Fatal Cure

26

Angela slept much longer than she'd planned. When she awoke around four-thirty, she was surprised to hear that David had neither returned nor called. She felt a pang of concern, but dismissed it. But as the time crept toward five, her concern grew with each passing minute.

Angela finally picked up the phone and called Green Mountain National Bank. But she only got a recording that told her the bank's hours were nine to four-thirty. Frustrated, Angela hung up. She wondered why David hadn't called on his portable phone. It wasn't like him. He'd surely know she'd start worrying if he were late.

Next Angela called Bartlet Community Hospital. She asked to be connected to the front information desk, then inquired there about David. She was told that Dr. Wilson had not been seen all day.

Finally Angela tried their home in Bartlet. There wasn't any other place she could think to try. But after letting the phone ring ten times, she gave up.

Replacing the receiver for the third time, Angela wondered if David had decided to play sleuth after all. The possibility only made her more concerned.

Angela went to the kitchen and asked her mother-in-law if she would mind if she borrowed the car.

"Of course not," Jeannie answered. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Bartlet," Angela said. "I left some things in the house."

"I want to go too," Nikki said.

"I think you'd better stay here," Angela said.

"No," Nikki said. "I'm coming."

Angela forced herself to smile at Jeannie before going over to Nikki. She took her daughter by the arm and walked her into the next room.

"Nikki, I want you to stay here," Angela said.

"I'm scared to stay here by myself," Nikki said. She broke into tears.

Angela was stymied. She much preferred that Nikki stay with her grandmother, yet she didn't have time to argue with the child. Nor did she want to explain to her mother-in-law why Nikki would be better off staying. In the end, Angela gave in.

It was close to six by the time Angela and Nikki entered Bartlet. It was still light out, but night would follow soon. Some of the cars already had their headlights on.

Angela only had a sketchy plan of what to do, and it mostly involved hunting for the Volvo. The first location she wanted to search was the bank, and as she neared the institution she saw Barton Sherwood and Harold Traynor walking toward the town green. Angela pulled over to the curb and jumped out. She told Nikki to wait in the car.

"Excuse me," Angela said as she caught up with the two men.

Sherwood and Traynor turned.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Angela said. "I'm looking for my husband."

"I have no idea where your husband is," Sherwood said irritably. "He missed our appointment this afternoon. He didn't even phone."

"I'm sorry," Angela said.

Sherwood touched the brim of his cap, and he and Traynor moved off.

Angela dashed back to the car. Now she was convinced that something bad had happened.

"Where's Daddy?" Nikki questioned.

"I wish I knew," Angela said. She made a rapid U-turn in the middle of Main Street that sent the car's wheels screeching.

Nikki reached out and steadied herself against the dash. She'd sensed that her mother was upset, and now she was certain.

"Everything will be all right," Angela told Nikki.

Angela sped to their house, hoping to see the Volvo parked near the back door. Maybe David had gone there by now. But as she pulled into the driveway, she was immediately disappointed. There was no Volvo.

Angela jerked to a stop next to the house. A quick glance told her it was just as they had left it, but she wanted to be sure.

"Stay in the car," she told Nikki. "I'll just be a second."

Angela went inside and called for David, but there was no answer. Taking a quick run through the house, she checked to see if the master bed had been disturbed. It hadn't. On her way back down the stairs Angela spotted the shotgun. She snatched it up and checked the magazine. There were four shells in it.

With shotgun in hand, Angela went into the family room and took out the phone directory. She looked up the addresses of Devonshire, Forbs, Maurice, Van Slyke, and Ullhof and wrote them down. Carrying both the list and the shotgun, she returned to the car.

"Mom, you're driving crazy," Nikki said as Angela left a patch of rubber on the road.

Angela slowed a little. She told Nikki to relax. The problem was, Angela was more anxious than ever and Nikki could sense it.

The first address turned out to be a convenience store. Angela angled in to its parking area and pulled to a stop.

Nikki looked at the store and then back at her mother. "What are we doing here?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Angela said. "Keep an eye out for the Volvo."

"It's not here," Nikki said.

"I realize that, dear." She put the car in gear and headed for the next address. It was Forbs' residence. Angela slowed as they came to the house. The lights inside were on, but there was no Volvo.

Disappointed, Angela again gunned the engine and they sped away.

"You're still driving weird, Mom," Nikki said.

"I'm sorry," Angela said. She slowed down. As she did, she realized she was gripping the steering wheel so hard, her fingers had gone numb.

The next house was Maurice's. Angela slowed but immediately saw that it was closed up tight with no sign of life. Angela sped on.

A few minutes later, when she turned onto Van Slyke's street, Angela spotted the Volvo instantly. So did Nikki. It was a ray of hope. Angela pulled directly behind the car, turned off the ignition, and jumped out.

As she approached the car she saw Calhoun's truck in front of it. She looked in both vehicles. In Calhoun's truck she noticed a moldy cup of coffee. It appeared as if it had been there for several days.

Angela looked across the street at Van Slyke's house. There were no lights whatsoever, fanning Angela's growing alarm.

Running back to the car, Angela got the shotgun. Nikki started to get out, but Angela yelled at her to stay where she was. Angela's tone let Nikki know there was to be no arguing.

Carrying the shotgun, Angela ran across the street. As she climbed the porch steps, she wondered if she should go directly to the police. Something was seriously wrong, there was no doubt about it. But what help could she expect from the police? Besides, she worried that time might be a factor.

She tried ringing the doorbell, but it clearly didn't work. Failing that, she banged on the door. When there was no response, she tried the door. It was unlocked. She pushed it open and cautiously stepped inside.

Then, as loudly as she could, she yelled David's name.

David heard Angela's yell. He straightened up. He'd been slouched against a bin filled with desiccated apples. The sound had come from such a distance and had been so faint that at first he questioned if it had been real. He thought he might have been hallucinating. But then he heard it again.

This time David knew it was real, and he knew it was Angela. He leaped to his feet in the utter darkness and screamed Angela's name. But the sound died in the confined, insulated space with its dirt floor. David moved blindly ahead until he hit against the door. Then he tried yelling again, but he could tell it would be in vain unless Angela were in the basement.

Groping along the shelves, David seized a jar of preserves. He carried it over to the door and pounded the wood with it. But the sound was hardly as loud as he'd hoped.

Then David heard what he thought were Angela's footsteps somewhere above. Changing tactics, he hurled the jar of preserves against the ceiling. He covered his head with his hands and closed his eyes as the glass smashed against the floorboards.

Groping back to the shelving, David tried to climb up on it so he could pound directly on the ceiling with his fists. But he'd only pounded once when the shelf he was standing on gave way. The shelf and all its jars collapsed to the floor, David along with it.

Angela felt frantic and discouraged. She'd rapidly toured the first floor of the filthy house, turning on what lights she could. Unfortunately she found no evidence of either David or Calhoun, save for a cigar butt in the kitchen that possibly could have been Calhoun's.

Angela was ready to start on the second floor when she thought about Nikki. Concerned, Angela dashed out to the car. Nikki was anxious, but she was okay. Angela said she'd be just a bit longer. Nikki told her to hurry because she was scared sitting by herself.

Angela ran back into the house and started up the stairs. She carried the shotgun with both hands. When she reached the second floor, she stopped and listened. She thought she'd heard something, but if she had, she didn't hear it again. She continued on.

The upstairs of the house was even dirtier than the main floor. It had a peculiar musty smell, as if no one had been up there for years. Giant cobwebs hung from the ceiling. In the upstairs hall Angela yelled David's name several more times, but after each shout there was nothing but silence.

Angela was about to head back downstairs when she noticed something on a small console table at the head of the stairs. It was a rubber Halloween mask fashioned to look like a reptile. It was the mask the intruder had worn the previous evening!

Trembling, Angela started down the stairs. Halfway down she paused to listen. Once again she thought she'd heard something. It sounded like distant thumping.

Angela was determined to find the source of the sound. At the base of the stairs she paused again. She thought she heard pounding from the direction of the kitchen. She hurried into the room. The noise was definitely louder. Bending down she put her ear to the floor. Then she heard the knocking distinctly.

She yelled David's name. With her ear still pressed to the floor she could just barely hear David answer, calling her by name. Angela scrambled to the cellar stairs.

She found the light and headed down, still clutching the shotgun. She began to hear David's voice more clearly, but it was still muffled.

Once she was down in the basement, she yelled his name again. Tears sprang to her eyes when she heard his reply. Weaving her way through the clutter, Angela followed the sound of his voice. There were two doors. By this time David was pounding so hard Angela knew immediately which one he was behind. But there was a problem: the door was padlocked.

Angela shouted to David that she'd get him out. Leaning the shotgun against the wall, she scanned the basement for an appropriate tool. Her eyes soon came to rest on the pick.

Swinging the tool in a short arc, she hit the lock several times but with no result. Trying a different approach, she inserted the end of the pick beneath the hasp and used it as a pry bar.

Pushing with all her might, Angela was able to snap the hasp and its mounting screws out of the door. She then pulled the door open.

David rushed out and embraced her.

"Thank God you came!" he said. "Van Slyke is the one behind all this. He's killed the patients and he killed Hodges. Right this minute he's in a psychotic panic and he's armed. We've got to get out of here."

"Let's go," Angela said. She snatched up the shotgun. Together they hurried to the stairs.

Before they started up, David put a hand on Angela's arm. He pointed toward the cement slab next to the hole he'd been digging. "I'm afraid Calhoun is under there," he said.

Angela gasped.

"Come on!" David said, giving her a nudge.

They started up the stairs.

"I haven't learned who is paying Van Slyke," David said as they climbed. "But it's clear that's what's been happening. I also haven't learned how Van Slyke has been able to kill the patients."

"Van Slyke is also the one who was at the house last night," Angela said. "I found the reptile mask upstairs."

As David and Angela reached the kitchen, headlight beams suddenly filled the room, playing across their horrified faces. Van Slyke had come back.

"Oh, God, no!" David whispered. "He's back."

"I've turned on a lot of lights," Angela said. "He'll know something's wrong."

Angela thrust the shotgun into David's hands. He gripped it with sweaty palms. They heard the car door close, then heavy footsteps in the gravel of the driveway.

David motioned for Angela to step back through the cellar door. David followed and pulled the door partially closed behind him. He left it open a crack so he could see into the kitchen.

The footsteps came to the back door, then abruptly stopped.

For a few terrorizing minutes there was no sound whatsoever. David and Angela held their breath. They guessed Van Slyke was wondering about the lights.

Then, to their surprise, they heard the footsteps recede. They listened until they couldn't hear them anymore.

"Where did he go?" Angela whispered.

"I wish I knew," David said. "I don't like not knowing where he is. He knows this place too well. He could get at us from behind."

Angela turned and looked down the cellar steps. The idea that Van Slyke could suddenly jump out at them made her skin crawl.

For a few minutes they stayed put, straining to hear any noises. The house was eerily silent. Finally David pushed the door open. Stepping back into the kitchen warily, he motioned for Angela to follow.

"Maybe it wasn't Van Slyke," Angela whispered.

"It had to have been him," David whispered back.

"Let's get the hell out of here. I'm afraid if I'm in here too long Nikki will get out of the car."

"What!" David whispered. "Nikki's here?"

"I couldn't leave her at your mother's," Angela whispered. "She insisted on coming with me. I couldn't fight with her. And there was no time to explain the situation to your mother."

"Oh my God!" David whispered. "What if Van Slyke has seen her?"

"Do you think he might have?"

David motioned for Angela to follow him. They went to the door to the yard, opening it as quietly as they could. It was completely dark outside. Van Slyke's car was twenty feet away but the man was nowhere to be seen.

Now David motioned for Angela to stay where she was. He sprinted to Van Slyke's car, keeping the shotgun ready. He looked in the passenger side window, just in case Van Slyke was hiding, but he wasn't there. David waved for Angela to join him.

"Let's skirt the gravel of the driveway," David said. "It's too noisy. We'll stick to the grass. Where did you park?"

"Right in back of you," Angela said.

David led with Angela right behind him. As they reached the street their worst fears were realized. In the light of a street lamp next to Calhoun's truck, they could see Van Slyke's silhouette in the driver's seat of David's mother's Cherokee. Nikki was next to him.

"Oh, no!" Angela said as she impulsively started forward.

David restrained her. They looked at each other in horror. "We have to do something," Angela said.

"We have to think," David said. He looked back at the Cherokee. He was so tense, he thought he might pass out.

"Do you think he has a gun?" Angela asked.

"I know he has a gun," David snapped.

"Maybe we should get help," Angela suggested.

"It would take too long," David said. "Besides, Robertson and his crew wouldn't have any idea how to handle a situation like this-if they even took us seriously. We'll have to handle this ourselves. We've got to get Nikki far enough away so that we can use the shotgun if we have to."

For a few harrowing moments they simply stared at the car.

"Let me have the keys," David said. "I'm worried he might have locked the doors."

"They're in the car," Angela said.

"Oh, no!" David exclaimed. "He could just drive off with Nikki."

"Oh, God," Angela whispered.

"This is getting worse and worse," David said. "But have you noticed: the whole time we've been standing here looking at the car, Van Slyke hasn't moved. Last time I saw him he was in constant manic motion, unable to hold still for a moment."

"I see what you mean," Angela said. "It looks almost as if they're having a conversation."

"If Van Slyke isn't watching, we could slip behind the car," David said. "Then you could go to one side and I to the other. We'll open the front doors simultaneously. You pull Nikki free and I'll aim the shotgun at Van Slyke."

"Good Lord!" Angela groaned. "Don't you think that's taking a lot of chances?"

"Tell me a better idea," David said. "We have to get her out of there before he drives off with her."

"Okay," Angela said reluctantly.

After crossing the street a good distance back from the Cherokee, David and Angela approached the car from behind. They remained crouched down as they moved in hopes of remaining undetected. Eventually they arrived at the very rear of the vehicle and squatted in its shadow.

"I'll first slip alongside to see if the doors are locked," David whispered.

Angela nodded and took the shotgun.

David crawled along the driver's side of the car until he was even with the rear door. Rising slowly, he saw that none of the doors were locked.

"At least something is going our way," Angela whispered once he came back and told her the good news.

"Okay," David whispered. "Are you ready?"

Angela gripped David's arm. "Wait," she said. "The more I think about your plan, the less I like it. I don't think we should go up on separate sides. I think we should both go to her door. You open the door, I'll pull her out."

David thought for a moment, then agreed. The main idea was to get Nikki away from Van Slyke. With Angela's plan there was more chance they'd succeed. The problem then would be how to handle Van Slyke once Nikki was safe.

"Okay," David whispered. "When I give the signal we do it."

Angela nodded.

David took the shotgun from Angela and held it in his left hand. He moved around Angela so that he was at the right side of the car. Slowly he rounded the car and started crawling along its side, holding the gun up against his chest. When he came abreast of the rear door, he turned around to make sure Angela was right behind him. She was.

David prepared to spring forward by positioning his feet directly under his torso. But before he could give the signal to Angela, Nikki's door opened and Nikki leaned out and looked back. She was startled to see David's face so close to her own,

"What are you guys doing?" Nikki asked.

David leaped forward and pulled the door completely open. Nikki lost her balance and tumbled from the car. Angela sprang forward and grabbed her, dragging her onto the grass. Nikki cried out in shock and pain.

David trained the gun on Van Slyke. He was fully prepared to pull the trigger if need be. But Van Slyke didn't have a gun. He didn't try to flee. He didn't so much as move. He merely looked at David; his expression was completely blank.

David warily moved a little closer. Van Slyke remained seated calmly, his hands in his lap. He did not seem to be the agitated psychotic that he'd been less than an hour earlier.

"What's happening?" Nikki cried. "Why did you pull me so hard? You hurt my leg."

"I'm sorry," Angela said. "I was worried about you. The man you've been sitting with is the same man who was in our house last night wearing the reptile mask."

"He couldn't be," Nikki said, wiping her tears away. "Mr. Van Slyke told me he was supposed to talk with me until you came back."

"What has he been talking about?" Angela asked.

"He was telling me about when he was my age," Nikki said. "How wonderful it had been."

"Mr. Van Slyke's childhood wasn't wonderful at all," David said. David was still intently watching Van Slyke who still hadn't moved. Keeping the shotgun aimed directly at Van Slyke's chest, David leaned into the car for a closer look. Van Slyke continued to stare back at him blankly.

"Are you okay?" David asked. He was at a loss for what to do.

"I'm all right," Van Slyke said in a calm monotone. "My father took me to the movies all the time. Whenever I wanted."

"Don't move," David commanded. Keeping the shotgun aimed at him, David stepped around the front of the car and opened the driver's side door. Van Slyke didn't budge, but he kept his eyes on David.

"Where's the gun?" David demanded.

"Gun run done fun," Van Slyke said.

David grabbed Van Slyke by the arm and pulled him out of the car. Angela yelled at David to be careful. She'd heard what Van Slyke had said. She told David that he was clanging; he was obviously still acutely psychotic.

David pushed Van Slyke around so that he was facing the car. Then he frisked him for any weapons. He didn't find the pistol.

"What did you do with the gun?" David demanded.

"I don't need it anymore," Van Slyke said.

David peered into Van Slyke's calm face. His pupils were no longer dilated. The transformation was remarkable.

"What's going on, Van Slyke?" David asked.

"On?" Van Slyke said. "On top. Put it on top."

"Van Slyke!" David shouted. "What's happened to you? Where have you been? What about the voices you hear? Are you still hearing voices?"

"You're wasting your time," Angela said. She and Nikki had come around the front of the car. "I'm telling you, he's acutely psychotic."

"No more voices," Van Slyke said. "I made them stop."

"I think we should call the police," Angela said. "And I don't mean the local bozos. I mean the state police. Is your cellular phone in the car?"

"How did you quiet the voices?" David asked Van Slyke.

"I took care of them," Van Slyke answered.

"What do you mean you took care of them?" David was afraid to learn what Van Slyke meant.

"They won't be able to use me as a dupe," Van Slyke said.

"Who do you mean by they?" David asked.

"The board," Van Slyke said. "The whole board."

"David!" Angela said impatiently. "What about the police. I want to get Nikki away from here. He's talking nonsense."

"I'm not so sure," David said.

"Well, then, what does he mean by the board?" Angela asked.

"I'm afraid he means the hospital board," David said.

"Board sword ford cord," Van Slyke said. He smiled. It was the first time his expression had changed since they'd confronted him in the car.

"David, the man is not connected to reality," Angela said. "Why are you insisting on having a conversation with him?"

"Do you mean the hospital board?" David asked.

"Yes," Van Slyke said.

"Okay, everything is going to be all right," David said. But he was trying to calm himself more than anyone else.

"Did you shoot someone?" David asked.

Van Slyke laughed. "No, I didn't shoot anyone. All I did was put the source on the conference room table."

"What does he mean by 'source'?" Angela asked.

"I have no idea," David said.

"Source force course horse," Van Slyke said, still chuckling.

Feeling frustrated, David grabbed Van Slyke by the front of his shirt and shook him, asking him again what he'd done.

"I put the source and the force on the table right next to the model of the parking garage," Van Slyke said. "And I'm glad I did it. I'm not a dupe for anybody. The only problem is, I'm sure I burned myself."

"Where?" David asked.

"My hands," Van Slyke said. He held them up so David could look at them.

"Are they burned?" Angela asked.

"I don't think so," David said. "They're slightly red, but otherwise they look normal to me."

"He's not making any sense," Angela said. "Maybe he's hallucinating."

David nodded absently. His thoughts were suddenly somewhere else.

"I'm tired," Van Slyke said. "I want to go home and see my parents."

David waved him off. Van Slyke walked across the street and into his yard. Angela stared at David. She'd not expected him to let Van Slyke go. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Shouldn't we call the police?"

David nodded again. He stared after Van Slyke while his mind began pulling everything together: his patients, the symptoms, and the deaths.

"Van Slyke is a basket case," Angela said. "He's acting like he just had electroshock therapy."

"Get in the car," David said.

"What is it?" Angela asked. She didn't like the tone of David's voice.

"Just get in the car!" David shouted. "Hurry!" He climbed into the driver's seat of the Cherokee.

"What about Van Slyke?" Angela questioned.

"There's no time for Van Slyke," David said. "Besides, he isn't going anywhere. Come on, hurry!"

Angela put Nikki into the back seat and climbed in next to David. David already had the car started. Before Angela could close her door, David was backing up. Then he made a quick U-turn and accelerated up the street.

"What's happening now?" Nikki asked.

"Where are we going?" Angela asked.

"To the hospital," David said.

"You're driving as bad as Mom," Nikki told her father.

"Why the hospital?" Angela asked. She reached back and patted Nikki's knee to reassure her.

"It's suddenly beginning to make sense to me," David said. "And now I have this terrible premonition."

"What are you talking about?" Angela asked.

"I think I might know what Van Slyke was talking about when he referred to 'the source.' "

"I thought that was just schizophrenic babble," Angela said. "He was clanging. He said source, force, course, and horse. It was just gibberish."

"He may have been clanging," David said, "but I don't think he was talking nonsense when he said source. Not when he was talking about putting it on a conference table that had a model of a parking garage on it. That's too specific."

"Well, what do you think he was referring to?" Angela asked.

"I think it has to do with radiation," David said. "I think that's what Van Slyke was talking about when he said he'd burned his hands."

"Oh, come on. You're sounding as crazy as him," Angela said. "You have to remember Van Slyke's paranoia on the nuclear submarine had to do with radiation, so any similar talk probably has more to do with the return of his schizophrenia than anything else."

"I hope you're right," David said. "But it has me worried. Van Slyke's training in the navy involved nuclear propulsion. That's driving a ship with a nuclear reactor. And nuclear reactors mean radiation. He was trained as a nuclear technician, so he knows something about nuclear materials and what they're capable of doing."

"Well, what you are saying makes sense," Angela said. "But talking about a source and having one are two vastly different things. People can't just go out and get radioactive material. It's tightly controlled by the government. That's why there is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

"There's an old radiotherapy unit in the basement of the hospital," David said. "It's a cobalt-60 machine Traynor's hoping to sell to some South American country. It has a source."

"I don't like the sound of this," Angela admitted.

"I don't like it either," David said. "And think about the symptoms my patients had. Those symptoms could have been from radiation, especially if the patients had been subjected to overwhelming doses. It's a horrendous possibility, but it fits the facts. At the time radiation had never entered my mind."

"I never thought about radiation when I did Mary Ann Schiller's autopsy," Angela admitted. "But now that I think of it, that could have been it. Radiation isn't something you consider unless there is a history of exposure. The pathological changes you see are nonspecific."

"That's my point exactly," David said. "Even the nurses with flu-like symptoms could have been suffering from a low level of radiation. And even…"

"Oh, no!" Angela exclaimed, immediately catching David's line of thought.

David nodded. "That's right," he said. "Even Nikki."

"Even Nikki what?" Nikki asked from the back seat. She'd not been paying attention to the conversation until she'd heard her name.

Angela turned around. "We were just saying that you had flu-like symptoms just like the nurses," she said.

"And Daddy too," Nikki said.

"Me too," David agreed.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked.

"What's the plan?" Angela asked.

"We need a Geiger counter," David said. "There has to be one in the Radiotherapy Center for their certification. I'll find a janitor to let us in. Why don't you and Nikki go to the lobby?"

David found Ronnie, one of the janitors he vaguely knew. Ronnie was only too happy to help one of the doctors, especially since it took him away from the job of mopping the basement's corridor. David neglected to mention that he'd been fired from CMV and his hospital privileges had been suspended.

With Ronnie in tow, David went up to the lobby and found Angela. Nikki had discovered a TV and was content for the moment. David told Nikki not to leave the lobby; she promised she wouldn't.

Angela and David went to the Radiotherapy Center. It only took them about fifteen minutes to find a Geiger counter.

Back in the main hospital building, they met up with Ronnie in the basement. It had taken him a few minutes to find the key to the old radiotherapy unit.

"No one goes in here very often," he explained as he let the Wilsons in.

The unit consisted of three rooms: an outer room that had served as a reception area, an inner office, and a treatment room.

David walked straight back to the treatment room. The room was empty save for the old radiotherapy unit. The machine looked like an X-ray unit with a table attached for the patient to lie on.

David put the Geiger counter on the table and turned it on. The needle barely moved on the gauge. There was no reading above background even on its most sensitive scale.

"Where's the source lodged in this thing?" Angela asked.

"I'd guess it's where the treatment arm and this supporting Column here meet," he said.

David lifted the Geiger counter and positioned it where he thought the source should reside. There was still no reading.

"The fact that there's no reading doesn't necessarily mean anything," Angela said. "I'm sure this thing is well shielded."

David nodded. He walked around to the back of the machine and tried the Geiger counter there. There was still no reading.

"Uh oh," Angela said. "David, come here and look at this."

David joined Angela by the treatment arm. She pointed to an access panel that was attached by four nob screws. Several of the screws had been loosened.

David grabbed a chair from the reception room. He put it just under the arm. Standing on the seat of the chair, David was able to reach the panel. He unscrewed all four nob screws, removed the panel, and handed it all to Ronnie.

Behind the panel he discovered a circular metal plate secured with eight lug bolts. David had Angela hand him the Geiger counter. He pushed it inside the housing and tried again for radiation. There was none.

David moved the Geiger counter aside and reached in and grasped one of the lug bolts. To his dismay, it was loose. He checked all eight. All eight were loose. He began removing them, handing them down to Angela one by one.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Angela asked. She was still concerned about radiation, despite the readings, as well as David's questionable handyman skills.

"We have to know for sure," David said as he removed the last bolt. He then lifted the heavy metal covering and handed it to Ronnie. David peered down a long cylindrical cavity that was about four and a half inches in diameter. It looked like the barrel of a huge gun. Without a flashlight, he could only see a short distance in.

"I'm sure I'm not supposed to be able to look into the treatment arm like this," David said. "There would have to be a plug to act as a brake to stop the source when it was being moved out to the treatment position."

Just to be one hundred percent certain, David stuck the Geiger counter into the muzzle of the treatment arm. There was no reading above background.

David stepped down from the chair. "The source is not in there," he said. "It's gone."

"What are we going to do?" Angela asked.

"What time is it?" David asked.

"Seven-fifteen," Ronnie said.

"Let's get lead aprons from radiology," David said. "Then we'll do what we can."

They left the old radiotherapy unit and headed straight for the Imaging Center. They didn't need Ronnie to open the Imaging Center since it was open for emergency X rays, but David asked him to come to help carry the lead aprons. Ronnie didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was he could tell something serious was involved. He was eager to be as helpful as possible.

The X-ray technician was suspicious of David's request for lead aprons, but he decided that since David wouldn't be taking them any farther than the hospital next door, it would be okay. Besides, he wasn't used to contradicting doctors. He gave David, Angela, and Ronnie nine lead aprons as well as one pair of lead gloves used for fluoroscopy. David still had the Geiger counter, as well.

Weighed down with their burden, the three made their way back to the hospital. They got strange looks from the staff and visitors they passed on their way to the second floor, but no one tried to stop them.

"All right," David said once they reached the door of the conference room. He was practically out of breath. "Put everything right here." He dropped the aprons he was carrying to the floor next to the closed conference room door. Angela and Ronnie did likewise.

David tried the Geiger counter again. Immediately the needle pegged to the right. "Jesus Christ!" David said. "We couldn't get any better evidence than that." David thanked Ronnie and sent him on his way. He then explained to Angela what he thought they should do. David pulled on the lead gloves and picked up three aprons. He carried one in his hands while he tossed the other two over his shoulder. Angela picked up four in her arms.

David opened the door and went into the conference room, with Angela close behind. Traynor, who'd been interrupted in mid-sentence, glared at David. Those in attendance-Sherwood, Beaton, Cantor, Caldwell, Arnsworth, and Robeson-all turned to stare at the source of this rude interruption. As the assembled members of the board began to murmur, Traynor banged his gavel, crying for order.

Scanning the cluttered conference table, David spotted the source instantly. It was a cylinder about a foot long whose diameter matched the size of the bore in the treatment arm he'd examined only minutes ago. Several Teflon rings were embedded in its circumference. On its top was a locking pin. The cylinder was standing upright next to a model of a parking garage just as Van Slyke had indicated.

David started for the cylinder, clutching a lead apron in both hands.

"Stop!" Traynor yelled.

Before David could get to the cylinder, Caldwell leapt to his feet and grabbed David around his chest.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Caldwell demanded.

"I'm trying to save all of you if it isn't too late," David said.

"Let him go," Angela cried.

"What are you talking about?" Traynor demanded.

David nodded toward the cylinder. "I'm afraid you have been having your meeting around a cobalt-60 source."

Cantor leaped to his feet; his chair tipped over backward. "I saw that thing," he cried. "I wondered what it was." Saying no more, he turned and fled from the room.

A stunned Caldwell relaxed his grip. David immediately lunged across the table and snatched up the brass cylinder in his lead gloves. Then he rolled the cylinder in one of his lead aprons. Next he wrapped that apron in another and that one in another still. He proceeded to do the same with the aprons Angela was carrying while she stepped out of the conference room to get the others. David was anxious to cover the cylinder with as many layers of lead as possible.

As David was wrapping the last load of the aprons around the bulky parcel, Angela got the Geiger counter.

"I don't believe you," Traynor said, breaking a shocked silence. But his voice lacked conviction. Cantor's sudden departure had unnerved him.

"This is not the time for debate," David said. "Everyone better get out of here," he added. "You've all been exposed to a serious amount of radiation. I advise you to call your doctors."

Traynor and the others exchanged nervous glances. Panic soon broke out as first a few and then the remaining board members, including Traynor, ran from the room.

David finished with the last apron and took the Geiger counter. Turning it on, he was dismayed to see that it still registered a significant amount of radiation.

"Let's get out of here," David said. "That's about all we can do."

Leaving the cylinder wrapped in aprons on the table, they went out of the conference room, closing the doors behind them. David tried the Geiger counter again. As he expected, the radiation had fallen off dramatically. "As long as no one goes in the conference room, no one else will get hurt tonight," he said.

He and Angela headed toward the lobby to collect Nikki. Just before they arrived David stopped.

"Do you think Nikki will be okay for a few more minutes?" he asked.

"In front of a TV she'll be fine for a week," Angela said. "Why?"

"I think I know how the patients were irradiated," David said. He led Angela back toward the patients' rooms.

Half an hour later they collected Nikki and went out into the hospital parking lot. They took the Cherokee back to Van Slyke's so that David could get the Volvo.

"Do you think there's any chance he could hurt anybody tonight?" David asked. He motioned toward Van Slyke's house.

"No," Angela said.

"I don't think so either," David said. "And the last thing I want to do is go back in there. Let's go to my parents'. I'm exhausted."

David got out.

"I'll follow you," he said.

"Call your mother," Angela said. "I'm sure she's beside herself with worry."

David got in the Volvo and started it up. He looked at Calhoun's truck in front of him and sadly shook his head.

As soon as they got on the main road, David picked up his cellular phone. Before he called his mother he called the state police. When he got an emergency officer on the line he explained that he wanted to report a very serious problem that included murder and deadly radiation at the Bartlet Community Hospital…