldn’t startle him. His eyes flicked to the side and he didn’t jump. He pressed a key on the computer and lowered the headphones.
“Hi.”
“Zachary, I’m so sorry I missed our session. I was tied up in a meeting with Dr. Wiltshire. I couldn’t even call. We had a big phone call with the governor’s office.”
“Okay.” He put the headphones back on.
“Zachary!” Kenzie touched his arm to regain his attention. He glanced at her again, then continued to watch the video. “Zachary. Come on.” She tapped him several times. Zachary took a breath and lowered his headphones again.
“Yes?”
“We should talk. Don’t just block me out.”
“You were busy. I heard you. Now I have work to do.” He indicated the computer screen.
“I know you’re angry. You’re probably hurt. Pretty upset with me.”
He blinked and said nothing.
“Did you go ahead and have a single session with Dr. B?”
“Yes. Didn’t want to waste the money. I have enough crap to deal with that there was plenty to cover all by myself.”
“Did you talk about me?”
Zachary pointed to his computer screen again. “I should work on this.”
“Did you at least tell her your feelings about me missing?” Maybe if he’d had a chance to vent already and to work through his emotions with Dr. Boyle, he was okay and didn’t need to talk it through with her. If it were already settled without her apology and explanation, then insisting on going over it again could be more harmful to their relationship than helpful. If he’d already gone through it with an impartial third party, maybe that was for the best.
“I told her you were in a meeting. That’s what the intern said.”
“Yes. I was. I just... I don’t want you to think that our couples therapy isn’t important to me. It is, okay? This was just a one-time thing. I’ll go in tomorrow and I’ll talk to Dr. Wiltshire about it and explain that I can’t stay if we have something scheduled. I can’t go into a meeting right before an appointment.”
“Sounds good.” He looked at Kenzie, his aspect totally flat. He held the headphones ready, eyes drifting back to his computer screen. “Did you need anything else?”
“Have you eaten?”
“I’m not hungry.” He put the headphones back on, blocking out any further discussion or argument. He pressed play on the video on his screen and watched it intently.
“I’ll order something in. I don’t have the energy to make anything today,” Kenzie said. Maybe the headphones blocked her out completely, but she suspected they did not.
Kenzie went back to the kitchen to get herself a drink and decide what kind of takeout to order.
26
Kenzie didn’t know how long Zachary was going to give her the silent treatment. She couldn’t complain, since she was the one who had wronged him, and he did answer her when she spoke to him. Or at least, when she made him take off his headphones so that he could no longer pretend not to be able to hear her. She couldn’t complain about him not sharing his feelings with her. He gave every indication that he had forgiven her and it was no big deal.
Except that she knew it was a big deal for him.
After being abandoned by his parents and kicked to the curb by his ex-wife, he didn’t need any more rejection. He didn’t need anyone telling him that he wasn’t important, through their words or actions.
He wouldn’t tell her how much it hurt. Maybe he would bottle it up, or maybe he had already talked to Dr. Boyle about it, in which case he had already been reminded how damaging it was for him to just stuff his emotions. He knew that for him and Kenzie to have a good relationship, they needed to talk about things.
But he wasn’t going to talk. He would stay remote and resist any of her efforts to get in.
When the pizza arrived, Kenzie put a slice on a plate for Zachary and took it to him. She put it on the side table within his reach. Zachary glanced at it and took his headphones off again. “I’m not hungry.”
“I know you said that, but you still need to eat. Even if you’re upset.”
He put the headphones back over his ears and continued watching his videos. He didn’t touch the pizza. Kenzie sat down on the couch close by with a couple of slices for herself. “Did I tell you that we think you’re right about the John Doe not being a homeless guy?” Kenzie asked, as if Zachary weren’t wearing his headphones and doing his best to block her out for the evening. “I had a look at his clothes, and you’re right. Trendy brands. Nothing with stains or ground-in dirt, just the oil and dirt from where he was found in the alley.”
He didn’t say anything.
“And his teeth. They were in very good shape. You don’t see homeless guys with that kind of work. Not usually, anyway. Even if he was only recently homeless, you would still expect to see some gum disease. Signs that he hadn’t been taking care of himself.”
He still didn’t look at her or give any sign he was listening.
“I could use another set of eyes on these nursing home deaths...”
Zachary’s eyes darted to her for an instant and then were carefully turned away again as if it had never happened.
Kenzie sighed. She picked up the TV remote to find something to watch and ate her pizza in silence.
27
The rest of the evening was pretty much like that. Zachary going through video after video of surveillance. Or maybe watching the same one over and over again, Kenzie really couldn’t be sure. She watched a little TV, but she was tired and ready to hit the hay. She put away the leftover pizza. At least Zachary would eat cold pizza for lunch if he remembered it was there or saw it when he opened the fridge.
She paused in the living room, looking at him. “I’m heading to bed. You going to come in?”
He turned his head slightly toward her, but he didn’t meet her eyes. “I’ll be in in a while.”
“Okay.” Kenzie hesitated for a moment. She had so many things to say to him. She wanted their relationship to be a good one and not be thrown off the rails whenever she made a mistake. Zachary got to make mistakes, to be impulsive and distracted, so why couldn’t Kenzie forget something and make a mistake now and then?
She didn’t want to go to bed alone. She didn’t want to go to sleep with him angry at her. But he needed time to work things out for himself. She couldn’t force him to see things her way.
Kenzie was quite sure the next morning that Zachary had not gone to bed any time during the night. His side of the bed was far too neat to have been slept in, even if he’d pulled the sheets straight upon rising.
She got up and found him in the kitchen, looking at his phone while he waited for the coffee to brew.
“Hey. How are you?” She forced herself to act as if everything were perfectly normal between them, walking up to him for a morning hug and kiss as usual.
Zachary remained stiff, but he gave her a squeeze and a peck on the cheek in return. “Fine.”
“Did you get any sleep?” She studied his face. He hadn’t shaved, which helped to hide the hollowness of his cheeks from her. But she could still see bags under his eyes. Of course, he almost always had bags under his eyes; it didn’t mean that he had worked all night. His eyes were not bloodshot. So maybe he had stretched out on the couch once she was in bed.
“A bit.”
“Good. You know you have to take care of your body for good physical and mental health.”
“So they tell me.”
She gave him another hug and a quick smooch on the lips, trying to draw him out. But he remained remote.
“I’m going to have a shower. Then we can have breakfast together.”
“I’m eating now.” He indicated a granola bar wrapper on the counter.
“That’s good... then you can sit with me while I eat. You don’t have to go out anywhere this early, do you?”
Zachary looked down at his phone to check the time and tried to come up with a lie about why he had to go out so he could avoid having breakfast with her.
“See you in a few minutes, then,” Kenzie said breezily.
Breakfast was awkward, but Zachary did sit with Kenzie and made agreeable noises about having some pizza for lunch if he was at home when the hour rolled around. He had things to do that would take him away from the house. Unspecified things. She couldn’t tell whether he was keeping client confidentiality or blocking her out.
She would allow him the rest of the workday to sulk, but she expected to see a change when she got home again. She wasn’t going to put up with him sulking around for another evening. It would be time to either talk about things or move on. The choice was his. But she wasn’t going to walk around on eggshells for weeks this time.
She gave him another hug and kiss in farewell and headed into work.
There was plenty to catch up on from the day before, and Kenzie also wanted to get some research done. She needed to make sure she understood everything she could about amyloid plaques. Anything that the scientific world knew about how they were formed, how they caused damage to the brain and loss of function, and what they might indicate other than Alzheimer’s Disease or CJD. They couldn’t be the first ones who had run into that situation.
Doctored Death Page 11