F Wilson - Implant

"Dr. Fox. Flow about a little help? " Fox didn't budge. He shook his head. "I can't! I . . . I've never practiced. ' "Great, " Gin muttered.

Suddenly Senator Marsden was at her side.

"The E.M.Ts are on their way. What do you want me to do? " Gin gave him a quick, grateful smile. "Just grab his arms and steady them.

Don't try to pin them down, just blunt the wild movements, keep him from flailing around too much and breaking a bone." '"Will do." It took another minute or so, it seemed much longer, before the seizure abated and Senator Vincent's limbs relaxed. His body slumped, his eyes closed. He began to snore.

"Does he have a history of seizures? " Gin asked Senator Marsden as they released their hold.

"Not that I know of. But then again, that's not something you broadcast in public life. ' Right. Voters were probably funny about voting for an epileptic. But what about the bizarre paranoid behavior just before the seizure?

The E.M.Ts arrived then. As they started an IV drip and loaded Senator Vincent on the stretcher, Gin told them he'd suffered a grand mal seizure and suggested they call ahead and have a neurologist waiting.

"Have ten milligrams of diazepam ready to go IV push if he starts again, " she told them as they were leaving.

She turned to Senator Marsden. "Thanks for your help." He nodded absently, then surveyed the milling, murmuring crowd around the dais.

"Nothing like starting off with a bang, " he said with a sigh.

"Are you going to call a recess? " He nodded. "An indefinite one. ' "What do you mean? " . - His expression was bleak." I opened the hearings this morning two members short. Now I'm three short. I've got half a committee now. Even if Senator Vincent recovers soon, I don't see him appearing before the cameras again for quite some time

Do you? " "No. Can't say as I do."

"So I'm going to have to wait until at least one of those empty seats is filled."

"How long will that take? " Gin said, her heart sinking. She'd just started this job last week, now it was evaporating before her eyes.

"Could be a while." Gin's expression must have revealed her dismay.

He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I want you around doing background during the hiatus. I like the way you handle yourself. And who knows? We may not have a long wait if I can get the president involved. He wants this bill before the end of the year. Maybe he can twist a few arms. ' He returned to his seat on the dais, banged his gavel twice, and announced that hearings were suspended until further notice.

Gin suddenly thought of Duncan. She searched the crowd for him but he was gone.

Twice now, Duncan had been present when some catastrophe had befallen one of his legislator patients.

What had he said to Senator Vincent down on the. floor . . . minutes before the senator went crazy?

Gin had a strange feeling that he'd told him to remember someone named Lisa.

Later, Gin returned to the Hart Building via the underground shuttle and was surprised to find Gerry waiting for her in the atrium.

"Am I glad to see you." She needed someone to talk to, needed to ventilate the morning's events. She gave him a hug and felt the tension in his muscles. Gerry didn't seem to be in a listening mood.

"We need to talk, ' he said. His expression was serious, almost grim.

"Is something wrong? " "Something might be. Can I tell you about it over lunch? " "Nothing about Martha, is it? " He stared at her, then put his arm around her shoulder. "No. Nothing at all to do with Martha." They walked down to Mass. Gerry tried to make small talk but didn't do a very good job.

Summer wasn't letting go just yet. The sun was high and 0 the air warm. Gerry pointed to an array of red-and-white Tecate umbrellas on a patio in front of a converted brownstone about a block and a half down from Union Station.

"How about T-Coast? " Gerry said.

Gin looked at the sign, Tortilla Coast. Mexican food. "It's not a Taco Bell, but I guess we can make do." She was too wound up to eat, but just sitting in the sun would be good.

They took a corner table near the sidewalk.

"So what's the problem? " she said as the hostess left them with their menus.

"I heard about Senator Vincent."

"It was terrible."

"You realize, don't you, that he's the third member of your committee to bite the dust. ' "Yes. Senator Marsden and I were just discussing it. But what, ? " "I did some quick background on him. Checked if he'd had any surgery recently." He paused, staring at her. "You know what's coming next, don't you." It wasn't a question. What was he getting at? Why was the FBI interested?

"Duncan."

"Right. That makes four." "Four what? " "Four dead or disabled legislators, two senators, two congressmen, all Lathram patients. Three of them on the Guidelines committee. Could your Dr. Lathram have it in for that committee or something? " Gin suddenly felt a little queasy.

He was echoing her own crazy thoughts.

The waitress arrived then. Gin agreed to share Gerry's nacho platter and ordered a Pepsi. Considering what the morning had been like, she could have done with a brew, she'd acquired a taste for Dixie while at Tulane, but she didn't want to show up at the senator's staff meeting this afternoon with beer on her breath.

"He was there this morning, you know, " she said when they were alone again.

"Who? " "Duncan. And he was on the Capitol steps when Allard took his fall."

"You were there? You never told me. How close was he? " "You mean, did Duncan push him? Come on. But he . . . " She hesitated, wondering if she should mention it, then plunged ahead.

"Duncan's last words to Allard were something about Lisa."

"His daughter? The one who, ? " '"Committed suicide. I think so. He said something about an eighteen-year-old named Lisa. Had to be her.

" Gerry was silent a moment, then, "On the subject of Lisa, I dug a little deeper after reading her death certificate. Got a copy of the coroner's report." Gin's heart kicked its rhythm up a notch. "You have it with you? " "No. It's back at my office. But I read it through a couple of times.

It summarized her whole medical history. Let me tell you, Lisa Lathram was one troubled kid."

"You mean she tried it before? " He nodded.

"Twice. Once with pills. Once with a razor to the wrists." Gin slumped in her chair. "How awful."

"Apparently neither attempt was that serious."

"But she got it right the third time"

"That was the real tragedy. According to the report, Lisa had been doing extremely well on Prozac, which I understand was pretty new at the time Then suddenly, boom, something happened and she went over the edge.

Gulped all the old antidepressants she'd squirreled away over the years.

But the worst part was she didn't take enough to kill her.

Just enough to make her dopey and clumsy. She toppled over a balcony and landed on a hard the floor. Doctor Lathram came home and found her.

"Oh, God. Poor Duncan." That explained it then, the sudden radical change in Duncan's life.

Everything must have fallen apart for him.

But it didn't explain his mentioning Lisa to Allard two weeks ago.

"Any hint in the report of a connection between Lisa and Congressman Allard? " Gerry shook his head. "Not that I saw. Of course, I wasn't looking for one. I'll make you a copy. But in the meantime . .."

He leaned forward." I understand Lathram's putting some sort of implants into his patients."

"How . . . how'd you know about that?

" He shrugged. "It's no secret. The FDA has him down as approved to do a clinical study. What's in those implants anyway? " "Just some enzymes and such to reduce scarring."

"Well, could there be something wrong with, ? ' She gave in to a sudden urge to defend Duncan. "Gerry, he does a dozen or more cases a week.