Terminal Reaction

by Dawn Marsanne

  Chapter 50

  News of the tragic events soon spread through the company, it was impossible to keep something like that under wraps. When news filtered back through to the senior team that the staff were discussing it and the potential ramifications, Brett was asked to send a stern message round to people. In it, he reminded them that they must not speak of it outside the company and must not answer any questions from reporters. The company would issue a statement should it need to in due course. Anyone found to be disobeying this instruction would be issued with a disciplinary warning. Naturally, this managed to shut down all further discussion and the workforce was subdued. All staff just wanted to get to the end of the week and enjoy some time away at the weekend.

  However one person at BioQex had decided that he had something to do before he left, time was running out and he needed to seize the opportunity. So during his lunch break, Shane, Kevin’s assistant went round to the front of the building and spoke to the receptionist Jenny.

  ‘How can I help you?’ asked Jenny, wondering why Shane had ventured round to the front of the building independently from Kevin.

  ‘I need to speak to someone, someone senior, it’s about something which is going on here and they need to know about it,’ said Shane stumbling slightly over his words as he wasn’t used to being in formal situations like this.

  ‘Can you give me an indication of what it concerns sir?’ she asked.

  ‘Well it’s a bit sensitive, it concerns one of your employees, he’s been doing something he shouldn’t.’

  ‘Oh, I see, well let me make a call, then I can see who is free. Please take a seat, and help yourself to water if you would like,’ and she pointed over to the sofas and water machine.

  ‘Oh, well thanks,’ said Shane and he waited, checking his phone for messages, feeling increasingly nervous. He hoped it wouldn’t take too long otherwise Kevin would start moaning on to him, but then he realised that Kevin might have other things to worry about soon. The receptionist had made one call and was then presumably waiting for someone to call back. After a few minutes, her desk phone rang and she listened for a few seconds then replaced the receiver.

  ‘Mr, er, sorry I forgot your name?’

  ‘Shane, er Mr Perks,’ he replied, being rather unused to referring to himself as Mr Perks.

  ‘My colleague Amanda is coming down to collect you and Dr Chandler will see you soon,’ she told him, smiling encouragingly towards Shane who was looking rather nervous.

  ‘Thank you,’ replied Shane. Well, there was no turning back now he thought, he needed to keep calm and stick to the facts. It would be a shock to them but he could keep quiet no longer.

  **

  Bob sat in a cell in the police station awaiting the duty solicitor. He’d been given some sweet tea which made him gag and a sandwich which remained uneaten. He’d wrapped his arms around himself and was rocking backwards and forwards. He’d managed to stop crying for the moment but he felt he was close to tears and could break down again at any moment. He went through the events of the morning again. It was one of those situations when a split second error of judgement had disastrous consequences from which it was impossible to turn back the clock. Whatever happened even if he escaped gaol he would have to resign from BioQex, how could he possibly look people in the eye again? He would resign before he got sacked. Somehow he had to tell his children what he’d done, how he was going to face that he just didn’t know.

  The door to the cell was unlocked he was ushered out to an interview room to meet his solicitor. He would explain how grief-stricken he’d been recently and that this had clouded his thinking which caused him to make the mistake on the dose prediction. Perhaps there would be some allowance for that, but at the same time, he felt guilty for effectively using Joan’s death to mitigate the charge he was facing. His mind was in turmoil, he regretted his actions with every part of his being. He was praying that the accident victims would make a recovery, that was at the forefront of his mind. Nothing else mattered, his life was effectively over as he viewed it. He just prayed that their lives wouldn’t be finished as well.

  Chapter 51

  ‘Mr Perks, please come in,’ said Brett, showing him to a chair at the little table in his office.

  ‘Call me Shane, please,’ he asked.

  ‘Right, Shane, how can I help you? Amanda said you are concerned someone’s behaving badly, so to speak?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. I’ve been working with Kevin in the storeroom this last week, I’m from the jobcentre,’ he added.

  ‘I see, carry on,’ encouraged Brett.

  ‘Well the thing is, and it’s difficult for me but I had to speak to you as it’s not right. You see Kevin’s been nicking stuff from BioQex,’ he stated firmly.

  ‘Well, that’s a bit of a shock, I must say,’ replied Brett, raising his eyebrows.

  Brett was aware that the finance department had been looking into the ever-expanding budget for consumables but he had assumed that there had been some double billing or some mistakes with invoices or something. The obvious reason had not been broached although Billie had raised her suspicions courtesy of Nick the other day. What with the clinical trial and the FCA visit it had been pushed to one side but they had started a paper investigation asking Kevin to submit invoices and accounts to Melanie’s assistant. Kevin had been with the company since its inception and up to now, he’d seemed a trustworthy employee. However, now that they had reports from two independent people that view seemed about to change.

  ‘I’ve got evidence,’ offered Shane, ‘I’ve seen him loading stuff into his car and I’ve got photos,’ and he offered over his phone. Brett took the phone and scrolled through a couple of photos, then went back over them enlarging the image which clearly revealed company goods sitting in the boot of Kevin’s car. There wasn’t much arguing with this. Brett looked at Shane and handed back his phone.

  ‘Firstly thank you for bringing this to my attention. This is extremely serious and an abuse of trust. We will be speaking to Kevin as a matter of urgency. Please do not mention this to him though.’

  ‘No, of course, I’m just a bit worried about his reaction, he might suspect it’s me who’s shopped him.’

  ‘What time do you finish today?’ asked Brett.

  ‘4 p.m.,’ replied Shane.

  ‘Well we will ask Kevin to come up here at 3.30 p.m. and we will keep him discussing this until after you have left. How does that sound?’

  ‘Well that’s great, thank you, I’d be rather embarrassed having to face him after this.’

  ‘Of course, no problem. One more thing. Please email me those photos, I need to have them on file as evidence,’ and Brett handed Shane a business card with his company email address.

  ‘Sure, I’ll do that before I get back to the storeroom,’ confirmed Shane.

  ‘Excellent, well, can you give me your mobile number in case we need to contact you in the future,’ asked Brett, finding a pad and pen to note it down.

  Shane gave his contact details and got up to leave. They shook hands and he left the office and made his way back to the reception where he sat for a minute to send the photos. He was pleased how that had gone, he had just about three hours to endure the awful Kevin then he’d be on his way. He just wished he could be a fly on the wall when Kevin was confronted by the evidence. You’ve been just a bit too greedy mate he thought.

  **

  Bob’s solicitor told him that the charges against him were serious but felt that he could make a reasonable case in view of his mental state during the last few weeks. The fact that he’d accepted counselling was a point in his favour. His solicitor also felt that his company had been remiss in letting him carry on working, he was clearly in no state to be taking decisions which could have such momentous consequences for the general public. Even without the accident, there could be an injury to the participants but that was a matter for BioQex to handle. No doubt they were consulting their own legal team at this ver
y moment.

  Bob’s licence to drive was revoked so there was no chance of him hiring a car in the interim. He wasn’t deemed to be a risk to the public and so he was to be bailed and would be asked to attend a magistrates’ court on Monday morning. The solicitor was frank with him and Bob was told that due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained by the woman and child he could well receive a custodial sentence although the fact that he was rushing to stop the clinical trial could have a bearing on his case. For the time being, he should be pleased that he could be released to go home where he would have the time and space to reflect on his actions. His solicitor felt extremely sorry for his client. He had an exemplary driving record, not ever even having gained a parking fine, no criminal record and a career dedicated to science and the wellbeing of others. A few seconds of lack of concentration might serve to wipe that from the record, saddling him with a guilt from which he could never escape. That in itself was punishment alone but he would also be at the mercy of the courts. It was a thoroughly tragic set of circumstances, and he too could have wept.

  Chapter 52

  Kevin was waiting in main reception for his meeting at 3.30 p.m. He was inwardly anxious as he’d already had the requests for his invoices. There was so much room for error in the ordering process he wasn’t too worried, he could make up excuses for those missing orders and he’d been very careful. His main niggling concern was that he’d provoked Nick Thomas into reporting him, but he’d managed to counter that by accusing Nick of assault, so the company would be unlikely to want to proceed on his testimony as they would concurrently have to pursue his counter-allegation. Perhaps it was a chat about pay, could it be a rise or a cut, he had no idea, or maybe an expansion of the workforce and he was to have a new role. He then came back to his senses and began to go through his actions as to whether he’d been careless, could anyone have spotted him, he just didn’t know.

  The clock ticked round until 3.45 p.m. and he was still waiting, typical he thought, management trying to make themselves look important whilst they were no doubt chatting over a cup of tea. Just then Amanda came down into reception and asked him to follow her upstairs.

  ‘This way please Kevin,’ she said, opening Brett’s office door where he was greeted by Brett and Piers.

  ‘Please take a seat, Kevin,’ indicated Brett.

  ‘Thank you,’ he replied.

  ‘As you know the company has had some concerns about our ever-increasing consumables budget,’ said Piers, his face expressionless.

  ‘Well, yes, I guess so, I’ve submitted all my paperwork to that young girl in finance.’

  ‘Yes, and that was very helpful, but we have something to show you,’ and Brett turned around his laptop to face Kevin who took out some reading glasses and peered at the screen. His face fell and his mouth started to twitch. For once he was speechless. His accusers remained silent waiting for his response. Eventually, Kevin shrugged rather than speaking and removed his glasses.

  ‘Do you have anything to say?’ asked Piers.

  ‘Not really,’ replied Kevin, all the fight had left him. Inwardly he was seething. He knew who was responsible, that lazy bastard Shane. He would kill him if he could get his hands on him.

  ‘We will pay you to the end of next week, we will be requesting that the jobcentre sends a replacement on Monday. We require you to come in on Monday to ensure a smooth handover, at the end of Monday if you wish you are free to leave the company and do not need to work to the end of the week. Failure to turn up on Monday will ensure that we press charges and you will have a criminal record.’

  ‘Are you in agreement with our terms?’

  ‘Well, I don’t suppose I have much choice. I’m fed up with your poxy company anyway. If you’d paid me a decent wage I’d not have had to resort to this little bit of business. Besides, look at you with your fancy offices, fancy suits and flash cars. I’ve seen you driving off-site like you are some millionaires or something whilst the rest of us work for next to nothing. Eight pounds an hour you pay me and I work very hard whilst you are having your long lunches and taking paid holidays and getting sick pay. I get nothing if I don’t turn up, it’s not fair and I was thinking of leaving anyway, I’ve got my pride you know. And your staff always being rude to me and taking me for granted, I’m sick of you, sick of you and you can piss off.’

  Kevin was standing by this time, gesticulating and pointing, his face was puce coloured and he was sweating profusely.

  ‘Have you quite finished?’ asked Piers, ‘you know the way out,’ and he turned his back on Kevin to look out of the window. The guilty party stormed out throwing the door back so it bounced on its hinges nearly rebounding and hitting him in the face.

  Piers turned to Brett and smiled, ‘Well that went well,’ and they both smiled.

  They had decided that with everything that was happening it was probably the easiest course to take, despite the fact that Kevin might well go on to do the same in another job. But it solved their immediate problem and they couldn’t face any further negative publicity. They’d calculated that the losses were probably in the hundreds of pounds rather than thousands and legal bills alone could amount to more than that. Quite simply they wanted to be rid of him, he’d paid the price, he might have trouble getting another job at his age and that might be punishment enough.

  Chapter 53

  After his ordeal with the police, Bob had spent Friday evening at home with the whisky bottle for company. He’d finally plucked up the courage to phone his children who had been speechless at his news. They had wanted to come over immediately to see him but he shunned their offer. He said he was in no state for any company he needed to be alone with his thoughts. This conversation played out for ages whilst his daughter tried to persuade him to the contrary but eventually, they agreed on a compromise. She would drive over first thing on Monday to accompany him to the hearing at the magistrates’ court. She was only a couple of hours away so would set out early at 6 a.m. rather than staying over on Sunday night. Bob was less than happy with the arrangement but it was the only option otherwise Laura would turn up on the doorstep on Sunday morning.

  He’d spent most of Saturday morning in bed sleeping off his hangover but naturally on waking his nightmare began again. He searched all local news sites for updates on the mother and child whom he’d run over but there was nothing so far. Just the reports of the accident and that a man in his fifties had been bailed and was due to attend court on Monday. He would never have believed that he would be reading about himself on the web as a perpetrator of a crime. It was unreal. His mobile had been seized in evidence and he was glad that nobody could contact him on it. He let the house phone ring and then checked the number of the caller, only returning calls to his son and daughter. Thus his Saturday was spent in isolation apart from when he walked the mile or so to the local shop to buy some milk and more whisky. He hoped that his hat and glasses would provide suitable disguise, even though the identity of the driver had been released. He returned to his prison of a house, barely able to eat, feeling sick at the mere sight of food. The TV was company but failed to hold his attention. He sat in a trance-like state, intermittently dozing and weeping, a broken man.

  **

  Nick and Polly spent Saturday at home taking things easy, totally shattered by the events of the previous week. They caught up with some TV programmes and lazed about eating ready meals and sharing some wine. They felt cocooned from the world, the relief that their stalker was in custody suffusing them with a contentment they’d not felt for a while. It was as if they had rewound the clock, transporting the to a period several years before their troubles had been minimal, before the days of BioQex. They knew that time had moved on and that both their work environments were far from ideal but they felt that simply relishing even one day away from their troubles would give them added energy to confront matters in the weeks ahead. They had even broached the subject of their marriage and decided that next year would be the time, spri
ng ideally, they wouldn’t wait any longer even if it meant having a smaller budget.

  By Sunday though they both felt less comfortable, Monday was looming large and for Nick, he had the large scale reaction to get through. He felt unable to settle, he just wanted to get it out of the way. After that the next steps weren’t as worrying, he could cope. It was like the feeling he’d had before sitting major exams, it clouded all his thoughts. So on Sunday evening, he suggested they went out to see a film.

  ‘But we’re supposed to be saving money,’ said Polly, ‘I didn’t think you’d want to be frivolous.’

  ‘Look it will be only about fifteen pounds, probably less for early evening. I suggest we eat about 5 p.m., then go to the 6.30 p.m. showing, that way we’ll be back before 9 p.m. I just need something to take my mind off tomorrow.’

  ‘OK then, let’s do it, good idea,’ and they checked the website of the multiplex out on the retail park.

  **

  Bob’s mood had deteriorated further since Friday evening. He’d barely eaten since his breakfast on that fateful morning and that hadn’t stayed in his stomach for long. He felt light headed and hungover. He felt worthless, depressed beyond description, he’d not even had the strength to get dressed on Sunday. The only thing he felt like drinking was whisky, then when his throat felt sore from the spirit he managed to down some water. About 2 p.m. he felt the tranquillising effect of the whisky kicking in again so he took himself off to bed again in the afternoon. He dozed on and off alternately dreaming and waking, his dreams were disturbing, a re-enactment of the accident, agonising faces of the woman and child appearing large in front of him. These visions woke him violently causing him to cry out, then to collapse back on the damp pillow, racking sobs shaking his body.