“Professor Parker. I’m pleased to finally meet you. Thank you for coming to see me.” He indicated an overstuffed guest chair across from the desk. “I’m afraid it’s a busy day, though. What can I do for you?”
“I’m afraid I have some bad news. But I’m glad you could see me because I wanted to tell you immediately, before it became known by anyone else.”
I paused to let that sink in. His expression darkened and he prodded impatiently. “What’s the problem? You’ve got my attention, now speak.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. It’s Mark Heller’s research. You may know he’s coming up for tenure, and I was reviewing his records.”
I could see the tension rising in him. “And? Spit it out, I don’t have all day.”
“He faked the data from his clinical trial of aloxinor. He claimed a patient response rate of eighty percent, which got the drug approved. But when I reviewed the original records, the response rate was only around fifty percent. Not good enough to have won FDA approval.”
His eyes widened and he sat bolt upright. “Holy shit! That’s terrible! Are you sure?”
“I’m afraid so. Here, I brought examples of some of the records. You can see for yourself.”
I showed him two of the files where Heller had falsely claimed that patients had responded. His attention was riveted as he skimmed through several others that I’d brought along. It gave me a good opportunity to slip the bug Karen had given me down the side of my chair cushion.
He had himself under control when he finished. “It’s unbelievable that anyone could do this. We’ll have to get this drug off the market immediately. What a terrible thing. Have you notified the FDA?”
“I haven’t told anyone yet. I wanted to let you know first. I know this is a big blow to Pharmathor, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to deal with it before it became a public scandal.”
“Thank you. Very much indeed. I truly appreciate that. Now I’d better get on the phone to the FDA and get a recall started. You’ve done a great service to everyone by exposing this.”
I stood up. “I’m glad to help. I know that you’ve been a good friend to MTRI. I’ll head back now and confront Heller when I get there. Will that give you enough time to get ahead of the situation?”
“Yes, I’ll call the FDA right away. Thank you again.”
He’d already picked up a phone by the time I left the office.
46
His table on the café patio was right across the street from the entrance to Pharmathor, with a clear view of everyone going in or out. He ordered a cheeseburger and iced tea and sat back to wait for the boss to leave the building for lunch. A word with him on the street so the bastard would know what was coming. Then a clean shot to the head. His car was parked a block away, so a quick escape and a change of disguise would be easy.
Then the red Volvo parked in front of Pharmathor, and Parker and the FBI woman got out. What the hell! Had they somehow figured out who the boss was? Could she be that smart?
He watched them go into the building. They must know. He felt real admiration. What a woman she was. Perhaps the strongest adversary he’d faced.
He waited a few minutes, threw some money on the table, and followed them in. He didn’t like the unexpected to interfere with his plans, but this was too intriguing to ignore.
They got into an elevator and he watched as it ascended to the top floor. Where Friedland’s office was located.
He followed in the next elevator. When he got off, Parker was heading into one of the offices and the woman was sitting in the waiting area. She glanced at him briefly, but showed no sign of recognition. No surprise there; he was confident of his disguise.
He took a chair near her. He wasn’t sure of his next move, but having her and Parker here with his target added an intriguing twist to the game. He wouldn’t hurt the woman, of course. But Parker was just a nosy troublemaker. Taking care of him together with the boss would be an added bonus.
47
Karen’s phone was ringing when I got back to the reception area. She motioned me to sit beside her and held the phone up so I could listen.
“Yes,” she said.
The voice on the other end of the line had a mechanical, almost robotic, tone. “You sound odd. Everything all right?”
Karen made a face and crossed her fingers. “I’m fine, must just be the connection. I hear you okay.”
“All right.” Karen gave me a thumbs up. Her try at mimicking Orlov’s voice had passed muster.
“You have to move quickly,” the voice on the phone continued. “Parker knows about Heller faking the aloxinor results. He just left here, going back to MTRI. He’ll tell people when he gets there, so you need to intercept and finish him first. Then get the damned woman, too.”
“Not a problem,” Karen said. “I’ll stop him midway.”
She ended the call and got up with a grin. “Got him.”
I followed her back down the hall to Friedland’s office, where she showed her badge to the administrative assistant and unceremoniously stormed through the door.
Friedland jumped up from behind his desk, his eyes widening in shock. “Parker! What the hell’s going on?” Looking at Karen, he added, “Who’s this?”
Karen held up her badge. “Special Agent Richmond, FBI. Arthur Friedland, you’re under arrest. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“What the hell for? You’re fucking crazy.”
“The murder of Emily Weston and the attempted murder of Fred Reed, for starters.” Karen held up the phone. “Do you recognize this? It’s the number you just called. It used to belong to your hired killer, Alexei Orlov. Now it’s mine.” She started to play back the phone call.
Friedland forced a laugh. “I don’t know who that voice is, but it’s not me. Doesn’t sound anything like me.”
I reached under the side of the chair cushion I’d been sitting on, pulled out the recording device I’d planted, and hit play. “How about this? Sound more like you?”
Suddenly I heard a door close behind me. A short man with long gray hair and a bushy mustache stood there smiling at us. When he spoke, I recognized a Russian accent. It was as familiar as the gun in his hand, with a silencer attached to the barrel.
“I’m so pleased to find all of you waiting for me.”
Friedland looked like he was in shock. “Who the hell are you?”
Karen spoke almost simultaneously. “Orlov?”
He gave a harsh guttural laugh. “Yes, it is me. Orlov. You like my disguise?”
Friedland started to come around from behind the desk. “Thank God you’re here. You can get rid of these two.”
Orlov smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them. But first, you must pay.”
“Of course, no problem.” Friedland picked up a phone. “I’ll transfer the money to your usual account.”
“No. This time there is a different kind of debt to be paid. What you owe for violating our bargain and getting me caught. I told you at the beginning that I made the rules. But you broke our contract by insisting that I go against my judgment and give a whole bottle of poison pills to our last target. That led these two to me.”
Friedland turned pale and was trembling uncontrollably by the time Orlov finished. “Anything,” he managed to say. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
Orlov laughed again. “You don’t need to do anything. You only have to die.”
Then he shot Friedland twice in the face.
48
Orlov moved the gun to cover Karen and me as Friedland fell to the floor. We were helpless. I got ready to throw myself at him in a final act of desperation. There was no question that he’d shoot me before I reached him, but maybe I could give Karen an opening. At least the possibility of a chance to get out of this.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going to kill the two of you. I have another use for you.” He looked directly at Karen. “Besides, you’re a professional. Like me, not t
raitor scum like this piece of shit.” He nudged Friedland’s body with his foot. “You caused me trouble, but by doing your job. And you are good. How did you figure him out?”
Karen somehow managed to remain calm. Or at least look like she was. “We knew it wasn’t Heller, and Friedland also stood to make money from the aloxinor fraud. Plus, he had a background in manufacturing and distributing OxyContin, so that fit with your hit on the drug dealers in Boston.”
Orlov nodded. “Smart lady. Yes, he had access to a large supply of drugs, he said from his previous job. That and aloxinor made him a very rich man.” He spat on the corpse. “But a very stupid one.”
He turned to me. “Use her handcuffs to secure her to the conference table. Then you’ll come with me, just in case I need a hostage.”
“Let him go,” Karen said. “I’m more valuable to you. Nobody’s going to take a chance on a senior agent getting killed.”
Orlov smiled pleasantly. “No, I don’t think so. I like you, but you know too many tricks. Your friend will be easier to manage.” He waved the gun at her. “Give him your handcuffs and sit by the conference table. Hands behind you.”
Karen started to protest, but I cut her off. At least she’d be safe this way. “Please, Karen. Do as he says, it’ll be all right. He has no reason to hurt me.”
I didn’t think that was true. The fact was, he’d have no reason to let me go. But it was our best play for now.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she turned to Orlov. “You’ll let him go later?”
“Of course,” he said. “Once I’m out of Boston.”
I was pretty sure she didn’t trust him, but there wasn’t any other choice. She followed his directions and gave me her handcuffs. Then she sat and I secured her hands around the table leg.
Orlov tossed me a handkerchief. “Now use this to gag her.”
I obliged. At least Karen would survive, although my eventual fate was less clear.
Orlov checked my work when I’d finished.
“Good enough,” he pronounced. “Now come over here and stay by my side. We’re going to walk through the reception area and get on the elevator together.” He pressed the gun into my ribcage. “This gun will be at your back.”
We stepped over the body of Friedland’s administrative assistant in the outer office—another one of Orlov’s collateral victims—and exited into the hallway leading to the reception area. Nobody paid any attention as we made our way to the elevator. Two people got off when it reached our floor, and Orlov shoved me into the empty car. “We’ll take this down to the lobby and turn right when we leave the building. My car is a block away.”
The gun stayed pressed into my back as we walked down the street, side by side like close friends. People were heading out for lunch and the street was busy, giving me what I figured would be my best chance for escape. If I could somehow distract him, maybe I could break free and duck away in the crowd. Once he had me alone in the car, shooting me would be all too easy.
Except Orlov was no fool. He kept a tight grip as we walked past oblivious passersby. Desperation mounted as I waited for an opportunity that didn’t come. Maybe when we reached the car and he had to open the doors… In any case, I’d go for it then. It would be my last chance.
I steeled my nerves as Orlov said, “It’s the blue sedan two cars down.” We were almost at the point of no return.
Suddenly, there was a shout behind me. “Parker! Where’s Richmond?”
Orlov’s grip loosened as he turned to see who was behind us. I didn’t know what was happening, but this was my moment.
I swiveled and kicked him hard in the knee. Then I dove to the side between a line of parked cars.
I heard the muffled noise of his silencer and felt a bullet whip past me.
I waited helplessly for the next shot. He wouldn’t miss twice.
But instead I heard someone yell, “FBI, drop your weapon!”
Orlov started to turn. Then there were three loud booms and his chest exploded as he fell to the ground.
A man and a woman ran toward us. The man stopped to check Orlov, although the gaping wounds in his chest made it pretty obvious that he was dead.
The woman reached me as I was trying to sit up. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m okay. Thank God you were here, whoever you are.”
“Agents Kaufman and Morris. We’re the backup that Agent Richmond requested. Where is she?”
“She’s safe. In Arthur Friedland’s office, the Pharmathor building. You’ll find another body there with her.” I glanced over at Orlov’s remains. “The man who was his boss.”
49
The large conference room we used for faculty meetings was packed by the time I arrived Tuesday morning for the long-anticipated vote on tenure candidates. I took my seat at the head of the table and counted noses. Everyone was there, so I rapped on the table to bring the meeting to order.
But before I could even get started, Ann Osborne—one of the faculty members who’d been strongly opposed to Carolyn—spoke up. “Excuse me, I don’t see Tom Carlson. You need to wait for him.”
I smiled to myself. The temptation was to tell her that it was time for the meeting to convene and I didn’t need to wait for anybody. But her interruption gave me a good lead-in to the issues I needed to address, so I went with it.
“I’m afraid that Dr. Carlson won’t be joining us. He’s resigned his position at MTRI, effective last Friday. The last time I saw him, he was in the Wells jail, being held on conspiracy charges.”
The room erupted. Some of the faculty just stared at me with open mouths, but most started babbling incoherently.
I waited several minutes for the noise to die down. When it finally did, Osborne held up one of the manila folders that Anna had distributed around the table. She looked somewhat chastened, but her usual aggression was still evident.
“What’s with these information packets?” she asked. “Why is there only material on Gelman, not on Mark Heller?”
All eyes turned to me, and I delivered my second shock of the day. “Mark Heller is also no longer with us,” I said. “I terminated his position based on the morals clause in our employment contract. He faked his clinical trial results with aloxinor and is currently under arrest for criminal fraud.”
This time they all just stared at me in shock. Finally, Leslie Farnsworth raised her hand for recognition. “I think you’d better tell us what’s been going on,” she said.
I took them through it, just leaving out some of the more personal parts. Like the night I’d spent at Carolyn’s place and the details of the night that Orlov had come after Karen and me. They were still staring silently, their expressions a mixture of shock and awe, when I finished.
“So the only case before us today is the promotion and tenure of Carolyn Gelman,” I concluded. “I’d like to ask Leslie Farnsworth to summarize Gelman’s dossier and report on the status of her ongoing clinical trial.”
I’d brought Leslie into the picture over the weekend and told her that I’d call on her for this presentation. She briefly presented Carolyn’s relevant background information and then went through her review of Carolyn’s clinical trial in detail, emphasizing that there was no drug toxicity and pointing out that the results to date looked good. When she finished, I opened the floor for general discussion.
At this point, I didn’t know what to expect. It was hard to imagine that there would still be opposition, but the hostility toward Carolyn had run deep. I suspected the argument was about to start when Ann Osborne raised her hand.
“I don’t think further discussion is needed,” she said. “I move for a vote in favor of Carolyn Gelman’s tenure and promotion, with apologies to her from those of us who were taken in by Carlson and Heller.”
The room erupted in applause and several loud calls of “Second.”
I sighed with relief. “Thank you. We have a motion on the floor with several seconds. Is there any further d
iscussion before we vote?”
I searched the room with my eyes. Silence.
“Very well,” I said. “Please raise your hand to signify a vote in favor of tenure and promotion for Carolyn Gelman.”
All hands went up. Carolyn’s vindication was unanimous.
***
Karen was sitting in my chair when I got back to the office. “Everything go okay?” she asked.
I gave her a thumbs-up. “Yep, no problems. Ready to go congratulate Carolyn?”
Karen got up with a grin as I retrieved a bottle of champagne from my minifridge and grabbed the three glasses I’d brought in for the occasion.
Carolyn answered my knock on her office door with a look of trepidation. It changed to an expression of shock when I held out the champagne and said, “Congratulations, Professor Gelman!”
“Oh my God! They voted for me? I can’t believe it!”
Karen laughed. “That’s what he says. I guess we can trust him.”
“Oh my God!” Carolyn repeated. Then she flung her arms around me. “Thank you! I didn’t think you could ever get them to support me.”
“It wasn’t me,” I said. “It was your record, your accomplishments. All they had to do was listen with open minds to what you’ve done.”
I could see the news sinking in as a broad smile of relief spread across her face. She let me go with a final squeeze. “If it wasn’t for you, I never would have had a chance. I can’t thank you enough. I owe you everything.”
Karen cleared her throat. “Okay, I’m thirsty. Let’s pop this champagne.”
Carolyn smiled. “Come on in.”
We sat at her desk and I managed to get the bottle open without incident. Karen poured three glasses and I raised mine in a toast. “To MTRI’s newest tenured professor.”
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