Richard Mabry - Lethal Remedy

"Because I haven't been asking around. There's the difference." "So who have we asked?" Rip said. "Jack Ingersoll, Carter Resnick… "

"The higher-ups at Jandra," Sara added. "And, of course, there could be someone else who knows what we're doing, someone we don't even know about," Mark added. "What do we do about it?" Sara asked. Mark tented his fingers under his chin. "Rip, I suppose your accident was investigated by the police." "Yeah, they came out. Said they'd file a report, put out a bulletin to body shops. I don't look for anything to come of it, though." "And we know the shooting involving Sara was reported," Mark added. "I could talk with the police and try to tie those together, see if they're willing to investigate further." "But that's not likely. Right?" John said. "Not really," Mark replied.

"Forget it," Rip said. Mark nodded his agreement. "So I guess we either stop digging-" "Never!" both Sara and Rip answered in unison.

"Or be careful," Mark said. "You started to tell us what you've found," Sara said. "What was that?" "One of the guys in my law school class ended up at the FDA. He sort of owes me-I coached him through his last year-so I gave him a call. Could he get a copy of Jandra's NDA for Jandramycin? No way. Apparently they've pulled some strings with the FDA and gotten it not only fast-tracked but protected from everyone but the small group that's due to review it." "Makes no difference," Rip said. "The mechanism of action they quote for the drug is probably cell wall destruction, and we know that's just a smokescreen. We need the real mechanism if we're going to figure out how to block the late complications." Mark nodded. "And we can't get that from Jandra." "Never going to happen," Rip said. "Or from the investigators," Mark concluded. "And I understand that we don't have time to analyze the compound we have on hand, then do the animal experimentation to show its mechanism of action," Sara said. Mark shook his head. "I believe we've tried every legal means available to get the information we need." As she pondered that last phrase, Sara decided that maybe it was time to think outside the box. She had a couple of ideas- but she decided she'd better keep them to herself for now.

Mark signed the bill, retrieved his American Express card, and closed the folder. "Thank you all for coming." John dropped his napkin beside his empty coffee cup. "Thanks for dinner. It was good to throw around some ideas and share information, but I'm afraid we're no closer to a solution of our problem than we were before we started."

One by one, the group pushed back their chairs and stood. Rip declined a ride with John, saying that although his car looked terrible it was still drivable. "I'll call my insurance company in the morning and see about getting a rental while mine's in the shop." Mark was happy to see that Sara was the last in the group to move toward the door. He touched her on the shoulder. "I was wondering if you might like to go somewhere for a-I was about to say a drink, then I remembered-for another cup of coffee? We haven't really had a chance to talk with each other tonight." He could see Sara consider the offer. Her frown told him the answer before she spoke. "Mark, I like you. Under more normal circumstances, I'd say yes. But I'm really in turmoil about this whole Jandramycin thing. Until it's settled, I'm not ready for any kind of a relationship. For now, can we just stay friends?" She smiled, obviously trying to take the sting out of her response. "Sure.

I understand." He fell in step beside her. "Any more strange noises in your house?" He knew it was a low blow to remind her of what her exhusband did to torment her after he left her. During Mark's classical education he'd memorized the oft-misquoted words of John Lyly, Renaissance poet and playwright: "The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war." On rare occasion, he'd applied that strategy in the courtroom. After all, weren't most legal battles a form of war?

But he'd never had occasion to use it with respect to love… until now.

Sara turned on the living room lights and double-locked the front door behind her. She wondered why she'd turned down Mark's invitation to extend the evening. Did she sense a danger in letting him get too close to her? Was there something about him that triggered her response? Something John said about Mark tickled at the edge of her memory-something about his consulting for pharmaceutical companies.

Could one of those be Jandra? She dropped her purse on the entryway table, wincing at the muted clunk it made. She unzipped it and pulled out the revolver. A Taurus Ultra-Lite-one pound of metal that could be either a harmless paperweight or an engine of death. Sara made sure that the safety was on before she swung the cylinder open and dumped the bullets into her palm. She admired the way the copper noses shone in the light from the table lamp. She tried to visualize one of them ripping through flesh, putting an end to a human life. Finally, Sara carefully reinserted the bullets one by one. She clicked the cylinder into place with an empty chamber under the hammer, re-engaged the safety, and dropped the gun into her purse. It was ready. Was she? She wouldn't know the answer until the situation arose. And she prayed that it never would. At her computer, Sara logged on to PubMed. In the search box, she entered Jandramycin, and was surprised to find no hits. Then it dawned on her. She was looking for preliminary work, and the name, Jandramycin, had been applied only recently. She searched her memory in vain for the initial designation of the compound. She dialed Rip Pearson's home number. "Rip, hope I didn't wake you." "Not at all. I was about to sink into a hot bath. That collision shook me up a bit more than I initially thought, and I'm getting a little sore.

What's up?" "What was it you called Jandramycin before Jandra applied that name?" "EpAm848. Does that help?" "It may. Enjoy that hot soak."

She rang offbefore he could ask more questions. This might be a total waste of time, but she had to try it. Back at her computer, she opened the PubMed search box, typed in "EpAm848," then hit "enter." There were only four citations, three of them papers with Jack as a co-author along with Bob Wolfe and some others whom she took to be Jandra research staff. She struck pay dirt with the fourth. It was a preliminary report detailing the design of a study to investigate a potential new antibiotic. She ignored the abstract that followed. It contained nothing she didn't already know. Instead, Sara found a slip of paper and wrote down the names of the authors: Gruber H., Rohde H.

Rip watched Jack Ingersoll walk onto the general medical ward as though he owned it. The man was an absolute egomaniac. The words of a Carly Simon song came immediately to mind. Something about being so vain. Rip hummed a few bars under his breath while Ingersoll paused to speak with another faculty member, undoubtedly telling him how successful his presentation had been and recounting some of his experiences in Germany. "Pearson, what do you have for me?" The musky scent of a popular-and very expensive-aftershave almost overpowered Rip. Ingersoll's white coat fairly crackled with starch. A single pen, probably a Mont Blanc, peeked from the crisply pressed breast pocket.

The side pocket bulged ever so slightly with what Rip guessed was the latest version of smart phone. "While you were gone, we acquired two more patients with Staph luciferus infections. All have been placed on Jandramycin and seem to be responding well." "Very well. Take me to their rooms and let me meet them. I trust you explained to them the reason for my absence." Sure. I told them all you were on an expense-paid junket to present a paper that was probably full of fabricated data. "Yes, sir. They understand that you were an invited speaker at a prestigious international conference." The words burned Rip's tongue like a mouthful of scalding hot coffee, but he managed to spit them out with a straight face. The next half hour was spent meeting the patients, both of whom were indeed recovering, thanks in no small part to Jandramycin. Neither showed any evidence of side effects or complications from the treatment. Then again, it was early.