Syndrome

'Was it not working? Is that why she left?'

'Some of the staff swore it was having results. The truth is, I wasn't following her very closely. In my honest opinion, stem cell technology shouldn't be used for cosmetic purposes. It borders on the obscene.'

Whoa, Ally thought,according to Grant, you 'experimented' with a procedure for the skin on yourself.And you've got the youthful-looking skin to prove it. Let's not have the pot calling the kettle black here.

'But if it was working, then why did she decide to stop?'

This story soundswaytoo pat, she thought.

'You'll have to ask someone closer to her. Maybe she didn't think it was.'

'How about Winston Bartlett. I gather he's pretty close.'

'Well, she's a touchy subject with him. Good luck.' Van de Vliet hesitated and his face flushed. 'But now I really have to get in there. I'm responsible for whatever happens around here. Particularly whateverbadthat happens.'

He was heading down the hall.

'One last thing. If Kristen is here in New York, then how could I contact her?'

'I have absolutely no idea,' he said over his shoulder. 'If her own mother couldn't find. . Actually, you might check with the front desk. All clinical trial participants are here under a confidentiality agreement, which means that giving out any information about her would be a liability issue, but now. . See if they have a prior address they can give you. After she left, it never occurred to me to pursue her.'

He was going through a door marked OR 1, but then he revolved back. There was a darkness in his eyes she hadn't seen before. 'I guess I'm wondering why, exactly, you're so interested in this deranged girl. It has no bearing whatsoever on your own treatment.'

'It's just something I'm curious about.' She stopped, her emotions in a jumble.What is going on?' You know, I'm wondering if maybe we shouldn't start my procedure later in the week. All this. . guns and shooting. . is a bit much for me to take in.' She looked at him. 'I guess I can't remember ever seeing anyone pull a pistol on their doctor before.'

'I can understand your disquiet,' he said, his eyes dimming even more, 'but I'd really hoped we could get started today. I should be free in an hour or so and we can-'

'I've given the blood sample you wanted, but I've just had the fright of my life. I want to go up and see Mom again and then I want a day to recharge.'

Get hold of Stone, she was thinking,and then try to find Kristen. Something feels very non-kosher here.

'Just be aware,' he went on, 'that this procedure can't wait forever. I told you that we have less than three weeks left. At the end of the month, the clinical trials will be completed and this facility could be temporarily closed because of corporate restructuring.'

What is he talking about, 'corporate restructuring'?You 're pressuring me again, she thought.I really don't like that.

'It can wait for a day.'

'All right. If you must. But that's it. We have to start tomorrow. Seriously.' He came back and reached and took her hand. 'This means a lot to me, Alexa. I really want to help you. And I truly think we can.'

With that, he turned and walked into the OR.

She stood watching for a moment, and when he was definitely gone, she took the small black leather volume out of her waistband.

On a hunch she opened it to the first page and… sure enough, there it was, penciled in down one side: Kristy 555-1224. No last name and no address.

The rest of the book had only a dozen entries, so few that Ally wondered why Katherine Starr bothered carrying it. Compulsive, maybe.

She couldn't wait to get to her car and get on the phone to Stone.

Kristen Starr could well be the mystery patient he was looking for. In any event, she was missing, freaked out, unsure who she was, and probably in a lot of trouble.

But now they had a phone number.

Chapter 19

Wednesday, April 8

12:32 p.m.

'You think you've gotwhat?' Stone Aimes sounded like he'd just won the lottery. 'For the patient who was 'terminated'? My God, Ally, you're incredible.'

'Possibly. But what IknowI am is very worried. For one thing, if this is the person you're looking for, the one who got dropped from the trials, it's somebody you've probably heard of, and for another, I've just had a series of very disturbing experiences. . '

She'd called him on her cell phone the minute she cranked up her Toyota to return to the city. She couldn't get away from the Dorian Institute fast enough.

After leaving Karl Van de Vliet, she'd taken the elevator up to the second floor to check in on Nina.

'What's all the excitement?' her mother had asked. 'One of the nurses just told me that a deranged woman with a gun barged into the lobby looking for Dr. Vee. Then she shot herself.'

“It's nothing, Mom. Everything is all right now.' She hadn't wanted to upset Nina, but she was convinced Karl Van de Vliet had just done some major lying. His uneasy body language told her he knew a lot more about Kristen Starr than he was admitting; for that matter, Debra Connolly probably did too.

'Well, thank goodness,' Nina had said. 'Are you going to start the procedure for your heart today?'

'Not yet. I want another day to think about it. But tell me how you're doing really. I mean, are you comfortable with how everything's going here? You can still stop if things don't feel right.'

Ally half wanted to get her out of the Dorian Institute immediately. She didn't know what either of them had stumbled into. She just knew now that, along with the possibility of miracles, the Dorian Institute had a lot of questions that needed straight answers. She no longer trusted Karl Van de Vliet. She had seen his facade crack momentarily and what lay beneath it made her very uncomfortable.

Furthermore, she thought he realized she knew he was lying. And it seemed to make him even more desperate to keep her there.

'Ally, what a silly thing to say. Of course I want to stay.' She'd fluffed up her pillow and reached for the TV remote. 'Some of the smoke has already been blown out of my mind. I'm feeling clearer by the minute.'

There's surely got to be some 'placebo effect' at work here, Ally thought. But still, she does seem more aware.

'Okay, Mom, I'm going back into the city now. But I'll be here tomorrow and every day to check on you. Just don't. . don't let them do anything to you that seems strange.'

With that, she had given Nina a kiss on the forehead and taken the marble stairs down to the first-floor reception.

It was now time to find Kristen Starr.

The nurse at the desk was a woman named May Gooden. The main floor had returned to normal after all the excitement, with patients passing through as they came back from the cafeteria.

Ally had decided to try a long shot and see if she could pry out any information about Kristen from the patient files. She asked point-blank.

'I guess Dr. Van de Vliet was not aware of the legal strictures in our NIH agreement,' May had said. 'No personal information can be released without a patient's signed authorization.'

'You do remember her being here, though? Kristen Starr.'

'My Lord, that's not something that goes unnoticed. She had an assumed name but everybody knew who she was. A nice girl. Nicer than you'd expect from seeing her on television.'