Christine picked up her little plastic fork and dug into her Indian food, glancing up at a flat-screen TV on the wall, which was showing CNN on mute. She flashed on Trivi-Al at her good-bye party, but noticed that the TV program was showing political coverage, with the presidential election around the corner, in November. She wolfed down a forkful of food, which tasted hot and delicious, as she picked up her phone, logged on to Google, and typed in Zachary Jeffcoat, wondering if there had been any new developments. She clicked on the first link that popped onto the screen, which took her to the CNN article from yesterday. She scanned it quickly, but it hadn’t been changed. She navigated back to the Google page and clicked on the second link, which was from the Philadelphia Inquirer. There was no photo, and the story was only a paragraph long:
NURSE MURDERER CHARGED
By William Magni
Zachary Jeffcoat, 24, was arraigned today for the murder of Gail Robinbrecht, 31, a nurse at Chesterbrook Hospital. Federal and state authorities believe that Jeffcoat may be responsible for serial killings of other nurses in Maryland and Virginia. Jeffcoat is awaiting trial at SCI Graterford Prison in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, on a special hold to the prison, a maximum-security penitentiary.
Christine navigated back to the Google page and clicked on the third link, which was another Philadelphia-area newspaper that ran the same story verbatim. She kept researching, reading as she ate, but there was no further information about Jeffcoat. She clicked back to the front page of the Inquirer, and the lead stories were about the presidential election. She glanced back at the television, which was showing another set of talking heads, with closed captioning about the election. She watched TV as she ate, and there was a news story about a bombing in the Middle East, then another one in Kabul, and by the time she had finished her meal, the political commentators were back on, talking about the election. It looked like the news cycle had pushed the Jeffcoat story to the background.
Suddenly her phone rang, and the screen said it was Marcus calling. She thought about letting it go, but answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi, are you on your way home?” Marcus asked, but his tone was still too cool for Christine’s liking. It told her that he wasn’t about to apologize or back down, nor was he having any second thoughts. She should have expected as much, he wasn’t that kind of man. Her mouth went dry, so she picked up her water and took a sip.
“No, I’m grabbing something to eat.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I just got a call that I have to go back to Raleigh. There’s a problem at the site.”
“Oh.” Christine knew he meant the office complex his firm was building in North Carolina.
“I have to be there tomorrow morning, so I’m going to leave tonight. They got me on the last flight out. That okay with you?”
“Fine.” Christine heard herself sounding angry, but it couldn’t be helped.
“We both need to cool off.”
Christine snorted. “I don’t think I’ll be cooling off, Marcus.”
“We can talk about it when I come back.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” Christine took another sip of water. She could be sarcastic, too, when circumstances required. She knew it wasn’t a good thing, necessarily.
“I thought about what you said about the lawsuit.”
“And you decided I’m right?”
“No.” Marcus paused. “I called Gary. He agreed to meet with you tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.”
“I don’t want to meet with Gary.”
“I was going to go with you, but then I got the call. You can go alone, and I think you should. He can answer any questions you have.”
“I don’t have any questions.”
“Look, I spoke with him. He said that we don’t necessarily have to sue the clinic. He said he could explain it to you if you went in.” Marcus’s voice softened slightly. “I really wish you could go. Then, if you really don’t want to file a lawsuit against Families First, we won’t. Okay? We won’t sue Davidow for leverage against Homestead. But the least you can do is get the facts before you make your decision.”
Christine set down her water bottle. “Okay, I’ll go, but no promises.”
“Fine.” Marcus sighed, exasperated. “I’ll text you the address and let him know to expect you.”
“When are you leaving for Raleigh?” Christine decided not to remind him about the ultrasound. She didn’t want him there.
“I’m going to leave for the airport any minute. I let the dog out and fed the cat.”
“Thanks.” Christine swallowed hard. She knew Marcus had a soft heart, and she always thought he’d be a great father. Tears came to her eyes, and she was glad she’d kept her sunglasses on. People around her probably thought she was blind.
“Okay. Sleep tight. I’ll land too late to call you. I’d wake you up.”
“No worries, travel safe.”
“Love you,” Marcus said, after a moment, but it didn’t sound that way.
“Love you, too,” Christine said back, matching his tone. She hung up and pushed her tray away, her thoughts racing. She wanted to know if Jeffcoat was their donor as much as Marcus did, and she wondered what the lawyer would say about it tomorrow. She didn’t relish the meeting, but her thoughts strayed to Homestead and their donor, and she found herself thumbing through her phone to his profile. She had saved it to Dropbox, and she could access it through her phone. There had to be something, anything, in it, that would be a clue to his identity or suggest that he was somehow Zachary Jeffcoat.
She opened the file and skimmed through the interview notes, and after that was the self-reported section of the profile, where Donor 3319 had answered questions on a form. She read the first one:
Q: Describe your personality: funny, timid, brave, bold, serious, goal-oriented, curious, impulsive, etc.
A: I think of myself as a serious person, but that doesn’t mean I’m not fun to be with. I find fun in different places. I genuinely enjoy reading and learning new things. I love learning about different civilizations, their architecture, the government, and how they set up a system of laws.
Christine thought he didn’t sound like a person capable of killing anyone, much less more than one person. But then again, he could have been an excellent liar. She read the next question and answer:
Q: What are your interests and talents?
A: I love reading and research. I intend to become a research physician for that reason. I’m not crazy or boastful enough to say that I could cure cancer, but I do feel that I could best utilize my talents in advancing the cause of medicine and making people’s lives better. I know the medical world is fraught with political and insurance issues, but doctors heal, and I actually want to try to cure something in my lifetime. I want to make a difference.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: Answer above. Except to add that I would like to have a family of my own someday. I have a girlfriend of one year, but she isn’t ready to start a family soon.
Christine paused a moment. She hadn’t seen any mention of a girlfriend in the articles about Zachary Jeffcoat, nor had they mentioned any family, but then again, the articles had been so short. She remembered she thought it showed maturity, but now she wondered if that was a lie. She doubted Homestead followed up on facts like that. She went back to the profile and resumed reading.