“Yes. But wait for it. The chief hasn’t signed off yet.”
“The results are solid. I’m the scientist, Neil.”
“But it’s my job to verify. There’s some loose data floating around. I think you know that.”
“It’s nothing to worry about. An anomaly. There’s one — many — in every program.”
“I hope you’re right. I hope it has magically disappeared, because I can’t undo your announcement.” Dugan cleared his throat. “Tell me, what’s your theory on what happened to this girl?”
“It looks pretty straightforward.” McKinnon paused. “Unless you know something you’re not telling me.”
More silence. “There’s plenty I don’t tell you, Frederick. You do not have the same privilege. I’m the COO. You answer to me. If there are any red flags on MC124, you must write them up. Human trials will not commence until we’re sure. We will put a hold on the program if necessary. No matter what it costs the company in the short run.”
“The big pharma money is ready to come in, Neil. They’ve been knocking down the door.”
“Oh, I know. I keep an eye on you. But I’m warning you — don’t make any premature moves. We have to do this right.”
“You don’t actually want to see this fly, do you? You’d be happy if I just went away. Oh, but don’t forget to leave behind the science that started this company. Look, if you don’t step lightly, I will leave. And I’ll take the program with me.”
Dugan chuckled. “We want your program to succeed. Very much. There’s no rivalry here, Frederick. We all know what it would do for the company. Pave the way for the IPO. The biggest monoclonal breakthrough in years.”
“And I think you have a problem with that. With the credit I’ll get.”
Another laugh. “No, I’ve only got a problem with the huge crater you’ll leave if you’re wrong.”
“On the contrary, I think you might enjoy it. As long as it’s my crater, not yours.”
“It’s the company’s crater, doctor. That’s my sole concern. This is not a lab experiment you can throw out if it goes wrong. We have obligations. You take the risks in science. We take the risks in business. That’s what we were brought in for.”
McKinnon’s voice, under control to this point, turned angry. “You want to know how safe MC124 is? I’ll demonstrate. I’ll inject it myself. Would that satisfy you?”
Dugan laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You just proved to me how little you know about the field, Neil. It’s an old tradition. My team will administer it to ourselves. It won’t give us results on the target, of course, but it will address toxicology. That all right with you, Mr. Dugan?”
“Be my guest.”
“Thank you for your permission. I guarantee the effects will be negligible. Guarantee it.”
“Nothing would make me happier. But one more thing. Don’t broadcast it up and down the industry. Your announcement of MC124 at the medical conference in San Diego was unacceptable.”
“It’s my work. My call when to publish.”
“I understand you’re giving Doug top billing on the paper.”
“Christ, Neil, does your snooping never stop? This program has turned LifeScience into a money magnet. We could become the next Genentech. What exactly is your complaint?”
“True, the product will be huge — if it works. True, it has attracted investors, short term. Our pipeline is filling up. But if MC124 fails, if there’s a problem, the damage to the company in the long run will be equally huge. With so much at stake, we don’t need the backdoor tactics you pulled with the board. Never do that again, Dr. McKinnon.”
The clump of footsteps followed. This must have been when McKinnon came out on the porch. The rest of the tape was room noise, then the skittering of the mike being reeled in.
I clicked off the recorder. Somehow I felt better. Other people’s problems can do that for you. I was less inclined now to drive off, at least not without speaking to Jenny. More inclined than ever to find out what was really going on at LifeScience.
That meant I’d have to play my Gregory Alton card. I thought back to my day of shooting with Rita at Kumar Biotechnics yesterday. Gregory had been lurking in the parking lot late in the afternoon. We watched him from Kumar’s window. By the time we packed up, though, Gregory was gone.
I finished stowing the DAT recorder in the briefcase and went back inside. Jenny’s door was closed. Taking a nap, maybe. She’d slept poorly the past two nights. We’d gotten up while it was still dark on Monday morning to go to her office and scan Sheila’s journal. I didn’t know how big a force Dugan had following us, but no one appeared to be on duty at that hour. Once we had the diary digitized, we could produce copies at will. I instructed Jenny to package up the two photocopies we had and mail them to the police, just so Dugan couldn’t get us on that one.
I went to the dining room and called Rita to make sure work had gone all right today, since I’d been replaced by the new DP. She described it as splendid. “Best DP I ever had,” she said.
“Ha ha. Well, I’ll be in to check on you tomorrow. Will you put those items I left with you in the camera case?”
“No problem,” Rita said. She still had the zip disks and the tape of Sheila in the parking lot. The security of my flat and of my jeep were questionable, and I trusted her as much as anyone to keep them safe. “I need the HD cassette, though, so I’ll transfer it to video for you.”
“Thanks a lot.”
I called Wes next. He wasn’t happy about what I wanted him to arrange for tomorrow night, but he couldn’t turn me down.
Then I dug Gregory Alton’s card out of my billfold. I hated doing this. I tried to block out the image of his smug blond mug on the other end of the line.
“Hello, Gregory. It’s Bill.”
“Bill! Where were you today, buddy?” Apparently he didn’t mind admitting he was stalking me.
“I had to go to a funeral.”
“Oh, gee. I hope it wasn’t anyone—”
“How much do you actually know about LifeScience, Gregory? Did you know a researcher named Sheila Harros?”
“Not specifically. But I can bring you up to speed on the company. I’ve had a few meetings. Scoped them out, got some juicy confidentials. If, that is, you can—”
“Yeah, yeah. I know what you want. Okay, you got a deal. I want to see you tomorrow. You’ll tell me about LifeScience.”
“And you’ll bring some goodies for me.”
“Hold on. I missed today’s shoot, you know. I don’t have the footage. Give me another day or two on the job.”
“Whoa, whoa, Bill. This isn’t what I call even-Steven.”
“You’re going to go first, Gregory. That’s the way it is.”
I heard just enough of a pause. “Why should that be?”
“You need what I’ve got more than the other way around. That’s the fact. I hate to be like this, but I’m going to be like this.”
He gave in with a knowing chuckle. “Film people are all about deals, aren’t they? Okay. I’ll give you the data dump on LifeScience. And by Friday you’ll give me what I need on Kumar.”
We agreed to meet for lunch. I hung up the phone and bounced onto the couch, feeling magically lighter. Pushing Gregory around had improved my mood even more than listening to Dugan and McKinnon duke it out.
Still, I was buying his information on credit. I didn’t know if I’d actually follow through on my end of the bargain. Kumar had been incredibly decent to us so far. I didn’t want to betray him. But I needed Gregory’s “juicy confidentials” right now, and I’d worry about paying the bill later.