Faye Kellerman - Prayers for the Dead

Marge and Oliver traded glances. She said, “Doctor, what is your official position at Fisher/Tyne?”

“West Coast Vice President in charge of Research and Development. I also act as a liaison between the West Coast labs and our labs in D.C./Virginia.”

“I’m really ignorant on how all this works,” Marge said. “For instance, how did you come to buy Curedon? Who made that decision?”

“How’d you even find out about it?” Oliver said.

Shockley continued to sit with his fingers interlocked. “Why would this interest the police?”

Oliver said, “A man was murdered. We’re looking for reasons.”

“And what reasons did you hope to find here?”

“Money,” Marge said. “Lots of money.”

“Always a good reason for a homicide,” Oliver said.

“Like for instance, we all know that Dr. Sparks was paid a handsome up-front fee for Curedon,” Marge said. “And we all know he was promised part of the percentage of the profits if the drug came to market.”

“Now that he’s gone,” Oliver said, “we were wondering what happens to the percentage. Is it passed on like the rest of his estate?”

Shockley smiled. “And you expect me to divulge private information just because you’re the police.”

Marge said, “Maybe we can talk in general terms. Like if you promised Gentleman X a percentage of profits from drug B that you bought from him-”

“A percentage of profits if drug B comes to market,” Oliver added.

“And if Gentleman X happened to be murdered,” Marge went on, “who would inherit the percentage promised to him?”

Oliver smiled. “She’s just talking theoretical.”

Shockley’s face remained flat. But if his neck muscles grew any tighter, they’d pop his collar pin. “Who have you been talking to?”

Marge said, “Lots of people.”

“Everyone says the same thing.”

“But no one knows the exact numbers,” Marge said. “Not that we’re asking for exact numbers-”

“That’s good, Detective,” Shockley said. “Because the numbers are none of your business.”

Oliver frowned. “’Fraid you were going to say that. Let me ask you this, Doctor. By the way, are you a heart doctor like Dr. Sparks?”

A slight smile appeared on Shockley’s lips. “I’ve got a Ph.D. in both pharmacology and chemistry.”

Oliver said. “You answered that question real easily. We’ll try another. I understand that Fisher/Tyne was testing Curedon for the FDA. Just how does that work?”

Shockley said, “I don’t know what you’re asking.”

Marge said, “You are testing the drug for the FDA, correct?”

“Correct.”

“To test the drug, you need patients.”

“Correct.”

“Where do you get the patients from?”

“That’s confidential information.”

“We’re not asking for names and locations,” Oliver said. “We just want to know how you get the patients. Do you have your own hospital somewhere? Or do you talk doctors at hospitals into trying out the drug?”

“We don’t talk doctors into anything.”

“We’re just wondering how do you get patients to participate?” Marge said.

“That’s also none of your business.”

Oliver blew out air, sank back into the hard sofa. “You’re not being forthcoming.”

“You’re asking internal policy questions. I’ve neither the position nor the inclination to answer them.”

Marge turned to Oliver. “Maybe we should save these questions for Dr. Decameron? Betcha he’d know all about this.”

Shockley snorted.

Oliver said, “Ah, so you’ve met Dr. Decameron. Which means you’ve obviously worked with him. In what capacity?”

Shockley said, “If Dr. Decameron is so forthcoming with the police, why don’t you ask him?”

“You want us to go by his statement only,” Oliver said. “Fine with us.”

“Just what does that mean?”

Marge said, “That’s means, Doctor, if you and him have had any disagreements, you might want to tell us your side.”

“We’ve had no disagreements.” Shockley squirmed.

“No conflicts at all?”

“No business conflicts,” Shockley said. “Perhaps some personality conflicts.”

“I see.” Oliver smoothed his hair. “You don’t like gays.”

Marge’s eyes widened. Shockley winced. “I didn’t say-”

“Fine, you didn’t say,” Oliver said. “Let’s drop the PC crap, Doctor. He’s overtly gay and he’s proud of it.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Marge said.

“Absolutely not. You are what you are and we all know what Decameron is.” Leaning in close, Oliver said, “Reggie boy made me do a little squirmy-wormy when I was around him. Might make me squirm a lot if I had dealings with him. Did you have dealings with him, Doctor?”

Oliver sat back in his seat and waited, giving Shockley a chance to size him up. Hoping he caught the bastard by playing on his fears and weaknesses. Because men like Shockley were public image, never dared to admit prejudice until they were safely ensconced within the paneled walls of their clubs.

Shockley eyed Oliver. Unsure how to proceed.

Marge stepped in, playing good cop, giving Shockley the needed escape. “Did you have professional dealings with Dr. Decameron, Dr. Shockley?”

Shockley waited a beat. “Some.”

“What kind of dealings?”

Shockley weighed his options…to talk or not to talk. “Next to Dr. Sparks, Dr. Decameron is the most actively involved in our trials of Curedon.”

Oliver said, “Does he work out of Dr. Sparks’s lab or your labs in Virginia?”

“Both.”

“How’d that work? Does he fly in and out?”

“Yes.”

“Lots of back-and-forth travel?”

“Yes,” Shockley answered. “Lots of back-and-forth travel. As a matter of fact, the travel was the main reason we started working with Dr. Decameron in the first place. The flying became prohibitively time-consuming for Dr. Sparks’s hectic schedule. After the initial negotiations for Curedon were in place, Dr. Sparks handed the task of overseeing Curedon trials to Dr. Decameron.”

He paused.

“Actually, he first gave the assignment to Dr. Berger, then to Dr. Decameron.”

Marge asked, “Why the switch?”

“I don’t know why,” he said quickly. “I do know that Dr. Berger is also a practicing cardiac surgeon. Perhaps he was also scheduled too tightly for the travel. Actually, I was glad about the switch. Despite what you’ve implied, I have nothing against homosexuals.”

“Why were you glad about the change?” Oliver asked.

“Because…” Shockley tried again. “Once I…understood Dr. Decameron, I found him easier to deal with.”

“Easier than Dr. Berger,” Marge clarified.

“Yes.”

“How’s that?”

“A better team player. Quicker. Faster. Cutting edge. More willing to try unorthodox approaches if conventional ones weren’t working. I found Dr. Berger to be a very, very cautious man. Which is always a good thing when you’re testing out a new drug. But he was cautious to the point of being mulish. Had it been up to him, I’m sure Curedon would still be relegated to Sparks’s homespun lab. You know, if you’re going to do good for humankind, eventually you have to take the drug out to the market and test it on humans. There’s only so much you can infer by testing the drugs on primates.”

“Berger didn’t feel the drug was ready to be tested on humans?”

“He never actually espoused that opinion, no,” Shockley said. “Because Sparks always called the shots, of course. But the D.C. labs were frustrated by Berger’s pickiness.”

“Maybe some would call that exacting,” Oliver said.

Shockley’s smile was mean. “There’s being exacting…and there’s being ridiculous.”