I was still with Roanne in her office along with Senators Szymanski and Witherspoon. Rufus and Michael had gone off somewhere. It was getting late, and I was being pulled between staying and leaving, when my cell phone vibrated. I didn’t recognize the number. It wasn’t one in my address book.
“Excuse me,” I said, moving away from the group. “Hello?”
“Laura?”
It was Lassiter. She rarely called me.
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“In Senator Dalton’s office with two other senators.”
“We have a reporter in Frankfurt, Germany, working on a series about our wounded warriors still hospitalized there. He called Barton fifteen minutes ago. He picked up a rumor that a civilian German hospital has a drug which is curing the hell out of a lot of people.”
I raised my voice. “A cancer drug? Where specifically?” I caught the senators’ attention.
“He didn’t say cancer. It’s in some small hospital on the outskirts of the city. Travis, the reporter, overheard a couple of nurses jawing about it.” I was pumped. Could this be Rogers’s doing? “Has he checked it out?”
“He’s working on it, but Barton wants you to talk to him. Travis is expecting your call. Here’s his satellite number.”
“Hold on,” I grabbed my pad and a pen. “Shoot.”
She gave me the number.
“I’ll call and then head back to the paper.” When I clicked off, the three senators were staring at me.
“My editor,” I said, moving toward Roanne. “Our reporter in Frankfurt, Germany, has heard that a local hospital is treating patients with a miracle drug.”
They looked at each other with eyebrows raised and eyes wide: Could it be?
“What I’m going to say is deep background. It must stay in this room,”
I was firm and hopefully polite. After all, I was talking to United States senators. I looked to Roanne.
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “Al, Jean, this may be a huge break, but it must stay in this room.”
Both nodded. “That’s fine,” Szymanski added.
Assured, I went on. “The reporter overheard medical staff talking about a new drug that was doing astounding things in a local hospital. Our managing editor wants me to talk with the reporter immediately. He didn’t say cancer drug, though. May I use your phone?”
“Certainly. Do you need privacy?”
“No.” We went behind her desk, and she punched a button on her phone console.
“This is an outside line, direct dial.”
“This won’t take long.” I tapped in the number.
“Travis,” a male voice answered.
“Laura Wolfe. Barton asked me—”
“He told me.”
“Okay. Have you found the hospital?”
“Yeah. I got the impression it was hot. I’ve got the hospital name, address, and directions.”
“You’re my kind of guy. Can you go there tonight?”
“I can find it, but it’ll be after eleven here.”
“Fine, I don’t mean to tell you—”
“I don’t take it that way. Is this something you’re working on?”
“If it’s what I think it is, it will be everybody’s story. I’ll fill you in later. I’m with three US senators right now. We’ve been discussing a drug and—”
“They’re involved?” He sounded surprised.
“Yes. Look, this is your story. I only have to be in on it because it may be important to what we’re doing here. Capisce?”
“Gotcha. Where should I call—?”
“Call the paper. I’m going straight there.”
We signed off. The senators waited. I felt like I’d been sprinting and took a couple of deep breaths as I walked around the large desk to where my bag was.
“Okay. Travis has located the hospital and is going there now. He heard no mention of cancer. I’ll be with our managing editor and others. Travis will call me there.”
“Laura, could it be Rogers?”
I smiled at her. “Is the Capitol Dome white?”
“He’s amazing! That’s why—”
“Excuse me,” I cut her off softly and looked at the two other senators. “I need a word with Senator Dalton.”
“Al, you and Jean wait here,” Roanne said. “Laura and I will use Michael’s office.”
Once in there, I whispered, “This is tricky. You and I know Rogers has an offshore operation, but they don’t. We need to keep it that way. Please impress on the senators that patience is critical. We’ll know if it’s cancer tonight . . . by tomorrow for sure. Nothing about this will be in tomorrow’s edition. We’ll wait for Travis to do his interviews first, so we can learn more about these treatments.”
Ro smiled. “Today, only we few know. This is exciting. I hope it is Harley Rogers.”
“Me too. Either way, it could change the world.” I headed for the door.