The First Patient by Michael Palmer

Author:Michael Palmer [Palmer, Michael]
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction, Detective, Fiction - Mystery, Thrillers, Mystery & Detective - General, Mystery And Suspense Fiction, Large type books, United States, Presidents, Medical, Physicians, Health, Physician and patient
ISBN: 9780739490709
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2008-04-15T03:00:00+00:00

"How long can he go on like this?" "I couldn't say. Hours? Weeks? I've been surprised both ways." ""But he's not going to wake up." He had a hell of a hemorrhage. There's been pretty massive brain damage. That's all I can say." "Okay. As far as I know, Jorge Cardoza will be on his way here from Madrid tomorrow. If Hermann is still on the respirator, we'll have to find a way to get Cardoza into the hospital without having him run into the wife." "If it comes to that, I'll see what I can do to help. Right now, Orlis is in a pretty foul mood." "Her name's Arlette, remember?" "Orlis, Arlette--whoever she is, she just threatened Dr. Gilbride." "She did what?" "He said he was flying to New York tomorrow to be on some sort of panel, and that I'd be in charge of the Count while he was gone. She told him he'd regret it if he did. Carl was pretty shaken up." "Good. That could save his life. Maybe it's time to tell him what's going on--who he's dealing with." "And you're certain who that is?" "Virtually. Interpol hasn't been able to come up with any match for the fingerprints I sent them. But that's not surprising. They have a few dozen sets on file from assassinations that are believed to be Malloche's work, including those murders at that MRI clinic in France. But it's possible not a single one belongs to him." "Or they could all be Malloche if he's more than one person." "Nice theory. But he's only one person all right. That guy right in there. How did Gilbride screw up so badly in the operation?" "He shouldn't have read his press clippings after the Marci Sheprow surgery. That's how." "If Malloche dies, I want his body." "If Malloche dies, I want protection for Carl and me." "I'll find a way. Meanwhile, we're going to stay on the job." "We?" "I told you I had a little help." "But--" "That's all I can say." He scribbled a phone number on a piece of progress note paper. "This is an answering service here in Boston. They have instructions on how to contact me if necessary. If anything happens to Hermann, just call and tell them. We'll wait it out until Cardoza arrives. Meanwhile, if Malloche dies, I'll be going after his body, his wife, and those three junior killers. Once we get a positive ID from Cardoza and then get Arlette Malloche and her so-called stepchildren into custody, we'll learn what we need to know." "You scare me, Alex." "Sometimes, even after all these years, I scare myself. Jessie, I know how difficult it was to decide to help me. Thank you for trusting me." "I don't," she said.

JESSIE WATCHED AS he made his way down the corridor, pausing just long enough to glimpse into

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room 2 as he passed. Five years. Almost as long as it had taken her to complete her neurosurgical residency.

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