“You had such a lab?” Waller asked.

“Not at the time,” Raymond admitted. “Once I had agreement from him, I approached an international biotechnology giant, which will go nameless until you agree to join our group. With some difficulty I sold them on the idea of creatively marketing this phenomenon.”

“And how is that done?” Waller asked.

Raymond moved forward in his chair and locked eyes with Waller. “For a price we create an immunological double for a client,” he said. “As you can well imagine, it is a significant price but not unreasonable for the peace of mind it affords. But how we really make money is that the client must pay a yearly tuition to maintain his double.”

“Sort of like an initiation fee and then dues,” Waller said.

“That’s another way to look at it,” Raymond agreed.

“How do I benefit?” Waller asked.

“Myriad ways,” Raymond said. “I’ve constructed the business like a merchandizing pyramid. For every client you recruit, you get a percentage, not only of the initial price but each year from the tuition. On top of that, we will encourage you to recruit other physicians like yourself with collapsing patient bases but who still have a number of wealthy, health-conscious, cash-paying patients. With every successful physician recruitment, you get percentages from each of his recruitment efforts. For instance, if you choose to join, Dr. Levitz, who recommended you, will receive percentages from all your successes. You don’t have to be an accountant to understand that with a little effort you could be earning a substantial income. And as an added incentive, we can offer the payments offshore so they will accrue tax-free.”

“Why all the secrecy?” Waller asked.

“For obvious reasons as far as the offshore accounts are concerned,” Raymond said. “As for the whole program, there have been ethical issues that have been overlooked. Consequently, the biotechnology company that is making this all possible is paranoid about bad publicity. Frankly, the use of animals for transplantation offends some people, and we certainly do not want to be forced to deal with animal-rights zealots. Besides, this is an expensive operation and can be made available to only a few highly select people. That violates the concept of equality.”

“May I ask how many clients have taken advantage of this plan?”

“Laymen or physicians?” Raymond asked.

“Laymen,” Waller said.

“Around one hundred,” Raymond said.

“Has anybody had to utilize the resource?”

“As a matter of fact, four have,” Raymond said. “Two kidneys and two livers have been transplanted. All are doing superbly without medication and without any signs of rejection. And, I might add, there is a substantial additional charge for the harvest and transplantation, and the involved physicians get the same percentages of these fees.”

“How many physicians are involved?” Waller asked.

“Fewer than fifty,” Raymond said. “We started slowly on recruitment, but it is now speeding up.”

“How long has this program been going on?” Waller asked.

“About six years,” Raymond said. “It’s been a significant outlay of capital and a lot of effort, but it is now beginning to pay off handsomely. I should remind you that you will be getting in at a relatively early date, so the pyramid structure will benefit you greatly.”

“It sounds interesting,” Waller said. “God knows I could use some additional income with my falling patient base. I’ve got to do something before I lose this office.”

“It would be a pity,” Raymond agreed.

“Can I think about it for a day or so?” Waller asked.

Raymond stood up. Experience told him he’d made another score. “By all means,” he said graciously. “I’d also invite you to call Dr. Levitz. He’d recommended you highly, and he’s extraordinarily satisfied with the arrangements.”

Five minutes later Raymond exited onto the sidewalk and turned south down Park Avenue. His walk had an extra bounce to it. With the blue sky, the clear air, and the hint of spring, he felt on top of the world, especially with the pleasurable rush of adrenaline that a successful recruitment always gave him. Even the unpleasantness of the previous couple of days seemed insignificant. The future was bright and full of promise.

But then near disaster came out of nowhere. Distracted by his victory, Raymond almost stepped from the curb into the path of a speeding city bus. Wind from the hurling vehicle blew off his hat while filthy gutter water sprayed the front of his cashmere coat.

Raymond staggered back, dazed from his narrow escape from what might have been a horrible death. New York was a city of sudden extremes.

“You okay, buddy?” a passerby asked. He handed Raymond his dented fedora.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Raymond said. He looked down at the front of his coat and felt ill. The episode seemed metaphorical and brought back the anxiety he’d experienced over the unfortunate Franconi business. The muck reminded him of having to deal with Vinnie Dominick.

Feeling chastened, Raymond crossed the street with much more care. Life was full of dangers. As he walked toward Sixty-fourth Street, he began to worry about the other two transplant cases. He’d never considered the problem an autopsy posed to his program until the Franconi dilemma.

All at once, Raymond decided he’d better check the status of the other patients. There was no doubt in his mind that Taylor Cabot’s threat had been real. If one of the patients happened to be autopsied sometime in the future for whatever reason, and the media got hold of the results, it could spell disaster. GenSys would probably drop the whole operation.

Raymond quickened his pace. One patient lived in New Jersey, the other in Dallas. He thought he’d better get on the phone and talk with the recruiting doctors.

MARCH 5, 1997

5:45 P.M.

COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA

“HELLO!” Candace’s voice called out. “Anybody home?”

Kevin’s hand flinched at the unexpected noise. The lab techs had long since left for the day, and the laboratory had been silent save for the low hum of the refrigeration units. Kevin had stayed to run another southern blot analysis to separate DNA fragments, but at the sound of Candace’s voice, he’d missed one of the wells with the micropipette. The fluid had run out over the surface of the gel. The test was ruined; he’d have to start again.

“Over here!” Kevin yelled. He put down the pipette and stood up. Through the reagent bottles atop the lab bench, he could see Candace across the room, standing in the doorway.

“Am I coming at a bad time?” Candace asked as she approached.

“No, I was just finishing up,” Kevin said. He hoped he wasn’t being too transparent.

Although he was frustrated about the wasted time he’d spent on the procedure, Kevin was pleased to see Candace. During lunch that day, he’d worked up the courage to invite Candace and Melanie to his house for tea. Both had accepted with alacrity. Melanie had admitted that she’d always been curious to see what the house looked like on the inside.

The afternoon had been a big success. Undoubtedly, the key ingredient for the afternoon’s success was the personalities of the two ladies. There was never a pause in the conversation. Another contributing factor had been the wine that they’d all decided upon instead of tea. As a member of the Zone’s elite, Kevin was given a regular allotment of French wine which he rarely drank. Consequently, he had an impressive cellar.

The major topic of conversation had been the U.S., a favorite pastime for temporary American expatriates. Each of the three had extolled and argued the virtues of their hometown. Melanie loved New York and contended it was in a class all its own; Candace said that Pittsburgh’s quality of life was rated one of the highest; and Kevin praised the intellectual stimulation of Boston. What they had purposefully avoided discussing was Kevin’s emotional outburst at the commissary during lunch.