Page 57 of I’ll Be Watching You

“Yes. A month ago, I read an internal report about how the VA had rolled out a full-scale Phase 4 trial of a new PTSD drug from Neurovantix. I was very interested because that was the same drug and company from the Phase 1 trial in Phoenix that I had reviewed. It’s being touted as a miracle drug that essentially cures PTSD. That’s a simple way of describing it, but practically that’s what it means. It went to Phase 2 and 3 trials because of the incredible success of the limited Phase 1 trial. Phase 4 is now complete, and the drug should get preliminary approval next week to go to market. Once a drug goes to market, it can be worth a small fortune. Then, I thought about what Devin suspected, and if the Phase 1 trial was falsified, I couldn’t let this drug be approved. But I had no evidence. I thought Cooper could tell me more, at least point me in the right direction, but he wouldn’t take my call. So I flew out to Arizona to meet him in person. That’s when he told me that he didn’t kill Devin, and explained why he confessed.”

“He told you about the threats made against our family.”

“Yes.”

Ava looked at Margo and her heart fell. Her daughter looked shocked, and Ava knew exactly what she was thinking. That Cooper had trusted this woman more than he had trusted his children. Which wasn’t true, but Ava didn’t know how she would be able to explain that to Margo.

Nadine continued. “At first, he said I needed to stay far away from it because the people who killed Devin were ruthless. But after we talked for a while, he admitted that he had been following the trials after the murder, trying to figure out who would profit from the rollout. He didn’t know for certain that this was the reason Devin was killed, but based on what was going on at the time, it’s the most logical.”

“Who profits?” Ava asked.

“A lot of people, of course, but only someone who worked at the VA in Phoenix would have known about Devin’s suspicions. We talked things out, I shared my insight based on other trials I’d been involved with, and mentioned that fewer people in Phoenix had a stake in the trial because it was so small, plus only someone internally could have known that Devin planned to blow the whistle on the entire clinical trial. Maybe that’s what did it—he mentioned that to the wrong person, someone he trusted.”

“Who?” Mom asked.

“Cooper didn’t give me a name, but he definitely had a short list. He was worried about you, about your daughter, about me, because I came to visit him. He felt that someone was watching him.”

Ava’s heart skipped a beat. Cooper thought someone was watching him in prison? And he hadn’t told her?

“My daughter?” Ava glanced at Margo before Nadine confirmed.

“Margo. The one who was digging around from the beginning.”

“He called you the other night?”

“Yes. To ask if I had said anything to anyone about our suspicions. I haven’t. I read everything I could find, I pulled files, researched the biotech company who was making the drug, and planned to submit a letter to the committee next week at the hearing to request a delay in approval. I hadn’t spoken to Cooper after I left the prison. I didn’t say a word to anyone, not even my husband.”

“Okay,” Ava said. “Thank you.”

“I wish that someday we have the opportunity to meet, Ava,” Nadine said.

“Likewise,” she said.

“If you need anything, please call. At a minimum, I’m good at reading trial data. I’ve learned how pharmaceutical companies hide bad data. It’s usually all there in the notes, but the summaries always give the best-case scenario. If Devin was right and the bad data was deleted, I don’t know how to re-create that. Anything he may have pulled aside likely disappeared after he was killed.”

Ava said, “If you can send my daughter Tess the research you have done, it will make her job easier since she’s been going through the trials as well, but she doesn’t have a medical background.”

“Send me her email, I will get it out this morning.”

“Thank you,” Ava said. “I’m heading to Colorado shortly to see Cooper.” If they let me, Ava thought, but didn’t say. “I will tell him we spoke.”

She ended the call and was grateful that no one said anything for a good minute.

Then, Margo said to Luisa, “We need a list of everyone at the VA who may profit off this drug. Mom, when you see Dad, ask him who is on his short list. Text me.”

Luisa said, “I’ll go over to Tess’s because she might already have a list of names. When we get Nadine’s information, we can compare.”

“If you locate Willa Blankenship, let me know,” Margo said. “Otherwise I’m going to Honor House to see if they know how to reach Jim Novak.”

Luisa shut down her computer. “We’re going to solve this, Mom,” she said. “We’re going to get Dad out of prison.”

Then she left.

“Mom?” Jack said, his voice both kind and concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I will be when I see Cooper,” Ava said. “Until then, I feel like I’m in limbo.”

“I’ll take you and Aunt Rita to the airport, then I’m meeting Nico at the lab to see what he was able to learn about the shooting.”