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“Right,” I drawl. “And they’ve had this product on the market for so long, they can confirm long lives abound?”
He chuckles. “Cynic. Regardless, this drug is some synthetic variation to chemo, like, it’s long lost, three times removed, Dr. Phil says it’s okay if you sleep with her because you’re notthatclosely related, cousin.”
I slow my steps and work, so fucking hard, to process my partner’s words. “Sick, man.”
“What? They’re related by marriage,” he laughs. “Anyway. This drug is a miracle because it skips all the nasty chemo side effects. No nausea. No destruction. Regular chemo is, what? Weekly, and only after testing to make sure the body can tolerate the treatment. This one doesn’t destroy the patient’s blood cells. It doesn’t wipe out immune systems?—”
“Which is what makes it a hypothetical miracle, I guess.”
“Bingo. No illness as a direct result of the medication, which means cancer patients can go on with their lives, even during treatment. The pill is for patients with an early diagnosis, which means it’s taken, in theory, prior to the patient slowing down at all. They pop the pill at home in their kitchen, they go on with their regularly scheduled lives. During active treatment, they present to their treating oncologist every other week for monitoring. Once they’re in remission, that testing scales back to monthly, then twice a year, then yearly.”
“Alright.” I work through the information Fletch dumps in my lap. “Okay. So Savese is selling this drug to patients?”
“To doctors. He meets with oncologists all over the country and convinces them to try it out, then the oncologist influences their patient to forgo the standard treatment plan and elect the pill instead.”
“Sounds like a massive fucking gamble. Not sure I’d have the guts to roll the dice.”
“Yeah, well…” He lifts his shoulders in an audible shrug. “Early adopters were always pretty gutsy.”
I come to a stop outside the door with Veronica’s name on it, but I back up for a beat and lean against the opposite wall. “So this conference was for dudes like Savese to mingle and swap stories about how convincing they are?”
“Pretty much. My research so far has me thinking of it as a bit like a multi-level marketing thing. The head honcho invents the medication, then he pulls in five of his buddies to sell it. Those five bring in five of their own, so now we have twenty-five folks out there telling everyone about the miracle cure. It keeps filtering down, so now we have approximately a hundred thousand active patients trialing the drug, and several hundred dudes walking into doctors’ offices daily to give the spiel.”
“And how many patients are dying?”
He scoffs. “About as many as you’d expect.”
“But the head honcho only needs a couple to survive to create this social proof?”
“Right. So last week was a meeting of the multi-level marketing guys. A trip to Jamaica was their reward for making the company billions.”
“And Veronica?”
“She’s just the event coordinator. She doesn’t work for the medical side of this. She was merely the one putting the room together and ensuring canapés were served on time. But I thought, since you’re already there, you could swing by and meet with her. Get her impression about what the hell is going on. Yaknow,” he teases. “Since you’re bored all the way over there on your boat.”
A soft, almost silent chuckle reverberates at the back of my throat. “Right, I’m so fucking bored, Fletch. I had to convince Mayet it was her idea to come to the island today, to go shopping, and then to take an hour apart so I could walk my ass over here and sneak in work. All for you.”
“Because you love me,” he quips. “And because you’re a helpless workaholic but can’t admit it. Get me some answers.”
“Fine. But don’t tell Aubs you talked to me, otherwise she’ll tell Minka, and then my life will go to shit because I’m a lying asshole.”
“Don’t share the glory of another case solved?” he taunts. “Deal. Call me on your way out and let me know what you find.”
“Alright.” I pull the phone from my ear and check the time. Then I bring it back again. “I have thirty minutes, then my ass is running back to the markets and my honeymoon continues.”
“Sure. But let’s not pretend you aren’t sneaking off a half dozen times a day to take my calls. You’re talking to me, Arch. Not your wife. You can admit the truth.”
“Shut up.” I kill our call and push away from the wall, then bringing my hand up, I knock once, twice, three times so the sound echoes along the hall. “Ms. Cain?”
“Come in.” She calls out, relaxed and seemingly far away. So I open the door and peek into the sunlit room, with large windows and suncatchers casting rainbows all over the walls. Like Fletch said, the woman isloud. Hair, glasses, clothes, and jewelry. She wears a ring on every finger, and enough beaded necklaces to weigh her down and give her neck a slight kink.
Her eyes are brown, almost red, and her lips are a bright shade of lipstick pink. Pushing up from her balance ball—not a chair.A balance ball—her bangles and necklaces and rings all collide and jingle, providing a kaleidoscope of noise and color.“You must be Detective Malone.” She leans across her desk and offers her hand. “Detective Fletcher told me to expect a visit from you today.”
“Yes. You can call me Archer.” Since this sure as shit isn’t my jurisdiction. Starting forward, I take her hand and shake it, so our greeting isjinglyand audible. “Thank you for making the time.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Releasing me, she gestures toward a second, visitor’s balance ball. “Take a seat. I understand you’re in a rush.”
“Um… yeah.” I try to watch her, but at the same time, manage my ball and bring it closer to the desk. “Yes,” I repeat. “My time is extremely limited. I appreciate your flexibility in our meeting. To save us both time, it’s probably best I get straight to the point.”
