Chapter 18 Section 17

Jeff closed the door of his cubicle and called Kenson.Kenson said on the phone that yes, Judith was still with him, but because she worked the night shift at the clinic, she was asleep now.He happened to be at home, with the windows of his room open, reading a book.It was probably the first book he had read in a year.The Bestowment by Max Baird is brilliant.Wherever he read it, the best sentence he remembered to write was "beginning with his terrible mother". "Isn't that wonderful?" Elliott agrees that's a good sentence, but tells Kenson he called him because Dismus Hardy was with him, in his office, and they wanted to ask him something.When Hardy talked about Rebel.After what Sims said was a number of unexplained deaths at Portola Hospital, Kenson was silent for a while, causing Elliott to ask on the phone if he was still on the line.

"Yes, I'm thinking about it." He then went on, "I can't say anything about it because I haven't thought about it, but it's not uncommon for patients to die in the ICU because their They are sent there when they are seriously ill. So it seems to me that what you are asking now is whether the patients who should not have died are dying, right? You did not record these words, Jay Husband? I don't need any worse news right now." "Yes, don't worry." Jeff calmly accepted Kenson's request, and in this case he could only agree. "Now we are only a formal employment relationship in business." Besides, Hardy has no plans to have any other relationship other than maintaining this formal relationship with his client. "This conversation is not a preferential treatment. As you know."

"Yes, so are you implying something? Some kind of endemic malpractice? Or something more serious than that?" "I'm not suggesting anything about that," Hardy said. "I'm asking if it reminds you of anything." "Yeah, I'd be surprised if many of us were on the books under Section 805. I'll get there." "What's that?" Hardy asked. "Report to the National Medical Council. When a doctor messes things up so badly that the management suspends his clinical practice for more than thirty days, then the hospital should file a Section 805 application with the National Medical Council. They should also take the application further to the National Practitioner Database, which is nationally networked, and once recorded, it never goes away. If it is recorded by the database, your career is over. "

"Then why haven't these things been submitted?" Hardy asked. "You're a lawyer, and you're still asking me what's going on? If you were a patient and found out that the hospital you went to had hired an unqualified doctor, you would sue the hospital. There would be one complaint after another, endlessly." Elliott couldn't help but say to Hardy, "I always thought you lawyers had fun with this kind of thing." But Hardy was still listening to Kenson's words on the receiver with one ear, ignoring Elliott's teasing. "Are you telling me, Eric, that there are doctors in Portola who know about it themselves and don't keep the reports on record?"

"Let me answer the question this way. We have staff that I personally wouldn't choose to be my physician." "So what exactly happens when a doctor sucks?" Hardy asked. "There's going to be a lot of things. First, you notice that magical suspension of thirty-day clinical practice that I mentioned. So instead of that, you end the suspension at twenty-nine days, so there's no Application No. 805 exists, right? You did not violate the guidelines for this penalty, so you will not be entered into the national unified database." "Are there any doctors in Portola entered into this database?" Jeff is always looking for stories, "How do I find out?"

"You can't look it up," Kenson said firmly. "For obvious reasons, the public is not allowed access to this database. Potential employers, however, are able to. Anyway, there is another way to make this database available." This kind of report will not appear, maybe this practice is used more generally." "What's that?" Hardy said. "Well, that Section 805 application was based on the mutual reporting of similar personnel." "It's another doctor," said Elliott. "That's right. And there's a certain understanding and understanding among the doctors, especially in Portola right now, that we're all in this nasty storm and it's best to shield each other. If among our colleagues It's okay if someone doesn't make the right medical decisions, you go have a private discussion and mention that we all do our best to meet the standard of care. But we're all under such intense financial pressure that we Everyone has been working hard and the bottom line is we are not going to betray each other.”

"Never?" Hardy asked. "Unless there's been some kind of major liability accident, I mean inescapable and obvious major error, and it might not even be just one. But other than that, you're not going to get that kind of thing here at Portola Hospital. In most hospitals in this country, I dare say the situation is much the same in most of the hospitals in this country who get the Section 805 application because of the reports of colleagues around them." In this small bedroom, Elliott and Hardy looked at each other, speechless for a while. "What about the other causes of death?" Hardy asked. "Perhaps intentional?"

This question made Kenson speechless for a moment. "What do you mean, on purpose?" "Maybe unplugging the power plug too early or something." Hardy thought for a while and added, "Maybe something like poisoning from potassium overdose." "You're talking about murder, aren't you?" The answer was self-evident, and Kenson continued without waiting for an answer. "Did I say I thought it was always happening in Portola?" "Really?" Hardy asked. "I only thought about it when I fell into extremes." Elliott couldn't help but cut in suddenly. "Have you ever had a case like that, Eric?"

Kenson could hear a helpless sigh on the other end of the phone. "While Markham was in ICU, there was another patient there. Did you two know?" "I think there were several," said Hardy. "It did. I mean another patient who also died." "Who?" Hardy's instincts made it clear he was reaching for something he wanted, and that was part of it. "His name is James, Rector, seventy-one years old, never smoked, had some complications after open heart surgery. We put him on life support physiotherapy for a few weeks, and the treatment effect was very good. The physiotherapy improved, and the physiotherapy was stopped. His key symptom index showed that his physical condition is improving. I think he can be transferred out of the intensive care unit in a few days."

"But he died?" Hardy said. "Exactly. I don't know why. It's just... let's not talk about it." "I will never reveal my source," Elliott said, "I will take your name in my grave to rot with me." Hardy ignored Elliott's confession and continued his questioning. "So besides this Lackert," he asked, "how many cases do you estimate there are, cases of deaths that you can't explain?" "Actually, I've only been paying attention to this kind of thing since September last year. I have a small work log of it."

Both Hardy and Elliott were eagerly awaiting what to say from Kenson. He went on. "I thought I should go back to the hospital and see if there was a sample there. Maybe I should take something off my back." Elliott asked him why he had started following this. "Exactly why I can't say. Now that you're asking the question, I think I'm trying to get my assault ammo ready for when they finally find the time to fire me. I don't think anyone is doing it on purpose Killing patients, but we are losing patients we shouldn't be losing, like that son of Lopez, Jeff. So, if fiscal policy is affecting medical standards, I am going to criticize this policy. I may Or at least thought that place was becoming disgusting, and I needed a file with the details." The silence between the three lasted for a while.Finally, Hardy's question broke the silence. "How many cases, Eric?" "Excluding Tuesday's case," Kenson said, "eleven." No matter how distinctive the Greek Lo's food was, Hardy had no appetite today, and he just wished he could squeeze his head through the door to see if Wes Ferrell was in there. But this time he was not so lucky. The place smelt of lunch, and it was packed with people ordering drinks from three floors apart.Hardy reminded himself inwardly that the lawsuit in hand was still an urgent matter to be dealt with right now.He squeezed his way through the crowd, made his way to the bar, and made another quick turn around the room, putting on the humorous face that he only revealed on certain occasions.This trick was very effective, and others gave forgiveness to his behavior of scurrying around.If Farrell wasn't here, he wouldn't want to be here.The main reason was that he didn't want to meet Grisky here. He forced himself to go out, though the smell of alcohol in the restaurant stirred something in his mind. Hardy called Farrell's part-time secretary and asked about Farrell's whereabouts.Fortunately, the secretary happened to be still at the desk at this time, and told him that according to the schedule, her boss was in court all day today.She wasn't sure if it was the Municipal Court, the Superior Court, or the Federal Court, but she assumed it was the Municipal Court, which meant the Department of Justice.Hardy's hunch told Hardy that Farrell was coming to the Greek restaurant for lunch, and it turned out his hunch was right.Wes got a back box, visible from the front door.He ordered a jug full of beer for the box and shared it with two guys in jeans and business shirts.Hardy searched all the judges he had heard in his head, but he couldn't remember who these two people were. Hardy slipped quietly up to Farrell and asked him how things were going. "I'm so busy, if only I could do it." Wes introduced the people on the table to him after saying this.It turned out that, as Hardy had guessed when he sat down, Farrell's two companions, Jason and Jack, were father and son.The boy, maybe twenty years old, was Farrell's client.They ordered beers here to celebrate that the officer who arrested Jack hadn't shown up for his pre-trial hearing this morning.All charges brought by the prosecution were dismissed by the judge because he was a key witness in the adverse testimony against Jack.It was better for Hardy to keep quiet and be polite now than to ask what happened. Therefore, both father and son claimed Wes was a hero. "He's always been my hero," Hardy echoed. "That's why I'm here, actually." He told Wes, "There's something important going on. I want to speak to you alone. A few words, would your friend mind?" As long as he doesn't let the beer in his glass remain, everything is fine. They stood up, walked through the less crowded crowd to the side door, and went out into the alley outside.It was just after noon, and the garbage bins in the alley were exposed to the warm sunlight, emitting an unpleasant pungent smell of decomposed garbage.The bright light made Farrell blink his eyes, took a deep breath, and frowned. "I think someone must have died around here, it stinks. What happened?" Hardy was already ready.To avoid the unbearable stench, they walked towards Brest Street.Hardy reached into his coat pocket as he walked. "I have a list here, check to see if there is anyone you feel familiar with." Farrell reached for the paper and glanced down. "Where is this all from?" "Your favorite hospital." Farrell looked up at him quickly, and then his eyes fell on the list again.Hardy saw him frown and his eyes narrowed, clearly displeased by what he had said.So Hardy leaned over his head solemnly and said, "Okay, I didn't say anything." "Is there anyone you know?" "There is one, Marjorie Rowling." "She's one of the clients you took over in the lawsuit against Parnassus, isn't she?" "Not quite. It was her children. She herself was dead." "I know that. Everyone on that list is as dead as she is. Did they do an autopsy on her?" Now they came to a shady place at the entrance of Luo's restaurant.Farrell squinted and looked ahead, trying to remember, then shook his head. "They do it all the time. But maybe they didn't spend as much time on things like the autopsy because they knew the cause of her death." "what is the reason?" "Cancer. She's one of those 'sorry' cases where they're always saying, 'Ouch, we should have made time to see that sooner.'" "But when did she die? Before her children expected it?" "They don't know exactly how long it takes for this to happen." But he pursed his lips, a muscle in his jaw protruding from the effort.Hardy pursued this, encouraging him to continue. "If I remember correctly, however, that was—yes, fairly quickly. It was one of those cases where, like this one goes: 'Unless it turns out you only have three days, maybe you There will be three months of live work.'” "Three days?" "No, no, just an analogy. This is one of my flaws. I like to exaggerate. I remember it was like a week or two, probably like this." "But should that be three months?" Farrell shook his head in the negative. "But you know what that guesswork does, Deeds. Expected more than three months, maybe six months. It turns out the actual survival time was less than that. This kind of thing happens all the time, maybe only by God Blessed." On the face of it, Hardy can accept Farrell's explanation, but if someone pushes him to passively accept this explanation, it's another matter. "Do you think Rowling's family would agree to have her body exhumed for an autopsy?" Even with the foreshadowing of the previous conversations, Farrell was stunned by the question. "Why do you want to do this?" "A full autopsy is required." "Why? Do you think someone killed her?" "I think it's possible." Farrell's eyes lit up instantly.Wes, who is a few years older than Hardy and has a bit of a fat stomach, usually likes to inadvertently create a mysterious atmosphere that makes people puzzled. Even if you feel it, you can't understand the meaning, but Hardy knows Not everyone will be fooled by him.A few years ago, he shocked the city's legal community by defending another lawyer, a friend of his who was accused of murdering his wife.Everyone thought the case was impossible to win, even with a brilliant lawyer like David Freeman.But Farrell had his client acquitted.At this point, he said to Hardy solemnly: "What happened to the other ten on your list? Are they all in the same situation?" Hardy didn't want to make a long story about it. "Let's say it's a similar question. Before taking any further action, I intend to talk to my client, of course, but before I do..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence. As the sun moves, the shelters on the ground also quietly change accordingly.Farrell retreated into the last wedge of shade. "The last time we talked you said you had no clients," he said. "I have one now. Do you know Eric Kenson?" "Before I speak to Rowling's family, you want to call him because..." "Because some of these names," Hardy pointed to the list, "he was on duty at the hospital when they died. Before we exhumed Mrs. Rowling's body, opened the coffin and found out she didn't die of cancer , I am glad to know that Dr. Kenson was not there to take her pulse." Farrell admits that would be bad luck. "Then I suppose they haven't arrested him yet?" "At least not half an hour ago, but things change, even as we speak." Farrell frowned. "Are you talking about Abu?" Hardy nodded, and said this casually without thinking. "He seems to be suffering from paranoia." "Abu is not a fool." "No. He's not, but last night he had Kenson take notes and walked away without arresting him. I guess what I'm going to try to do is buy some time for my client. Abra might be out of He became energized by his passion. If Kenson gets arrested or prosecuted, he'll never want to work again. And I think he's a hero." Wes chuckled, pointed a finger suddenly at Lo's and said, "Those two daredevils in the box over there think I'm a hero, and that doesn't mean anything." Then he added, "Your Did that person do that?" "At first, he said he didn't do it." Hardy's answer was nothing more than that. Farrell's eyeballs were rolling in their sockets, and his mind was spinning rapidly.It was a twist in the conversation that the objective fact of a client's guilt or innocence might break an unspoken unspoken rule in the legal profession.But suddenly Hardy understood the reason for asking the above question. The friend of Farrell, the same person Farrell won him a jaw-dropping acquittal, Wes believed that he was innocent. , but in the end it turned out that he was guilty. "If you want to find out," he said, "you'd better find someone who did it." Hardy grinned. "Yes, that's who I'm looking for. But my first priority is to figure out whether these patients who died prematurely in Portola were a key part of what happened in Markham." "How do you plan to do this?" Farrell's expression revealed his extreme doubts about Hardy's idea, "Of course, Marjorie Rowling is impossible..." He stopped before finishing speaking. He stopped, his face softened, "Maybe I didn't understand what was going on." He asked himself and answered, "First, let's assume that her children allow us to dig her out-by the way, this Crazy hypothesis—then it's not certain that Strout agreed to an autopsy. Then they discovered the cause of death, claiming she died of a potassium overdose. What does that mean to your client? What help?" "Oh, of course, if he hadn't been there..." Farrell cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Well, he wasn't there when Lincoln was shot, but that doesn't mean he wasn't there when Markham died, and what if it wasn't a potassium overdose?" Hardy had thought about these questions, and had a somewhat satisfactory answer. "If one of Portola's patients, unrelated to what happened in Markham, was a separate murder, especially if it happened without Kenson, that might lead someone like Griski to think he was What's missing on this case. He may have more gaps to fill in before arresting Kenson. At this point, frankly, things are basically a time delay, but I haven't come up with anything better yet idea." "Well, procrastination is always a good strategy, if it works." Farrell was obviously not convinced, "But if your client thinks these are deaths in question, why did he No full autopsy required?" "I asked him the same question." "That's because you're a smart guy. What did he say?" "Essentially, all deaths were expected anyway, and from expected causes, unlike sudden deaths of people with generally normal health. They were near-death People, just died a little faster than expected. The hospital conducted an autopsy, just to further confirm that they were all dead." Hardy shrugged mockingly, "He wrote down those cases, and his intention was to use them as A record of the overall decline in medical care at Portola Hospital." Hardy moved closer to Farrell and whispered to him meaningfully, "But listen, Wes, the important thing is that if someone in Portola Torah killed Marjorie Rowling, you're a winner no matter what." "Why is that?" He closed his mouth before he finished speaking.Because he suddenly understood what Hardy meant by saying this.He could bring a deafening lawsuit on behalf of Marjorie Rowling's children.The lawsuit doesn't have to prove general negligence or any other medical liability issues, and he can start filing again immediately.If Marjorie Rowling hadn't died of natural causes but had been murdered in hospital, Wes would have done less to collect a large commission in a fraction of the time. "I'll talk to her kids," he said, "and see what we can do." Treya looked up from her desk at the clock hanging on the opposite wall, with a sincere smile on her face and stood up from her chair. "Mr. Dismas Hardy, three o'clock, that's right. Clarence is looking forward to your arrival and will see you soon, but there are already people in his office, and there will be a short wait. Available. Did you come up by the stairs?" she asked, hoping to find out about Grisky from him. "no." "Then you haven't talked to Abu?" "Not yet. Franny told me he called last night, but I didn't call him back when I got home late." "He does want to talk to you." "I'll talk to him, of course. Maybe you can arrange a meeting for us." "Isn't that why he came down? I know Clarence called him." This was not good news for Hardy, but he concealed his displeasure with a smile. "Good. Maybe we can talk later." He was waiting there, fighting back the restlessness and smoldering anger in his heart.He has spent countless hours in the district attorney's office—from his past as a young assistant district attorney to his most recent appearances as a defense attorney, of which 100% For ninety years, there were differences and conflicts between him and the people behind that door.That has changed since Jackman was named district attorney general.Now, just a few minutes later, he knew he was going to get back where he belonged, on the defense attorney's side.This may be a subtle shift, and likely positive, yet true. The door to Jackman's office was open, and Marlene Ash was inside.It made him think. He should have expected that Jackman would call her too.After all, she was about to prosecute Parnassus and, quite possibly, his client. "Deeds, are you all right?" Jackman snapped. "Come in, come in. Sorry, our discussion took a little longer." He stepped through the door with a smile on his face the whole time. "If the matter between you and Marlene is not over yet," he said, his words were all for their sake, "I don't plan to rush you. I believe Treya and I can find a way Come and have a longer time happily." Jackman smiled back at him, we are still friends after all. "What Marlene thinks is that she would like to stay longer, of course, if you don't mind, there are some things she wants to discuss with you. Did Treya tell you that I have asked Abu to stop by? And he is here .” Griskie and Hardy sat at one end of the couch.There was neither words nor eye contact between the two.Marlene remained in her chair, and Jackman pulled up another chair and sat down.The scene looked like a few friends at a party. Hardy gets right to the point. "I understand that Mr. Markham's death has made him a potential murder victim, and you have decided to call a grand jury. I've heard they're investigating not just Markham's death, but Parker's. All the operations of Narcissus. Actually, I think it was originally my idea, before anyone died. I just want you all to understand that I really don't expect to use any kind of public display. Recognition of my contribution to this, but a tasteful bust of me in the lobby downstairs, or a small plaque for me in the Lo restaurant might be nice." Grisky's scar running through his upper and lower lips formed a line, and he barely opened his mouth, just muttering in his throat. "This man speaks better than he sings, and the birds flying in the sky can be coaxed down." Hardy leaned back on the sofa, stretched out one arm over the back of the sofa, and pretended to be relaxed, but he didn't feel at all relaxed. "As my friend Abu pointed out, I'm someone who believes in the power of communication." He gave Grisky an unceremonious look, sat up straight, and sat forward, "I understand that something is coming It's what you want to see. I spoke to Dr. Kenson an hour ago, and he told me that now his wife claims that he has admitted that he killed Markham." Hardy finally faced Abramovich and said the following Quote: "I guess that's what you're going to call me to say, show me how resourceful you are, and you're going to get him." Griski said nothing. Hardy continued: "But of course, since you questioned my client over my express objections, perhaps you gave me a surly phone call to ask me to share information about your conversation." A tendon in Griski's jaw moved, and the scar on his lip was now particularly noticeable. Hardy continued talking. "I think the only reason he's not in jail yet is that you decided to wait until Clarence was willing to sign the warrant." The atmosphere in the room told Hardy that he was right on point and on point. "But that's not what I'm here for," he said. "I'm here to keep my client out of prison." Griski snorted angrily, "Good luck." "I'm not going to need any luck. If you only have the testimony of the wife alone, you will not have any valid charges in front of the jury. You have to understand that." Marlene got involved in the gap between Hardy's words. "According to the information that Abramovich has, we have obtained a large number of circumstances that match it, Dismas. If the man killed five people, he should not get away with it." "Marlene, please, let's not belittle each other's IQs. In any case, Dr. Kenson has no motive to harm that family." "Only you know that," Griski said. Hardy turned again to face Grisky. "Can I understand what you mean in this way, you mean you have discovered his motive for killing?" Jackman coughed lightly and answered the question for Grisky. "Deeds, we're assuming that the killers of Markham and his family were connected. I guess that's a useful assumption, and you'd agree, wouldn't you? But it's not necessarily true. Appropriate. Dr. Kenson had a good motive for committing the crime against Markham, and at the same time, it also included the means and timing of the crime.” "But there's no proof, Clarence, no real proof, only motives." "Stop rambling, Deeds," Marlene said. "First of all, we don't just have one motive, but a whole host of motives that no one else has. Second, we know that Ma Dr. Kenson happened to be there when Cam was killed. Besides,” she went on calmly, “Markham was killed by intravenous fluids, and your client wasn’t He was a drug administrator and he was given good access to drugs. So we got the motive, the means and the timing of his crime, and these are the facts, there is no doubt about it." Hardy repeated his mantra. "But there's no real evidence, no direct evidence, no one saw him do it, and there's no real evidence that he did it. You can prove he might have done it, but maybe he didn't, and I have to be serious I remind you that it is a legitimate question." "His wife said he admitted to doing it himself," growled Grisky, "and that's the proof! No one knew he was murdered until the autopsy on Markham's body, and Kenson told her Said he injected him with a saturating dose of potassium. Oh, you haven't got the details, have you?" Griski coughed twice and cleared his throat, "I called you last night. I thought , maybe we can talk about it. Maybe you didn't get the message." "I told you not to interview my client," Hardy echoed Grisky's words. "Maybe you didn't get my message." Hardy tried to control his emotions.This is not the way he wants to communicate.He turned to Ash and said, "So his wife, the woman who hated her man so much, said he killed her lover. Is that so? You can't make him guilty on that basis. " But Ash remained calm. "With other evidence, I believe I will, Dismas." "You intend to help us do better, is that so?" Griski said coldly. "Actually, I have a suggestion that might do the trick," Hardy said. "I'm not going to pretend Dr. Kenson isn't my focus. I know you're trying to arrest him. Well, maybe you've got your Wanted arrest warrant." Hardy paused, but no one came forward to admit that he was telling the truth.That means maybe it's not too late.He took a breath, feeling a little more at ease in his heart.Now, it's time to party. "I'm going to make a short opening statement," he began. "It's amazing!" Hardy put Grisky aside and turned the conversation directly to Jackman. "Look, let's say you take Kenson to the police and charge him with murder. Abu can arrest him today too. I promise, if you take that woman before a grand jury, she's going to get you to prosecution. In either case, you have to give me what you have, and that's a matter of course." The things in possession include everything related to the prosecution-substantial evidence, exhibits, testimony, police reports, etc.The defense lawyer has the absolute right to know the facts of the case that the prosecutor has mastered.This was stipulated in Act No. 1, and it was self-evident and natural that Hardy intended to remind everyone that he was going to use this or another method to see all the evidence they had. "You haven't arrested him, though," he went on, "and you haven't brought him before a grand jury. Therefore, he hasn't been charged, so there's nothing binding on you yet. compels you to share with me anything relevant to the merits of the case." "Have you finished your opening remarks?" Griski asked. Hardy ignored the interjection at all.His eyes were fixed on Jackman, and he never looked away. "My suggestion is that we make a deal," he said quickly, "and your real target is Parnassus, Clarence. You know that, and I know that, and everyone here清楚。你想找出帕纳塞斯的烂根并把它切除，不过你得小心不要切过头而把帕纳塞斯弄死了。如果帕纳塞斯死了，受打击最大的，是市里的那些雇员。现在，这对许许多多善良的人来说，毫无疑问将会是一个糟糕的消息，但对你来讲，克拉伦斯，可能就是一个最糟糕的政治脚本。如果你想让自己的工作更进一步，这根本没有好处。” 杰克曼的嘴动了一下，表示出些许的不快。哈迪不认为这只是在对他拍马屁，他已经击中了杰克曼的某根神经，就像他希望的那样。 “好吧。那你的委托人是怎么卷进这事的？”杰克曼问道。 “如果你只是在查找是谁杀了他们的首席执行官，帕纳塞斯就会平安无事。他们都在期待着你去做。所以他们这帮人不愿见到你的人出现在医院，而且不管他们将面临什么样的阻挠，也不会忙着去销毁他们手中的档案记录。不过一旦你逮捕了肯森，你就没有借口去医院了。” 他停了下来，以便大家好好地理解他的想法，但玛琳等不及了。“不管从哪方面说，迪兹，那都是一派胡言。大陪审团可以随时查看他们想看的任何地方，这跟你的委托人没有丝毫的关系。” “我并不是在争论这个，玛琳。你可以逮捕肯森并且继续在帕纳塞斯展开调查，你们有一切一切的权利。”他转过头对杰克曼说道，“摆在这儿的是市医疗健康服务的提供者，已经接近于破产、摇摇欲坠了，存在着严重的现金流问题，人心涣散，而且现在它的首席执行官又死了。如果有话传出来说你在尽力让那个地方关门……” “那不是我们的目的——”玛琳说。 哈迪摇了摇头。“这无关紧要。如果你逮捕了肯森而且继续调查的话，事情看起来就是那个样子。这就意味着事情会越闹越大，不可收拾。你们都了解这个城市。所有的事情都会被添油加醋地传得沸沸扬扬。所有的事情都是可以拿来议论的话题。大量市民失去医疗保障之后，会发生什么呢？不会是什么好事吧？” 这些都说得不错，而且可能真的就是那么回事。不过格里斯基根本不吃这一套。“难道我们避免这场潜在灾难的办法就是不逮捕你的委托人吗？” “至少等到大陪审团能够开展工作，也就是说还得等三十天。” “三十天！”格里斯基怒火中烧，憋红了脸叫道，“你神经错乱了吗？如果他杀了马卡姆，并且我的证据显示是他干的，他也很可能杀了他的全家。我不在乎是否能博得整个联邦政府的喝彩，那个人应该被送进监狱。” 哈迪对亚什说：“这个案子正在卷进更多的人，玛琳。你逮捕他，你知道会发生什么事。帕纳塞斯会变成一堆臭不可闻的垃圾，接下来，如果肯森在审判中赢了这场官司，你们都将面临跟帕纳塞斯一样的下场。” 尽管有了这一大堆的争论，杰克曼还是没有忘记自己头脑中那根绷紧的弦。“你提起过交易的事，迪兹，你要求我们给你三十天时间……” “还有你们掌握的情况。”哈迪补充了一句。 格里斯基伸出双手站了起来。“再给你配一个司机如何？也许还要来点按摩？” 哈迪没有理睬他这番嘲弄。 这位地区检察长面色凝重。“好吧，出于这次讨论的目的，还有你手中掌握的情况——” “想都别想！我们绝不会这样做，克拉伦斯。在那种情况发生之前，我会在没有拿到逮捕证的情况下把他送进警察局的。” 杰克曼长长地吸了一口气，宽阔的胸膛起伏不定。他只比格里斯基高了一两英寸，重三十磅左右。平时这些体形特征都被刻意地掩饰着，而现在，它们令人惊讶地凸显了出来。他的声音就像是从巴松管里发出来的，低沉而浑厚，充满了不可置疑的权威性。“你不能那样做，上尉！”他又缓缓地吸了口气，恢复了常态，继续以一种聊天的口气说，“获得逮捕令去逮捕肯森医生之前，你还有足够的时间，阿布。不过，你就是那个把我拉进这个决策圈子的人，而且现在该由我来作决定了。我希望这一点已经够清楚了。” 格里斯基找不到任何发声的机会。他向房间里四围扫视了一圈。不能说他的眼神里充满了敌意，但至少是一种公开的不信任。杰克曼没有理会他，转头对哈迪说：“三十天时间和掌握的情况，交换什么？” “换他在陪审团面前的证词。” 一种从天而降，恍如晴天霹雳的感觉。格里斯基目瞪口呆地摇着脑袋。哈迪浪费了他们所有人的时间和努力，就拿这么一丁点东西来跟他们谈交易，他对此大为困惑，难以理解。玛琳的脸色显示出她也有相同的感觉。就连杰克曼也把两只胳膊抱在胸前，竖直了脖子把头扭向一边，不过他双眼没怎么走神，起码还在探寻着什么。 哈迪觉得这个话题还没有结束。“听着，克拉伦斯，就目前的情况来看，一旦你让肯森面对大陪审团的审判，我就要告诉他使用第五条款。如果你能让他出庭，那算你走运。这样吧，既然你把玛琳也叫过来了——”他转过头对她说，“想象一下吧，你让你的谋杀案主要嫌疑人在他的律师不在场的情况下，回答你可能要询问的任何问题。这只是起诉人一相情愿的白日梦。” 她并不为这番话所动。“这并不是我的白曰梦，迪兹。你不过是争取更多的时间给他编造说辞而已，那就是他咬住不放的东西。”她看了看她的上司，说，“这没用，长官。他不会提供什么有用的东西，真的。” “但我会的，玛琳。想想这个吧。我会提供一份帕纳塞斯内部人员的深度观察报告，这恰好是你们大家所需要的。” “我们也能得到那些东西的，迪兹。” “在哪儿？从谁那里得到？在那儿工作的人都会替自己或是他们的雇主掩盖真相，甚至其他医院的医生也一样。” “这不是真的。大陪审团会保护他们的——无论他们在法庭上说什么——那正是它要做的事，迪斯马斯，因此人们可以毫无顾虑地讲出他们所知道的实情。” “那是大陪审团按规定应该做的，对吧，玛琳？不过它并非总是那么做，有多少医生愿意切断自己薪水的来源而去帮你？不过即使你想要的只是在马卡姆这事上追究我的委托人，你完全可以得到他，只要你想这么做。没有适当的争论，没有不许可的事，没有辩方的抗议，整个就像是渔猎开放季节，你可以为所欲为。” 玛琳仍旧毫不示弱地瞪着他，没有半点让步的意思。 格里斯基此时已经走到办公室的门口并斜靠在门边上，看上去就像是一尊面色忧郁的雕像。“如果他再次杀人怎么办？”他问道，“比方说杀死他的老婆。如果她死了，情况将变得相当糟糕。你不这样认为吗？” 杰克曼插了话。“在我看来，如果他想这么做的话，他在此之前就有足够的时机去杀死他的老婆了，阿布。” “不过现在情况不同了，有了她的那番证词，他就有了更好的理由杀她了。” “那么我们保护她，”杰克曼说，“或者转移她，或者两种办法都用。而且在我看来，迪斯马斯说得对。如果肯森知道他只是我们一起谋杀案的主要嫌疑人，单出于自保的原因，他也不会再惹是生非了。” 哈迪知道，看这样子杰克曼外行的一面又表露出来了。谋杀犯很少按常理行事。不过，他暗自发笑，想到这就是政治造成的结果——无经验的外行统治着内行，掌握着权力。他应该自己蒙骗自己，装作不知道就行了，如果这样能让他的委托人免受牢狱之灾的话。 杰克曼再次把脸转向格里斯基。 “玛琳和我，在迪斯马斯到这儿之前正在讨论这些问题，阿布。我们一致认为，一旦我们针对马卡姆事件采取逮捕行动，那在帕纳塞斯的调查工作的性质就会发生变化。而且我们之前一直在努力试图策略地处理这个问题。现在我看来，迪兹的解决办法或许有可取之处。” 格里斯基嘴唇上的疤痕绷得紧紧的，看起来就像是一段粗粗的绳索垂挂在嘴边。“那人是个谋杀犯，克拉伦斯。” 杰克曼并不打算反驳这话。除了保持理智和镇静，捺着性子点了点头外，他没有对格里斯基做出针锋相对的回应。“他或许是，这是当然的。不过正如我们在这儿说过的，我实在不认为他是个危险的人物。目前，我不打算关闭重新审视那个评估意见的大门。每天都会那样做的，如果有必要的话。不过，与此同时——”他转向哈迪接着说道，“我准备接受你关于帕纳塞斯的看法。我不想让他们受到惊动而四散逃窜，我不——” 这番委曲求全、一味退让的讲话被“砰”的一声门响打断了，格里斯基头也不回地愤然摔门，扬长而去。 除了争取到委托人的自由和起诉方手中掌握的情况之外，哈迪原本就已经打算向地区检察长提出另外一个要求。这通常应当是由杰克曼提出来，并且征求他的许可，哈迪有可能会在他这场小小的文字游戏中取胜，事实上就跟他中间名字的字面意思一样，赢的把握很大。但格里斯基的突然离开给那些留在那儿的人在心理上投下了不祥的阴影，而且他认定，如果此时再去要求得到更多东西，就是在强人所难、咄咄逼人了。 不过另一件正事仍在他脑子里挥之不去，而且他越想越觉得无须先征求杰克曼的许可。他需要一个答复，并且现在就要得到。他的委托人仍然陷在很大的麻烦之中，而且他真的不愿意看见别人在约翰斯特劳特身上抢占先机。如果在哈迪的要求下，这位法医发现了任何东西，他都会把情况报告给格里斯基和杰克曼的。 哈迪没有隐瞒任何东西——他的动机或是他的行动。或者他自己是这样认为的。 他走出大厅的后门来到外面的封闭式走廊上，从这儿往左通向监狱，朝右是陈尸房。空气中隐约有股淡淡的海水的咸味，不过他同时也嗅到了大楼拐角处一个大型商业市场传过来的阵阵花香。此时，他心情好极了，感觉就像这一天他做了不少事，很有成就感。处理完和斯特劳特的事情后，他提醒自己要记得给妻子——甚至包括女儿——买束鲜花。现在是星期五的傍晚，隐约让人觉得是漫长而又令人浮想联翩的，如果他们好好安排一下，也许他和家人能一起度过一些美好的时光。 到了陈尸房哈迪才知道，斯特劳特这会儿正在冷储室解剖尸体，不过接待员告诉哈迪，斯特劳特要不了多久就会结束了。他愿意等一会儿吗？他告诉她他愿意等。 法医的办公室就在陈尸房的对面，真可以称得上是一个酷刑刑具的博物馆，是个值得一去的有趣地方。房间是开放的，没有出于安全的原因而戒备森严。在这儿，斯特劳特搜集的所有稀奇古怪的东西都敞开展览供人鉴赏和把玩，如果你有足够的胆量，还可以亲自试验一下。要是他的助手中有谁心怀不满，哈迪认为，他在这儿就能干出惊天动地的大事来——用弹簧折叠刀或者长猎刀捅几个人，用手榴弹炸掉几个，再用从军械库里拿出来的大量的自动武器射杀剩下的人。 哈迪坐在西班牙绞刑具的横木坐板上，上面铺垫着红色的丝质方巾，思忖着他在楼上所取得的胜利，并考虑着下一步行动要运用的智慧以及胜算。重要的是，他再次暗暗提醒自己，让他的委托人避免入狱。他很清楚，格里斯基不断地催逼，玛琳操控着大陪审团，而肯森会时不时地突然做出一些难以应付的举动，在这种局面下，杰克曼承诺给他的三十天，会像晨雾蒸发一般转瞬即逝。哈迪必须想办法弄到更多的资料，尽管他准备提出的意见很有可能对他的委托人不利。 他意识到案子已经陷入了一个赌博式的局面，而且这种感觉让他心里很不舒服。但他已经别无选择，只能孤注一掷了。他委托人脖子上的绞索正在不断地收紧。他的经验和胆识告诉自己这种冒险是值得的，不过要是他错了…… “如果你愿意的话，我可以把那块手帕绕在你的喉咙上，再把它拉紧一点。我是说，它对激起人的性欲非常有效。”斯特劳特指的是那个西班牙绞刑具，它往往能在绞刑及其他形式的勒杀过程中，刺激起来兴奋度更强的性高潮。“似乎过去这些年来发生的狂暴行为，都不值得去动用这个家伙。不过或许我的看法错了，不少的家伙好像都想要试试它。不说那么多了，你怎么样？” 在斯特劳特的东拉西扯中，这两个男人说了几分钟的客套话。等他走到自己办公桌后面时，哈迪也把身子移到了另一把椅子里，他们转到了正题上。 哈迪说明自己的来意后，斯特劳特挠了挠脖子。“让我直说了吧，”他最后说道，“你作为一个普通老百姓到这儿来，要求我去解剖一个与马卡姆先生同一天死亡的波托拉医院的病人吗？” “要是你还没有这样做过的话，我建议你去做一下。” “那具尸体是谁？” “詹姆斯莱科特。” 斯特劳特摇了摇头。“不，我没有给它做过尸检。不过他们在医院会按规定自动做一个尸检。你知道这回事吗？” “难道他们从来都没有漏过吗？” 这是个不错的问题，斯特劳特轻轻地挥了挥手对此表示认可。“死亡时间离马卡姆的死有多近？” “实际上就相差几分钟。” “如果我解剖了尸体，准确地说要我查什么？” “这个我不清楚。” 斯特劳特取下他那副角质镜架的眼镜，吹了吹镜片，然后又把它架回到鼻梁上。这位法医有一张表情丰富、肌肉伸缩自如的脸，而且这张脸看上去似乎可以在同时向好几个方向伸展。“也许我不清楚你指的是什么，要是正如你所说，格里斯基认为你的委托人杀了马卡姆先生，那么解剖另一具尸体，结果发现它也是在同一天因为被过量注射了钾而死亡，这对你的委托人又会有什么帮助昵？” “没什么帮助，”哈迪赞同他的说法，“我希望它不是钾过量中毒。”他真正期望的，其实是詹姆斯莱科特是第十二例不明原因的死亡。虽然这不会洗脱肯森受到的指控，但是或许可以减轻肯森对马卡姆之死一事所承担的责任。“总之，”他继续说，“如果我们弄清楚莱科特的死因，也算一件好事，对吧？” “弄清死因总归是好事，”斯特劳特表示同意，他想了一会儿又说，“那我为什么要再次下令进行此次解剖呢，总得有个理由吧？” 哈迪幽默地耸了耸肩。“你认定莱科特的死是起可疑的死亡，在他死亡的几分钟之内，在同一家医院的同一间病房里发生了另一起杀人案。” 法医的头像鸡啄米似的上下来回捣了一两次。他顺手从办公桌上抓过那只他当镇纸用的手榴弹，把它放在自己的记事簿上，小心地旋转了几次，像玩陀螺似的。哈迪眼睛一眨不眨地看着手榴弹上那个要命的圆形拉火环，尽力让自己不去想如果那个拉火环被失手误拉了出来会发生什么情况。 终于，斯特劳特把手放在了手榴弹上，让它停了下来。他的眼睛向上翻着，透过镜框的上沿犀利地盯着哈迪。“你漏掉了什么没说吧？”他问。 “不是故意的，真的。” “如果我做这次解剖——提醒你一下，我还没有做出承诺—一那么我想知道你到底在找什么，而且为什么要这样做。” 哈迪伸出双手，做出一副全盘托出的样子。“我想这里有某种小小的，却是实实在在存在的可能，那就是詹姆斯莱科特是发生在波托拉医院的一系列杀人案的最后一例。”此话一出，斯特劳特不由得坐直了身子，哈迪继续谈着他的想法，“因此，莱科特的死或许是，或许不是自然死亡，而且或许与马卡姆的死有关，也或许无关，”他说出了自己的结论，“但有一点是可以肯定的，如果莱科特是被谋杀的，并且死于跟马卡姆不同的药物，那么在波托拉医院就有更多此类死亡案例发生，而不仅仅是我们所看到的浮出水面的那个数字。” “不过我再说一次，这不会对你委托人有太大的帮助。” “或许没有，约翰，但我需要找到还存在其他谋杀案的某种证据，我就有理由证明我的委托人没有卷入其中。不要告诉我——我知道那并不能证明他没有杀马卡姆。起码它是一个切人点，而且我需要某些东西。” 斯特劳特把说的这些情况细细地考虑了一下。“你得到了莱科特家人的许可了吗？”他问，“葬礼计划安排在什么时候？” “没有，而且我也不知道是在什么时候。如果你下令进行尸体解剖，我们将不需他家人……”下面的话还没有说出口他就停了下来，“什么？” “我相信我前面说过已经有过一次尸检了。他们得到了一个认可的死亡原因，如果我再提出我想检查一下尸体，那会让医院和他的家人都不高兴的。尤其是如果葬礼在明天，或者今天早晨，我们就得去把他从坟墓里挖出来。”不过这个主意显然已经引起了斯特劳特的兴趣。如果有人成功地在旧金山的医院里实施了多起杀人案而逃脱了惩罚，仍逍遥法外的话，去弄清楚这事就是他分内的职责了。“我要说的是，当然了，如果有一个充分的理由，我们便无须任何人的许可就能这么干，但我不能确定自己能否找到一个这样的理由。不过无论如何我们都要做这件事，要是我们好言好语地去征求他家人的意见，并得到了他们的同意，那样就更没有什么问题了。” “我会跟他们谈的。”哈迪说。 “那么我会跟你来个君子协定，迪兹。如果这事不让任何人感到不快的话，我们就去做。但如果他的家人对此断然拒绝的话，你就必须去法庭说服法官来签署一纸验尸命令，否则我是不打算单独去做这事的。” 哈迪认为斯特劳特的这个意见跟他想要得到的回答是不谋而合的。他丝毫没有犹豫。“就这么说定了，”他说，“你会为你所做的这件事感到高兴的，约翰。十有八九你会有所收获。” 斯特劳特的表情变得狡黠起来。“十有八九，啊？你出多少钱打赌？” 哈迪想了想。“我会出一个筹码。” “一百美元吗？你输了，你就会欠我一千美元？” “没错，就是这么回事。” “你决定了。”斯特劳特一边说着一边伸出他的手。哈迪在最后一刻迟疑了一下，还是握住了斯特劳特伸出的手，接受了这次打赌。