didn’t work. Or maybe they were working, but the radiation overpowered them.”
“Exactly,” Pia said. “It is diabolically fiendish. Whoever is involved is smart-probably a doctor or a scientist who knows a lot of medicine.”
George thought about it some more. He started pacing the room.
“I guess it’s possible,” George said. He could see no insurmountable problems with the theory. “So let’s tell the authorities, let them figure it out.”
“No, we can’t. We don’t know who did it.”
“I guess you have to assume that the guys who attacked you had something to do with it.”
“No doubt, but this has to be a major conspiracy. You know what this stuff is used for? They use it to make firing mechanisms for nuclear weapons. No one admits to making it, although the major source is supposed to be Russia. I just read about it two minutes ago. So the FSB can just call someone and get it. But how do you get it in New York City? There has to be a lot of people involved. Serious people with access to this material. And I believe those guys when they warned me not to go to the police. I’m not going to the authorities till I have enough proof to go to the media at the same time.”
“The media?”
“I told you, I don’t trust ‘the authorities.’ ” Pia made quote marks in the air with her fingers. “If I give this story to the newspapers, whoever is involved won’t be able to bury it.”
“So what proof do you need?”
Pia turned back to the computer and made another search.
“Okay! Polonium-210 has a half-life of a hundred and thirty-eight days, meaning that it takes a hundred and thirty-eight days for it to lose half of its radioactivity. So if that’s what they used, there has to be some trace around someplace, either in the lab or in the rooms Rothman and Yamamoto occupied in the hospital. Even if someone was very careful giving it to them, there’s bound to be some residue just like there was in London in 2006.”
George joined Pia at the computer, looking over her shoulder. “How is polonium detected?”
“Here it is,” Pia said, pointing at the screen. “Alpha particles can be detected with a Geiger counter. Pretty simple.”
“Where are we going to get a Geiger counter?” George said. “Oh, let’s use mine. It should be in the bottom drawer on your right.”
“Very funny,” Pia said. “Geiger counters are not all that uncommon, especially around a medical center like this. They must have them in Nuclear Medicine. We’ll go over there and see if we can’t borrow one.”
“I couldn’t help notice that you said ‘we,’ ” George said. “So is this a formal invitation?”
“Of course it is,” Pia replied.
“Well, thank you,” George said. Actually there was no way he would have allowed Pia to go over to the hospital without him. He reached out and felt along Pia’s jaw. “Maybe we should get you X-rayed while we’re there. I know a technician who would do it as a favor.”
Pia pushed his hand away. “I don’t want to take the risk.”
“All right, here’s the plan,” George said. “I’ll help you look for a Geiger counter, but first I have to talk to my resident and come up with an excuse for not being around.”
“Fine,” Pia said. “I wouldn’t mind a few minutes of rest. Whatever drug I was given has me feeling sleepy again. I could use a bit of rest while you take care of business. Do you mind if I just lie down here on your bed? Call me when you’re ready.” Pia moved from the desk chair over to the bed and lay down. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She was tired and wired at the same time.
George went over to her and, taking out his pocket light, made her open her eyes. He quickly checked pupillary light reaction. It was normal.
“Jesus, that’s bright,” she complained, turning her head to the side. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m just worried about a concussion,” George said.
“That’s a happy thought,” Pia said.
“It’s something to think about, especially if you’re sleepy.”
“Good point, but I think I’m fine, just tired.”
“I’ll go back to Radiology and make my excuses. I’ll be right back. Wedge the chair under the door handle. Do you have your phone?”
Pia nodded.
“Make sure it’s charged. My charger’s on the desk. And call me if you need me.”
George would have been far happier calling the police or renting a car and driving Pia as far out of the city as he could. But he’d come this far with her. He just had to cover himself, and he’d be clear to stay with her for as long as it took to resolve this thing. They’d get a Geiger counter and find the proof if it existed. Or they wouldn’t find the proof, and Pia would have to drop this theory as she had all the others. Perhaps then she would quit sleuthing.
43.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER NEW YORK CITY MARCH 25, 2011, 2:01 P.M.
Pia’s brief sleep was interrupted by George knocking gently on his own door. She woke up with a start and recognized that she was in a room that was not her own. She sat up feeling like she had a hangover. All at once she realized where she was, and the whole previous night’s experience came flooding back. Pia got up from the bed, swayed for a moment, and went to the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s George.” Pia took the chair away from under the door handle. She then hurried into George’s compulsively clean bathroom and checked out her face, wincing when she touched her bruised left jawbone and wincing again when she noticed for the first time that she also had the makings of a good black eye. Reflexively, she closed her uninjured eye to make sure she could see normally. She also examined her cut lip, and then wiped away a bit of blood encrusted in her nostrils. Then she began to fill the sink to wash her face.
“What time is it?” she called through the open door. Her mind was clearing, and the dizziness she’d experienced when first getting off George’s bed had totally disappeared.
“It’s about two, a little after,” said George. “You want something to eat?”
“No! There’s no time. We have to get moving. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of finding anything. As we learned, polonium has a relatively short half-life and you can just wash it off normally, like dirt.”
“So you’re sticking to the polonium idea?” George had half hoped Pia would have cooled to her rather outlandish scenario by the time he got back.
“Absolutely. It fits so well. You agreed it fit, didn’t you?”
“It seems to,” George said. “Provided we can’t think of another reason for the hair loss. But the practicalities seem so daunting. And you’re sure there was hair loss, right?”
“Oh God, yes, George, I’m sure. You saw it yourself.”
George looked at Pia as she emerged from the bathroom. She had an intent expression on her face. It seemed that Pia was pleased with the power of her deductive reasoning, or else with the elegance of the plot to murder her mentor.
“Do you have any idea how hard this must have been to pull off?” she said. “It makes the Kennedy assassination look easy.”
“I think Oswald acted alone.”
“Okay, bad example. This has to be a sizable conspiracy, with a number of people involved. Once we confirm the polonium, I can’t let the authorities spin the story, which they will. I need to make sure my version of the story, which is the truth, gets out.”
“But if there’s proof, the police will protect you.”
“Bullshit. It’s the police I’m most afraid of. Listen, the more I think about it, the more I think it has to have been other researchers or doctors. The science behind it is impressive. I mean, it had to be someone with a medical background who thought all this through. Otherwise, as you said, why not just shoot them?” Pia stopped
