“We need to hear everything you know,” Mason said, looking at Stephanie.
We remained silent as Stephanie tried to catch her breath. Lurleen sat beside her, one arm around her. “It’s all right,” Lurleen said. “Jonathan is in the hospital, and he’s going to recover. Take your time. You told me, so you can tell them what you know.”
Stephanie took a few deep breaths. “I knew something was terribly wrong,” she said. “I’ve known that for months. At first I thought it was administrative difficulties at work. The CDC has undergone some big changes in the past few years, and I think Jonathan wanted me to believe that was the problem. But it wasn’t. Then, I started worrying it could be another woman because he’d become so distant from me.
“When I confronted him about that, he denied it, and I didn’t have any evidence, no lipstick on his collar. Of course, after I’d seen what Nicole had done to Crystal and how she’d come on to Crystal’s husband, I wondered if she was doing the same thing to me with Jonathan. But when Jonathan told me how much he hated Nicole, then I didn’t think they were involved with one another, at least not romantically.”
Stephanie paused to take a sip of water.
“That left his health. He seemed to be fading away in front of me, losing weight, not eating, not sleeping, but he showed no other signs of physical illness. I worried about depression. I didn’t realize his life was in danger until the accident.”
“An accident?” I asked.
“No, not an accident,” Stephanie said. “Jonathan has an enemy I know nothing about.”
Again she paused.
“He also has a history I never heard about until today. Years ago, when Jonathan was working on his PhD in biochemistry, he had a small circle of friends. Jonathan was never gregarious, so a small circle of friends was all he ever had, but these people were special to him. Two men and a woman worked in his lab; well, not his lab, but the lab of Dr. Ornstein. Dr Ornstein was an up-and-coming researcher in Wisconsin in the field of viral pathogens.”
“Like HIV and the ebola virus?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Stephanie said. “Dr. Ornstein focused on lesser known pathogens, and the people who worked for him were as dedicated to the work as he was. I never knew any of them because I met Jonathan after he got his PhD and after he left Dr. Ornstein’s lab.”
“How long did he work there?” I asked.
“He started there twenty years ago and left after five years, after the tragedy happened.”
“What tragedy?” I asked.
“Dr. Ornstein was killed by a hit-and-run driver when he was biking to work.”
“Was the driver identified?” Mason asked.
“No,” Stephanie said. “The group split up at that point. Jonathan took a job as a post-doc in another lab and then several years later came to the CDC. He told me it was in part to get as far away from the other people in the group as he could.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Jonathan said the animosity in the group started long before Dr. Ornstein’s death. These were people who wanted to get ahead even if it meant knocking someone else out of the way to do it. Lots of people thought Dr. Ornstein was destined for a Nobel prize in medicine.
“At first, all four members of Ornstein’s group were treated equally, but soon Jonathan became the star. Dr. Ornstein gave him all the plum assignments. Jonathan wasn’t sure why. He thought he probably reminded Dr. Ornstein of himself in younger days.
“Dr. Ornstein invited Jonathan to work with him in a new lab at a major university in D.C. That was right before he died. It would have meant they’d be close to government funding sources and they’d have enormous prestige. Dr. Ornstein was only taking Jonathan with him, but Dr. Ornstein died before he could make the move.”
“Does your husband think one of the members of his old group had anything to do with Dr. Ornstein’s death?” Mason asked.
“He isn’t sure,” Stephanie said, “but after this hit and run he wonders.”
“So he thinks the same person might have tried to kill him by running him off the road?” Mason asked.
Stephanie nodded.
“Why now? That’s a long time to hold a grudge,” Mason said.
“It seemed that every year when the Nobel prizes were announced, Jonathan would get a threatening phone call or letter that he never told me about. This year the threats were more intense. He said that’s why he started falling apart.”
Stephanie dried her eyes. “Like I already told you, I started getting threats myself a month ago—usually heavy breathing, a hang-up on the phone. I didn’t know how seriously to take them, but now I do.”
“Is there any reason to think the threats and attack on Jonathan might be related to the death of Nicole Ash?” Mason asked.
Stephanie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You said Jonathan was angry at Nicole,” Mason said. “Do you know why?”
“He wouldn’t tell me why he was so mad at her,” Stephanie said. “If there is a connection to her death I don’t know what it could be.”
“Let me get this straight,” Mason said. “Your husband believes that the threats and the attack on his life stem from the breakup of a tight group of researchers twenty years ago.”
“Yes. He thinks the work Dr. Ornstein was doing could have led to a Nobel prize. The people he worked with were driven by that motivation.”
“Was Jonathan?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. Jonathan knew a Nobel prize was a combination of luck, solid research and being in the right place at the right time. He loved the research and he wanted to continue to work with Dr. Ornstein, but he had no desire to try to game the system.”
“Game the system?” Mason asked.
“Know the right people, get in the right lab, that kind of thing.”
“Did Jonathan give you the names of his lab partners?” Mason asked.
“He refused to do that,” Stephanie said. “He said it could harm the careers of the innocent members of that group. I tried to tell him his life was at stake and he said I couldn’t understand what it would mean to be accused of wrongdoing.”
“Kevin Delaney can easily find out who those people were,” Mason said. “He can see where they are today. Does your husband know you’re talking to me,” Mason asked, “and that I will have to pass this information on to the detective handling the murder of Nicole Ash?”
“I told him I was going to talk to Dr. Brown about what was happening.”
“You’d better let him know the police are involved at this point,” Mason said. “You haven’t given us a direct connection between what happened to Nicole and what happened to him, but Kevin will be looking into this, particularly since Jonathan knew Nicole and hated her.”
“You’re not suggesting my husband is a suspect in the murder of Nicole?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Mason said. “I’m not on the case, but you need to let your husband know the police will be interviewing him, not just about the hit and run, but about his relationship with Nicole.”
“I’ll tell him,” Stephanie said. “Dr. Brown, is there any way you might still talk to him?When I mentioned your name he said there were things he could say to you that he couldn’t say to me, that I wouldn’t understand but you would.”
“That doesn’t make sense to me,” I said.
“I think he still has a lot on his mind,” Stephanie said. “Maybe he thinks you’ll offer a more understanding ear.”
“But anything I say will go to the police through Mason, and he needs to know that.”
“I’ll make sure he does, “ Stephanie said. “In fact, I’ll let him know right now. It will be easier to say it over the phone than in person.”
Lurleen led her to a guest bedroom at the back of the house where she could speak in private.
When she came back Mason and I were in the middle of a lively exchange.
“Why would someone suddenly want to kill Jonathan after all these years?” Mason asked. “If the threats come up around the time of the Nobel prize awards, it doesn’t make much sense that someone would try to kill him. It’s not as if he’s on a short list for a Nobel prize.”
“Agreed,” I said.
“We don’t know if the hit and run was cowardice or a planned attack,” Mason said.
“And what about his anger at Nicole?” I asked.“Where does she fit in this whole scenario?”
“If she does fit,” Mason said. “It could be we have a murder and a hit and run without a connection.”
“Do you believe that, Mason?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I do,” Lurleen said. “I’m sure they’re related. They happened two days apart!”
Stephanie returned to the living room and we waited to hear what Jonathan had said.
“He was mad at first but he’s agreed to all of it,” she said.
“Agreed to what exactly?” Mason asked.
“Agreed to the police involvement, but only if they can find a way to put us in some kind of police protection program.”
“Does he mean having the house watched, something like that?” Mason asked.
“No, he asked if the police could help us disappear where no one would find us until all this has been resolved.”
“I don’t think we can offer that,” Mason said.
“But I can!” Lurleen jumped in. “I have friends who could put you up here or in France.”
“I’m not going to France,” Stephanie said.
“Very well then,” Lurleen said. “I know people who know people. They will be able to protect you and your husband if it comes to that.”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked.
“You don’t need to know the details,” Lurleen said. “These folks aren’t criminals. They just like to live under the radar, and they do that very successfully. No one finds them unless they want to be found.”
“Sorry, Lurleen, that’s out of the question,” Mason said. “If the police provide protection it will be through their channels and no one else’s.”
Lurleen looked disappointed.
“How is it you know people like this?” I asked.
“They’re not bad people,” Lurleen said.
“And why have I never heard about these people before?”
“Ditie, you are my best friend, but these are people who like to live in the shadows, and they aren’t quite as straight and narrow as you are. It’s kind of the same thing as the occult and the tarot card readings. You don’t believe in them. I’m not sure I do either, but I’m a little more open to the idea.”
“That’s something that brought Lurleen and me together,” Stephanie said. “If I thought a tarot card reading might clarify something, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” She looked at Lurleen. “Maybe a private reading would help sort this out.
I could think of nothing to say to that, but Lurleen could. “That’s not a bad idea.”
Oh no. I looked at Mason who rolled his eyes but said nothing.
“I can see you and Mason are skeptical,” Stephanie said to me, “so forget I mentioned it. Maybe we can do this in a more traditional way. Despite the police involvement, Jonathan still wants to talk to you, Dr. Brown. He won’t tell anyone else his whole story. There is something he’s ashamed of, deeply ashamed of, and he thinks somehow you might understand. He refuses to tell me what it is.”
“You really don’t know what it is, Stephanie?” I asked.
“No.”
Mason looked at me and he was frowning. “I can tell you’ve already made a decision, Ditie.”
“I don’t see how it could hurt,” I said, “and it might help the investigation. Or if not, at least it could explain what’s going on with Jonathan.”
My other thought was that if we could steer Lurleen and Stephanie away from some fortune-telling mission, that could keep things from getting even more confusing.
“One conversation,” Mason said, “that’s all you get with a police officer at the door, Ditie. I assume one is already posted there given the threats made against him.”
“Jonathan said there was someone stationed outside his hospital room,” Stephanie said.
“All right,” Mason said, “I’ll talk to Kevin, and if he clears it, we’ll move ahead with this one-time interview, but I don’t like any of this.”
“I know,” I said, and I did know. This was how things usually started with Lurleen and me, a foot in the water and suddenly we were in a turbulent ocean at risk of drowning. “I will have my conversation with Jonathan and I will tell you what he says. End of story.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Mason said,
“Can you come to the hospital over the weekend?” Stephanie asked. “I know they won’t discharge him before Monday.”
I looked at Mason and he shrugged.
“Once I talk to Kevin,” Mason said, “I’ll let both of you know. Nicole’s murderer, if he was involved with the assault on Jonathan, is likely keeping an eye on who comes and goes, so we’ll have to figure out how to get you in and out of his room without being noticed.”
“Ditie, it’s almost Halloween,” Lurleen said. “I will find the perfect disguise! I have it. We’ll dress you as a male technician, maybe get you your own EKG machine, make you look authentic.”
“Maybe we can tone that down a bit,” Mason said. “Let me talk to Kevin before you do anything, Lurleen.”