Robin Cook - Fatal Cure

"I'm glad I caught you," Walt said.

"Why?" Angela asked.

"Something extraordinary has happened," Walt said. "And you are responsible."

"Tell me," Angela said.

"It's all because of your surprise visit yesterday," Walt said. "Would you be able to jump in your car and come up here?"

"When?"

"Right now," Walt said.

Angela was intrigued. "Can you give me an idea of what this is about?" she asked.

"I'd rather show you," he said. "It's really unique. I'll have to write this up or at least present it at the annual forensic dinner. I want you to be in on it right away. Consider it part of your education."

"I'd love to come," Angela said. "But I'm worried about Dr. Wadley. We've not been on the best of terms."

"Oh, forget Wadley," Walt said. "I'll give him a call. This is important."

"You're making it hard to refuse," Angela said.

"That's the whole idea," Walt said.

Angela grabbed her coat. On her way out she glanced into Wadley's office. He wasn't there. She asked the secretaries where he was. They told her that he'd gone to the Iron Horse Inn for lunch and wouldn't be back until two.

She asked Paul Darnell to cover for her again in case there was any type of emergency. She told him that she'd gotten a specific request from the chief medical examiner to come to see something extraordinary.

Before she left for Burlington, Angela dashed up to the ICU to check on Nikki. She was pleased to discover that her daughter was doing much better and was in fine spirits.

Angela made it to the chief medical examiner's office in record time. "Wow!" Walt said when she appeared at his office door. He glanced at his watch as he stood to greet her. "That was fast. What kind of a sports car do you drive?"

"I have to admit your call whetted my curiosity. I was eager to get here," Angela said. "And to tell you the truth, I haven't much time."

"We won't need much time," Walt said. He led her to a microscope set up on a workbench. "First, I want you to look at this," he said.

Angela adjusted the eyepieces and looked in. She saw a specimen of skin. Then she saw black dots in the dermis.

"Do you know what that is?" Walt asked.

"I think so," Angela said. "This must be the skin from under Hodges' nails."

"Precisely," Walt said. "See the carbon?"

"I do," Angela said.

"All right. Take a look at this."

Angela lifted her eyes from the microscope and accepted a photograph from Walt.

"This is a photomicrograph I obtained with a scanning electron microscope," Walt explained. "Notice that the dots don't look like carbon any longer."

Angela studied the photo. What Walt was saying was true.

"Now look at this," Walt said. He handed her a printout. "This is the output of an atomic spectrophotometer. What I did was elute the granules with an acid solvent and then analyze them. They aren't carbon."

"What are they?" Angela asked.

"They're a mixture of chromium, cobalt, cadmium, and mercury," Walt said triumphantly.

"That's wonderful, Walt," Angela said. She was completely baffled. "But what does it mean?"

"I was just as perplexed as you," Walt said. "I had no idea what it meant. I even started to think that the atomic spectrophotometer had gone on the fritz until I suddenly had an epiphany. It's part of a tattoo!"

"Are you sure?" Angela questioned.

"Absolutely," Walt said. "These pigments are used for tattooing."

Angela immediately shared Walt's excitement. With the power of forensics they'd made a discovery about the killer. He had a tattoo. She couldn't wait to tell David and Calhoun.

Returning to Bartlet, Angela ran into Paul Darnell. He'd been waiting for her.

"I got some bad news," Darnell said. "Wadley knows you left town and he's not happy about it."

"How could he know?" Angela asked. Darnell was the only person she'd told.

"I think he was spying on you," Darnell said. "That's the only explanation I can think of. He came in to see me fifteen minutes after you left."

"I thought he'd gone out for lunch," Angela said.

"That's what he told everybody," Darnell said. "Obviously he hadn't. He asked me directly if you had left Bartlet. I couldn't lie. I had to tell him."

"Did you tell him I went to see the chief medical examiner?" Angela asked.

"Yes," Darnell said.

"Then it should be fine," Angela said. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Good luck," Darnell said.

No sooner had Angela returned to her office than a secretary appeared to let her know that Dr. Wadley wanted to see her in his office. That was an ominous turn of events. Wadley had never used an intermediary before.

Angela found Wadley sitting at his desk. He stared at her with cold eyes.

"I was told you wanted to see me," she said.

"I did indeed," Wadley said. "I wanted to inform you that you are fired. I would appreciate it if you would pack up your belongings and leave. Your continued presence is bad for morale."

"I find this hard to believe," Angela said.

"Nonetheless, it is so," Wadley said coldly.

"If you're upset because I was gone at my lunch hour, you should know that I drove to Burlington to visit the chief medical examiner," Angela said. "He'd called to ask me to come as soon as I could."

"Dr. Walter Dunsmore does not run this department," Wadley said. "I do."

"Didn't he call you?" Angela asked. She felt desperate. "He told me he would call you. He was excited about something he'd discovered concerning the body found in my home." Angela quickly related the details, but Wadley was unmoved.

"I've only been gone for a little over an hour," Angela said.

"I'm not interested in excuses," Wadley said. "I warned you just yesterday about this very same thing. You chose to ignore my warnings. You've demonstrated yourself to be unreliable, disobedient, and ungrateful."

"Ungrateful!" Angela exploded. "Ungrateful for what? For your sniveling advances? For not wanting to rush off to Miami for a weekend of sun and fun with you? You can fire me, Dr. Wadley, but I'll tell you what I can do: I can sue you and the hospital for sexual harassment."

"You just try it, young lady," Wadley snapped. "You'll be laughed out of the courtroom."

Angela stormed out of Wadley's office. She was beside herself with rage. As she passed through the outer office, the secretaries quickly scattered in her wake.

Angela went to her office and gathered up her belongings. There wasn't much. All the equipment belonged to the hospital. Packing her things into a canvas tote bag, she walked out. She didn't talk to anyone for fear of losing her composure. She didn't want to give Wadley the satisfaction of making her cry.

She intended to go directly to David's office, but then she changed her mind. After her recent argument with David, she was afraid of his reaction to her losing her job. She didn't think she could handle a confrontation in the hospital. So instead she went directly to her car and drove aimlessly toward town.

Just as she was passing the library she put on the brakes and backed up. She'd spotted Calhoun's inimitable truck in the parking lot.

Angela parked her car. She wondered where Calhoun might be. She decided to check the library, recalling that Calhoun had mentioned he knew the librarian.

Angela found Calhoun reading in a quiet alcove overlooking the town green.

"Mr. Calhoun?" Angela whispered.

Calhoun looked up. "How convenient," he said with a smile. "I've got some news."

"I'm afraid I've got some news as well," Angela said. "How about meeting me up at the house."

"I'll look forward to it," Calhoun said.

As soon as Angela got home she put some water on to boil. While she was getting out cups and saucers, Calhoun's truck came up the drive. Angela called out that the door was unlocked when he knocked.