Holly paced back and forth along the edge of the parking lot. He’d taken the bait yesterday, but tonight would be the real test. Were his ethics loose enough to trade a job at the Institute for Advanced Neuroscience for the identity of 40492? It was reassuring that Pam didn’t trust him. She’d specifically mentioned Prescott as someone she feared would steal their results. And it didn’t hurt that he seemed to be attracted to her. It would be easy to keep him interested. Not even a painful task. He was a good-looking guy, and she’d been on her own since breaking up with Dave almost a year ago. She carried a small bag with her, containing her laptop as well as a change of clothes, her toothbrush, and a few other personal items. She planned for their evening together to extend well beyond dinner.

An expensive-looking sports car pulled into the lot and stopped in front of her. Prescott said, “Hello there, it’s good to see you again.”

She got in. “It’s good to see you too. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

“Me, too. What’s in the bag? Do you always bring a suitcase to dinner?”

She laughed. “Well, not really a suitcase. I brought my laptop in case you wanted to have a look at some of my data, and just a couple of other things.”

“Ah, that sounds good. But let’s relax and have a nice dinner first. It’s been a long day of talking science and I could use a break.”

He pulled into the inn’s parking lot and they went directly to the main dining room, where they were seated at a window table with fresh flowers and a view of the spacious grounds. When the waiter came for their drink orders, Prescott suggested a glass of champagne to celebrate their new friendship.

He raised his glass in a toast. “To you, Holly. And to getting you the credit you deserve.”

They clinked glasses and perused the menu, deciding they’d both have the roast duck. He offered her the wine list and she selected an expensive Pinot Noir, realizing she didn’t have to worry about the cost.

“Good choice,” he agreed. “One of my favorites and perfect with the duck. Well, as I said yesterday, I’ve been thinking about your situation and what we can do to straighten this out. And I’ve come up with an idea that I’ll run by you later. But first, tell me where you’d like your career to go from here.”

Holly thought about her response while their dinners were served. This was her chance to let him know she wanted a job at his institute.

“It’s all gotten complicated because of the way Pam’s treated me. She’d like me to stay in her lab another year or two. George is going to look for a faculty position, so he’ll be leaving and I’ll have the lead role in figuring out how 40492 works and starting to see it through to clinical trials. And that’d be fine if she wasn’t screwing me on this paper. But now I want to get out and move on to a faculty position of my own, where I can do the follow-up work on 40492 myself. If I got the credit I deserve, I think I’d be a prime candidate for a job at a top place where I’d have the resources to really develop my career.”

“I can see why you want to move on after what Pam’s done. And you’re right, if you were recognized as first author, any neuroscience institution in the world would give you a job offer that’d make your head spin.”

“Even the Institute for Advanced Neuroscience? I’d love to be able to work with you on this. Pam wouldn’t have a chance against the two of us.”

Prescott’s eyes widened and his nose seemed to twitch.

Not the reaction she’d expected. Doesn’t he think I’m good enough?

But then he smiled and raised his glass. “That’d be fabulous. But first we have to get you the credit for your discovery.”

Holly felt a wave of relief and reached across the table to touch his hand. “Thank you for being willing to help. Especially since we hardly know each other.”

He held her hand for a moment. “I know we’ve just met, but I can’t sit by and let Pam treat you like this. As a senior person in the field, it wouldn’t be right for me to allow it. And I think I know how to deal with her.”

They finished the duck and declined coffee or dessert. Prescott signed for the meal.

“Do you want to go up to my suite? I have a conference area so you can show me the data on your laptop and I can tell you what I’m thinking.”

“Perfect.” She gave him her warmest smile.

The door to the suite led to a living area with a conference table in front of a large picture window. Prescott went over to open the curtains.

He was pretty close to where she wanted him. He’d even come up with a scheme on his own. But he hadn’t broached anything unethical. Better to have him fully hooked before talking plans.

She pulled off her blouse and moved into his arms.

• • •

Holly opened her eyes to sunlight streaming in through the window. Prescott was still asleep in the four-poster canopy bed, snoring lightly. He’ll be softened up now. Time for business.

She turned over to kiss him and Prescott stirred. “Mm,” he said, kissing her back. “I trust you found the accommodations here more comfortable than a bunk bed at the boarding school.”

“Yes.” She wriggled contentedly. “I like it here, thank you for inviting me.”

“My pleasure, madam. We didn’t get much work done last night, did we? Maybe we can spend some time talking this morning, unless you’re in a hurry to get back to the conference?”

“Nope, I’m happy right here.”

“Super. Why don’t I order us some coffee and pastries then? Do you need anything else? I’m sure they could come up with an extra toothbrush or a robe or whatever.”

She grinned. “That sounds perfect for breakfast, but I brought toiletries and a change of clothes along with my laptop.”

“So you came prepared.”

“Prepared and hopeful.” She rolled out of bed. “I’ll go freshen up a bit.”

Holly rehearsed her approach in the shower. Proposing the plan would be dangerous. There was always the risk of his turning against her and telling Pam. She’d have to bring him along slowly. Listen to his ideas first and be sure he was ready before saying too much.

She came out of the bathroom to find orange juice, a basket of pastries, and a pot of coffee already set out on the deck. Prescott was waiting for her, gazing at the mountains in the background, the sun still burning off the morning mist.

She sat close to him and poured a cup of coffee. “So what’s the plan you were going to tell me about last night? Before I got carried away and distracted you.”

He shifted to face her. “I think I have a way to deal with Pam to make things right. I have to warn you that this is going to sound a little dirty. I’ll understand if you don’t want to do it, but it’s the only way I can come up with to make sure you get full credit for your discovery. So let me talk through it and promise to think about it, okay?”

“I’m all ears,” she said. Dirty sounds like a good start.

“The key is something you told me the other day. If I understood correctly, you’re the only one who can identify the active compound. Everyone else just knows it by a code number in your lab notes. Even Pam, right?”

“That’s right,” Holly said. “She wanted to protect herself from any accusations of drug company involvement.”

Prescott snorted sarcastically. “Well, she’s outsmarted herself. What she’s actually done is give us the chance to take over the drug.”

Holly smiled coyly. “You mean if I tell you what it is, so you can do the experiments and claim you’ve discovered it on your own? Would that get me a job at the Institute for Advanced Neuroscience?”

He chuckled and reached out to take her hand. “Good, we’re on the same wavelength. Getting you a job at the Institute is definitely part of the plan, but I think we can do even better. You said you’re in the process of writing your paper with Pam, so I’ll have to hustle to catch up. But if you tell me what the drug is and how to do the key experiments, I’ll have time to get a paper out around the same time as Pam’s. That’ll be fine for me to claim that I discovered the drug independently. And I can certainly offer you a job afterward. But it still doesn’t get you the first authorship you deserve.”

He’s got it. And maybe he has something even better in mind.

“What are you thinking then?” she asked.

“Don’t you see, we can trick Pam into publishing the wrong drug! Then I can bring you over to my lab and we can rediscover the active compound together. And you’ll get full credit as first author.”

She sat bolt upright, spilling some of her coffee. “That sounds great. But can we really do it?”

He grinned. “Oh, I think so. And it’ll destroy Pam’s career, which is just what she deserves for the way she’s treated you.”

She hadn’t dared hope he’d be this ruthless. I like this guy.

“I won’t argue with that,” she said. “What do we need to do?”

“The first step is for you to tell me what the active compound is. But then I want you to change your records so that the compound identified as 40492 in your notes is something different, a compound with no activity in your screen. Then, when Pam asks you to identify 40492 for publication, you’ll give her the name of a compound that actually doesn’t work, instead of the good stuff.”

Holly frowned. Had he really thought this through? There were two problems. Big ones. May as well tackle the most obvious first.

“That’s not going to work,” she said. “The paper will be bullshit, and I’ll wind up being held responsible.”

“No, we’re not going to let that happen. When the paper turns out to be wrong, there’ll be an investigation. And we’ll plant a scenario that lays the blame on Pam for faking the results. You’ll look like an innocent victim of her wrongdoing.”

“But how could she be responsible? I did the experiments with 40492, not Pam. If the paper’s wrong, people are going to blame me for it.”

“The story will be that she faked the results by sneaking into the lab at night and substituting cultures of healthy cells for those that were supposed to have been treated with the drug. She sabotaged your experiments first, and then followed through on other experiments in the lab, including the mouse work.”

“That sounds awfully complicated. How are we going to make people believe that Pam snuck in and tampered with all those experiments? She’s just going to deny it, of course.”

“It’s no more complicated than several other famous cases of fraud. Do you remember the case at Cornell, where a student faked an intricate series of experiments with radioactive gels to make up a whole new theory of cancer? Or the stem cell scandal that led one of the researchers to commit suicide?”

“I guess you’re right, this wouldn’t be any crazier than those cases. But still, how are we going to prove that Pam did it? Since I did the experiments with 40492, I’m the logical one to blame.”

Prescott’s eyes were gleaming as he squeezed her hand. “You told me that she organized a double-blind experiment to make sure the results couldn’t be faked, right? We’re going to turn that against her. How exactly did it work?”

“I gave Pam coded samples of 40492 and five other compounds. Then she recoded them and gave them to George to test. We broke the code together at the end, when we saw the results.”

Prescott nodded. “Makes sense, that’s the way I would have set it up myself. But here’s the thing. When you tell your story during the investigation, you’re going to remember that it didn’t quite happen like that.”

Holly listened as he took her through the details, becoming convinced as he talked. Finally, she shook her head and smiled. “You’re right, I can make that story work. The double-blind experiment exonerates me, and we’ll use it to hang her. I like it!”

He gave her a satisfied smile. “It’ll look like she was trying to be too smart for her own good.”

She snickered. “It actually could have happened like that. You have quite an imagination.”

“Thanks. So here’s how it’ll play out. Pretty soon after the paper gets published people will find that they can’t repeat the results. When that starts to become public, I’ll make sure that rumors of fraud get planted over at the Langmere. There’ll be an investigation that winds up finding Pam guilty. It’ll be the end of her career, and that’s just what she deserves. After that, I’ll offer you a job, and then you and I will rediscover the real drug together.”

This was even better than she’d imagined. She’d get credit for her discovery as well as the job she wanted. But there was still problem number two.

How do I know he’ll keep his word?

“Why do we have to wait that long for you to offer me the job? I’m ready to get out of her lab as soon as possible.”

“I know, but you’ll have to be patient. We have to wait until you’re called to testify during the fraud investigation. Once that’s done, your work at the Langmere will be finished and Pam will be left holding the bag. My offering you a job at that point will tell the world that I agree with the investigation and believe your story. But it’ll look fishy if I do it before then.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” She sighed. “At least it’ll be worth waiting for.”

“Then let’s do it. Can you access your lab data and the chemical library from here?”

Holly paused and looked out at the mountains. This might be risky. But she had to make her play. “Sure,” she said. “But if I give you the name of the compound now, can you give me a letter with the job offer?”

Prescott scowled at her. “What do you mean? I just explained that the job offer needs to wait until you testify to Pam’s fraud.”

“Of course, and I don’t mean to be offensive. But without the job offer, what guarantee do I have that you’ll come through once I give you the name of the drug?”

Prescott rose up in his chair, his face turning red, and his nostrils flaring. She recoiled. This was a different Prescott. Had she gone too far?

But then he sat back and laughed. “I guess I can’t be offended and say you should trust me when we’re doing something like this, can I? Okay, let’s try it this way. Go ahead and swap the compounds so the fraud gets going, but keep the identity of the drug to yourself for now. You can wait and give me the name of the compound after you testify, and I’ll give you a letter with the job offer at the same time. After all, there won’t be any rush for us to rediscover the drug once Pam’s been dealt with.”

Holly let out her breath. “That’ll work, thanks for understanding. I’ll get my laptop and we can switch the compounds now.”

She got up and brought her computer out to the deck.

“I told Pam that 40492 was a failed cancer drug, so I’ll have to search the chemical library for another one to substitute.”

She let him watch while she logged into the library and scanned the drug descriptions.

“Okay, here’s one. TP735.3480.”

“Hang on, we still need to know a little more about the real drug,” Prescott said. “I don’t have Pam’s system for screening large numbers of compounds going. We can only test a small number of drugs that we consider likely candidates, so I’ll need some cover story for why I picked it in the first place.”

Holly winked at him. “I already thought about that. The real drug is a low-level protein kinase inhibitor and there are a couple of papers saying that it helps brain cells survive treatment with chemical toxins. It didn’t have very strong activity, but you could say that was enough to get you interested.”

“Not bad,” he said. “And how am I supposed to get it to test in the first place? I don’t have access to your chemical library.”

“No problem, it’s commercially available from the standard chemical companies.”

He smiled. “I’m impressed, you’ve thought this through. Okay, let’s do it.”

“Fine,” she said. “If you’ll give me some privacy, I’ll pull up my spreadsheet and substitute TP for the real 40492.”

He shook his head and laughed. “Alright, I’ll be inside.”

Holly watched him go. Then she pulled up the lab spreadsheet with the drug code numbers and searched for 40492. It corresponded to the library compound ZX891.345, which she carefully noted on a piece of paper. Then she deleted ZX891.345 from the spreadsheet and entered TP735.3480 in its place.

“Okay, you can come back out,” she called.

“Did you do it?”

“Yes, look.” She showed him the spreadsheet. “The chemical library names are complicated, so I just coded all the drugs by numbers. Here’s 40492. And you can see it now corresponds to TP735.3480, also known as aneurinide. Which is what Pam will publish. Only I know what the real stuff is. And you will too, soon enough.”

He nodded. “Step one accomplished.”

Holly sat back satisfied. And I’ve protected myself.

“So what do we do now?” she asked. “Lie low until the paper comes out?”

“Basically, yes. We’ll have to be careful for the next few months, until this breaks. There can’t be any trace of contact between us before the accusations of fraud surface and the investigation’s finished.”

That was a little unsettling. She was about to risk her career by feeding Pam the wrong compound. She needed to maintain contact and be sure he remained committed to her.

“You mean we can’t see each other at all?” she asked. “What if something comes up during the investigation?”

“No, we’ll need to keep in touch. We’ll just have to be careful. Do you have a private email address or do you use the Langmere email?”

“Langmere.”

“That’s one thing we need to change then. They have access to all emails coming through their server, so don’t send me anything more from that account. Hang on a second; I have a present for you.”

He went inside and came back with a cell phone. “Use this to communicate with me instead of email or your regular phone. It’s a prepaid phone so there won’t be any record of exchanges between us. I have one too, and I’ve already put my contact info into yours.”

She took the phone and smiled. “Sounds good.”

“We’ll also have to be careful not to be seen in public together, but I’ll be able to get to your place without being seen when we need to meet.”

“Okay, that’ll work. So what now?”

“Now we need to get you back to the conference. It ends tomorrow and you should be there acting like a normal participant for the rest of it. Let’s touch base back in Boston after you give Pam the wrong compound.”

Prescott got up and Holly watched him go back inside. She’d gotten what she was after, even more than she’d hoped for.

She just couldn’t quite get that glimpse of his anger out of her mind.