Gabriel sat heavily on a kitchen chair. “Mr. Brennan and Dr. Montgomery came by with the police. The police said it was a terrible accident. Mr. Brennan said he’d pay for her funeral and some other things. I wasn’t nice to him.”
“It had to be a shock. I’m sure he understands.” He never mentioned Brigitte.
“Serafina and I are going to the funeral home later.” He swallowed.
“Who is going to stay with the girls?” Harper made a simple egg scramble with toast and coffee.
“God, I didn’t get that far,” he said.
“I’ll be happy to stay. What else can I do?” she asked.
“Tell me how I’m going to do this without Addy.” He swiped at tears.
“Hey, I will help, and I’m sure Serafina will help. Where are your and Addy’s parents?”
“They’re coming in today. Her folks live in Houston. Mine are in Baton Rouge. I want to get the service over with by tomorrow afternoon. The storm is supposed to hit Wednesday night. Then I think we are going to evacuate to Houston. I don’t even have to fight for the days off—bereavement leave. Shit.” He shook his head.
“I can help you pack for the girls as well as collect pictures and other mementos to take out of the storm’s way. If you want, I can help move your electronics up to the attic in case you flood.”
“Elin from Chase Care called. She said they’ll send assistance to keep the house safe.” He looked around the kitchen. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Why don’t you lie down? You look exhausted. I’ll stay, and when Serafina gets back, you can go make arrangements.” Harper smiled.
After Gabriel went to lie down, Harper cleaned up the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher. She repeated her routine in the living room and dining room. Next, she headed into the family room. Harper remembered what they went through to build an expansion to the house. Everything cost twice what they budgeted. In the end, they had three bedrooms on the second floor, and the family room became Adelaide’s favorite place to relax.
She picked up the toys and folded the throws Addy knitted. She grabbed the girls’ backpacks and brought them to the room they shared. Exhaling, she went back and sat in Adelaide’s favorite chair. Beside it was her knitting basket. Harper lifted it into her lap to look at Adelaide’s latest project. It was a hot pink dress for a doll. Another doll dress rested complete below that. Reaching for the second knitting needle with the idea of finishing the dress, she found a small binder. The outside was marked “Patterns.”
Never being a great knitter, she was hopeful for help and opened the book. Instead of finding patterns, she found a shrunk-down version of a trial for a drug called Ribacine Tetalimus. In the margins were notes in Adelaide’s handwriting.
Harper flipped through the pages. The first set of entries was a ledger dating back to over a year ago. Each entry gave the date and the names of patients.
Jeannie Nairne. “Raven,” she whispered.
The next set contained initial diagnoses. All patients had benign cysts. It also had a column stating placebo versus drug and the dosage. But her heart sank at the final line of each entry. It was a dollar amount and where the funds were directed. For every patient she gave the drug to, she received payment either directly or indirectly. The children’s preschool, a car finance company, credit cards and the construction company responsible for building the extension received money.
“God, Addy.” She closed her eyes and exhaled.
An entry written Thursday night before she died made Harper realize the accident that killed Addy and hurt Kip wasn’t intended for him.
I thought I’d be making a difference. I never thought the drugs would be harmful. Chemo is harsh, but this is horrendous. Gabe says it’s how science works.Ribacine Tetalimusis killing everything. Ovarix is killing everything. We’re in too deep. Serafina is holding a proverbial gun to our heads.
She says they are working on adjusting the dose to make its effects less harmful. They’re close to a breakthrough, and they don’t want to stop now. Gabe realized they were telling healthy patients they were sick. After they suffered so—they told patients they were improving… They were never SICK.
When I complained, Rene told Ovax to use the senile patients with no family. Bastard says it’s a win-win situation. If they get the drug dosage right, it’s great, and if not, the Manor gets the insurance money when they die.
Jerrold is oblivious to what his parents are doing. He’s only interested in possessing Harper and getting his name on the drugs. He’ll kill her if he can’t have her. Harper shuddered. For such a good surgeon, he’s a moron and thinks this is how a trial works. I told Gabe I want out. I’ll request a transfer back to the hospital. We will have to make do without the extra money. He told me it wasn’t that easy.
The entry ended. “Who killed you, Addy?” she mumbled under her breath. Hearing Babette’s little voice laughing, Harper shoved the book back into the basket and covered it with Addy’s projects.
“Hey, ladies, how was lunch?” Harper met them by the door.
“We’ve got two tired troopers here,” Serafina said.
“Well, how about some stories and a nap?” Harper suggested. “I told Gabe I’d stay until you get back from the funeral home.”
Harper carried Desirée and Babette up the stairs. “Fresh diapers and then story time.”
The girls fast asleep, Harper went downstairs with the intention of taking pictures of the notebook. Checking the basket, a chill ran through her. The notebook was gone.
