“Of course, I’m so sorry. I’ve been meaning to get back to you. This week’s just been—” She craned her neck to peek into a dark, empty office. “Maybe we can talk in here.”
He nodded again, surprised but relieved by her reaction. This didn’t seem like the woman Blake had described.
Emmett followed her inside. The lights flickered on and she closed the door. Two chairs faced a large L-shaped desk. Instead of sittingbehind it as he expected, she pulled one of the chairs around and they sat, facing each other.
“Again, my apologies. We had some unexpected turnover on the team that monitors the participant hotline, and things have been hectic all week.”
“Right. Sorry for barging in like this. I just—I was getting desperate.”
“Understandable.” She crossed her legs, leaned back, hands laced in her lap like a therapist’s. “So you’ve been experiencing some side effects from Obexity, is that right?”
He nodded.
“That’s not what we like to hear. I did take a peek at your health journals when I got your message, and nothing stood out as immediate cause for concern. But I want to hear more about what you’re experiencing. Please?” A request, not a demand.
Emmett opened and closed his mouth. Now the moment had come, he felt ridiculous, overdramatic. He’d jumped to conclusions.
Then he remembered the presentation.
“Sorry, I know it’s none of my business. What I just saw in there—”
Dr. Saito dropped her head, almost laughing. “I can only imagine what you must be thinking. You’re probably more freaked out now than you were before. That was a lot.”
“The people in that room—”
“Colleagues from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. We’re in negotiations to partner on a study looking at the medicinal properties of canine saliva, particularly in wild coyotes. You may know that canine saliva contains a peptide called epidermal growth factor, or EGF, that’s uncommonly effective at healing flesh wounds. That’s why you’ll often see dogs licking their cuts and scrapes. But we also think it might contain enzymes useful for weight stabilization. Even in well-fed coyotes under human care, obesity is rarely observed.”
“But Georgina Hodge—”
“Who?”
“The woman in the last photo,” Emmett said. “I know her. Knew her, kind of.”
“That must’ve been traumatic to see. I’m so sorry. The coyotes they think killed her are actually the ones we’re interested in studying. We believe they’re carrying abnormal levels of EGF. The bite woundsshowed evidence of it, the properties I mentioned. But about your side effects.”
Emmett felt even stupider now. He almost couldn’t remember why he’d come here in the first place, why he’d been so certain that something was wrong.
“I just— I’m just a little worried about the effects of the treatment.”
Saito nodded, listening.
“I’ve been forgetting things. Like, whole parts of my day are just gone. There are times I don’t know where I’ve been or what I’ve done, and when I come to, I find that my…” He trailed off, gazing at his upturned palms. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, because what if it had nothing to do with the Obexity? Acknowledging it aloud was as good as a confession.
“You find what, sorry?”
“Just that, I have this feeling that something bad’s happened. That maybe I did something I can’t remember or—”
“Hurt someone?”
Again he was afraid to admit it.
“Many participants report anxiety of that kind,” Saito said. “It’s perfectly normal, but I can only imagine how distressing that must be. We’ll keep a close eye on your health journals. Obviously Obexity is still experimental, and we’re still learning how side effects develop over time.”
He nodded compliantly.
“But let me reassure you…” She leaned forward to touch his knee. “I would never subject you or any of our participants to a treatment I wouldn’t be willing to take myself.”
Emmett snorted at what felt like a joke. “Not like you need it, though, right?”
