“Please hold for the president of the United States.”
Lee was seated at a narrow desk in the ER, feeling his pulse hammer away in his fingertips. Yoshi’s body was gone, shipped off to the MDC morgue. He was not the first person to have died despite Lee’s best efforts, but it was the first time he’d let down the leader of the free world.
Lee’s mind swirled with questions and possibilities while he waited for the president to come on the line. With Yoshi out of the picture was someone else’s secret safe? Not surprisingly the first name to pop into Lee’s mind was Gleason’s. He did seem to know a lot about the ProNeural nootropics. Maybe he knew something else—something he worried Yoshi might reveal.
It was an interesting theory, but what to do with it?
Glancing at his phone, Lee noticed two voice mail messages in his inbox. He must have missed the calls while triaging Yoshi. He would have to check those messages later; the president had come on the line.
“Lee. What the hell happened in there?”
“Well, he died, sir. I tried to save him. There was nothing I could do. I’m very sorry.”
The silence lasted so long Lee thought the call may have gone dead.
“Mr. President?”
Lee heard a shaky breath, followed by a loud sniff.
“Sir?”
“I just want—I want my son back. If Yoshi knew something—if—” Is the president crying?
“Mr. President, I understand. And again, I’m sorry.” Lee did not know what else to say, but added, “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
President Hilliard sucked down a few more ragged breaths before regaining his composure.
“I’m sorry, Lee, I’m sorry. There’s no room in the White House for a personal crisis, but I have one and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. Ellen blames me. Did you know that? She doesn’t believe Cam suffered an emotional collapse. She thinks he was frightened, that he didn’t trust anyone in the Secret Service to protect him, didn’t know who might try to kill him next. She thought I should have done away with the whole damn lot of them, except for Karen. The one person I blame the most, she holds blameless. Now, we’re barely speaking to each other. Oh hell, I shouldn’t trouble you with this, I know.”
But he did need to trouble Lee, or at least he needed to confide in someone. Having spent time inside the White House, Lee had come to have a better understanding of how truly isolating, how deeply lonely it was to be president. For the benefit of a nation, he had to hold his pain inside. Cracks in his façade meant cracks in the country. The little bit Hilliard did share had told Lee plenty. The family doc whom the president’s physician held in such contempt was now one of the few people the president had come to trust.
Now, Lee thought. Now is the time.
The president had taken him into his confidence. Lee knew he’d never have this opportunity again.
“Mr. President, I have to ask you something, and it’s difficult, but I have to ask.”
A beat of silence, and then, “Go ahead.”
“How well do you know Dr. Gleason? What I mean to say is, how much do you trust him?”
“Why are you asking me this?” The president’s indignation was apparent.
“I’m trying to make the connection between the TPI and the symptoms I’ve seen, including those in Cam, not to mention everything else that’s happened. Dr. Gleason is there in every link on the chain. From day one he’s battled to keep me from examining Cam. Why? Maybe he knew the kids were taking something they shouldn’t have been taking. Maybe he was the one giving it to them and Yoshi has been telling us the truth.
“The profit for a brain pill that could produce people like Cam and Susie would be enormous. Not to mention, he knew Stephen Duffy well. He could have been aware of the man’s money troubles and promised to … well, you know … with Cam.”
“Why, that’s preposterous! Fred?!” There was a tremendous bite to Hilliard’s voice.
For a moment, Lee shrank inside, but quickly regained his resolve. “Cam said something to me in private when I checked his eyes for the red spot on his retinas.”
“And?”
“And he said, and I quote, ‘Don’t leave me. Dr. Gleason’s a liar.’”
“He said that?”
“His words exactly, Mr. President. I wrote it off as teen anger, but now I regret it. I’m asking, for Cam’s sake, for the sake of everyone involved—please, please look further into Fred Gleason. If nothing comes of it, well, then nobody knows anything and nobody got hurt. But if you find something—it might help us to find Cam.”
Another excruciatingly long moment of silence ensued. Again Lee thought the president might have ended the call. He startled when the president spoke.
“Dr. Blackwood, thank you again for your service to me, to my family, and to our country,” President Hilliard said. “I’ll take your concerns under careful advisement.”
This time, Lee had no doubt the president was gone. From behind, Lee felt a tap on his shoulder. He swiveled in his chair and his expression brightened when he saw Josh standing there, a big smile on his face.
Lee leapt up from his chair, opened his arms wide, and gave Josh a big hug.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as the two embraced.
“Mom’s at camp. I figured you might need some company for a bit.”
Lee was suspicious. “You’re worried about me, aren’t you?” he said.
“I think you should have a buddy around, is all.”
Lee put an arm around his son. “I’m glad it’s you,” he said. “Would this buddy of mine like to go out and grab a slice of pizza and a beer? I’ve just had a really crappy couple of hours.”
“You know I would.”
Difficult as things had been of late, one lone bright spot for Lee was how this crisis had brought his family closer together. As he and Josh headed for the exit, Lee’s phone buzzed with an incoming text message from Paul.
Come too office. Important.
The typo did not bother Lee, text messages were riddled with them, but “office” was a strange word choice. They always called it the clinic. Lee paused to send a reply.
Headed out with Josh, what’s going on?
While waiting for Paul to answer, Lee remembered to check those voice mail messages, and sure enough the first call was from Paul.
“Hey, Lee—Paul here. I know it’s getting late, but swing by the clinic if you can. I have an idea about what might be going on with Susie and Cam that I want to share with you ASAP. We’ve gone over it before, but I keep coming back to it because it’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”
Lee deleted the message. The next call, an hour after the first, was from Paul as well.
“Lee, where are you? I think I got something here. Call me.”
Lee was intrigued. Paul sounded almost ecstatic. What could he have discovered? Instead of playing text tag, he returned Paul’s call, but got no answer. A moment later, his phone buzzed again with another text message from Paul.
Come too the office. Need to speak with you.
Speak with me? Again the same typo, “too” instead of “to” as well as the odd word choice, thought Lee. Not really like Paul. Lee texted back.
Call me now. Let’s chat.
Can’t talk. On the phone. Just come quick.
Curious, thought Lee. Clearly, something was up.
“We’re going to have to pass on the slice and suds,” Lee informed Josh. “Gotta go to the clinic and meet up with Paul.”
“I’m just the happy-go-lucky buddy,” Josh said. “I go where you go.”
* * *
TODAY WAS the day.
Mauser had been keeping a close watch on Lee. The busy hospital had provided excellent cover, but Mauser took additional precautions. He got rid of his bushy mustache and wore a baseball hat and thick reading glasses he had bought at CVS. Not much of a disguise, but he did not look like the hospital repairman anymore. It would have to do. He could have changed the plan, could have done it himself, but lately luck did not seem to be on his side.
He was also concerned about the guy who had left with Lee. The doc was a middle-aged lightweight, but this other fellow was muscled and probably knew how to handle himself. He guessed the man was Blackwood’s son, who had military training. Everything was already in motion. Better to keep to the plan, Mauser decided. If things went south, nothing could be traced back to him or to Rainmaker.
Mauser got his fellow biker pal Willie Caine on the phone. “The texts worked like a charm,” he said. “I think Blackwood’s headed your way, but be ready, because he’s not coming alone.”