Richard Mabry - Lethal Remedy

There'll be plenty of time to lodge a complaint with the right people in administration then." Sara thought about it. "I'll be happy to help you do it then." "All right. But I'll hold you to that. Really, I don't care how important that man is. There's no excuse for being so callous." Sara nodded her agreement while scenes unfurled in her mind, scenes she'd tried hard to put behind her. If you only knew…

"What's so important?" Rip Pearson stirred his coffee, even though he took it black. He recognized it as a nervous habit, but in his stress-filled world nervous habits were the norm. He'd deal with them after he finished his fellowship. Carter Resnick rubbed his head as though checking to see if his hair had grown back. Then he put both hands on the table, leaned forward, and whispered, "We should talk."

Rip put his hand behind his ear. The noise level in the hospital cafeteria was such that even the two nursing students at the next table had no chance of hearing this conversation. "Speak up. We're not exchanging state secrets here. What's on your mind?" "I think Dr.

Ingersoll is lying about that second ID fellowship slot." Rip shrugged. "How would you-how would anyone know? I mean, he applied for it and now it's up to the folks who make decisions like that." "I'm getting a lot of computer experience in the research lab. After some digging around, I'm able to get into sites that are supposed to be protected. Anyway, I hacked the records of the Internal Medicine Board and there's no mention of such an application. Ingersoll never submitted it." Rip was ashamed of the first question that popped into his mind, but he asked it anyway. "What about my slot? Is it approved?

Will I be able to take my ID boards when I finish?" Resnick's grin was almost evil. "I really ought to make you sweat, but I won't. Yes, your fellowship is on the up-and-up. But how does it make you feel, working for a liar?" Rip didn't know what to think. His first reaction was that the research assistant was getting a little revenge on the man who'd beat him for the fellowship. Was Resnick trying to push Rip toward resigning so he could step into the slot? The silence hung between them for what seemed like several minutes, although it was probably more like a few seconds. Finally, Rip said, "I don't believe you. And even if I did, I don't think I'd do anything about it. If I were you, I'd keep this to myself, especially the part about hacking into the Internal Medicine Board site. I doubt whether the administration of the medical center would condone such activity." He left without another word. At the door, he looked back. Resnick was still sitting at the table, grinning.

I don't see why this meeting was so important that I had to drop my patient responsibilities and fly out here." Jack Ingersoll slapped the conference table, almost upsetting his coffee cup. Bob Wolfe sat back in his chair, automatically withdrawing from Ingersoll's "in your face" attitude. "Did you hear me?" Ingersoll asked through clenched teeth. Wolfe worked to keep his voice level and his demeanor calm. No need to spook the doctor… yet. "Jack, I thought it was important that you understand what's going on. It's been made very clear to me from top-level management at Jandra that the fate of the company is riding on the success of Jandramycin." "What's Jandramycin?" "That's another thing. From now on, the drug is no longer to be referred to as EpAm848. We're calling it Jandramycin. The bigwigs want the public to identify the drug with our company when they hear about the preliminary results of our studies." Ingersoll hit the table again, and this time his cup rocked in its saucer. A few drops of coffee sloshed onto the table. He stabbed at them with a napkin. "The public isn't going to hear about our preliminary results yet. That's why they're called 'preliminary.' Apparently you've forgotten how all this works. We're doing Phase II studies right now, seeing which dose works best, which ones might cause side effects. Then comes Phase III, where we compare EpAm848 with placebo or other drugs. Considering the severity of the disease we're treating, we may be given permission to omit the placebo, maybe even do a case-control study with only EpAm848-I mean, Jandramycin-as the active drug. But this stuffwon't be available for general use for a couple of years. Probably longer than that before the FDA approves it." With the look of Santa pulling one last present, the big one, from his bag, Wolfe said, "I'm way ahead of you. We've pulled a few strings and made a deal or two-the FDA will accept the data from your work and the two European studies as fulfilling both the Phase II and the Phase III requirements."

Ingersoll leaned back as though he'd been hit. "How did you manage that?" "You don't need to know the details. What you do need to know is that, as we speak, our factory is working twentyfour-hour shifts to produce and package Jandramycin. Our PR department has its best people creating a campaign that will blow the public's mind. And our detail men are poised to hit the streets and spread the word." "But-" "Now listen, and listen closely." Wolfe tapped the table in front of Ingersoll with his spoon to emphasize his words. "Up to now, Jandramycin looks like a miracle drug. That's why you're such a fair-haired boy in the medical community." He pointed to the bound journals on shelves that lined one wall of the room. "Your work is going to catch everyone's attention. Lead article in the major medical journals. Lots of interest from the press. That is, if you cooperate."

Ingersoll opened his mouth, then shut it again. "From this point onward, there can be absolutely no hint of side effects, complications, or therapeutic failures with Jandramycin. It's up to you to make sure that happens." Wolfe's voice dropped to a near-whisper, but the words came out like steel darts: "You may think you're important because you stumbled onto a use for a compound we thought was useless, but if you foul up now, you can kiss that big research grant, your paid lectures, and all the other perks of your relationship with Jandra good-bye. Not only that, we'll see to it that you can't even get a job in an emergency room in Pocatello, Idaho.

Provided you're still around to see it happen."

Sara yawned. Even the ultra-strong coffee of the hospital cafeteria wasn't enough to counteract the effects of a sleepless night. She looked at her watch. Time enough to finish breakfast and get a second cup of coffee to take to the conference. "Mind if I join you?" The question was apparently rhetorical, since Rip Pearson had already pulled out a chair and was depositing his tray across the table from her. "Actually, I've been wanting to talk with you. This is the second day that Chelsea Ferguson's been on your 'wonder drug'- what is it? EpAm something. She seems to be better, but how does Dr.

Ingersoll think she's doing?" Rip spread salsa liberally over his scrambled eggs, then forked a generous portion into his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and washed it down with coffee before answering.

"Sorry. But you know the drill. Eat when you can-" "Sleep when you can. Yes, I know. Now, what about Chelsea?" "I think she's improving.

As for Dr. Ingersoll, I can't say. He got some kind of urgent phone call when we were seeing Ms. Ferguson, and he's been gone since." Rip added more salsa and took another bite of eggs. "What could make Jack take offlike that?" Sara had known Jack Ingersoll as intimately as was possible, and she couldn't think of anything more important to him than his patients and his practice. If he'd only been willing to pay the same attention to his family… but that was water under the bridge. "Anyway, how long do you anticipate keeping Chelsea on therapy?" Rip chewed the last bit of egg, finished his last triangle of toast, and dabbed his lips with a napkin. "For Staph luciferus cases, treatment is given daily via intravenous infusion for a total of ten days." He said it as though by rote, and Sara realized he was parroting back the protocol Ingersoll and the drug company had written. Rip shoved his tray aside and took a satisfied sip of coffee.