Blindsight

“Dr. Besserman is doing the boyfriend,” Paul said. “He’s a thirty-one-year-old banker. That’s why I thought you’d be interested. Apparently they injected themselves simultaneously.”

“Oh no!” Laurie felt almost dizzy: as a double tragedy the incident was doubly poignant. She moved over to Dr. Besserman’s table. He was just lifting the internal organs out of the body. Laurie looked at the dead man’s face. There was a large discolored bruise on his forehead.

“He convulsed,” Dr. Besserman said, noticing Laurie’s curiosity. “Must have hit his face on the floor. Or it could have happened in the refrigerator.”

Laurie switched her attention to Dr. Besserman. “This man was found in a refrigerator?” she asked.

“That’s what the tour doctor told us,” Dr. Besserman said.

“That’s the third one, then,” Laurie said. “Where was the girlfriend?”

“She was in the bedroom on the floor,” Dr. Besserman said.

“Find anything special on the post so far?” Laurie asked.

“Pretty routine for an overdose,” Dr. Besserman said.

Laurie stepped back to Paul’s table and watched him slice off several samples of liver.

“What kinds of specimens have you been sending up to Toxicology on these cases?” he asked when he noticed Laurie by his side.

“Liver, kidney, and brain,” Laurie said. “In addition to the usual fluid samples.”

“That’s what I thought,” Paul said.

“Have you found anything remarkable on this case?” Laurie asked.

“Not so far. Certainly consistent with a cocaine overdose. No surprises. But we have the head to go.”

“I hear you have a lot of cases today. Since I’m already here would you like me to help?”

“It’s not necessary,” Paul said. “Especially since Dr. Besserman’s come in.”

“Are you sure?” Laurie asked.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure.”

Going through all the paperwork on the cases, Laurie got the names of the victims as well as the male’s address. It had been at the male’s apartment that the bodies had been found. Then she went back to the locker room and changed. She was extremely disheartened. There was something particularly tragic about two young lovers losing their lives so senselessly. She began to regret anew Bingham’s decision not to inform the public about the potentially tainted drug. If he had, those two people might be alive today.

With sudden resolve, Laurie decided to call Bingham. If this Romeo and Julietstyle tragedy didn’t wake him up to the fact that they were potentially facing a major public-health crisis, nothing would.

Upstairs in her office she found Bingham’s home number in the directory. Taking a deep breath, she placed the call.

Bingham himself answered. “This is Sunday morning,” he said crisply when he understood who was on the other end of the line.

Laurie immediately told him about the two new overdose cases. Once she had finished, she was met with silence. Then Bingham said sharply, “I fail to see why you felt compelled to call me about this on a Sunday.”

“If we had made a statement, this couple might be alive today,” Laurie said. “Obviously we can’t help them, but perhaps we can help others. With these cases I now have sixteen in my series.”

“Look, Montgomery, I’m not even convinced you have a bona fide series, so stop throwing the term around as if it’s an a priori assumption. Maybe you have a series, maybe you don’t. I appreciate your good intentions, but have you come up with any proof? Has the lab come up with a contaminant?”

“Not yet,” Laurie admitted.

“Then as far as I’m concerned, this conversation is just a rehash of the one we had the other day.”

“But I’m convinced we can save lives-”

“I know you are,” Bingham said. “But I’m also convinced it is not in the best interests of the department and for the city as a whole. The media will want names, and we are not prepared to give names, not with the pressure we’re under. And it’s more than Duncan Andrews’ family who’d like to keep these cases out of the headlines. But I am meeting with the commissioner of health this week. In all fairness to you I will present the issue to him and he can decide.”

“But, Dr. Bingham-” Laurie protested.

“That’s enough, Laurie. Goodbye!”

Laurie looked at the phone with frustration. Bingham had hung up on her. She slammed the phone down in anger. The idea that he would take the problem to the commissioner was not a consolation to her. As far as she was concerned, it was merely shuffling the problem from one political hack to another. She also felt Bingham had been closest to the real reason for keeping a lid on the series when he mentioned Duncan Andrews. Bingham was still worried about the political ramifications of going public with a connected name.

Laurie decided to give Jordan a call. Since he didn’t work for the city and was beholden to no special group or interest, maybe he could speak out. Laurie wasn’t sure he’d be inclined to get involved, but she decided to chance it. Jordan picked up on the second ring but sounded out of breath when he answered.