“What time did you leave here last night?”
“Around midnight.”
“Were you the last one to leave the lab?”
“No,” Winston said, his voice an octave higher. “Eric Blake was still here.”
“Alone?”
“Yes. I just locked up some of the experiments, same as I do every night, and left him in here.” Winston glared at the police detective, but Bernstein diverted his gaze, never allowing the man to look him in the eye. “Can I go down the hall now to get a cup of coffee, Lieutenant, or do you need my mama’s maiden name first?”
“Go.”
Winston spun and left.
“Kind of touchy,” Bernstein remarked.
“But a good man,” Harvey added, “hard worker.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Fifteen years.”
“How long has he lived in New York?”
“I don’t know. Almost twenty years.”
Max stroked his chin. “Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I have a few more questions for you, if you don’t mind.”
“Ask away.”
Bernstein’s pacing commenced. He never looked in Harvey’s direction as he spoke. “How many confidential patients do you treat?”
“They are all confidential, Lieutenant.”
“Okay, but how many are ‘very’ confidential, kept away from the rest of the patients behind that door down the hall with no window on it?”
“Right now, just Michael. I came up with the idea of the secluded room when we first started treating Bradley Jenkins.”
“How did you meet Jenkins?”
Harvey went back to sorting his files. “Through his father.”
“And how did you meet his father?”
“He came to see me one day. Said he wanted to know more about what we were doing. I was wary, of course. Senator Stephen Jenkins is hardly one who normally sides with our cause. After a while he said he had heard rumors that we could cure AIDS. I denied it, telling him our success had been minuscule at best. But he was adamant. That’s when he told me about his son.”
“He admitted to you that Bradley had AIDS?”
“Yes. He was desperate, Lieutenant. He may be a bit of a fanatic, but his boy was sick and dying. He promised me he’d help the clinic discreetly if I took Bradley in.”
“So you did.”
He nodded and then realized that the lieutenant was not facing him. “I didn’t really believe he’d help. I was more hoping he wouldn’t hurt.”
“Jenkins took a hell of a risk trusting you.”
“What choice did he have? He wanted to save his son’s life. We worked out extra security measures like we used with Michael — hidden entrances from the basement and all that.”
“Besides yourself, who knows the names of the patients in here?”
“That’s the weird part. Practically nobody. Bruce knew. Eric knows many of the names, not all. And…” He stopped.
“Who else?” Max asked again.
“Dr. Raymond Markey.”
“Who’s he?”
“An Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. We report to him directly.”
“Do you trust him?”
“Not much. He’s always been more of a politician than a doctor.”
“But he knew Bradley Jenkins was in here?”
“No. We hid it from him.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I lied.”
“How?”
Harvey shrugged. “I just left Bradley’s name off the patient list I sent Markey.”
“And this Markey guy never questioned it?”
“No.”
“Does he know you’ve found a cure?”
“Yes and no. We tell him just enough so he can’t pull back the money.”
“And he just accepts your word?”
Harvey half chuckled. “Hardly. We always back up our claims with irrefutable evidence. A good researcher always guards against a charge of tampering with results. Just the accusation of falsifying data could bring down an entire clinic like ours. That’s why I set up a system where at least two doctors work on each case — always at separate times. It prevents any hint of wrongdoing.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Take the blood work.”
“The blood work?”
“The taking and handling of blood. If I did the original examination on a patient, Bruce or Eric would do the testing during the latter stages of the treatment and vice versa. Let me give you an example. I diagnosed Teddy Krutzer as having the AIDS virus three years ago. As a result, Bruce was the one who handled the blood work when we tested to see if Krutzer had actually become HIV negative. Another example. Scott Trian, the first murder victim, was first diagnosed with AIDS by Bruce Grey four years ago so—”
“So you or Eric ran the blood test to see if he had been cured or not.”
“Exactly. This way, we are able to head off anyone who might want to slow us down by throwing out false accusations of tampering.”
Max shook his head. “This case just keeps getting weirder and weirder.”
“Not so weird,” Harvey said.
“Oh?”
“I think it’s pretty simple.”
“Then why don’t you let me in on it?”
Harvey stopped playing with the files and looked up. “Someone is trying to destroy this clinic. Someone has found out what we have discovered here and wants to prevent us from showing the world. It’s what I’ve suspected all along. It’s why I set up all these internal safeguards.”
“But—”
“Look, Lieutenant, it’s like I told Sara in the beginning. If I wanted to prove to you that I could cure AIDS, what would be the most convincing thing I could show you? Cured patients, right? Eliminate the cured patients and all I have is charts and graphs and tests and files that don’t add up to a thing. I’d have to start all over again. A vaccine could be delayed years.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” Bernstein said without breaking stride. “But let me ask you this. How many good test cases are still alive?”
“Three.”
“Three cured patients left,” Max repeated. “Well, then, all three need protection. They should be moved to a safe house where no one will know where they are.”
“I agree,” Harvey said.
“Then I have a suggestion for you, Doctor, that you might not like. I want to put them in a real safe house.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If this conspiracy is as big as you suspect, then anyone could be involved in this plot. They’ve already gone to extreme lengths and they probably won’t stop now. I think it safest if no one, not even you, knows where they are. The less everyone knows, the less that can slip out. Or be forced out.”
“Do you really think—”
“Five men have been murdered already,” Bernstein interrupted.
“But these patients have to be watched by a qualified doctor.”
“I have a doctor who has made a living keeping his mouth shut. You tell him what to do and he’ll do it. If you need to see them yourself, I’ll take you to the safe house. Blindfolded.”
Harvey nodded. “Okay, sounds reasonable. But I want your word that the patients won’t be touched without specific permission. If your doctor were to give them the wrong medication or take unnecessary tests—”
“He won’t — you have my word. I’d also like to go through the medical records of the four victims.”
“Of course, Lieutenant, but let me ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“If this conspiracy is so powerful, how do I know you’re not a part of it?”
Bernstein stopped pacing, looked up, and twirled his hair around his middle finger. “Interesting question,” he replied. And then he walked out the door.
Jennifer Riker woke up on the couch. The contents of the packet were scattered around her. I’ll look through it later, she thought. She showered, dressed, and poured herself a bowl of Triple Bran, the latest in a series of fad cereals that were supposed to cure everything from cancer to lockjaw. It tasted like tree bark. Her sister, Susan, bought all those crazy health foods, coming home from the supermarket exclaiming, “I just bought (fill in the blank), and my friend (fill in the blank) swears that this will make you feel one hundred percent more (fill in the blank).”