Mortal Fear by Cook Robin

Author:Cook, Robin [Cook, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Published: 1988-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

10.

Jason got to the hospital early Monday morning and suffered through rounds. No one was doing well. After he got to his office, he began calling Helene at every spare moment. She never answered. At midmorning he even ran up to the sixth floor lab only to find it dark and deserted. Returning to his office, Jason was irritated. He felt that Helene had been obstructive from the start, and now by not making herself available, she was compounding the problem.

Jason picked up the telephone, called personnel, and got Helene’s home address and phone number. He called immediately. After the phone rang about ten times, he slammed the receiver down in frustration. He then called personnel and asked to speak to the director, Jean Clarkson. When she came on the line, Jason inquired about Helene Brennquivist: “Has she called in sick? I’ve been trying to reach her all morning.”

“I’m surprised,” Ms. Clarkson said. “We haven’t heard from her, and she’s always been dependable. I don’t think she’s missed a day in a year and a half.”

“But if she were ill,” Jason asked, “you would expect her to call?”

“Absolutely.”

Jason hung up the phone. His irritation changed to concern. He had a bad feeling about Helene’s absence.

His office door opened and Claudia stuck her head in. “Dr. Danforth’s on line two. Do you want to talk with her?”

Jason nodded.

“Do you need someone’s chart?”

“No, thanks,” Jason said as he lifted the phone.

Dr. Danforth’s resonant voice came over the line: “I’d say Good Health had better start screening their patients. I’ve never seen corpses in such bad shape. Gerald Farr is as bad as the rest. He didn’t have an organ that appeared less than one hundred years old!”

Jason didn’t answer.

“Hello?” Margaret said.

“I’m here,” Jason said. Once again he was embarrassed to tell Margaret that a month ago he’d done a complete physical on Farr and found nothing wrong despite the man’s unhealthy lifestyle.

“I’m surprised he didn’t have a stroke several years ago,” Margaret said. “All his vessels were atheromatous. The carotids were barely open.”

“What about Roger Wanamaker’s patient?” Jason asked.

“What was the name?” “I don’t know,” he admitted. “The man died on Friday of a stroke. Roger said you were getting the case.”

“Oh, yes. He also presented almost total degeneration. I thought health plans were supposed to provide largely preventive medicine. You people aren’t going to make much money if you sign up such sick patients.” Margaret laughed. “Kidding aside, it was another case of multisystem disease.”

“Do you people do routine toxicology?” Jason asked suddenly.

“Sure. Especially nowadays. We test for cocaine, that sort of stuff.”

“What about doing more toxicology on Gerald Farr? Would that be possible?”

“I think we still have blood and urine,” Margaret said. “What do you want us to look for?”

“Just about everything. I’m fishing, but I have no idea what’s going on here.”

“I’ll be happy to run a battery of tests,” Margaret said, “but Gerald Farr wasn’t poisoned, I can tell you that. He just ran out of time. It was as if he were thirty years older than his actual age.

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