Dawn Adams (order #256761)
2
Dawn Adams (order #256761)
2
Copyright © 2004 N. L. Eskeland All rights reserved. Rep...
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Dawn Adams (order #256761)
2
Dawn Adams (order #256761)
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Copyright © 2004 N. L. Eskeland All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owners is unlawful, with the exception of brief excerpts in reviews. Published in Del Mar, California, by Science2Discover, Inc. Web site: http://www.science2discover.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2002117318 Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eskeland, N. L. Menace in the walls / N.L. Eskeland. p. cm. ISBN: 0-9673811-6-9 1. Laboratories--Ohio--Cleveland—-Juvenile fiction. 2. Stachybotrys-— Juvenile fiction. 3. Molds (Fungi)-—Juvenile fiction. 4. Sick building syndrome-—Juvenile fiction. 5. Infants (Newborn)-—Death-—Juvenile fiction. 6. Cleveland (Ohio)-—Juvenile fiction. 7. Mystery fiction. I. Title. PS3555.S514 M46 2003 813’.54—-dc21
2002117318
Printed in the United States of America
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Acknowledgments My sincere thanks to Dorr G. Dearborn, M.D., Margaret Pizzi, R.N., and Cathy Joseph, R.N. for their valuable information on the medical aspects of this story.
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Contents Chapter 1
Emergency! .....................................................7
Chapter 2
The Mitland Case..........................................17
Chapter 3
Mandy’s Death ..............................................27
Chapter 4
First Trip to Mitland .....................................37
Chapter 5
The Printout Gone! ......................................47
Chapter 6
The Man with the Lisp .................................55
Chapter 7
Mrs. Morrow’s Fury .......................................67
Chapter 8
A Visit to the Tower ......................................75
Chapter 9
Mr. Myrtle ......................................................85
Chapter 10
Second Trip to Mitland ................................93
Chapter 11
A Visit to the Police Station........................103
Chapter 12
The Empty Room........................................113
Chapter 13
Prisoners......................................................121
Chapter 14
Sister and Brother.......................................131
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Chapter 1
EMERGENCY! “Let us through!” the medics pleaded with emergency room visitors at Cleveland General Hospital, as they wheeled in an unconscious child with a respirator mask covering her tiny face. Joshua Keegan jumped to the side, staring at the young flood victim as a wailing woman followed the gurney. “Oh God! Save my little girl!” Joshua shivered and rubbed his thin arms, and then heard his mother calling, “Joshua, don’t just stand there. Bring me some bandages. Hurry!” “Right away!” Joshua yelled back. Now where are those bandages? A nurse brushed his arms as she ran by. He reached out to catch her attention, but she turned around and frowned at him. “Where are the bandages?” he asked. “By the nurse’s station,” she said, still scowling at him. Joshua’s eyes caught a rolling cart filled with needles, pads, and gauze. He gathered the bandages, and as he was running toward his mother, a roll of gauze slipped from his hand and spun on the floor. He fell on his knees and fumbled with the gauze as several people scurrying by stepped on it. Joshua’s heavy breathing fogged up his eyeglasses as perspiration brought them to the tip of his nose. He pushed his glasses up, gathered the gauze and threw it in the trash. He then picked up a fresh roll of gauze, several packages of bandages, 7
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and hurried to his mother. Joshua's heart pounded rapidly, as he knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime. When his mother, Dr. Katherine Davis, a pediatrics pulmonary specialist, was called to help in the emergency room, she had taken Joshua with her. A mighty flood was raging outside. The hospital was shortstaffed and needed all the help it could get, even from a thirteen-year-old like Joshua. “Tough working here, isn’t it?” his mother remarked, glancing at him behind eye shields as he handed her the bandages. Like all of the rest of the emergency room staff, she had put on scrubs and protective gear. “Yes. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!” he said, smiling. The emergency room looked like a clinic in a war zone. The smell of disinfectant permeated the air. The waiting area overflowed with the injured and their families. Joshua watched his mother as she introduced heated oxygen into the lungs of the unconscious child, through a breathing tube. Joshua gathered that the child was a near-drowning victim. A few years earlier, he had witnessed paramedics using a similar technique to raise the temperature of a victim who had almost drowned in a neighbor’s swimming pool. A monitor hooked up to the baby leaped to life as it registered normal vital signs. Dr. Davis was finishing up with the procedure when Joshua yelled, pointing at the other side of the large room. “Mom! Mom! Dr. Channing needs you right now! He is over there.” After giving instructions to a nurse, Dr. Davis walked toward Dr. Channing’s patient, with Joshua following close 8
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behind. A baby, with a shriek that could send a deaf dog to the doghouse-in-the-sky, lay on a large stretcher. Blood oozed from his nose. Using her stethoscope, Dr. Davis listened to the baby’s heart and lungs. She looked up at the nurse beside her with concern, “This is not good. I need a chest x-ray done immediately.” “Yes, doctor. I will inform his parents at once!” The nurse gathered the baby in her arms and disappeared. Dr. Channing, a tall, imposing-looking man, seemed anxious and glanced at Joshua’s mother. “What do you think?” he asked. “I’m not sure, yet. A couple of days ago, two infants with nosebleeds, coughing, and congestion were admitted, and x-rays showed damaged lungs.” Dr. Davis’ voice quivered slightly. Joshua heard the conversation and frowned. “Does that happen often to babies?” “No. In fact, it is a very rare phenomenon,” said his mother. “I’m mystified that within three days, three infants came in with the same symptoms.” She looked around the room and sighed. “I hope and pray that this storm will end soon.” “Doesn’t seem that it wants to,” Dr. Channing said, shaking his head. “We’ve had a long, wet season and surely this beats them all. I don’t remember ever seeing a storm like this in the thirty years I’ve been on staff here. This is the storm of the century—even Lake Erie overflowed its banks!” A skinny, short nurse ran toward them. “Dr. Channing—Dr. Davis—we need you right away!” She grabbed Dr. Channing’s 9
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arm. “A baby boy has just been admitted, and he’s in bad shape.” “Do you know what happened to him?” the salt-andpepper-haired Dr. Channing asked the nurse as he and Joshua’s mother followed her. The nurse’s voice was barely audible as they walked down the hall. Joshua shuddered at the possibility of seeing another child with a nosebleed. What could be causing all these kids to have the same symptoms? The baby’s shrieking stopped as soon as the nurse picked him up. His mouth quickly turned an odd bluish color, and his face was the color of fresh snow. His small body flopped like a rag doll, as blood oozed from his mouth. Tears stung Joshua’s eyes as he watched the dying child. “Mom, please, don’t let him die!” he mumbled. The child and his caretakers quickly disappeared through a door, followed by a couple of nurses wheeling in a machine. Joshua recognized the device as a defibrillator which delivers a brief electric shock to the heart to enable it to regain a normal heart rhythm. Joshua closed his eyes and prayed, “Please, God, let the baby live!” He returned to the emergency room. The day was turning into night and Joshua was exhausted. He was assigned the task of going to the nurses’ station and the storage room to replenish supplies that kept quickly disappearing. An unused cart, which he found in the hallway, served as a perfect vehicle for transport. He hauled it into the crowded storage room, loaded several large boxes of bandages and syringes on it, and made his way back to the nurses’ station where his mother was making notes in a patient’s chart. Just then, Joshua saw his dad, Douglas Keegan, walking 10
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through the door. His heart sank. “Why is Dad here?” he asked his mother. “He’s here to pick you up, dear. You can’t possibly spend the night in the hospital.” “Why not? When are you going home?” His mother glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “Does it look as if I could leave anytime soon?” Joshua looked around him. New patients were constantly being carted in. He wondered where they would end up—Back home? The Intensive Care Unit? Or the morgue? He quavered. “I guess not,” he replied. Despite feeling tired, he wished that he could stay longer. Watching his mother and running to the storage room were more interesting than the alternative of being at home with his whiny sister, Kelley. “Hi, Dad!” “Hi, son.” Mr. Keegan walked toward his wife and greeted her with a quick peck on the cheek. Then he turned to Joshua, tousling his son’s thick, dark hair. “Ready to go home?” he asked. “Not really. And stop doing that! I’m not a little boy anymore.” His father had been mussing his hair since he could remember. Joshua had always enjoyed getting the extra attention, until his latest birthday several weeks ago. Strangely enough, he had felt embarrassed when his dad had ruffled his hair in front of his birthday guests. Outside, it was raining and cold. The temperature had dropped several degrees since morning. Joshua trudged to the BMW behind his dad, who was battling the howling wind 11
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that turned his large umbrella inside out. Drenched, they finally made it to the car, which was parked two blocks from the hospital. A strong leather odor penetrated his nostrils, and Joshua instinctively rubbed his nose. “So, did you learn something today?” asked his father as he turned on the ignition. “It was totally unbelievable, Dad. It was sad seeing all those people hurt, especially the baby with the nosebleed. But I felt that I was being useful as I was helping Mom.” The movement of the windshield wiper was going full blast, left, right, left, right; it almost hypnotized him, and so he blinked his eyes twice. “Great! So, do you want to be a doctor?” “Maybe,” Joshua thought for a minute. “But do you know what’s the best part of it? It’s the quick decisions the doctors have to make. It’s really cool. And watching Mom take care of the baby with the nosebleed was awesome! I think I’d like to grow up and be a doctor who cures mysterious illnesses. Don’t you think that would be neat?” Mr. Keegan glanced at his son and smiled. “You mean you don’t want to be an engineer like your old dad? You’re pretty good with computers.” “Maybe. Well, I don’t know. I guess I still have time to decide.” Joshua kept thinking about the baby with the nosebleed and the other two whose lungs were damaged. Except for breathing, what did the chest have to do with the nose? He wondered. He had just finished studying human anatomy in science class at school, and he thought he knew the subject quite well. He would have to ask his mother about it later. 12
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Joshua turned on the radio just as an announcer was issuing a special report, “East Cleveland is a disaster area. To the east of downtown, in Mitland, the roads have literally turned into rivers. Cleveland General Hospital has been inundated with the casualties of this fierce storm. When is it going to end? Well folks! I finally have some good news that we can use! It looks like we will get a break. There is no rain in the forecast tomorrow! Hallelujah!” “Yeah!” Both Joshua and his father shouted and laughed. “You know son, I’m real proud of you for helping today at the hospital.” Mr. Keegan glanced at his son and ruffled his hair again. Joshua pulled away. “Oops, sorry! I’ll try not to do that again.” Mr. Keegan quickly withdrew his hand and put it back on the wheel. He began to whistle. “Dad, I’ve been thinking. Do you think Mom could find me a summer job at the hospital?” “Why the hospital?” “I just think it would be a cool place to be.” Mr. Keegan chuckled. “Do you think it’s cool to be around sick people?” “I didn’t mean that, Dad,” Joshua responded. He yawned and suddenly felt sleepy and tired. He placed his head on the headrest and closed his eyes for a few seconds. But his mind was going a hundred miles an hour and he was too excited to sleep. An idea started to form in his head. Besides being a pediatrician, isn’t Dr. Channing a scientist? He wondered. Maybe I could do something in his laboratory; that would be incredible! He turned his head to his dad and said, “I have a great idea! What if Dr. Channing offers me a summer job in his 13
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laboratory? I would be a scientist for the summer!” Joshua bobbed his head with excitement. “Perhaps. You would have to talk to your mom about it. Just be aware that Dr. Channing can be quite demanding.” “I can handle him. He has always been nice to me.” vvv It took them an hour to make it home to University Circle just five miles south of downtown Cleveland. The night was dark and starless. As Joshua entered the quaint four-bedroom, Cape Cod-style house, his sister greeted him. After hugging her dad, Kelley pulled Joshua by the arm and bombarded him with one question after another. “Tell me all about it! In detail!” she demanded. “Tomorrow I’ll tell you. I’m so tired now; I just want to go to bed.” Joshua shrugged her off. “No! Now!” Kelley’s blonde eyebrows furrowed. Her deep, blue eyes sparkled, as she pushed a long, stringy lock of canary-colored hair away from her face. Joshua had always wondered about their striking physical differences. They didn’t look like brother and sister at all. She didn’t even look like his parents who both had brown eyes and hair. Maybe she really belonged to strangers and the nurses at the hospital accidentally switched babies when she was born. It wasn’t a far-fetched thought; he had read about babies being mixed-up in hospitals. On the other hand, it could be genetics. He had just learned about inherited traits in the seventh grade. His maternal grandmother was a natural blonde. “Tomorrow, I promise,” he said, “after church.” 14
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Kelley kept pulling his arm. “You’re selfish! While you were busy saving the world with Mom, I was held a prisoner here with Jenna. That’s not fair!” Tears came to her eyes. “Oh, stop being such a whiner!” Joshua pulled her away from him and ran upstairs. Once he was safely in his room, he locked the door. Joshua heard the babysitter leave as the front door opened and shut. His sister stomped up the stairs, and then slammed her door. He wished he didn’t have a sister who talked too much and meddled in all his affairs. I should have been an only child, he thought. Why did my parents have to have another child? He felt a little guilty for not loving his sister, who was almost two years younger than him. She was a constant nuisance.
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Chapter 2
THE MITLAND CASE
Four months later BZZZZ… It was seven thirty as Joshua reached for the alarm. He turned it off and stretched his arms and legs as his feet touched the smooth wooden floor. The shower felt good on his back. After he’d dressed and put on his glasses, he ran downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and filled it high with cornflakes and cold milk. His watch said he was running fifteen minutes late. His math class would start in half an hour, and he had a twenty-minute walk ahead of him. After quickly slurping his breakfast, he grabbed his backpack and darted out of the house. Joshua knew the day was going to be hot. The sun’s rays were already burning his bare arms. Blooms of white daisies, blue geranium, and orange lilies lined the sidewalks everywhere. Trees were thickly covered in their emerald foliage. Joshua took a deep breath and savored the smell of jasmine as he passed by several hedges. Besides being the first day of summer school, in which he was taking an advanced math course, this was also his first day on a new job. A month earlier, his mother had told Dr. Channing of her son’s interest in working part time in his laboratory during the summer. Dr. Channing was not only a pediatrician but also a well-respected scientist in the field of microbiology. 17
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After his class, Joshua took the bus to Cleveland General Hospital in downtown Cleveland. The bus stopped at the main entrance to the hospital, and Joshua got off and entered the lobby. He found Dr. Channing’s large laboratory on the second floor of the building, and the teenager’s eyes grew wide as he passed through a hallway lined with refrigerators, along with two monstrous sets of equipment. He later learned that these appliances were automated culture systems for growing bacteria and mold for research and identification. The refrigerators were sub-zero freezers in which microorganism specimens had been stored for decades. A balding man with black horn-rimmed glasses and wearing a lab coat over his stout figure walked toward Joshua and extended his right hand with a smile. “You must be Joshua Keegan,” he said with a slight accent. “Dr. Channing told me that you were coming today. Unfortunately, he is at a meeting right now, but he will see you later.” He gave Joshua a firm handshake. “My name is Dr. Tang, and welcome to our lab.” “Thanks,” Joshua said, smiling. He looked around the neatly organized laboratory. Unfamiliar apparatus sat on rows of benches. Several people in white coats were hunched over glass slabs or containers. Dr. Tang introduced Joshua to his colleagues and then ushered him into a cramped office where a woman was sitting behind a desk. “Nice to meet you, Joshua,” she greeted him warmly. “I am Mrs. Morrow, Dr. Channing’s secretary.” Her bulging hazel eyes twinkled. A closed door to the left of the room had Dr. Channing’s name stenciled on it. 18
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Dr. Tang then offered to take him on a tour of the lab. Joshua identified a small room adjacent to the office as the microscope room. Four different sizes of microscopes stood in a row on a long bench. To the left, another room was equipped with a large hood. Dr. Tang explained that the sterile hood was used for their work on live cells that are tested with bacteria and mold. “My mother told me that Dr. Channing is working on bacteria and mold. What is that research about?” Joshua asked, in awe of the place. The labs at school were so undersized compared to this one. He couldn’t wait to brag about his summer job to his friends. “We have several projects going on at the same time,” explained Dr. Tang. “Our main goal is to decipher the genetic basis for the behavior of bacteria and mold, which is a fungus. We manipulate their genes, and then test them on live cells to see if they lose or change certain functions.” He chuckled and added, “It looks as if you are already confused. When you’re in the lab a little longer, it will not be as confusing. But you will have to finish your lab chores first before we can get you into real research.” “Wow!” Joshua beamed at the jovial man. “I don’t think cleaning and sterilizing glassware will take all day. I’m sure I’ll have time to learn new things.” From his lab bench Dr. Tang picked up a plastic bag and small rectangular boxes whose surfaces were perforated with several tiny holes. The bag was bulging with yellow plastic miniature funnels, which Joshua recognized, from his seventh grade science laboratory class, as tips for a micropipette. His first attempt to use a micropipette was a disaster. He drew water into the micropipette, but as his 19
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hands were shaking so hard, he kept ejecting the liquid outside the test tube instead of inside it. It took him several attempts of draw and eject before he could properly dispense the liquid into the tube. “You will also need to fill the holes in these boxes with micropipette tips and autoclave them,” Dr. Tang said. “What do you mean by autoclave?” “Sterilizing in an airtight chamber filled with steam under pressure. You will not be responsible for autoclaving the glassware, but you will get them ready.” Joshua spent the rest of the afternoon doing his chores under Dr. Tang’s supervision. He found it a little tedious and boring, but he was looking forward to being more involved in the research once he was settled in his new job. While he was at a bench filling boxes with micropipette tips, a strong, deep voice almost knocked him off his seat. “Hello Joshua. I see that you are already busy at work.” Joshua turned around and stood up. He felt like David in the Bible, shaking the hand of Goliath. Dr. Channing towered several feet over him. “Hi, Dr. Channing. How is your first day going so far?” “Fine. Is there more you’d like me to do?” Joshua asked, hoping that the doctor would give him more challenging work. “As a matter of fact, yes. Come with me.” They went to his office where Dr. Channing pulled some papers from a filing cabinet, and then walked over to the computer by his secretary’s desk. “Your mother tells me you have a knack for computers. So, I would like you to be in charge of the patients’ database. I have a list of names of new patients here that need to be 20
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entered into the program.” Dr. Channing turned to Mrs. Morrow. “Would you show him how to enter the data?” “Certainly,” Mrs. Morrow said, smiling. Dr. Channing turned to Joshua. “Well, young man, welcome aboard. I hope you’ll enjoy your summer job.” He patted him on the back and walked into his office, closing the door behind him. After a brief orientation by Dr. Channing’s secretary, Joshua sat at the computer and began entering the names of new patients, their addresses, and health insurers into a large database. Medical history records were inaccessible since they were kept in a secure site, which could only be opened by authorized personnel. Nevertheless, Mrs. Morrow informed him about patient privacy laws and warned him that under no circumstances should he discuss patient information with anyone. By the time Joshua finished with his database entries, it was time to go home. He said his good-byes and went to his mother’s office on the third floor of the hospital. “How was your first day at work?” She asked him as they left her office. “Great. And I hope that I’ll get the chance to see the microorganisms under the microscope. Dr. Tang explained to me a little about the research, which sounded very complicated.” His mother smiled. “Don’t worry; it will get easier to understand. At least your job doesn’t involve handling these creatures.” “But I want to get involved, Mom. Dr. Tang said that whenever the time permits, he’ll show me a little of his work and those cool bugs under the microscope.” 21
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His mother’s eyes narrowed. “Now don’t get carried away with that idea. You know that bacteria can cause disease.” “Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t eat them.” Then Joshua remembered the children who were brought into the emergency room four months ago. The infants had nosebleeds and difficulty breathing. “Mom, what happened to the baby with the nosebleed whom you treated at the emergency room during the flood? And what does a nosebleed have to do with a chest x-ray?” “Chest x-ray? What chest x-ray?” “Remember, when I was with you in the emergency room? You ordered a chest x-ray for the baby.” “The baby with the nosebleed… Yes, there were two of them.” His mother’s lips tightened. “The chest x-ray helped us see the lungs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save their lives.” “What does a nosebleed have to do with the lungs?” “Nosebleeds are very rare in infants. The babies’ nosebleeds were the result of bleeding in the lungs — lung hemorrhage. One of them was coughing up blood, too. Their lungs were already bleeding when they got to the hospital. The bleeding worsened and their lungs quickly filled up. The poor children drowned in their own blood. It was just too late.” “Why did they have lung hemorrhage?” His mother sighed. “I wish I knew the answer to that.” vvv The next day, Joshua told his friends about his first day at work. One of the boys was David, a tall, husky fifteen-year-old who wanted to be on the varsity football team. David started 22
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teasing him. “Cleaning glassware? Ha! Anybody can do that. I dare you to bring those microorganisms to school one day. Now, man, that’s science!” He shook his large raspberrycolored head and crossed his arms defiantly. Joshua ran his fingers through his ruffled hair. There was silence among the students as they waited for Joshua’s answer. He looked directly at David. “Would you really want me to bring disease-causing bugs to you?” David took his time to respond. “I… I don’t think so.” And he walked away without apologizing. During the next several weeks, Joshua settled into a routine. He became more comfortable and efficient at work, which left him with time to watch Dr. Tang whenever the latter allowed it. “I am going to be at the microscope. Would you like to see some live creatures?” Dr. Tang asked Joshua, who was doing math homework. Joshua looked up and grinned. “Sure!” He followed the scientist to the microscope room. Dr. Tang went to a bench at the end of the room and picked up a small round loosely covered plastic dish called a Petri dish. “This is Escherichia coli, a bacterium that causes diarrhea. The Petri dish contains agar, which is a supporting gel that holds the rich nutrients necessary for the bacteria to grow.” He placed the Petri dish under the microscope and adjusted the settings. “I’ve stained these bacteria with Rhodamine, a stain that doesn’t kill them. Take a look; aren’t they magnificent?” Dr. Tang’s small eyes shone behind his blackrimmed glasses. 23
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Joshua couldn’t imagine considering a diarrhea-causing organism to be magnificent. He looked through the microscope and saw bright yellow-green rods. “Are these rods the bacteria? I can see them moving!” Excitement rang in his voice. He couldn’t wait to tell his friends. Dr. Tang warned Joshua about handling the bacteria. Due to health risks, under no circumstances was Joshua allowed to take any “bugs” out of the lab. vvv Later in the afternoon, while Joshua was working at the office computer, he noticed something odd about the data of eight of the patients. The usual entry consisted of the patient’s name, date of birth and address, and the name of the insurance carrier. But the ages of all of these patients were less than four months. Plus, they all lived in the little town of Mitland, and had Mutual Health listed as their health insurer. All eight patients had a large “X” crossed over their data. Joshua immediately recognized the name Mitland, the town that made the headline news several months ago during the late winter storm that caused severe flooding conditions. “Some of the data has an ‘X’ on it. What does that mean?” Joshua asked Mrs. Morrow, who was organizing a filing cabinet. The secretary turned around and looked at the computer screen. “Don’t worry about it, it just means that the patient is no longer with us.” Joshua raised his eyebrows. “How come?” “I don’t really know and it doesn’t matter. The fewer 24
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patients to deal with the better.” Her tone of voice was abrupt. Joshua wasn’t convinced. He thought it strange that they all lived in the same town. Just before four o’clock, when Mrs. Morrow had already left for the day, Joshua printed out a copy of the information on the Mitland patients.
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Chapter 3
MANDY’S DEATH
Joshua was staring at the printout when the office door opened and his mother stuck her head in. “Hello! Are you ready to go home?” He looked up. “Is it four o’clock already?” “Yes, dear. Since when did work make time go fast for you?” Joshua took a deep breath. “Well, I had quite an interesting day, but I’m ready to leave now.” He folded the printout and dropped it in his backpack. “Would you like to share your interesting day with me?” He remembered Mrs. Morrow’s stern lecture about not sharing patients’ information with anyone. “Hmm… well, the truth is that my day was just like any other day.” His mother gazed at him, arching an eyebrow, then walked toward the elevator. He was glad that she didn’t probe him any further. While in the car pondering the crossed-out pages on the computer screen, Joshua heard his mother’s gentle voice, “I’m afraid I have some sad news…Mandy died early today.” Mandy was his favorite horse. She lived at his grandmother’s ranch. He knew her from the time she was born, when he watched her come into the world on her feet. Joshua stared at his mother in stunned silence. “I’m sorry, dear. Papa called today with the news. You 27
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know that she had suffered for quite a long time. The veterinarian couldn’t save her.” He turned his face toward the window to his right; his vision became blurry as tears streamed down his cheeks. The tightness in his chest intensified, and he began to weep. He remembered Mandy as a strong, sturdy mare he took for wild rides through wide, open fields. He relived the last time he saw her. It was over the Christmas holidays at his grandparents’ ranch. She was colicky and endlessly neighed as she lay in her stall. Her breathing was laborious, as if she were suffocating. He later found out that she suffered from intestinal hemorrhage because of some kind of mold in the hay she ate. “Did she die of that mold?” Joshua asked as he pulled his glasses to wipe away the tears. “Yes, it seems so. I’m sorry, I know how you were so fond of her,” his mother said. The word “hemorrhage” repeatedly popped to his mind and he thought about the baby in the emergency room who, like Mandy, died from that terrible crisis. He then wondered about the babies who were no longer under Dr. Channing’s care. He considered it strange that they all lived in the same town. Why would the families of these babies choose to withdraw from a physician’s care? He pulled the paper from his pocket and looked at it. Even though he wasn’t sure exactly why he printed out the data on the Mitland children, he knew that one day it would become useful. vvv “Did Mom tell you about Mandy?” Kelley asked Joshua 28
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during supper. “Yes. I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Joshua said. He was forming a sad face with his peas, not a favorite vegetable. Although he hadn’t eaten since noontime, he wasn’t hungry. Kelley stared at her brother. “Well, I think Grandpa will buy a horse soon.” She then groaned as she dropped her fork on the half-full plate. “But it won’t be Mandy.” “It was for the best. Mandy was in a lot of pain and now she’s not suffering anymore,” Joshua’s father intervened. Joshua looked at his mother who was sitting to his left. “Mom, this mold that killed Mandy, how did it end up in the hay?” “That is a good question, Joshua. I wish I knew,” his mother said. Joshua fell silent. He wanted to learn more about the mold that killed the horse. Since his parents had plans to be away from the house that evening, he thought of using his dad’s computer. His mother looked at her watch and exclaimed, “It’s getting late; we need to get ready for the concert.” She got up from the table and looked at the children. “You both clean up, please.” The doorbell rang and Kelley opened the door. “Hi, Jenna,” Kelley’s voice was subdued. “Hello, Kelley.” Jenna walked in popping bubble gum, her hands in her jeans pockets. “You’re stuck with me again, kiddo.” “So, what plans do you have for us this evening?” Joshua asked as he grabbed a can of soda from the refrigerator. Jenna shrugged. “Any suggestions?” 29
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Joshua shook his head. “No. In fact, I think I would like to spend the evening in my room.” “Oh? Something bothering you, kiddo?” “Our horse, Mandy, died. And don’t call me kiddo! My name is Joshua.” Jenna put an arm around Joshua’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about your horse. How did she die?” “Some mold in the hay she ate.” “Mold? You’ve got to be kidding! I never knew mold can be deadly!” Joshua’s parents left a few minutes later for the concert. Mozart’s music was going to be performed at Severance Hall, only a few blocks away from the house. After cleaning, Kelley challenged the babysitter to a game of chess, and, to her brother’s relief, he was automatically excluded. Joshua quietly went upstairs and settled himself at his dad’s computer. He logged onto the Internet, then used a search engine and typed the keywords: intestinal hemorrhage, horse, and mold. Clicking on the “Go” command, he wound up at a veterinary medicine site. He began to read an article about the danger of cattle eating hay contaminated with a mold called Stachybotrys Atra. The mold releases a toxin that causes bleeding in the intestines. This mold thrives in damp areas. Joshua scrolled the page and saw a photograph of the dark green, slimy mold on a basement wall. He stared at the computer, and then blinked a few times. His eyes were getting heavy. He yawned, stretching his arms, then looked again on the screen in front of him. Words floated in his already tired brain: Stachybotrys, bleeding, cattle, flood. He tried to see an association among the words. He 30
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jotted down on a notepad the word Stachybotrys; he would ask Dr. Tang about it since mold was his specialty. “What on earth are you doing on your dad’s computer? You could get grounded for this!” Jenna yelled at him so loud that Joshua almost fell out of the chair. He looked at her wide-eyed. “I… I am in the middle of a medical investigation, which is real important. Please don’t tell Dad,” he pleaded with her. She walked toward him and looked at the computer screen. “Hmm. It looks like serious stuff.” A large bubble of gum formed across her mouth and it popped. “Okay, your secret is safe with me. You better get ready for bed now; your parents will be here any minute.” The house was very quiet actually, too quiet. He looked at his watch: it was already midnight. He quickly logged off the computer and readied himself for bed. He laid down thinking about the work ahead of him. Solving a medical mystery wasn’t as easy as he hoped it would be, but he welcomed the challenge. vvv The following day at the lab, Joshua found Dr. Tang at his workbench, busily preparing microscope slides for tissue plating. After the usual greetings, Joshua didn’t hesitate to ask about the mold. “Dr. Tang, do you know anything about the mold Stachybotrys?” Dr. Tang’s face turned pale; his eyes fixed on Joshua. He was slow in responding. “Not much. Where did you learn about it and why are you interested in it?” 31
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“My horse died from it when she ate contaminated hay.” “Our research doesn’t involve this mold.” The usuallyfriendly scientist’s voice was now abrupt and angry. “And if I catch you prying around here, you’ll be out of a job!” Joshua’s jaw dropped. He retreated to his own bench and absentmindedly started to fill the pipette boxes with the yellow micropipette tips, all the while wondering if Dr. Tang was trying to hide something from him. When Joshua finished with the lab chores, he went to the office and sat by the computer. He saw that Mrs. Morrow had left a few new patient charts for him to enter into the database. He noticed that the Mitland infants’ data had been deleted from the database. “Mrs. Morrow, how come the data with the large Xs on them are no longer here?” Joshua inquired. Without looking at him, she responded, “What data?” “You know, the babies who lived in Mitland.” She turned her head around and looked at Joshua with cold eyes. A chill went up and down his spine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. He was about to open his mouth when Dr. Channing walked in. “Hello Joshua, are you enjoying your summer job so far?” “Yes, especially watching the microorganisms. I hope that one day I can become a scientist and do my own research.” Joshua forced a smile. A thought occurred to him: Does Dr. Channing know something about the Mitland data? Perhaps he should know if there was something fishy going on with the records. Joshua swallowed, and then asked, “Dr. Channing, do you know why the 32
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information on the babies from Mitland got deleted?” The doctor’s eyes narrowed. He gave Mrs. Morrow a quick glance, and then turned to Joshua. “The babies from Mitland? Yes!” His face relaxed as he rubbed his forehead. “All the families left town four months ago because they lost their homes during the flood. So the babies are no longer under my care.” “Now I remember what you’re talking about. Dr. Channing is right. I forgot that they all lived in Mitland,” the secretary added. vvv That night at supper, Joshua’s sister Kelley confronted him. “So, what were you doing on dad’s computer last night?” Joshua glared at her, wishing he had the power to make her vanish. He saw his father’s forehead wrinkle, as he looked from daughter to son. “What do you mean?” Joshua said with as much disdain as he could muster. “Last night, I saw you and Jenna talking in Dad’s office and I overheard you say you were solving a medical mystery.” Both parents looked at him, waiting for an answer. A knot in Joshua’s stomach made him nauseous. Why couldn’t Kelley zip up her mouth for a change? He had to come up with a quick answer. “I wanted to learn more about Mandy’s illness.” “You could have asked my permission to get onto the Internet, Joshua. You didn’t have to be sneaky about it,” his father admonished him. 33
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“I’m sorry. It’s just that I wanted to do this alone, without Kelley always interfering.” He scowled at his sister and felt glad to finally proclaim how he felt about her. His father’s eyes narrowed. “That is a horrible attitude, Joshua Keegan. Kelley is your sister. You could have told her nicely that you wanted your privacy instead of being disobedient.” Joshua responded by excusing himself from the table. He ran upstairs and shut his bedroom door with a bang. vvv The following day, he stopped by his mother’s office before he went to the lab. “How was school today?” his mother asked from behind her desk. She was writing on a patient’s chart. “Great! We’re doing geometry and I like it.” He plopped his backpack on her desk. “Mom, can the mold Stachybotrys be found in homes that are damaged from floods?” “Possibly. Why do you ask?” “I don’t know, just curious.” He shrugged his shoulders. His mother then stopped writing and looked at him. “Joshua, you need to learn to be more tolerant toward your sister. You can’t just pretend that she doesn’t exist.” He rolled his eyes. He had been hearing the same lecture repeatedly, and it had begun to sound like a broken record. “You are being disrespectful. Your dad and I will continue to lecture you about your need to change your behavior toward your sister as long as it is necessary.” Joshua’s face burned and he stared at his shoes. “I’m sorry about last night. I just want to be left alone sometimes 34
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without her interfering in everything.” He then took his backpack and turned around. “See you later.” As he walked out of the room, he heard loud, angry voices. “Mr. and Mrs. Lee are here with their child and insist on seeing you, but they don’t have an appointment.” The nurse looked grave as she entered the room calling to Joshua’s mother. A grouchy voice bellowed behind her back, “Dr. Davis, you must take a look at our baby. She has been coughing blood and we don’t know what to do anymore.” The man pushed himself into the office, followed by a young, thin woman carrying a baby whose nose was caked with dried blood. “Please, calm down,” Dr. Davis reassured the man. “Let me take a quick look at your daughter.” She took the baby from the distraught woman’s arms and quickly placed her on the examining table. Joshua recognized the concern and alarm on his mother’s face. “Our daughter is Dr. Channing’s patient, but it’s outrageous that he refuses to refer her to you! He left us with no choice but to take the matter into our own hands,” the man said. “I am Bob Lee. This is my wife, Lisa, and our daughter, Megan. She’s only two months old. Please help her!” He began to shake and sob. Joshua was standing next to the nurse when Mrs. Lee handed her the baby’s medical history chart. He swiftly glanced at the scribbling and a word caught his attention. The Lees lived in Mitland, the area that was devastated by the flood. Joshua suppressed a moan. Why did Dr. Channing refuse 35
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to refer the family to his mother? What is the relationship between Mitland and all these infants? Joshua was determined to find out. vvv When he got home that afternoon, Joshua went to a wooden box, which he kept hidden behind his math books on his bookshelf. He opened it and pulled out the printed copy. The dates on all of the infants’ charts showed the month of May, the patients’ first visit to Dr. Channing’s office. May was only two months earlier. But didn’t Dr. Channing say that it was four months ago when the patients visited him? Joshua decided that it was time to pay a visit to Mitland and find out what was really going on.
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Chapter 4
FIRST TRIP TO MITLAND It was raining heavily when Joshua chose to go to Mitland the following week. He knew that his parents would disapprove of his trip, but he had made up his mind to go. He quietly planned his journey. At the lab, a few of Dr. Channing’s scientists, including Dr. Tang, were attending an all-day conference and, therefore, Joshua wouldn’t be missed. As for Mrs. Morrow, any excuse he came up with would be sufficient, for she never seemed to care if he was there or not. “Good morning Mom, Dad,” he said as he prepared his usual cereal and a glass of milk for breakfast. He sat at the table, then looked at his sister and grinned, “Good morning to you, too.” Kelley frowned at him, and then concentrated on eating her muffin. After finishing breakfast, Joshua joined his mother in the kitchen. He cleared his throat, and then asked, “Did the result of the x-ray done on Megan Lee come back?” “Not yet. I should get the results from the radiologist today,” his mother said. “Why do you ask?” “I feel bad for that baby. She reminded me of that other baby at the emergency room. He had a nosebleed, too.” “I’m suspicious about her lungs also,” said his mother. “These lung hemorrhages are rare. It’s strange to find a similar incident in such a short time.” 37
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After breakfast, Joshua walked to the hallway and picked up his backpack lying by the stairs. He checked his wallet, which contained a dollar bill, not sufficient for the bus ride to Mitland, a town located approximately ten miles from downtown Cleveland. He would have to borrow from his parents. “Hey, Dad, could you lend me five dollars?” He hoped that his dad wouldn’t ask questions. “Sure.” His dad reached into his pocket and produced the needed bills. “I thought you were earning money already.” “I am, but I forgot to get cash. I’ll give it back to you as soon as I get to a cash machine.” “Is it for a worthy cause?” His dad teased him. “Worthy causes always abound in school!” He took the money. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best!” Joshua knew that his cause was worthy: solving the mystery of the Mitland children. He put on his rain poncho, grabbed his backpack, and was out of the house in a flash. vvv Joshua cut class that morning in order to have ample time to explore Mitland. His heart beat faster than normal; for the first time in his life he was venturing alone into unknown territory. Rain changed to drizzle, but ominous clouds loomed ahead. He walked about a mile until he reached the bus station. There he bought a round-trip ticket to Mitland. “Could you let me know when you arrive at Mitland?” Joshua asked the bearded bus driver. “Mitland? What for? It’s not a pretty sight. What would a 38
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young boy want to do there?” “I’m visiting some friends.” Joshua was a little annoyed with the driver; it was none of his business. The driver looked at him long and hard, then dismissed him. Maybe he thinks I’m a runaway kid, Joshua thought. At his seat, Joshua pulled out from his backpack the printed document on the Mitland infants. The addresses didn’t mean anything to him. He would have to ask directions once he arrived at the town. The ride took almost an hour, and the rain began to fall harder. He looked through the window and he could hardly read the sign “Mitland” through the pouring rain. The bus stopped and he got out, after thanking the driver. Mitland looked like a ghost town. The streets were completely deserted. It was eerie and the rain pounded loudly on the pavement. He had walked about a half a mile when he came to a small shopping center. The stores looked vacant, except for a small deli. Inside, a man with a huge mustache was standing behind the counter. The man greeted him. Before Joshua could ask for directions to one of the houses on his list, he thought it would be wise to buy a sandwich. “Good morning, sir. I would like a ham and cheese on white bread and a Sprite too, please.” “Coming up!” As the man was preparing his sandwich, Joshua asked him, “Could you tell me where Maple Street is?” The man grinned and Joshua noticed that his teeth were very yellow. “Ha, ha! What would you want to do in Maple Street? It has been abandoned since the flood.” 39
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Joshua’s heart sank. He hoped that it wasn’t the case with the rest of the addresses on his list. There were eight addresses in all. He soon learned that seven of them no longer existed. “How about Grape Street?” He silently prayed and hoped. “There are a few homes still standing on that one,” the shopkeeper said. “Not in the best condition, mind you, but still standing.” The man eyed Joshua. “What is going on here? Are you a young investigator or something? You look like you’re just a kid.” “I… er… some of these families I knew, and I lost contact with them.” The man gave him directions. After thanking the shopkeeper, he took his sandwich, which was wrapped in a plastic bag, and soda and left the store. It took Joshua about forty minutes to reach the house located on Grape Street. There were only three houses, and all of them looked as if they needed major repairs: peeling paint, dirty stucco, broken windows, and weeds growing in the front yards. He gathered his courage, and then knocked at the door of the first house. No answer. The second house seemed empty too. He reached the third and last house and knocked. No answer. I didn’t come here for nothing! He thought. Please, somebody be home! He knocked again and again, until he heard steps coming closer to the door. 40
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“Who’s there?” a sharp voice asked. A tall, dark woman opened the door a crack, and peered through. “Who are you? Do I know you?” “No, ma’am. My name is Joshua Keegan and I’m kind of lost around here. I came to visit some friends, but I lost the directions.” Joshua hoped that the woman would let him in. He was getting drenched. “Come on in, child.” She opened the door wide. “I am Mrs. Baker. Who are you looking for?” A strong musty odor mixed with smoke nauseated him. Joshua rubbed his nose a couple of times, and wished that he could turn around and bolt out. But that would mean defeat, which was not an acceptable solution. “I’m looking for the Meadows family. I can’t seem to find their street.” He hoped that he sounded truthful. He sat on a sofa that was littered with the stains of cigarette ashes. Mrs. Baker sighed. “That’s because that street is not there anymore. The people living on that street had to evacuate because their homes were damaged. The Meadows lost their infant, too. My own grandchild died several days later.” Mrs. Baker suddenly began to sob. “I’m sorry. But I miss him so much!” She pulled a tissue from a box lying by the crumb-littered couch, and wiped her eyes. Then she picked up a cigarette and lit it. The smoke burned Joshua’s eyes and he coughed. “There… there were six infants in this neighborhood who died within a span of three months. Only two were still living when their families left the area.” She looked up at Joshua and blew her nose with another tissue. “I don’t know why I’m pouring out my grief to you. You’re just a kid yourself. “ 41
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Joshua’s eyes grew wide. “What did the babies die from?” “I don’t know. It was never diagnosed.” She continued to cry. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Joshua wished to console her. Now he understood why their names were crossed out from the database. Most of the babies were dead! “What was your grandchild’s name?” “James Maxwell. I called him Tiny Jimmy ‘cause he was so little.” Mrs. Baker’s sobs intensified. Joshua recognized the name; it was in the printout. He kept quiet until the woman regained her composure. He looked around the room. Pictures and photos cluttered the walls. Artificial flowers in glass vases laced every table and console. The messy room extended to a small kitchen. Joshua’s eyes caught a large black stain on the kitchen wall, by the refrigerator. “Did you have a fire here?” Mrs. Baker looked in the direction that he was pointing and said, “No. I’m not sure what it is. I do need to get this place cleaned.” Joshua got up and walked to the kitchen toward the stain on the wall. He gasped; it was very similar to the picture of the Stachybotrys mold, which he saw on the Internet. Mrs. Baker followed him. He began to think of a plan. What if he could take a sample of it and look at it under the microscope? Maybe Dr. Tang would know what it is. If it is the toxic mold, he learned from the Internet that he had to be extremely cautious: spores are known to become airborne when physically handled. He almost kicked himself for not bringing along safety goggles, a mask, and gloves, which he had at home. There was no turning back for him: he was determined that 42
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this Mitland trip would be his first AND last. He would have to improvise. “Ma’am, could I scrape a sample off of your wall to take for a class project?” The woman hesitated for a minute. “I’m not sure.” “Please? It would be neat to find out what it is,” he pleaded. “All right. Go ahead. “You will probably need a knife to scrape off that thing.” She walked toward a drawer. “Do you have something to put it in?” “I could use the plastic sandwich bag from the deli, and I have a Swiss army knife that can do the job.” He opened his backpack and took out his knife. He then removed the sub from the plastic bag. “I only need an old pair of latex gloves and a paper towel or rag you don’t need anymore.” Mrs. Baker turned around and gave him a puzzled look. “It’s routine. In science classes, we are taught to always protect ourselves when performing experiments in the lab.” Joshua knew that his statement was partly true since protection depended on the kind of experiment being done. She took out a grocery bag from a narrow closet by the refrigerator, and pulled out a pair of stained yellow latex gloves and a ragged kitchen towel. “These were meant for the trash a long time ago.” Joshua almost gagged as he covered his nose and mouth with the cigarette smoke-drenched towel. He put on the large-sized gloves and carefully scraped a small piece of the ugly dark stain, placing it inside the plastic sandwich bag. After removing the towel and gloves, he rolled the bag with his prized sample, and put it in his backpack. 43
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“Thanks, Mrs. Baker,” he smiled. He would have to transfer the black specimen to a slide when he returned home. He was glad that he had picked up a few empty slides from the lab the day before. “Would you like me to throw this grocery bag in the dumpster down the road?” Joshua asked as he returned the dirty gloves and rag inside the bag. “That would be very nice. Thank you, child.” A minute later, he left the modest house and crossed the street. It was still raining, but he was glad to be out of the stuffy, smelly house. The cigarette smoke clung to him strongly. He found the dumpster and threw the trash into it. He felt sad for Mrs. Baker for the loss of her grandchild, and sad for the other infants who were no longer living. His watch said nearly three o’clock. He had to hurry back to the bus stop in order to make it to the lab before his mother wondered where he was. On the bus, he devoured his deli sandwich. He then took out his notepad and scribbled: six of Dr. Channings’ infants whose data were eliminated had died, and two had left town. Strange stain on the wall– must investigate. He turned to the previous page and read his earlier scribbles: Mandy died of intestinal hemorrhage because of a mold called Stachybotrys, which is dark, green and slimy. The mold can be found on drywall in homes (the Internet picture proves it). Is there a connection between Mandy’s illness, the babies, and the mold with the toxic spore? And why did Mrs. Morrow lie to him? vvv The bus took him all the way to the hospital. He decided 44
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to go to the restroom to wash up and comb his damp hair. He removed his soaking wet, smoke-saturated jacket and shoved it inside his backpack. He had barely entered his mother’s office when he heard her yell at him, “Come to my office right now!” Joshua had a sinking feeling that he was in big trouble. He couldn’t come up with any reasonable excuse to explain his whereabouts. Being sick didn’t work, because he wasn’t home. He tried saying he was with friends, but that didn’t work. His mother had telephoned them all. “Joshua, you’re not being honest. Tell me the truth now,” his mother insisted. He finally thought of a possible excuse. “Since everyone at the lab was gone for an all-day conference, I didn’t have much to do, and I decided to go to the arcade down the street.” He looked down, avoiding his mother’s penetrating, brown eyes. “I’m sorry, Mom, it won’t happen again.” “It better not. You’re grounded for a week. Whenever you’re home, you’ll stay in your room. You won’t see any of your friends, and no TV or telephone calls. Kelley will accompany you to work every day.” Joshua blinked and wished it were all a bad dream.
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Chapter 5
THE PRINTOUT GONE! The next seven days were the most wasted, boring and frustrating time of Joshua’s life, except when he looked at the mysterious black specimen. When he got home from his Mitland trip, he carefully spread the tiny black speck from Mrs. Baker’s kitchen wall on a slide, using tweezers. He then placed a cover slip over the specimen. Under his microscope at home, clumps of dark green, ugly beads stared back at him. He had to find out what they were. Whenever he examined the specimen, he locked the door for fear of Kelley’s prying eyes. He was allowed to go to school alone, but going to work was another matter. His sister tagged along; watching him like a prison guard, scrutinizing every move he said and did. Being ill was better than this, he concluded. As the week went by, Joshua noticed that Kelley was spending more time with Mrs. Morrow in the office, which he found strange. His sister’s giggles and chattiness seemed to amuse the secretary. “Is Mrs. Morrow becoming your best friend?” Joshua teased his sister after they returned from lunch at the cafeteria. “Of course not, she’s too old. But she’s nice and I like her.” Joshua stared at her and shook his head. “You’re weird. A normal person couldn’t be a friend to Mrs. Morrow. When I 47
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first met her I thought she was nice, too. But not for long.” He started to prepare glassware for autoclaving. “I think you’re up to something. What is it?” Kelley asked. “I am up to nothing,” Joshua snapped. “You’re lying.” He stopped and turned around to face her. “Tell me, what am I up to?” “Why do you sometimes lock your door?” “None of your business, you blabbermouth.” He was still angry with her for informing their parents about his late night escapade on the Internet several days ago. She ignored his comment and looked around his bench, which was covered with glassware. “Do you have anything you’re hiding here?” “Stop annoying me, and keep quiet!” “But I’m supposed to annoy you. Remember, you’re grounded, so you can’t have fun.” She then picked up a flask and shook it in the air. “What do you use this thing for?” Joshua attempted to grab it, but it slipped from his sister’s hand. The flask fell and broke into a hundred pieces. Kelley gasped. “Look what you did! You’re such a nuisance around here!” Joshua shouted at her. His sister began to sob. “I’m sorry, it was an accident.” “I need to find a broom.” Five minutes later, Joshua returned with a broom and a dustpan. His backpack caught his attention. It was not in its original position. He glanced at his sister, but said nothing about it. 48
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“Now, clean up the mess.” He gave her the broom and dustpan. She obediently cleaned up the broken glassware and stayed unusually cooperative the rest of the afternoon. vvv That evening, Joshua opened his backpack at home to retrieve his notepad with notes on his investigation of the Mitland infants and the mold. He couldn’t find it. He remembered that his backpack had been moved at work, and no one was at the lab except Kelley when he went to fetch the broom. This girl won’t leave me alone. Why can’t she be a normal sister like all of my friends’ sisters? He threw his backpack on the bed, then ran to his secret box, which he always kept tucked behind his schoolbooks on the bookshelf. He opened it. To his horror, the printed document of the Mitland babies was gone, too. He quickly looked for the slide with the mold and was glad that it was still on the microscope’s stage. But he needed to get the printed document at all costs. It was a critical part in solving the mystery of the Mitland infants. He would have to wait for an opportunity to sneak into his sister’s room. That night, he stayed awake for a long time worrying about the lost notebook. The gentle tapping of the rain on his window soothed his restless mind though, and eventually he fell asleep. vvv 49
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The next day, the rain had stopped but it was cloudy. As Joshua stepped outside, the clearness of the world after a heavy rain caught him off guard. The trees and the manicured front lawns were deep emerald; the flowers glowed in intense shades of orange and blue, and the streets were jet black. He took in a lungful of fresh air and enjoyed the twenty-minute walk to school. At the science lab, Joshua met up with some of his classmates. He hoped David would be curious enough to stop by his desk. “Do you want to see something incredible?” Joshua said enthusiastically, bouncing like a yo-yo. “What is it? Deadly organisms?” David said in a loud and sarcastic voice as he approached Joshua’s workstation from behind. “I didn’t think you’d be interested.” “And miss out on this?” David slid onto a stool and peered through the eyepiece of the microscope. “Weird. What are these clumps?” “I think it is some kind of mold, but I need to confirm it when I go to work later today.” “Where did you find it?” Joshua hesitated for a moment as he pulled another stool and sat down. “I am not at liberty to tell. It’s my secret for now.” David unexpectedly roared with laughter. “Secrets? You have secrets?” Joshua wasn’t amused. “What’s so funny?” David got up and walked to the door. “Wait until you get to the ninth grade, you’ll be amazed with the science we get.” Then he disappeared into the hallway. 50
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vvv On Friday, Kelley’s last day at the lab, Mrs. Morrow invited her to lunch. “Where are you going for lunch? The great hospital cafeteria?” Joshua mocked her. “I’m not telling you.” Joshua grinned and cocked one eyebrow at her. “Since you won’t tell me, then I’m sure it is the cafeteria.” Kelley scrunched up as if she were chewing on a sourball, as she turned and disappeared into the office. When Joshua was sure they were gone, he went to a refrigerator in the hallway and pulled Dr. Tang’s Petri dish with the label TOXIC MOLD on it from a shelf littered with other dishes carrying organisms in agar. Dr. Tang had explained to him that agar contained a medium rich in nutrients that were essential to living microorganisms. Joshua looked at the mold under the powerful, highresolution microscope. The fungus had been stained with a special crystal violet stain. He then looked at the Mitland specimen, which he had brought with him that day. “Whoa!” he gasped. His dark pigmented specimen looked very similar to Dr. Tang’s living specimen. Joshua’s facial muscles tightened. He was looking at the microorganisms without Dr. Tang’s permission and he knew he would get in trouble if he got caught. However, he was determined to crack “the case of the dead babies.” He looked again at Dr. Tang’s sample through the microscope. 51
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Suddenly, the dimly lit room turned very bright. Joshua quickly looked toward the door and saw Dr. Tang’s enraged face. “What do you think you’re doing?” Dr. Tang’s voice was angry. He walked to the microscope and pushed Joshua aside. “Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t use the microscope without my permission?” He pulled the Petri dish from the microscope stage and looked at it. Then he looked at Joshua with burning eyes. “What you did was unacceptable. You could get me in deep trouble!” “I’m sorry. I… I know you said not to do this, but… but I was curious about the Petri dish labeled TOXIC MOLD.” Joshua’s knees shook. “What is this mold?” Joshua pointed at the Petri dish in Dr. Tang’s hand. Dr. Tang took a deep breath. “There are several kinds of mold. We are still studying this mold and we are in the process of determining its identity.” “Did you know that it is the toxin that the mold Stachybotrys releases which kills cattle?” Dr. Tang’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets. “Have you been wasting your time on the Internet again?” Joshua hesitated. “It’s… it’s not wasting my time. I am learning more about how my horse died.” Dr. Tang warned Joshua, “Under no circumstances should I ever catch you here again, or I’ll report you to Dr. Channing. He will not be pleased at all!” Joshua was surprised by Dr. Tang’s threats. Why would the name Stachybotrys make the doctor uneasy? He was sure that Dr. Tang’s mold was Stachybotrys and, for some unknown reason, he didn’t want Joshua to know it. 52
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An eerie thought raced through Joshua’s brain. Did Dr. Tang’s specimen come from the flooded homes in Mitland? Was there a connection among the mold, the dead babies, the missing information on the computer, Dr. Channing, Mrs. Morrow and Dr. Tang? What connection could there be? Joshua wasn’t sure anymore if he could trust his supervisor. He was glad that the angry doctor didn’t notice the slide with his own sample on it. If Dr. Tang was involved in any way, that would have made him even more uneasy. vvv That evening, Kelley went to a slumber party at her friend’s house. Joshua sneaked into her room in search of his notepad and computer printout. He searched the dresser drawer, closet, and bookshelf, but found nothing of interest. Then his eyes caught a brown package in a corner of her desk. The package contained his sister’s CD player and an envelope addressed to an electronic repair shop. As he opened the envelope, five newly-printed twenty-dollar bills fell to the floor. “How on earth did she get hold of that kind of money?” Joshua muttered. “You have a lot of explaining to do, sis!” He took the money and left the room.
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Chapter 6
THE MAN WITH THE LISP The following Monday, Dr. Tang’s behavior toward Joshua remained chilled since their last encounter at the microscope. “I’m very busy today, so please do not interrupt me.” Dr. Tang’s voice was cold and curt. Joshua bit his lips and continued with the task of washing the glassware. He kept glancing at his watch until it was time to go to lunch with his mother at the cafeteria. As he was leaving the lab, the telephone rang in Mrs. Morrow’s office but she had already gone to lunch. She always left five minutes before noon. Joshua picked up the phone and a man’s voice said, “Could I thpeak with Mith Morrow?” “Miss Morrow?” “Yeth, pleath.” “She’s at lunch. Would you like to leave a message?” “No, thankth. I’ll call later.” He hung up. Joshua chuckled. “This man definitely needs an orthodontist,” he murmured. He left the office and walked down the hallway. The elevator was waiting for him; a rare occasion. “Hello, Joshua. How was your morning?” His mother greeted him as they met inside the elevator. “Okay.” At the cramped cafeteria, he ordered a roast beef sandwich and a Sprite. While waiting in line to pay, he asked, “Mom, 55
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how is Megan Lee doing?” “She’s going to be fine. I’m glad her parents came to see me when they did. Any more delays would have killed her.” After paying the cashier, they headed toward the back of the cafeteria. A table by a window that overlooked Lake Erie had just been vacated and Joshua hopped to it, almost spilling his Sprite. “Mom, did Baby Megan have lung hemorrhage?” Joshua asked. His mother looked at him with arched eyebrows. “How did you guess?” “I remember that she had a nosebleed, just like that baby in the emergency room.” “You’re very observant, dear. We rushed her to intensive care. She needed a blood transfusion.” While taking another huge bite of his sandwich, Joshua saw Dr. Channing walking toward their table with a full tray. Dr. Channing’s thick salt-and-pepper hair looked messy and uncombed. “Hello there, may I join you?” “Sure!” Dr. Davis welcomed him. The strong fishy smell sickened Joshua. He glanced at Dr. Channing’s tray. The plate contained little shiny fishes that looked like sardines. Joshua crinkled his nose. “What a day!” Dr. Channing remarked as he pulled up a chair to sit down. “I am sick and tired of all these hassles with the insurance companies. We are not in control of our own profession anymore.” Joshua looked at his mother, waiting for a response, but she was busy eating her lunch. Dr. Channing wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I remember when I was in medical school, years and years ago, I was ready 56
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to make this place a better world; to conquer cancer and increase patients’ longevity.” He shook his head, and then looked at Joshua. “I hope I’m not discouraging you, young man. There are still good things about medicine.” “Like curing diseases and making a person feel better,” Joshua volunteered. Dr. Channing smiled. “Absolutely.” He turned toward Joshua’s mother. “But I’m getting old and tired of fighting with the system. I am considering an early retirement, probably within the next few months.” “And who would take over your research?” Joshua stopped eating to ask Dr. Channing. “Ha! Even research is becoming such a struggle. Too much competition, and funding is limited these days.” “Some competition is always healthy; it drives you to excel in your work,” Dr. Davis intervened, taking a bite into her turkey sandwich. “I guess you’re right,” Dr. Channing replied. “And I honestly can tell you that I am deriving much more satisfaction from research than fighting managed-care companies.” “What is managed-care?” Joshua had never heard that term before. “That’s when an organization tells a physician how to run his practice. It’s complicated.” Dr. Channing got up from his seat and smiled at Joshua. “Young man, if you would like to become a doctor, consider medical research. I find it definitely more rewarding than practicing medicine. See you later!” He waved his hand and left. Dr. Davis’ gaze followed the old physician. “Something seems to be troubling him.” “A bad hair day…I’m just kidding,” Joshua said, laughing. 57
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“But did you notice his hair? He probably forgot to comb it.” “Well, he’ll retire soon and whatever is bothering him will be over.” “Going back to the Lee baby, why do you think Dr. Channing didn’t want to send the family to you?” Joshua asked. “I wondered about that, too. I am not sure why. Perhaps the Lees’ insurance wouldn’t pay for their visits to a specialist, and they couldn’t afford to pay for it themselves.” “But that’s not fair. If I were sick and poor, am I not still entitled to get the best treatment?” “Life is not always fair, Joshua. Unfortunately, the cost of health care has increased dramatically with recent advances in research and technology.” She got up and using her napkin, removed crumbs from the table into her plate. “On the other hand, today people are living longer and healthier lives.” After having lunch with his mom and the grouchy Dr. Channing, Joshua headed to Mrs. Morrow’s office to work on the patients’ database. “What do you have for me today, Mrs. Morrow? Any more data to enter?” Joshua asked the secretary who was typing away at her computer. “No. Dr. Channing won’t need your services with the database anymore,” Mrs. Morrow said, her eyes fixed to the screen. Joshua was surprised. Had he heard correctly what Mrs. Morrow had just said? “No more data entry?” he asked her. “He is no longer seeing patients. He is now concentrating on his research projects.” 58
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Joshua didn’t know what to do with the rest of his time. He took out his math book and worked on his homework the rest of the afternoon. But he couldn’t concentrate. Where did his notepad and printout disappear to? Why were there twenty-dollar bills in his sister’s room? He knew the Mitland printout was crucial to solving the case. If Kelley had taken his notpad and printout to annoy him, she had succeeded. He must find a way to them back. He banged his fist on the desk with such force that his knuckles hurt. vvv That Wednesday afternoon, Joshua biked to the bank to deposit his paycheck, which he received twice a month. It was hot and the air was stifling. His T-shirt stuck to his back like glue. A bike bell rang and he quickly glanced behind him. It was David, the ninth-grader from his school. “Where’re you heading?” the large boy asked. “To National Bank.” “I’ll race ya!” David whizzed by him. Joshua accelerated on the pedals and caught up with him. “I didn’t know you lived in this neighborhood.” “We moved to the area last year,” David said and grinned. “Where from?” “Lima, a small town farther south.” David grinned again. Joshua looked at him with suspicion. Just a few weeks ago, David had taunted him at school. Now he was acting too friendly. The boys arrived at the bank, which was a couple of miles away. Joshua walked to the cash machine and deposited his money. 59
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“You have an ATM card? I’m speechless!” David remarked. “After a long lecture on do’s and don’ts, my parents decided that it would be best, since it is my own account after all.” Joshua walked back to his bike. “My mom wouldn’t think about giving me an ATM card; not even in her dreams! You have neat parents.” “Yes, they’re cool. Sometimes anyway.” “Do you like working in the lab?” David asked Joshua as they returned to their bikes. “Only when I can look under the microscope or help the scientists with their experiments.” “Anything interesting lately?” David asked. “Not really.” “You know, I like science myself, and someday I would like to become a scientist. Maybe next summer I could work in a lab, too.” Joshua stared at his friend. A scientist? That’s a new revelation about him. “I honestly don’t see you as a scientist, but as a great athlete.” David tightened his grip on the bike’s handle bars and howled with laughter. “So great athletes can’t be great scientists, too? You think athletes are dumb or what?” “I didn’t mean it that way. I guess it would be awesome if you can manage both.” Joshua smiled at him, and then climbed on his bike. Maybe David was not a mean boy after all. Joshua was beginning to like him. “Let’s go to my house, it’s not far from here.” David turned his bike around and went down the main avenue. Joshua followed him. 60
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David’s house was only about a mile from his own house. As they entered, Joshua noticed that the air conditioning was at full blast and he welcomed it. Its cool air refreshed his sweaty, sticky skin. He called his mother to let her know where he was. Then he and David played video games and ate ice cream. As Joshua rode his bike home, he began to think of a plan to trap Kelley into telling him the truth. vvv That evening, he asked his sister if he could use her CD player, since he was having trouble with his. “Nope. It’s broken,” she whispered. “Please, don’t tell Mom and Dad or I’ll be in big trouble.” “Broken? It was brand new! How did it happen and what are you going to do about it?” “I don’t know how it broke, but I will get it fixed.” “Do you have any money?” She didn’t respond and entered her room. The lock clicked. As he lingered in the hall, he heard Kelley squeal behind her bedroom door, “I put it right here two days ago, how could it have disappeared?” “Kelley, open the door!” He banged on her door. “No! Leave me alone!” “I know your secret.” The door instantly opened and he waved twenty-dollar bills in front of her face. She snatched them from his hands. “You sneak!” “You’re no better. Where is my notepad and printout?” 61
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it.”
“What?” “Don’t pretend that you don’t know. I’m sure you have
Tears welled up in Kelley’s eyes, and Joshua entered her room, closing the door behind him. “Where did that money come from?” he demanded. Kelley plopped on her bed, whimpering. She rubbed her eyes hard. “Someone gave it to me.” “Who?” She stared at her brother, her face pink and streaked with tears. “Promise you won’t get mad? And don’t tell Mom and Dad about the CD player, please?” she pleaded. Joshua paused, and then sighed. “All right. As long as you tell me the whole truth.” It was extremely hard to be agreeable when he felt like punching her. “Thanks. Remember the week I came with you to the lab?” She gazed down at her clasped hands. “Well, when you went to get the broom to clean up the broken flask, I opened your backpack and found the notepad and a printout. I knew that they were important to you and I decided to take them. I was so mad at you for not letting me in on your medical mystery.” Kelley glanced nervously at her bedroom door. “On Friday, a stranger approached me in the hallway,” she continued in a low voice. “He told me that he would give me one hundred dollars if I gave him the printout.” Joshua, who was pacing the floor, stopped in astonishment. “How did this man know that you had the computer printout?” “I don’t know.” Kelley watched her brother. “I was scared, and I needed the money to get the CD player fixed. I’m sorry, 62
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Joshua.” Kelley rubbed her swollen eyes. Joshua sat beside her and grunted. “What you did was real mean. But it’s done and continuing to be mad at you won’t bring back my printout. Do you remember what the man who gave you the money looked like?” “I couldn’t see his face well; he had dark glasses and a cap was pulled over most of his face. But he was very tall and had a potbelly.” She paused then said, “He also lisped.” Joshua pushed his glasses closer to his face. A man with a lisp! Didn’t a man who lisped call at the lab two days ago, asking for Mrs. Morrow? He wondered if it was the same person. “Did the man lisp his s’s?” “Yes. He talked real funny. He called me Mith Keegan.” Kelley giggled. “Look, Kelley, this man might be dangerous. There is something very strange going on in the lab. The information that was on the printout has been deleted from the computer database. I must get a copy of that printout, or I won’t have anything to build the case on.” “Is there a backup tape to the data?” Joshua stared at her and his eyes widened. “But of course! Good thinking, Kelley.” He couldn’t believe he’d said that. Complimenting Kelley? “I usually backup the database on a tape each time I enter a new patient.” His next thought, though, brought a groan, “But I’m sure that whoever wanted to delete information from the database would delete it from the backup tape, too.” Kelley got up and went to her dresser. She pulled out a notepad and handed it to Joshua. “At least, your notepad wasn’t lost.” “It wouldn’t have helped the lisping man, anyway. No 63
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one can read my handwriting.” Joshua flipped through the notes. Kelley’s jade-colored eyes shone like brilliant stars. “Please, tell me your mystery. Maybe I can be of help.” “I can’t tell you right now, maybe tomorrow. It’s getting late and I have to go to bed.” He got up and left the room before his sister could say anything else. Joshua wondered if his termination from working on the database had anything to do with the mystery of the dead babies. Somehow, the lisping man knew I had a printout of the Mitland file. If the man who called was the same one who bribed Kelley—and how many lisping men would there be near the lab— what was his connection with Mrs. Morrow? Who was he? Then Joshua’s thoughts turned toward his sister. He was still furious with her for double-crossing him. How dare she! Who does she think she is? He was now fuming.. The queen of the universe? vvv The following day, when Mrs. Morrow had left for lunch, Joshua sneaked into her office. He looked through the desk drawers, but there were no floppy disks. He opened a cabinet and found a stack of old disks. The shelf above was stacked with backup tapes in chronological order from the month of January 2000 to July 2000, skipping the month of May. Suddenly, it dawned on him. When he made the backup for the Mitland folder in May, he had run out of disks and had to use an old disk with a different label on it. He went through several disks in the lower shelves, until he reached one labeled MOLD and BACTERIA. It looked very familiar. 64
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He took it to the computer to check it out. A file named MITLAND 2003 contained the information he needed: addresses of the patients who left town or were deceased, and their health insurer, MUTUAL HEALTH. “Bingo! I found it,” Joshua exclaimed. As he was about to push the PRINT command, the door opened and Mrs. Morrow walked in.
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Chapter 7
MRS. MORROW’S FURY Joshua forced a smile as he quickly exited the program. “Hi, Mrs. Morrow.” The secretary glared at him. “Didn’t I tell you you’re not needed here anymore?” “I finished my chores and thought I’d play TETRIS,” Joshua said quickly. “I didn’t think you’d mind as long as I didn’t bother anything.” “TETRIS?” “You’ve never played that game? It’s so much fun!” He tried to show her, but she wasn’t interested. “Not now. I have work to do, and I think it’s time for you to leave the office, please.” Joshua thought quickly. He had to get the disk from the computer before Mrs. Morrow used the computer, because if she tried to insert a floppy disk, she would notice the other one in the drive. His heartbeat intensified as he mulled over his dilemma. Fortunately, the phone rang and Mrs. Morrow picked it up. “Good afternoon, Dr. Channing’s office.” She covered the mouthpiece and looked at Joshua. “Leave the room, Joshua.” She then turned her back to him and the computer. While he was pulling the tape out, Mrs. Morrow’s voice thundered, “What are you doing? Didn’t I ask you to leave?” Joshua jumped from his seat and dropped the tape on the carpeted floor. “Sorry, I’ll leave right now,” he said, pushing the tape 67
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under the desk with his foot. He returned to his chores, but his mind was still on the tape. An hour later, a shriek bellowed from Mrs. Morrow’s office. “Joshua, come to the office, NOW!” Joshua’s eyeglasses almost dropped off his nose. She must have found the tape! He thought. I’m in big, big trouble. Sweat started to form on his forehead and his face became flushed as he slowly moved toward her. “Yes, Mrs. Morrow?” Everyone in the lab watched him. His steps felt heavier as he got closer to the office. Mrs. Morrow was standing straight, looking stern like a school principal. “Are you sure you were thorough with your backup?” “Of course! The tapes should all be in the same place, on the second shelf.” “One is definitely missing.” She stretched her arm to the second shelf and pointed at the disks labeled according to chronological order: January, February, March, April, June, and July. “So, where is the May tape?” “I don’t know,” Joshua said. Mrs. Morrow glowered at him. For an instant, Joshua thought that he was staring at his Tyrannosaurus Rex figure, a gift from his grandpa years ago. “That’s not good enough,” she snapped at him. “Go over each shelf again, right now!” Under Mrs. Morrow’s sharp gaze, Joshua’s hands trembled as he pulled each tape to look at the label. “I’m pretty sure I backed up the May file.” Joshua expected her eyes to pop out of their sockets any minute. She scratched the back of her neck and her face turned red. “Then, where is it? Did you take it?” She then pushed 68
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him to the side and frantically pulled all the tapes from the shelves, dropping them to the floor. “Why would I take a tape that has a bunch of people’s names and addresses on it?” Joshua defended himself. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She dropped to her knees and continued to look for the tape. After what seemed an eternity, she dismissed him from the room. The office door shut with a bang. Joshua sat by his workbench and pulled his notepad from his backpack. He was glad to have it in his possession again. He added his latest development: Tried to get the May tape that contained the Mitland file, but failed. At least it is under the computer desk. Mrs. Morrow’s behavior is weirder than usual. Why is she so interested in that tape? An unpleasant thought occurred to him: What if Mrs. Morrow was the link between Kelley and the man who lisped? During her “chaperoning” week, his sister seemed to have gotten along well with the secretary. He would have to ask Kelley when he got home. The rest of the afternoon, Joshua had the creepy feeling he was being watched. When the clock struck four, he was out of the lab like a bolt of lightning. “The tape will have to wait till tomorrow,” he whispered to himself. As he and his mother walked out of the building into the bright afternoon sun, Joshua’s tense muscles relaxed. On their way home, his mother hummed a tune and he wondered if he should tell her about his mystery case. But she might become angry with me and hand the case over to the police, Joshua thought. He didn’t think it was a good idea to get the police involved…yet. 69
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vvv “Kelley, I really need to talk to you,” he told his sister urgently. She was sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework. She looked up. “Hmm?” “Let’s go to my room.” He waved to her, and she quickly got up and followed him up the stairs to his room. “Look, I’ve thought this thing through over and over again, and I’m absolutely one hundred percent positive you can help me solve this mystery,” Joshua said, appealing to Kelley’s need to be considered mature and a part of everything he did. “Now, I need you to think very carefully and be totally honest with me—” “Why wouldn’t I be honest with you?” Kelley asked defensively. “Because maybe I haven’t always been as nice to you as I should have been. Maybe sometimes I just push you away because…well, because that’s what brothers do sometimes. But, this is serious, Kelley, and you can help not just me, but other people, too.” “Are you going to tell me your mystery?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him steadily. “I will tell you… eventually. There is a good reason why I can’t tell you now, but I promise I’ll tell you everything, if you’ll just tell me the whole truth. How would the lisping man have known that you had the printout?” “I don’t know—oh!” Her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth as she sat on Joshua’s bed. “What is it?” “Remember the week I was in the lab with you? Well… I 70
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think I mentioned to Mrs. Morrow that you had a printout from the patients’ database,” Kelley said. Joshua’s emotions took over and the feeling of camaraderie left the room as he exploded.” You Big Mouth!” His stomach tightened and he was tempted to hit her, but controlled himself. He concluded that punching his sister wouldn’t benefit either of them. “That would explain what happened today.” Then Joshua proceeded to mimic his sister’s behavior with Mrs. Morrow, “Hi, Mrs. Morrow, hee hee. You look great, today, hee hee. So that’s what you both talked about: my secret mystery case?” Joshua’s hands gripped Kelley’s shoulders, and he continued with his tirade. “You didn’t just steal—you betrayed me to the enemy!” “Stop! Stop! You’re hurting me!” Her shrieks pierced his ears. He realized that he was shaking his sister as hard as if she were a rag doll. He quickly let go of her. As Kelley wept, he felt a lump in his throat. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you Kelley continued to sob. “Mrs. Morrow was very nice to me, and I liked her. It never came to my mind that she might be a bad person.” “Don’t you see?” Joshua said as he sat down next to his sister, lowering his voice and beginning to think of things rationally. “Mrs. Morrow, that old witch, must have told the lisping man and he came after you. They must be plotting something horrible. Weeks ago, when the Mitland folder was erased from the database, she pretended that she didn’t know what I was talking about. Then today, when she couldn’t find the backup tape, she accused me of taking it. So we are 71
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in real danger. They may come after us to get the tape.” “I made such a mess of things. I’m scared,” she moaned, holding her head between her hands. “And I'm really, really sorry.” Soon, her sobs turned into sniffles. “What… are you going to do?” “I’m not sure yet. But, I know the first thing I need to do is get hold of that tape.” “You mean you don’t have it?” Kelley’s red-rimmed eyes grew wide. “I will have it tomorrow,” Joshua said, trying to sound confident. “It’s all my fault we are in this mess.” Kelley started to sob again. Joshua couldn’t stand her whimpering any longer. “Do you want to help me with solving this mystery or are you just going to sit there and cry like a baby?” he blurted out. “Yes, I do want to help!” Kelley’s eyes lit up. “Then this case is our secret. No one else knows about it except you and me. Tell no one! Can you do that?” “Our secret?” She smiled and giggled, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. “Does that mean we are partners?” “Sort of.” Kelley hugged her brother and said, “You’re the smartest brother I could ever have!” Joshua released himself from his enthusiastic sister’s embrace and stood up. “Just remember that sometimes I need to do things on my own. You’ve got to trust me and not nag me.” He wanted to win her support without involving her too much. By doing so, he hoped that she would stop pestering him. 72
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“What do we do now?” Kelley asked. “Watch our backs. Like Dad says sometimes, ‘It’s a jungle out there.’ “ vvv The following day, while Mrs. Morrow was on a short break, Joshua entered the office and looked under the computer desk. He was relieved to find the tape was still where he had left it the previous afternoon. He picked it up, placed it in his pocket, and left quickly. The printing would have to wait until he got home. Fortunately, his computer had the software program that would allow him to print the file. It had become too risky to use Mrs. Morrow’s computer.
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Chapter 8
A VISIT TO THE TOWER The sun’s warm rays penetrating through the doubleglazed window of Joshua’s bedroom brought him into wakefulness. He squinted and pulled himself out of bed. “Today is Saturday. That means no school or work!” Joshua hollered as he stretched his arms and legs. It was just yesterday when his father had told his sister and him that he would take them to Cleveland’s Terminal Tower in the Public Square. It had been several years since he had visited the Tower and he was looking forward to the trip. His excitement was short-lived. The lisping man and Mrs. Morrow crept back into his thoughts. Was he being watched? He had evidence he was sure they would try to get at all costs. He shuddered at the thought of what they might do to him, or Kelley, to get their hands on the tape. He had just printed the Mitland folder from the backup tape the night before, and he planned to return the tape to the lab on Monday. In the meantime, he had to keep the printout in a safe place. He dropped the tape in his desk drawer and locked it. He wasn’t the only one anxious about the case. Kelley met him in the hallway. Although she was dressed, her eyes were half closed and her hair was messy. “Are you sick or something?” Joshua asked her. She looked at her brother and sighed. “I’m kind of scared to go. What if the man with the lisp is there?” “Shh! Keep your voice down. Do you want to drag our parents into this?” he whispered, pulling her into his room. 75
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“I’m scared, but I’ll go. I want to spend time with Dad.” “Are you sure? It could be dangerous.” “If you can go, then I can go, too.” Joshua rolled his eyes. “Then promise me that you’ll keep cool.” “I’ll try.” “Keep up your guard. We must stick together. Two is better than one.” He couldn’t believe he said that— stick to his sister? Was he scared, too? Smoke coming from the kitchen seeped throughout the house. Joshua went downstairs and found his father with a phone in one hand and a spatula in the other, trying to cook some pancakes and sausages. Hot air blew in as Joshua opened the windows. Twenty minutes later, Joshua, Kelley and their dad were on their way to the Tower. “How come Mom is not coming with us today?” Joshua asked. “She has some work to do at the hospital. We will meet her later for lunch,” his father said. “On Saturday? She never works on Saturday.” Kelley was biting her purple-painted fingernails. “She had an urgent matter to attend to. It’s just a couple of hours.” The Terminal Tower’s fifty-two floors loomed over the city’s main shopping arcade and Lake Erie. Joshua surveyed the area from the car window. The streets were crowded with tourists. He wondered why anybody would choose to spend vacation time in Cleveland. The car pulled into a parking space. Outside the car, Joshua gasped for breath as the hot, humid air engulfed him. 76
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He ran toward the enclosed air-conditioned shopping arcade and quickly entered. “Ah… relief,” he said, looking around him. “Do you recognize anyone?” he whispered to his sister. “Unless the lisping man has the same disguise, I won’t be able to recognize him,” Kelley said pragmatically. They saw the elevator and joined the line of people waiting to enter it. Maybe we should come in the wintertime, when there are no tourists to keep us waiting in line, Joshua thought. He started to fumble with the pockets of his shorts as he waited for the elevator that wouldn’t come. At last, the UP arrow lit and the elevator doors opened, unloading its passengers. Within seconds, the numbers above the door lit from L to 42. Joshua’s ears popped as he yawned several times. The elevator slowed down before coming to a full stop. “Children, you go ahead to the observatory deck while I use the restroom. I’ll come find you,” Mr. Keegan instructed Joshua and Kelley. At the circular terrace atop the Tower, the children ran to one of the telescopes at the north side of the Tower, and Joshua inserted a quarter. They took turns looking through the eyepiece, pointing at the azure-colored Lake Erie which looked more like an ocean than a lake, and the Key Tower skyscraper, with its shimmering stainless steel pyramidal. “Whoa! He’s here!” Kelley gasped as she shifted the tube toward the deck. “Who? The lisping man?” her brother asked. “Yes. I think so; he has on the same disguise.” The telescope was facing the western edge of the terrace. 77
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Joshua pulled it toward him and adjusted the view. A large man with a straw hat, dark glasses, and a colorful Hawaiian shirt grew larger and larger until he was just a couple of steps away from them. He had a potbelly. “Go look for Dad,” Joshua yelled, pushing his sister in one direction while he began running in the other. He almost lost his baseball cap to the relentless wind, but managed to keep it in place. “No! I’m going with you!” Kelley resisted as she ran after her brother. The last thing Joshua had was time to argue with his sister. Luckily, there were a lot of tourists, and Joshua and Kelley were able to lose the stalker. Joshua went inside the tower and stopped at the men’s restroom to look for his father. “This is creepy! What are we going to do? Where is Dad?” Kelley wailed as Joshua emerged from the restroom. “We’ll find him later. Right now, we need to get out of here!” He ran toward the elevator just as the doors closed. He quickly glanced at the exit sign. “Let’s take the stairs.” “No! I’m not going down forty-two flights of stairs!” Kelley whined. “We have no choice! The lisping man probably thinks we’re in the elevator.” They started their descent down. A couple of minutes later, Joshua heard footsteps behind him; someone else was using the stairs. His heart pounded as he quickened his pace. Kelley started to moan and grumble. “I can’t do it! I’m tired!” “We must hurry, or he’ll catch up with us!” Joshua urged her on. 78
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From the numbers on the exit doors, Joshua gathered that they had gone down twenty-five floors already. He had no time to think about his aching legs. The intruder’s steps became louder and louder. Joshua heard Kelley’s shriek, followed by a thump. Then a strong pull on Joshua’s collar almost cut off his airway. He turned around to face his assailant. “I got you, boy!” the voice was deep and menacing. “Now, give me the dithk.” The stalker’s breath was nauseating. “What dithk?” Joshua looked into the tiny eyes. His legs turned to jelly. “Don’t be a thmart aleck, boy, or you’ll regret it!” He shook Joshua. “Leave my brother alone!” Kelley screamed as she pulled herself up and jumped on the man’s large back, whacking at his thick, hairy arm. The man shoved Kelley against the wall; she bumped her head and fell again. “Here it is, go get it!” Joshua said as he removed his Swiss army knife from his pocket and threw it as far as he could up the stairs. The man heard a clunk and went after it. Joshua grabbed his sister and continued his descent, three steps at a time. After another eighteen floors, Joshua and his sister made it to the first level and opened the door just in time, for the lisping man was at their heels. “That was no dithk, you thneak!” the man howled. Joshua saw his father at the entrance, ran to him, and gave him a bear hug. “Oh, how glad I am to see you, Dad!” A frown appeared on Mr. Keegan’s face. “What’s wrong? Where have you two been? And why do you both look as if 79
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you’ve seen a ghost?” Out of the corner of his eye, Joshua saw the lisping man glowering at him by the exit door. “Worse than a ghost,” he murmured, taking a deep breath. In the car, Joshua kept looking at the right rear view mirror to make sure that the stalker wasn’t following them. “Are you all right, Joshua?” His father’s voice showed concern. “I’m fine.” Mr. Keegan quickly glanced at his watch. “We’re late. I hope your mother won’t be too worried.” “Joshua, check and see if your mother is waiting for us in the lobby,” his father said as he pulled the car into the hospital entrance. Joshua got out and went inside the building. His mother was standing next to the elevator. “I’ve been waiting for you for over an hour. Where have you been?” Her voice was abrupt. “I was about to go back to my office.” “Sorry, Mom, but we’re here now.” Joshua grinned awkwardly. They walked to the car and Joshua sat next to his sister in the back seat. “I’m starving! I hope you didn’t already eat lunch,” his mother remarked. “Nope.” Mr. Keegan said. “Didn’t we plan to have lunch together? Blame the kids for making us late. They disappeared in the Tower and I had to wait for them for a long time.” Kelley spoke for the first time since the tower incident, “Sorry, Mom and Dad.” 80
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“Can we eat at Pizza Port?” Joshua asked. Although the fast-food restaurant served mediocre pizza, the thought of a large, chocolate-filled, ice-cream float caused him to salivate. “I don’t feel like eating pizza,” his sister said, folding her arms in defiance. “I don’t care where we eat. Just get me to a food place,” her mother intervened. Pizza Port was the closest restaurant to the hospital and so they went. The waiter ushered them to a table and took their orders. Dr. Davis sighed, “What an unfortunate day!” “Mom, we’re truly sorry for making you wait so long.” Joshua meant it. His mother smiled weakly at him. “I didn’t really mean that.” Mr. Keegan took a bite out of his pizza. “What happened?” “Dr. Martin, the medical examiner, called and asked me to get to his office as soon as possible. That is where I was when you were having fun at the Tower.” Fun? That was far from the truth, Joshua thought. “Anyway,” his mother continued, “When I got to his office, Dr. Martin was literally shaking. We were working on a case involving flood victims, and he informed me that some of their records had disappeared. The records belonged to Dr. Channing’s patients.” “The babies in Mitland?” Joshua blurted out. His mother looked at him; her brown eyes grew wide. “How did you know?” 81
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He could have slapped himself on the face. “I… well, one of my duties at work was to enter new patients’ data into the patient database. I remember quite a few babies from Mitland had died. It’s just a guess.” “That was a pretty good guess, Joshua.” His mother stopped eating and continued to stare at him. “Tell me more about the Mitland babies. What else do you know?” He wished that he could have disappeared under the table like he used to do when he was a toddler. He shifted his gaze toward his father, then his sister. They had their eyes fixed on him, too. Is this a clue that it’s time to tell Mom and Dad about the case? he wondered. After all, the stalker had endangered their lives at the Tower just that morning. “I only know that the data was deleted from the database because Dr. Channing didn’t have use for it anymore.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell his parents the whole truth, yet. He was surprised that his sister stayed quiet during the meal. He watched her as she devoured her ice-cream float. His mother arched her eyebrows. “But why would Dr. Channing delete records? Usually records are kept for several years, in case they are needed again. This is really strange.” Joshua was intrigued. “What did the medical examiner say about those babies?” “About two weeks ago, Dr. Martin told me about his concern over the babies who had lived in the flooded areas. It was highly unusual to have clusters of them dying within several weeks of each other. He had wanted to find out the reason for their deaths. A few of them supposedly had died of SIDS, but he wasn’t convinced. These babies had 82
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trouble breathing and yet there were no chest x-ray reports on them.” "SIDS?" Joshua had never seen or heard the word before. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That is what they put on a death certificate if doctors don’t see an immediate cause for the death of an infant, usually under six months old,” his mother explained while taking another bite of her pizza. She continued, “Dr. Martin asked permission from three of the families to get the bodies exhumed and specimens taken to do more tests.” Kelley grimaced. “That sounds creepy and awful! I will not allow anyone to dig me up after I’m dead.” “And how do you plan to stop people from doing so after you die? Breathe your spirit on them?” Joshua mocked her. She glowered at him and folded her arms. Joshua held his breath waiting for his sister to blurt out the whole case. But she relaxed and continued to eat her ice-cream float. “Stop teasing your sister, Joshua,” his father said in a stern voice. “In any case, Dr. Martin took different specimens, including samples from the lungs,” his mother resumed her story. “He thought the lung specimens looked suspicious, and he asked for my help. Several days ago, I went to look at them and to my astonishment, I found that all the lungs had abnormalities pointing to hemorrhage. Today I found out that those specimens have vanished.” “That is bizarre. What is your next step?” Joshua’s dad asked. “I’m not sure. I don’t think Dr. Martin will be able to get new specimens.” Joshua’s mind was racing. Did the lisping man steal the 83
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specimens? If he did, how did he know about them? Was the medical examiner being watched, too? Was his phone bugged? Joshua wanted to be helpful without divulging his secret investigation. “Maybe you could get in touch with the families who moved away from Mitland,” he said. “The database showed two families who moved out of Mitland not long ago. One of them was the Lee family, remember them?” “Yes. Was there a forwarding address?” his mother asked. “I’m not sure.” “Then that’s a dead end.” Joshua would have to check the printout. But what if there were no addresses? There was another alternative, which made his stomach churn—paying a second visit to Mrs. Baker in Mitland.
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Chapter 9
MR. MYRTLE As soon as Mr. Keegan opened the front door, Joshua dashed upstairs to his bedroom. He prayed that the Mitland folder included the forwarding addresses of those who relocated. He gasped when he entered his room. “What’s wrong?” Kelley asked as she came behind him. Oh, no!” Joshua’s room was in shambles. His books, videos, and video games littered the entire floor. His clothes were spread out all over his bed, and the dresser drawers were overturned. “The creep made it to my room. How dare him!” Joshua uttered under his breath. He noticed that his desk drawer was forcibly pulled out. There was no tape in it. It looks like I won’t have to bother returning it on Monday, he thought. He was glad that the printout was in a very safe place. “What in the world happened here?” his father stuck his head around the door. Joshua’s heart sank. Now, his parents would bring in the police. However, that might not be a bad idea after all; it was kind of creepy having a stalker watching everything he did. Ten minutes later, two officers from the Cleveland Police Department arrived. They interrogated Joshua for what seemed an eternity. Joshua told them about the man with the 85
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lisp at the Tower, but he didn’t mention what the man was after. “Do you know the identity of the stalker?” Detective James asked him as he wrote in his notepad. “No,” Joshua said. “Could you describe him?” “He’s tall with a large potbelly. He had a large hat and dark glasses.” “Anything else?” “No.” “He lisped the s sound,” Kelley volunteered. Joshua glanced at her. Quick thinking! Maybe she is not so stupid after all, he thought. “You wouldn’t know what he was after? Anything missing?” Detective James asked while twisting his thick mustache. “No,” Joshua said, shaking his head, all the while wondering how much trouble he could get in for lying to a police officer. “Well, if you find out anything, please give me a call.” The detective gave him a business card. “This is serious. If he’s after something that you have, he’ll come back.” Joshua knew that he wouldn’t be coming back, for the stalker had already taken what he wanted. An hour later, the detective left the house. “Why didn’t you tell me about this stalker?” His father’s voice was angry. “The police could have caught him by now.” “We were too scared and… and we didn’t want to worry you,” Joshua said. Kelley stayed quiet, to Joshua’s relief. It wasn’t time yet to tell the whole story; there were still too many loose ends to 86
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take care of. His mother plopped down on the family room sofa. “What a strange day. A stalker, lost specimens, a room in shambles, and the police.” She looked up at Joshua and Kelley. “You know what you did was reckless. Your dad is right; you should have alerted the police when you were at the Tower.” Mr. Keegan was pacing the floor with his hands clasped behind his back. “The stalker didn’t say anything to you? He just chased you?” “Yes. We told the police everything.” Joshua wasn’t about to tell his dad any more than he had told the police. After his parents left the room, Kelley softly spoke to her brother. “Do you think he found the tape?” “Yes, but I have a printout.” Joshua helped himself to a banana from the fruit bowl placed on the kitchen table. “Where is it?” Kelley asked. “It’s a secret.” “But I’m your partner now,” his sister raised her voice. “You’d better tell me or I’ll tell Mom and Dad!” “Don’t be an idiot,” Joshua retorted, as he gobbled down the banana. “And how will you cover your role in this case? You’re the one who got us involved with that lisping man in the first place.” Kelley sighed. “You’ll have to clean up the mess in your bedroom all alone then. Have fun!” she sneered as she walked out of the room. Joshua made a face at her. Then, he went to the phone and dialed David’s telephone number. vvv 87
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“Hi, Mrs. Hesworth. This is Joshua. Could I speak to David, please?” “Of course, dear.” The woman’s voice was pleasant. After a moment on hold, he heard his friend bellow through the receiver, “Hi, Joshua!” David sounded out of breath. “Did you just come home from basketball practice?” “You guessed it. Besides biking, what else do I enjoy? You know there is a championship game coming up soon. I hope you’ll come.” “I’ll be there.” “What’s up?” “I need to check something in the printout. I hope it’s still in your secret box. Can I come now?” “I guess so. Let me ask my mom.” Five minutes later, Joshua biked his way to his friend’s house. He was convinced that David’s house was safer than his, and in spite of what Kelley said, she was still his little sister and not exactly his partner. David pulled his box from under his bed and opened it. A rubber band kept the printout rolled in a cylindrical shape. Joshua unrolled it and searched it for forwarding addresses. His heart sank; there were no forwarding addresses. That meant that he would have to go back to Mitland and talk to Mrs. Baker. David peeked at the paper in Joshua’s hands. “Did you find what you want?” “Oh… no.” Joshua took a deep breath and mumbled, “I will have to go back to that dreary place.” “Did you say dreary place? What’s going on, Joshua? Whatever you’re doing seems so exciting!” 88
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Joshua grinned. “I can’t tell you now. Maybe later.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go. Is it okay if I continue to keep this printout in your box?” “Yep. But what does all this mean? Why is a paper with a bunch of names and addresses so important?” “I’ll tell you the whole story soon, I promise. Thanks, David.” As Joshua walked into the living room, the doorbell rang. “It’s probably my uncle,” David said as he walked to the door. A tall, thin man with a dark goatee walked in. “This is my uncle, Fred Myrtle,” David introduced him to Joshua. Joshua grasped the man’s large hand and felt a squeeze that almost drained the blood from his own hand. He winced. “I’m Joshua Keegan. Nice to meet you, Mr. Myrtle.” The man seemed oblivious to the pain he caused Joshua. “I finally meet the famous Joshua. David talks quite often about you.” The man’s voice was deep and loud. “Uncle Fred is my mother’s brother. He is here quite often,” David said. Mr. Myrtle put his arm around David’s shoulder. “That is because you are my favorite nephew.” He looked at Joshua and continued, “David tells me that you are working in a lab for the summer. Are you enjoying it?” “Not when I am cleaning the glassware; that’s boring.” The phone rang and David went to pick it up. “Yes, Dr. Channing. My uncle is here.” He gave the portable phone to his uncle who excused himself and disappeared into the living room. 89
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Dr. Channing? Joshua was astonished. “Is Dr. Channing the same guy that I work for?” “I think so, but I’m not sure. He has called here several times looking for my uncle.” “How come you never told me?” Joshua’s eyebrows arched as he looked hard at David. David shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I kept forgetting to mention it. My uncle knows a lot of people.” As Joshua walked to the door he turned toward David. “Where does your uncle know Dr. Channing from?” “I don’t know. I never asked him.” “Does your uncle live far from here?” David smiled. “His house is not too far from here. He actually lives in this huge mansion. You can easily get lost there, it's very spooky. I should take you there sometime.” “A mansion? Wow! What does he do?” “He runs an insurance company.” Joshua’s eyes widened. “Do you know the name of the company?” David stared at him with suspicion. “Why the sudden interest in my uncle?” he asked. “You sound like a detective.” “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” “You could ask him more questions yourself.” “Maybe next time. I need to go now. See you later.” vvv When Joshua got home, he recorded the events of the day on his notepad: The lisping man stalked Kelley and me at the Tower. Specimens belonging to the Mitland victims are missing. My 90
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room is ransacked. The tape is gone. Went to David’s house to look at the printout, but there were no forwarding addresses. Met Uncle Fred, David’s uncle who works at some insurance company. He knows Dr. Channing.
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Chapter 10
SECOND TRIP TO MITLAND Dr. Tang was hunched over the microscope when Joshua stopped by to say hello on Monday morning. To his surprise, the scientist looked cheerful. That gave Joshua courage to talk. “Anything interesting you’re looking at?” “Take a look for yourself and tell me what you see.” Joshua adjusted the eyepiece and looked through. Large, round and elongated cells with blue-stained nuclei stared back at him. “Are these cells healthy?” “They sure are, and it is great news!” Dr. Tang’s grin spread from ear to ear. “How come?” “I found an antidote that might work on a deadly mold. These cells were exposed to the mold toxin, and then treated with the potential antidote. They look like they are returning to health!” Joshua gasped. “Deadly mold? An antidote?” Dr. Tang pulled away from the microscope and directed Joshua to a seat. “Joshua, I have mistreated you and I apologize. Dr. Channing and I are working on very sensitive research that will only continue to be funded if we can find a cure for this mold’s toxin. Since many labs are trying to do the same thing we’re doing, we have to be discreet about it. Do you understand?” “I think so.” Joshua pushed his glasses closer to his eyes. 93
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“Is it the Stachybotrys mold?” “Yes. It is called Stachybotrys Atra mold. It releases poisonous spores into the environment. It thrives on wet wood or paper. Homes that suffer flood or sewer damage can be vulnerable to this toxic mold. Joshua hung on Dr. Tang’s every word. His spine tingled. “So, this mold can also kill cattle that eat hay contaminated with it?” Dr. Tang nodded. “Yes. And in humans, it can cause breathing problems, and it is especially dangerous to infants. The situation seems to worsen when the infants are exposed to smoking. The spores are inhaled and cause lung damage. This leads to hemorrhage and, eventually, the babies die.” Joshua swallowed hard. He remembered that Mrs. Baker had smoked when he visited her. “Will your antidote help the babies?” “I hope so, one day.” “What is the antidote made of?” Dr. Tang wagged his first finger at Joshua. “Now, this is information that has to stay a secret, at least until the data get published.” “Dr. Tang, are you familiar with the Mitland case?” “Mitland? That sounds familiar. Isn’t it the town hit hardest by the floods last winter? I remember hearing about it in the news.” “Yes.” “What about it?” Joshua shifted in his seat. “Did you know that several infants from Mitland died a few months after the flood?” “No, I didn’t know about those babies. How sad.” Joshua thought that Dr. Tang looked genuinely concerned. 94
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Dr. Tang’s eyes narrowed. “You think those babies died from the Stachybotrys mold?” “I think so. I was there and saw the mold,” Joshua replied. “Where did you see the mold?” “At one of the homes that was flooded. I took a sample of it.” Dr. Tang raised his eyebrows. “You went to Mitland alone? It’s quite an unsafe neighborhood.” “Just like you, I like to investigate medical mysteries. I think I told you that my horse, Mandy, died of intestinal hemorrhage which was traced to the mold that had contaminated the hay she ate.” “Yes, I remember you telling me about your horse, and I’m sorry. So you wanted to find out if the Stachybotrys mold might have been involved in the deaths of those babies in that town?” “Yes.” Dr. Tang smiled and patted Joshua on the back. “I’m impressed. You will make a great medical detective one day.” “Thanks. But can you keep this a secret? I’m not done with the investigation. I still have to go back to Mitland.” “Of course. You can count on me, and I’m glad we’re friends again. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of a future famous detective.” Dr. Tang laughed loudly. Then he advised Joshua not to go alone to Mitland. “It would be safer if someone went with you to Mitland and I would be more than happy to go. I would like to look at that damaged wall myself.” “I don’t know when I can go.” Joshua didn’t want Dr. Tang to know that he was actually 95
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investigating a possible crime. If he found out, he might alert the police. Joshua shuddered at the thought that the stalker might not end his pursuit until Joshua solved the case. vvv At noon, Joshua grabbed his backpack and left the lab. He squinted as he stepped outside the hospital. The bright sun and cloudless sky were in stark contrast to the dreary weather he had to endure the first time he visited Mitland. He glanced nervously behind him as he walked toward the bus station. His watch displayed 12:10 p.m. A bus would arrive any minute now; he had studied the schedule in detail. In less than a minute, a city bus appeared. Joshua got on it, paid his bus fare and walked toward the back. Two other passengers occupied the first row. He thought about what he would say to Mrs. Baker. Would she cooperate? He wondered. The thought of entering her stuffy, smoky house again triggered knots in his stomach. Just before his stop, Joshua pulled the string to let the bus driver know that he was getting off. He walked toward the front and greeted the driver. “Not too many people get off at this stop, kid. It’s a dreary place. Friends living in this area?” “Not exactly,” Joshua replied, thinking of an answer. “Ah, I’m visiting my friend’s grandmother.” The bus stopped at the designated Mitland stop. “Enjoy your visit. Make sure you return home before it’s dark!” The driver yelled at Joshua and he rolled his eyes as he got off the bus. It wasn’t enough to get advice from Dr. 96
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Tang, and now the bus driver? They all sounded like his mom or dad. Be careful! Watch out! He knew how to take care of himself and didn’t need to be reminded all the time. Joshua walked toward Grape Street. The street was unchanged: desolate and silent. A chill went down his spine. “The driver is right, it’s dreary out here,” he murmured. He fidgeted with a quarter as he quickened his pace. The coin fell and he stopped to retrieve it. Was he hearing footsteps? He wondered in the stillness of the day if his imagination was playing tricks on him. He picked up the quarter and continued to walk, then stopped again. Scraping sounds were catching up with him. Someone was following him and he was too scared to look behind him. His pace shifted from trudging to sprinting. “Joshua, Joshua! Stop!” Joshua stopped and turned. It was Dr. Tang! “Why are you here? Have you been following me?” Joshua’s voice quavered. Could Dr. Tang be the man in disguise who lisped to hide his identity? Impossible–Dr. Tang was too short. “I… I am very sorry to scare you like this, but I had to follow you. You are in a dangerous neighborhood,” Dr. Tang said. He reached out his hand to touch Joshua, but Joshua took a step backward. Dr. Tang moved toward him. “I’m trying to protect you,” he said. “How long have you been following me?” “Since you left the hospital.” Dr Tang took a deep breath and continued, “I looked all over the lab for you, but couldn’t find you. I went to your desk and saw a note on it that said Mitland. I thought that maybe you decided to go there. I 97
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quickly went downstairs and saw you leave the building. You were walking toward the bus station, so I took my car and waited for you there.” Joshua’s face relaxed. “You were worried about me?” “Yes. I was worried ...” His voice was suddenly muted by the screeching noise of a large, black Cadillac swerving to a halt near them. A man got out and pushed Dr. Tang into the car. “Ha! You thought you could get away from me?” the man who lisped howled at Joshua and tried to shove him into the car, too. Joshua looked at the occupants of the car. He recognized the man behind the driver’s seat. Mr. Myrtle stared at him blankly as if he had never seen him before. He heard Mr. Myrtle tell his attacker to hurry up. “Not before I get my handth on thith boy!” the lisping man growled. Joshua hit him with his backpack. While the man was staggering, Joshua darted from the car like a hurricane. He had never felt so light on his feet before. He ran and ran. Hoping that the stalker had lost him, he turned right on Grape Street. He located Mrs. Baker’s house and knocked at the door until his knuckles hurt. “This is Joshua! Remember me? Please, Mrs. Baker, open the door quickly! Someone is chasing me!” Mrs. Baker finally opened the door and he went in. He locked the door behind him. Joshua’s breathing was rapid and shallow; his legs felt like rubber. “Thank you, Mrs. Baker. Don’t open… the door to… the stalker, please!” he gasped. He ran to the kitchen and hid behind the counter. Three 98
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minutes later, the bell rang three times, but Mrs. Baker did not open the door. Joshua peeked through the window and saw the lisping man disappear around the corner of the street. “What is this all about, child? If I hadn’t met you earlier I wouldn’t have opened the door for you.” Mrs. Baker’s tone was harsh. The room turned cloudy as she puffed several times on a cigarette. “I’m real sorry, ma’am. It’s a long story and I think I should tell you the truth.” “The truth about what? Sit down.” Mrs. Baker patted the seat next to her on the beige sofa. He reluctantly sat beside her. “Well, I think that the death of the babies in Mitland could have been prevented.” “What do you mean?” “Remember the black thing on your wall? That is a mold that produces deadly spores, especially dangerous to babies. It is called Stachybotrys and it causes lung hemorrhage in infants who are exposed to it. There is someone who is trying to stop me from finding out the truth about those babies.” The woman stubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray on her lap and looked at Joshua; her dark eyes widened in amazement. “You mean someone has deliberately killed those innocent babies? But why?” “I’m not sure if it was deliberate or not. I want to find out who is trying to stop me and why. I work in Dr. Channing’s lab. He is the pediatrician who was supposed to treat all those babies. There is something strange going on and I intend to find out what it is,” Joshua said and paused, wondering if Mrs. Baker believed his story. “Please, don’t call the police yet,” he continued. “I am 99
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going to the station myself. My supervisor has just been kidnapped, and I need to report it.” He looked down at his hands, then at Mrs. Baker. “I need to find out where those last two babies moved—the ones who didn’t die. Do you have their addresses?” “Do you mean the Lees and the Cummings?” Mrs. Jones asked. “You knew the Lee family?” “Well enough to get their forwarding address. They lived around the block from here. Do you know them?” “My mom took care of their baby. They showed up one day at her office. Their baby was very sick. My mom is a pediatric pulmonary specialist.” “Really? At Cleveland General?” “Yes, ma’am.” Mrs. Baker sighed. “How come your mother didn’t help my grandchild?” Joshua was at a loss. He chose his words carefully, “Maybe because she didn’t know about your grandchild’s condition.” He didn’t think it was appropriate at this time to tell Mrs. Baker that Dr. Channing refused to refer her grandson to a specialist, the same as with Baby Lee. If it weren’t for Baby Lee’s parents’ determination to visit his mother, the infant would not be alive today. “Let me get my address book,” Mrs. Baker winced as she pulled her large body up from her sinking sofa. She disappeared into the kitchen, then came back and handed Joshua a piece of paper. “I copied the addresses for you. I forgot to ask you, why do you need to track them down?” “It’s for my mom. She is trying to determine the cause of 100
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the other infants’ deaths. She needs to find out if the lungs of those babies were damaged.” Placing his backpack on his shoulder, Joshua slipped the paper into his pants pocket. “Thank you for your help and for allowing me to hide in your house.” He smiled at Mrs. Baker as he walked to the door. “This is the least I can do for my family. You know that my grandson passed away several months ago while he was under my care.” She forced back tears. “Yes. I’m sorry.” Mrs. Baker opened the door and looked outside. “Doesn’t look like there is a stalker lurking around here.” Joshua stepped out and said his farewell. Even though the house was saturated with deadly toxins and cigarette smoke that burned his eyes, it was much safer than the streets. Fear gripped him as he stepped onto the sidewalk. He ran down the road and into the main avenue leading to the bus stop. He thought about Mr. Myrtle. What was he doing in the car? What was his involvement in the case? Was he a bad guy? Ten minutes later, Joshua took the bus and got off near David’s house. Dr. Tang was kidnapped, and Joshua’s duty was to report it to the police station as soon as he got hold of the Mitland printout. Without the printout he had no proof linking Dr. Channing’s lab to the lisping man. He could have kicked himself for confiding in Dr. Tang. Now his supervisor was missing!
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Chapter 11
A VISIT TO THE POLICE STATION
“I need to get my printout,” Joshua told his friend as David invited him into the house. He was breathless. A usual twenty-minute walk from the bus station had taken him only five minutes. Joshua couldn’t remember running so fast in his life. He thought that he was getting good at it. “Why are you out of breath?” David asked him. Joshua grinned, arching one eyebrow. “I am practicing running for the track team.” David opened the drawer where the rolled printout was kept. It was empty! Joshua rubbed his eyes. “But… it was here yesterday! Who would take it?” Then he remembered Mr. Myrtle, whom David called Uncle Fred. “I don’t know! I definitely kept it here. Nobody else knew about it beside me.” David seemed surprised, too. “I really need to go to the police station right now. Dr. Tang has been kidnapped.” David’s eyes grew large. “Your supervisor? Wow! Can I come with you?” “I guess so.” The police station was only a mile away. When the boys arrived, they found out that they had to wait a good half-hour before anybody could talk to them. The station was busy. A man with muddy, frizzy hair and stain-smudged clothes sat in a corner talking to himself, unmindful of the two policemen 103
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who were hovering over him. Joshua and David walked to the long counter where a heavy set tall woman was filling out a form. Next to her was a toddler, pulling on her skirt and whining. A policewoman was leading a short man in handcuffs to the back of the station. Joshua asked the blonde young woman behind the counter if he could talk to Detective James. He gave her his name. “He’ll be with you shortly.” The woman motioned them to the reception area. “Please, tell me. What’s going on?” David pleaded with Joshua as they sank into the last two empty seats in the room. Joshua took a deep breath. “Well, I think there is something funny going on at the lab.” He told David about the mold Stachybotrys that causes lung hemorrhage in infants. He had stumbled on it when he learned about his horse Mandy’s cause of death. He explained how this mold can be found on the walls of flooded homes. “When I was helping Mrs. Morrow enter patients’ information into the database, I found out that several infant patients lived in Mitland, the area that was hit hardest by the winter floods,” Joshua continued. “I called it the Mitland database, and it was later deleted from the computer. Most of these babies died, except for two whose families moved away.” “Wow! That is some case that you’re trying to solve,” David said. “But how did the lisping man know about your investigation?” Joshua rolled his eyes. “It was my sister’s fault. She blabbered to Mrs. Morrow, who I think is involved in this 104
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mess, that I had a copy of the printout.” “You think Mrs. Morrow is involved with the lisping man?” “Yes. How else would he know that I have a backup tape or printout of the Mitland database?” At last, Joshua saw Detective James walk toward them. “My supervisor has been kidnapped,” Joshua told the detective as they walked into his office. The detective looked up. “Kidnapped? How do you know?” “I was there.” Joshua told the detective what had happened to him while he went to visit a friend in Mitland. “A large, black Cadillac? Did you look at the license plate? Anybody else in the car?” Joshua shook his head. He thought it would be best not to mention Mr. Myrtle at this time; David would definitely get upset. “No. I was too scared and I had to get away. I think the man wanted to kidnap me too!” “Can you describe the man?” “He is the same man who chased my sister and me at the Tower the other day.” Detective James shook his head. “Yes, I remember you told me that the evening your room was ransacked.” The detective retrieved the report from a filing cabinet. “And who is this young man with you?” he asked, gazing at David. “My name is David Hesworth. I’m Joshua’s friend from school.” He shook hands with the detective. “Did you witness the kidnapping, too?” the detective asked. 105
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“No. I wish I had. I could’ve punched that creep myself!” David’s face contorted into a scowl, as he waved a fist in the air. Detective James flipped through the report, then looked up. “Joshua, tell me, what kind of trouble are you in?” Joshua hesitated. He thought that the case was becoming more sinister and complicated. Maybe it was time to tell the detective the whole truth. “I think I should tell you the whole story,” he said. “I’m not sure if I completely understand what is going on, but it all started when I got this summer job at the hospital.” And Joshua began to tell his story. When he finished, the room was very quiet. The detective’s intense gaze made him feel like a criminal himself. Joshua was sure that the detective thought that he was some kind of a lunatic, making up unbelievable stories. “My goodness. What have you gotten yourself into?” the detective finally spoke. “I advise you for your own safety, and those around you, not to continue with the case. Let the police handle it from now on. It is enough that you have gotten your boss in trouble. We don’t need to make it worse.” Joshua nodded. “So you believe me?” “Why shouldn’t I? Of course I believe you. I am constantly dealing with bizarre cases that are hard to believe.” Instead of relief, Joshua felt some disappointment that he would no longer be involved. He also worried about Dr. Tang and wondered if the police would find him quickly. “I hope you’ll find Dr. Tang soon.” “I’ll certainly do my best,” Detective James reassured him. 106
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“I also forgot to mention that certain specimens from the dead infants have disappeared from the coroner’s lab.” “Hmm. I will get in touch with him.” The detective stood and ushered the boys to the lobby. “Joshua, call your parents; they should come pick you up.” “That won’t be necessary. David and I will take the bus to the hospital. My mom is most likely seeing a patient at this time. I usually go home with her at four o’clock.” The detective frowned at him. “I hope that you will tell her what happened today, right?” Joshua paused. Was he ready to tell his parents everything? He finally responded, “Yes, sir.” Joshua and David walked toward the bus stop that would take Joshua back to the hospital. It was already three thirty— barely enough time to get to the hospital and meet his mother. “Why did you tell the detective that I will ride the bus with you?” David asked. Joshua looked at his friend and grunted. “Isn’t it obvious?” “You didn’t want your parents to pick you up so that they won’t know what happened today, right?” Joshua removed his glasses, rubbed them with the end of his t-shirt, and then put them back on. “I will tell them eventually.” “Well, I guess I’ll have to go back home now. Are you really ending your own investigation?” “The case is becoming too complicated for me. Besides, didn’t you hear the detective? I don’t want to get anybody else kidnapped.” “Are you getting scared?” David taunted him. “I was kind 107
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of looking forward to helping you out. I could easily knock out that lisping man." Joshua didn’t deny his friend’s physical strength. “But it’s dangerous.” “Don’t be a wimp, Joshua. Let’s get him!” David abruptly stood infront of Joshua as they reached the bus station. Joshua was getting tired of his friend’s antics. As he pushed David away, he blurted out, “I saw your uncle in the Cadillac.” “What do you mean you saw my uncle?” “He was in the kidnapper’s car.” David’s face turned white. “Do you think he was kidnapped, too?” “I don’t think so, he seemed to be in charge.” “I don’t believe you. Uncle Fred is not that kind of a person.” “Why would I lie to you? I saw him in the back seat. He looked at me, but he didn’t seem to recognize me. I heard him tell the lisping man to hurry up.” David sat down on the street curb. He cupped his face with his large hands, resting his elbows on his bended legs. “Are you sure?” “One hundred percent.” Joshua squated beside him. David’s eyes filled with tears. “I never told you this before, but when my dad died a year ago, Uncle Fred became like a dad to me. He’s been good to my mom, too. I just can’t believe that he would be involved in something criminal!” “I’m sorry, David.” “I 've got to talk to him about this.” “No!” Joshua warned him. “That is not a good idea at all. He mustn’t know that we know, or else the case might never 108
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be solved, and who knows what might happen to Dr. Tang. I hope Detective James finds him soon.” “My uncle would never kill anybody! How dare you accuse him of a possible murder!” David’s tone of voice changed to anger. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.” David stood up and pointed a finger at Joshua, screaming at him, “Who do you think you are? The king of the Universe? You’re only a puny weakling!” Joshua turned red and yelled back, “I said I’m sorry! You don’t have to get all bent out of shape! Wow!” David regained his composure. “You are on your own. Even if you change your mind and decide to continue with the case, I will not help you after all.” Joshua looked up at him. “I didn’t expect that you would. I’m really sorry.” David nodded and walked away. What have I done? Joshua thought. Poor David. He really loves his uncle. I think I lost my new best friend. How stupid of me! Joshua felt like pinching himself. He shouldn’t have told his friend about his uncle. Now it was too late. vvv Joshua made it to the hospital just in time to meet his mother for the ride back home. He pulled out the little note with the addresses of the families who had moved out of Mitland. Should he tell his mother about his trip to Mitland? He thought for a long time and decided to tell her the truth; the last time he lied, he had gotten in trouble. And besides, the detective most probably would get in touch with her to 109
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find out about the sick babies or the missing specimens. “Hi, Mom. Are you ready?” Joshua opened her office door. Dr. Davis looked up and smiled. “As always." She stood and walked toward him. “Did you have a good day?” “Well . . ." Joshua was stalling, he didn't know how to start. "By the way, I have the new addresses of those two infants whose families moved away." He gave her the note. Before she could answer, he quickly added, “I went to Mitland and visited Mrs. Baker." He waited for his mother’s outburst, but it didn’t happen, which was not unusual. Since he could remember, his mother rarely raised her voice at him or anybody. It was a characteristic that he wished he had inherited from her always cool and composed. He watched her as she looked at the sheet of paper and picked up her cellular phone. A minute later, she spoke into the receiver, “Dr. Martin? Yes, about the Mitland infants. I have a couple of addresses that should be checked out.” After the call, she remained silent. That usually meant trouble. The ride home was endless. Joshua kept quiet, too, just in case. vvv Half an hour later, while he was at the computer in his bedroom, the door opened and his parents walked in. “Joshua, we need to talk,” his father said, looking stern. He pulled up a chair, while his mother sat on the bed. This is it. I knew it! I’m in big trouble again! Joshua thought as he felt the blood slowly drain from his face. He turned his chair to face his parents. 110
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“Joshua, I am still in shock about what you have done. You know very well that Mitland is not the safest place to be,” his mother said calmly. She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “You better tell us what you’re up to, dear. Your dad and I are very worried about you.” Joshua felt cornered. He considered telling the truth to relieve himself of the guilt he was carrying for lying to his parents for so long. “I… I am investigating a mysterious medical case. I think that someone in Dr. Channing’s lab is involved in some criminal activity." Joshua finally gathered the courage to tell them the whole story, from the time he knew about his horse’s illness up to Dr. Tang’s kidnapping and his talk with Detective James. For the first time since his involvment with the case, he felt helpless and afraid. Tears filled his eyes. “I’m really scared. I think of that lisping man watching me all the time, like a shadow that doesn’t want to go away.” “I think you should stop going to the lab. I will talk to Dr. Channing in the morning and tell him that you are not able to continue working there,” his mother said. Joshua was horrified. “But I need to find Dr. Tang! He might be in extreme danger and it is my fault.” “You're not going to be able to find Dr. Tang by working in the lab, and one mystery for you to solve is quite enough. You will leave Dr. Tang's disappearance to the detective to solve,” his father said. “This is very serious, Joshua.” “But I need to go to the lab to get my stuff. I left some books there. I’ll be careful." "I will pick them up for you, dear,” his mother volunteered. "I'd rather get them myself, Mom. If Dr. Tang is back, I 111
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would like to say goodbye to him." The door abruptly opened and Kelley looked in. “Oops,” she mumbled as she put her fingers over her lips. “Is Joshua in some kind of trouble?” She walked into the room. “What’s up?” “Kelley, we’re having a private talk with Joshua. Please, leave,” her father ordered her. “Sorry,” she said. She turned around and walked out of the room. The door closed, but not before Joshua heard her moan about always being excluded. “This case you’re trying to solve, is really not for you to solve. You’re only thirteen!” Joshua's father raised his voice, pacing the floor. “Do you know that you are very lucky that you were able to get away from the kidnapper? What if you had been caught? What then?! And your sister, you got her involved in this, too!” To Joshua's relief, his mother finally interrupted his dad's continued raving and ranting. “Douglas, calm down, I know that you are worried. Thank goodness Joshua is unharmed and is here with us." She got up and hugged Joshua. “If you will promise to let the police handle the case from now on, we will allow you to make one last trip to the lab to get your things and tell Dr. Channing you can't work there anymore. But that's it.” Joshua knew by the look on his father's face that he didn't agree, but he would never contradict his wife in front of Joshua. Joshua looked down at his shoes. “I promise.” When his parents left, he took a deep breath and went back to his computer. But he couldn’t do any work. He found his notepad and scribbled: Told the truth to the police and my parents. Will quit the case. It is becoming too scary. God, please protect Dr. Tang. 112
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Chapter 12
THE EMPT Y ROOM Ominous-looking clouds loomed over the Cleveland area. The morning was already hot and humid on the first Thursday in August. Joshua hurried to the bus stop for his last trip to the lab. His heart skipped a beat whenever he saw a large, pot-bellied stranger. It was unusually quiet in the lab; there were only a few workers. Joshua had a sinking feeling when he saw no sign of Dr. Tang. His fingers shook as he dialed the police station and asked for Detective James. He was put on hold, then a man’s voice answered, “Hello, this is Detective James.” “Hi Detective James, this is Joshua Keegan. Were you able to find Dr. Tang?” “Not yet. We’re working on it. I’ll call you when I find him.” “Please, find him quickly.” Joshua’s voice quivered. “Don’t worry; we’re doing our best.” After hanging up, Joshua collected the dirty glassware around the lab and placed them in the sink. “Please, God, take care of Dr. Tang,” he murmured. “It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t confided in him, he would still be here.” Suddenly, a beaker shattered in his hand and he gasped in pain. “Forget about this stupid job! I’m quitting!” he howled. Blood trickled down his left palm as he put his hand under the faucet. The cool tap water felt good on his throbbing skin. Using tissue paper, he applied pressure to the wound, 113
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just as he knew his mom would have done. When the blood stopped, he covered the wound with a bandage which he got from the first-aid kit sitting by the sink. He went to his desk and placed his paraphernalia in his backpack: math book, notebook, ruler, several comic magazines, pencils, and computer disks. Then he headed to the office to let Mrs. Morrow know that he was quitting. The door was closed, which was unusual. He opened it. The room was empty. From the look of the neat desk, it occurred to Joshua that Mrs. Morrow had never shown up that morning. To the left, the door to Dr. Channing’s office was wide open. He peeked inside and was astonished to find the room abandoned. The desk and bookshelves were completely bare. Now, where could Dr. Channing and Mrs. Morrow be? He felt uneasy. Where is everybody? Did they all get kidnapped just like Dr. Tang? Joshua sighed. While he was anguishing over his supervisor, a deep voice penetrated the silence of the room. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?” Joshua jumped as he turned around and stared at the middle-aged, tall, thin man in a lab coat carrying a large box. “I’m looking for Dr. Channing.” The man’s thick eyebrows arched. “Dr. Channing? Yesterday was his last day. He has retired. I’m Dr. Harper, and I am taking over Dr. Channing’s practice.” Joshua frowned. “Retired? That’s strange. How come I didn’t know about it? I’m his summer student.” Dr. Harper smiled. “So you are Joshua Keegan. Glad to 114
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meet you, Joshua.” He put the large box on the desk and shook Joshua’s hand. “His retirement was unexpected. I only knew about it several weeks ago, when he asked me to take over his medical practice.” “And where is Mrs. Morrow?” “She left, too.” Joshua’s mouth dropped. “Does that mean that everybody in the lab is leaving, too?” “No. The practice will be separate from the research. A new person will lead the research group.” “Do you know who?” “Not sure yet.” Joshua scratched his head. “I am glad to meet you. I… I have to go now. Thanks.” His mind raced a hundred miles an hour. Why was I not told about Dr. Channing and Mrs. Morrow’s retirement? This is suspicious, he thought. Next, he was on the phone with his mother. “Did you know that both Dr. Channing and his secretary, Mrs. Morrow, retired?” There was silence on the other end. Then she said, “Just pick up your things and leave, too. If there is something funny going on, I certainly don’t want you to be in the middle of it.” “But did you know?” Joshua’s voice was urgent. “Of course not, although Dr. Channing has given hints about retiring soon. I only found out about it today.” After he hung up and was leaving the room, the phone rang. Joshua picked it up. “Hi, David.” “Hey. I’m sorry about my behavior yesterday,” David said. “Anything new from Detective James?” 115
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“No. I’m really worried about Dr. Tang. The detective didn’t find him yet. And you know what’s weird? Dr. Channing and his secretary are no longer working here.” Suddenly, an idea popped into Joshua’s head: if he could track Mr. Myrtle’s whereabouts, he might find Dr. Tang. Then he remembered his promise to his parents not to be involved in the case. But he wasn’t sure if Detective James was doing everything possible to quickly find Dr. Tang. Joshua finally convinced himself that he should be the one looking for his lost supervisor. “Are you still there?” David’s loud voice disrupted his thoughts. “Oh… sorry. I was just thinking. Is your uncle at work right now?” Joshua hoped that his friend wouldn’t get mad at him again. “I guess so. Why didn’t you tell Detective James that you saw my uncle in the car?” “I didn’t want to upset you.” Joshua rubbed his nose and pushed his sliding eyeglasses closer to his eyes. “You never told me the name of the company your uncle works for.” “Mutual Health, a health insurance company. Why was it listed in your printout?” Joshua bit his lower lip. Since the printout was in David’s possession, Joshua realized that he had the liberty of peeking at it. And why wouldn’t he? Afer all, he hadn't forbidden his friend from looking at the content of the printout. “I can’t tell you right now. But what is your uncle’s job at the company?” “He’s the CEO. He owns it.” “He owns it?” Joshua was stunned. Weren’t the babies in Mitland insured by Mutual Health? Didn’t Dr. Channing 116
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refuse to treat the Lee baby? An unpleasant thought about Dr. Channing’s sudden retirement crossed his mind: Was there an unexplained sinister plot between the doctor and David’s uncle? Then a horrible image crossed his mind: Dr. Channing, Mrs. Morrow, and Mr. Myrtle torturing Dr. Tang. “Joshua, are you still there?” David’s voice hollered through the receiver. Joshua shut his eyes for a moment, and then took a deep breath. “You’ve got to help me, David. I really need to find Dr. Tang before it’s too late!” “Well…” David faltered, “I guess I should help you, if only to prove that my uncle has nothing to do with this mystery. What do you want me to do?” “Meet me at my house in twenty minutes.” Then Joshua hung up. vvv The sky was pouring sheets of water and Joshua’s soaking wet shirt glued to his body, as he ran to his house. With the traffic at almost a standstill, he could make it much faster than a bus. In exactly thirty minutes he reached home. David was already waiting for him by the doorstep. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Joshua asked him, puffing. He dropped his heavy backpack on the pavement, and removed his glasses to dry them. “Yep. I’m sure now. I don’t think Uncle Fred would do anything illegal, but maybe he got mixed up in something without realizing it,” David said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. His blue parka hood covered his head. “You’re really worried about Dr. Tang, aren’t you?” 117
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“Yes,” Joshua agreed. He opened the front door. “The police don’t seem to be doing anything about it. Wait for me here—I need to drop off my backpack and get some cash for the ride to Mutual Health. Do you know where it is?” “Yep. It’s a forty-five minute bus ride, but it might take us much longer today.” “Well, we have no choice.” Joshua resigned himself to a “slow-poke” bus ride. A couple of minutes later, the boys sprinted to the bus stop. At exactly eleven o’clock, the bus pulled in. Joshua walked to the end of the bus, followed by his friend. “I’m going with you, too!” A high-pitched voice yelled at them from behind. Joshua turned and he gasped in horror. His sister was walking toward him! Words couldn’t form on his lips as he continued to stare at her. Kelley laughed. “You thought you could sneak away from me?” She dropped a few tokens in the fare box and walked toward her brother. Joshua and David sat next to each other. Kelly plopped on the seat in front of them. She turned her head and leaned her chin on the backrest. “So, what are you up to now? I will not be excluded anymore.” “But this is dangerous,” Joshua protested. “That’s more reason to come along!” Her voice softened. “It’s all my fault that you’re in this mess in the first place. If I didn’t open my big mouth to Mrs. Morrow, there wouldn’t be a case for you to solve.” Joshua knew she was partly right. If it weren’t for her, a 118
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lisping giant wouldn’t be stalking him, either. “You want to get some credit for participating in the case, don’t you?” He said, questioning her motives. Kelley shook her head and tears welled in her eyes. “You’re wrong. I don’t want you to get hurt and I only want to help!” Joshua couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “You’re concerned for me?” “Yes.” He instinctively patted her head. “All right, Sis. I believe you. But you must be very careful. You’ll do what I tell you or else we’ll all be in trouble.” Her lips barely formed a smile as she nodded. An hour and a half later, they got off the bus and walked toward a massive, dark building. Mutual Health was written at the top of the huge entrance. Joshua felt knots in his stomach; but there was no turning back if he wanted to save Dr. Tang.
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Chapter 13
PRISONERS “It’s kinda creepy in here,” Kelley said, rubbing her arms. The black marble floor and walls with wavy swivels shone brilliantly. A few impressionistic bronze sculptures decorated the corners of the foyer. If it weren’t for the tinted glass surrounding the building, which allowed some of the daylight to penetrate through, Joshua could easily have imagined he was in space, among thousands of stars and the Milky Way. The building looked deserted. Joshua looked up Mr. Myrtle’s floor on the directory board. “Mr. Myrtle—Room 210. We need to go to the second floor.” His heart raced and his forehead started to perspire as the elevator took them to the second floor. His legs began to shake like Jell-O, and he had to lean against the wall. There was no one in the hallway. The children tiptoed to Room 210 and stopped just outside the door. Loud voices emanated from the room. “I need to leave right now, Fred.” Joshua froze as he recognized Dr. Channing’s voice. He sounded upset. Goosebumps tingled the boy’s arms and legs, and he motioned to Kelley to stay quiet. “I understand, but I don’t have the money right now. Would a check work for you?” Mr. Myrtle’s voice was muffled. “No, that is unacceptable. I need cash and now!” Dr. Channing’s voice became louder. “He wants money? What for?” murmured David. 121
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“I knew it! I knew it!” Joshua said in an excited whisper, ignoring David’s question. “What do you mean?” David and Kelley asked in unison. “Dr. Channing is involved in this mess. How awful!” While they were eavesdropping, a door across from the hallway suddenly opened and Mrs. Morrow appeared. Her face turned red and her lips pursed. “What on earth are you kids doing here?” she hissed, her eyes flashed with fury. “I need a quick explanation!” “Ah… hi Mrs. Morrow. Actually we’re looking for Dr. Tang. Have you seen him lately?” Joshua asked, adjusting his glasses. “You are all in one very big trouble!” she hollered. The door to Room 210 opened; Dr. Channing and Mr. Myrtle walked out. “You?” Mr. Myrtle’s eyebrows locked together as he shifted his gaze first to David, then to the others. “What are you all doing here? David, you need to explain this to me.” “I… I,” David mumbled. “It’s because of me that he’s here. I’m the one who brought him,” Joshua interrupted. “Then explain to me why you’re here. And who is this girl?” “This is my sister, Kelley,” Joshua said. “You and Dr. Channing kidnapped Dr. Tang, didn’t you? Where is he?” “Uncle Fred, why did you do it? Why?” David asked his uncle as he pushed Joshua aside and faced his uncle. “Stay out of it, David! This is none of your business!” Mr. Myrtle yelled at him. But David wouldn’t budge. “Tell me this is all a mistake! Is it? Is it?” David’s voice cracked as he tightly held Mr. Myrtle’s arm. 122
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Mr. Myrtle shook his head and sneered, “I’m warning you, David, stay out of it!” He jerked his arms, escaping David’s grip and turned to Joshua. With a swift motion, David pinned his uncle against the door and shouted, “Is this all a mistake? Answer me! Please!” “Control yourself, young man. That is not the way to treat your uncle,” Dr. Channing said, pulling David away. “We need to find out why Joshua thinks we have kidnapped Dr. Tang. There must be a mistake. Let’s all go into the office and sort out this mess.” Joshua, David and Kelley were shown into the room. Mrs. Morrow followed them and closed the door behind her. Dr. Channing turned to Joshua. “Why do you think that Dr. Tang is here? Isn’t he at the lab?” Joshua was confused; Dr. Channing seemed alarmed. “I saw him shoved into a black sedan. Mr. Myrtle was sitting behind the driver’s seat,” Joshua said. Dr. Channing glared at Mr. Myrtle. “You kidnapped Dr. Tang? But why?” “He was in the way,” said Mr. Myrtle. “How dare you!” Dr. Channing grabbed Mr. Myrtle’s arm and was about to strike him when Mr. Myrtle said under his breath, “Calm down now, Doctor. Don’t do anything you’ll later regret.” Reluctantly, Dr. Channing released his grip on Mr. Myrtle’s arm. From the corner of his eyes, Joshua could see that Kelley and David were slowly moving toward the door. He hoped they would escape and get help. However, Mrs. Morrow was one step ahead of them. She stood with her back leaning against the doorknob. 123
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“I know all about what you all are up to,” Joshua blurted out as a rush of adrenaline surged through his thin body. “Oh? Explain, then,” Dr. Channing said, as he folded his arms and leaned against a large desk. “It all started when I accidentally saw a big X on the database concerning the babies in Mitland. It was the same day I found out that my horse had died from the Stachybotrys mold toxin.” Mr. Myrtle’s eyes turned to snake-like slits. However, Joshua was no longer afraid. He continued to tell them about his suspicions, the lisping man, his trips to Mitland, and the specimens that disappeared from the coroner’s office. “Well, well. You’re more intelligent than I thought,” Mr. Myrtle said. “I guess it’s time for you to join Dr. Tang. He’s been real lonely and would love to have some company.” Suddenly, he blew a loud whistle as he seized Joshua by the arm. The door opened and a tall man with a barrel-sized belly appeared. The lisping stalker! “Yeth thir!” the man said. “Take them to the basement,” Mr. Myrtle ordered. “My pleasure, thir!” He snarled showing crooked teeth. The lisping man shoved the children toward the elevator, which took them to the basement floor. It was musty and cold. The children were herded into a room, which Joshua gathered was the archive room. Endless rows of shelves with folders in plastic containers filled the large, damp space. A powerful push sent Joshua flying to the ground. “Enjoy your new life here!” the lisping man said with a sneer. “You don’t know how much I’ve waited for thith moment!” 124
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The room was dimly lit. Joshua looked around him and saw a movement at the other side of the room. He got up and walked over to investigate. A shadowy person was sitting by the corner, hugging his legs. Joshua moved closer. “Dr. Tang!” Joshua shouted. “Are you all right? I was so afraid that you might be dead!” Dr. Tang looked up at him; his left eye was swollen shut. “Yes, yes. I would be dead if… it weren’t for… the antidote. How did you end up here?” he asked, gasping for air. A weak smile crossed his tired face. The children huddled together on the cold concrete floor. “What antidote?” Joshua asked. “The antidote for… the mold’s toxin. I told you about it… in the lab. They want… the formula. Now, tell me… how did you find this place?” Joshua knelt beside his supervisor and told him the whole story. “What do you think they plan to do with us?” “I am not sure. I overheard Dr. Channing talking about… leaving the country. But I don’t know… about the others.” Dr. Tang’s words were barely audible. “It sounds to me like they are escaping.” Joshua closed his eyes for a moment, and then turned to Dr. Tang. “Do you suppose that they might kill us?” He shuddered at the thought of all of them being shot and buried under the damp basement. Kelley started to cry. “What are we going to do? We can’t just sit here and die!” “That may be precisely what they… might be planning for us. We could easily rot here,” Dr. Tang said. 125
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A chill went through Joshua’s body as he thought of them slowly dying in the basement. He decided that a shotgun would be a more humane way to die. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Dr. Tang looked like a ghost: his face pale and his eyes sunk deep within their dark sockets. Prominent cheekbones replaced the usual round cheeks, and the scientist’s clothes looked as if they were one size too big. Although he knew that his supervisor had some difficulty speaking, Joshua’s curiosity got the better of him. “Dr. Tang, how did Dr. Channing get involved in this mess?” “Can’t you see the man can barely speak? Leave him alone!” David interrupted. “I’m sorry, Dr. Tang. I didn’t mean… “ Joshua quickly responded. But Dr. Tang’s eyes smiled weakly at Joshua. “No. No. It’s okay. Talking helps me… feel alive. Mutual Health was funding… Dr. Channing’s research. In order to continue with the funding, the company had set up … some guidelines for Dr. Channing, which I am… not sure about.” “I thought he got he got government money. Isn't he well known in his field?” Joshua asked. “Yes, but situations can change. His last grant… didn’t get funded. So he had to look elsewhere for money. Mutual Health… was very interested in finding an antidote for the Stachybotrys toxin; so it seems… they struck a deal.” “Will you stop talking about my uncle and Dr. Channing and think about how we’re supposed to get out of here?” David said. He got up and moved to another corner. Joshua heard David sobbing and softly saying, “How could he do that? How could he? And I thought he was the best uncle in the world!” 126
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Joshua sighed. “I feel bad for him; he just found out that his uncle is a crook. Mr. Myrtle has been a father to him” “Yes… it’s an unpleasant situation.” Dr. Tang agreed as he closed his eyes. Joshua looked at him closely to make sure that he was still breathing. About an hour later Kelley got up and started to pace the small room. “I can’t believe we’re stuck in this place. Are we ever going to get out?” she wailed. “Will the police find us here? I hope Mom and Dad got in touch with them already.” She rambled on and on until Joshua couldn’t take it any longer. “Stop whining! No one asked you to come along, remember?” he snapped at her. Suddenly, she shouted, “Look! Over there!” She pointed to an air duct just above a shelf on the back wall. “Yes? You’ve never seen an air duct before?” Joshua commented. Kelley’s eyes lit up. “You don’t see what I see?” It took him a few seconds to realize what she was trying to tell him: the air duct was a possible way of escape from this dismal place. “Kelley, you’re amazing!” he blurted out. “You’re becoming smarter and smarter every day!” Joshua was surprised at his statement. For the first time, he knew that he meant it. Maybe things will be different from now on, he hoped. He got up to inspect the vent to the air duct. “David, could you give me a hand here? I need to climb the shelves to get to the vent.” David wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve and got up. He pushed Joshua as he climbed. Although the vent 127
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cover was loose and could easily be removed, the opening was barely fourteen inches wide. Joshua sighed. “I don’t think this will work. I’m too big to go through it.” “And who said you’re the one who should go through it? I’m much smaller than you. I’ll fit with no problem,” Kelley volunteered. Joshua’s mouth dropped. His sister was risking her life in order to save them? Joshua pondered over Kelley’s suggestion for a moment. “I’m not sure it is a good idea. Who knows what you might encounter inside? There might be big rats!” His sister laughed, then frowned. “You think so? I hate rats!” Before Kelley could change her mind, Joshua said, “I’m just kidding. Rats won’t get into the vent, there’s no food there.” He removed his glasses to wipe the sweat off of them, then put them back on. “I guess somebody has to do it, or we might turn into fossils if we stay in this place. Are you sure you’re okay with this, Kelley?” She nodded. “Yes. I just hope that the cover to the vent at the other end is easy to open. Then I’ll get help.” “All right, let’s do it!” Joshua said. David ran a hand through his hair. “Do you really think my uncle will let us rot here? I’m still his nephew, you know—I just can’t believe that he would go through with it.” Silence followed. Joshua didn’t know how to respond to his friend. What could he say to his friend without upsetting him even more? He chose his words carefully, “Well, would you want to make that chance? There is still the lisping man to worry about... I don’t trust him at all.” 128
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Dr. Tang looked up at the vent. “But what if it is closed?” “Well, then we’re stuck. This is our only chance,” Joshua said. “I really don’t feel like spending the night here. I’m hungry and I need to use the bathroom. By the way, how were you able to not go to the bathroom for two days?” Joshua was glad to hear Dr. Tang chuckle. The scientist might be feeling a little better since they joined him. “It wasn’t easy to hold it in.” Dr. Tang paused for breath. “I’m just kidding. Actually, there is a toilet, and a sink without running water...behind that other bookshelf over there.” “Oy!” he gasped, as he pointed to the shelf across the room from the main door. Joshua frowned as he looked at Dr. Tang. “They beat you pretty badly, didn’t they?” “Don’t worry about me… concentrate on… escaping.” Dust fell on Joshua’s face as he opened the air duct cover. “These people never cleaned their ducts… yuck!” he coughed. He climbed down and grabbed his sister by the arm. “Are you really sure you want to do this?” “Yes, I’m sure. I’m trying to make up for the way I behaved in the past. And you should be glad that I don’t have allergies,” she responded, waving the dust away. “We need to hurry before someone comes back!” David pulled a screwdriver from his pockets and gave it to Kelley. “This might come in handy, I just happened to be working on my radio in the garage earlier today and I put the screwdriver in my pocket.” Joshua stared at the air duct and cringed. “It’s going to be totally dirty and dark in there!” He turned to his sister and saw fear in her eyes. “You know 129
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that you don’t have to do this, Sis.” Kelley took a deep breath, then said, “I’ll… I’ll be okay. If it’s too scary, I’ll return.” Joshua hesitated, and then gave her a hug. “Thanks, Sis, for doing this.” She grinned. “I’ll see you later!” Joshua watched the mighty David lift his sister up as if she were a doll and push her through the hole. A few minutes later, she disappeared. He silently prayed that all would go well with her. “If the duct cover is hard to open, she’ll be back soon,” David said. They waited and waited. Several hours later, there was still no sign of the kidnappers, or Kelley.
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Chapter 14
SISTER AND BROTHER Joshua rubbed his cold arms. His mouth was dry and he felt as if the room was going to collapse on him. He looked at his watch. It was already midnight and his sister hadn’t returned. He closed his eyes and a horrible image came to his mind: Kelley stuck in the air duct as pointy faced, furry, giant rats attack her. If she screamed, would anybody hear her? Try as he might, he could not get this picture out of his head. He opened his tired eyes, rubbed away the sweat from his forehead, then looked over at Dr. Tang. His supervisor looked very pale. What injuries did the lisping man inflict on Dr. Tang? And when was his last drink or meal? Joshua thought. He looks like he’s wasting away. I hope Kelley returns soon; I can’t stand this much longer. What about David? Joshua looked at his friend as he continued with his thoughts. Is he asleep? I wonder how he is feeling. What will happen to him and his mother when Uncle Fred ends up in jail? Joshua then considered Dr. Channing. The thought of the doctor made his blood pressure rise. How can a physician who supposedly saves lives kill those helpless babies by depriving necessary treatments? A lump grew in his throat as he tried to withhold the tears that threatened to gush out of his sleepy eyes. He was afraid to fall asleep and tried to keep his eyes open. However, in a few seconds, his eyes shut. 131
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“Get up! I’m back!” Kelley’s voice pierced the silence that had shrouded the basement. Joshua woke up first, then David. “You made it!” Joshua yelled, as he ran to his sister and hugged her. For the first time in his life, he was actually happy to see her. Strange things happen in strange places! He thought. Joshua noticed the startled look on Kelley’s face. “Did the police come?” he quickly asked her. He was not going to confess to her about his vision of creepy giants attacking her in the air duct. “At this moment, the police are arresting the criminals at some local bank,” Kelley answered. She beamed with pride. “Detective James drove us over—” Before she could finish her sentence, Joshua’s parents walked through the door. “Joshua! Are you all right?” His mother almost knocked him down as she clasped him. “I’m fine, Mom. A little tired and hungry, though.” He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to hold back the tears. She then turned to David and said, “I’m sorry, this must be hard for you.” She gave him a hug. “I’m all right. Just worried about my mother, now,” David said. Just as Joshua was turning around to look at his friend, he saw his father charging toward him like a bull. Mr. Keegan grabbed Joshua’s arms, and started to shake him. “How could you do this to us? You didn’t keep your promise!” His eyebrows narrowed and the vein at his temple throbbed. Joshua had never seen his father react with so much anger. “I’m sorry, Dad! I promise I won’t do anything like this 132
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again!” Joshua’s arms felt numb as his father’s grip on them tightened. Mr. Keegan’s grip relaxed. Blood flow returned to his achy arms as Joshua vigorously rubbed them. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I… I… was worried sick about you,” Mr. Keegan mumbled and then gave his son a bear hug. “You must all come with me to the police station and make your statements,” Detective James ordered. “Who is that man sleeping in the corner?” Joshua turned around. “Dr. Tang! We can’t leave him here!” He walked over to his supervisor, who was sleeping in a fetal position on the floor. “He was beaten pretty badly. Maybe we should take him to the hospital,” Joshua said. His mother walked toward Dr. Tang and knelt beside him. She checked his eyes and pulse. The scientist didn’t respond. “We need to call an ambulance. How long has he been here?” Joshua’s mom asked. “I think two or three days,” Joshua said. “He is probably dehydrated.” Dr. Davis pulled her cellular phone from her bag and dialed for an ambulance. “The rest of you must come with me to the station. I’ll talk to Dr. Tang tomorrow, when he is feeling better,” Detective James instructed them. Five minutes later an ambulance arrived and took Dr. Tang to Cleveland General Hospital.
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vvv At the police station, Joshua recounted the whole Mitland story. “If it weren’t for my horse dying to the Stachybotrys poison, I wouldn’t have discovered this case.” “Remember, next time don’t try to solve a case on your own. It’s quite dangerous. You come to me for help,” said Detective James, twirling his thick mustache. He turned to Dr. Davis and Mr. Keegan and smiled at them. “You have two foolish but smart kids. Maybe they’ll join the police force one day and help us solve other difficult cases.” Joshua’s mother laughed. “I don’t know about that! Time will tell what they will want to do.” “What’s going to happen now?” Joshua asked. At that moment, Joshua saw Dr. Channing, Mr. Myrtle, Mrs. Morrow and the lisping man walk into the station. Joshua noticed that they were all handcuffed. “How were the police able to arrest them all?” “Your very observant sister gave us detailed descriptions of each one of them. The police patrolled the town and found them at a local bank that holds Mutual Health’s accounts,” Detective James explained. “I wonder how much money Mr. Myrtle was planning to give each one of them,” Joshua said. “Nothing worth committing these horrible crimes!” said the detective. “What a shame; a brilliant scientist and physician and all gone to waste,” Joshua’s mother commented. Dr. Channing glanced at them and quickly looked down as his face turned as red as the inside of a ripe watermelon. David ran to his uncle and started to hit him, shouting, 134
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“How dare you! How dare you! And I thought you loved us!” He began to cry. “I’m sorry, kid,” Uncle Fred said. A police officer pulled David away. Joshua watched his friend. A wave of sadness and guilt triggered the flow of tears. “I’m sorry, David. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt,” he said. He walked toward his friend and put an arm around him. “David! David!” Joshua turned around and saw David’s mother rushing toward them. She looked fatigued. Her hair was tied back so tightly that her protruding eyes looked as if they would pop any minute. Her cheeks were gaunt and pale. She wailed as she embraced her son. “My poor David! What a mess your uncle has put you in! I am so sorry; I had no idea!” “I’m fine, Mother. Please, take me home.” David’s voice cracked as he sniffled. “Home sounds like a good idea to me, too,” Joshua agreed. Joshua’s watch registered three o’clock in the morning. Before Detective James dismissed him and his family; he told them that he would continue his questioning the following morning. “Mom, were you able to get specimens from the families who left Mitland?” Joshua asked during their ride back home. “Yes, dear. The health department is working on it. It will take a week before the results come back. But I am positive that the specimens will show lung damage.” Joshua fought sleep as he continued his line of questioning. 135
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“Mom, why do nice people sometimes become greedy and bad?” His mother sighed. “That is a tough question. I think it is our weak human nature. When a person is under duress and is faced with tough decisions, the correct choices are not always easy to make.” “What do you think Mr. Myrtle wanted Dr. Channing to do in return for his company funding the research?” “For a kid who has gone through a terrible ordeal, you’re asking too many questions.” She turned to him and smiled. “Sending patients to specialists can be costly. Perhaps the insurance company wanted to minimize that.” “That’s horrible.” “It sure is, dear.” Joshua turned to his sister beside him and asked, “How was it in the air duct?” Kelley’s eyes were shut and Joshua assumed that she was already in her dream world. Unexpectedly, he heard her mumble, “A little scary at first, but I adjusted to the darkness. Then a mouse scared me to death!” She opened her eyes, then pulled her headband away from her hair and showed it to Joshua. “See the holes?” she said, pointing to three tiny holes in the red headband. “That stupid mouse did that with its sharp teeth. I was worried that it was going to nibble my scalp next. I almost gave up.” Joshua knew that his sister was never fond of rodents. He once had a hamster, which she avoided like the plague. “Their rubbery, long and ugly tails give me the creeps,” she once told him. “How did you manage to get rid of the mouse?” Joshua asked. “I picked it up and threw it away,” she said. 136
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“You mean you touched...” Kelley quickly interrupted Joshua, “Will you stop talking about the silly mouse?” “Okay. Any bites?” Joshua couldn’t resist teasing her. She glared at him, and then waved her arms at him. “Do you see any bite marks?” Joshua pushed her arms away. He yawned, and then asked her, “How long did it take you to get to the other side of the duct?” “I don’t know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It felt like a long, long time. David’s screwdriver came in handy. I used it to pry open the vent cover on the other side.” vvv “Joshua! Kelley! You’re on the front page!” called Joshua’s dad as he walked into the kitchen, paper in hand, the next morning. “What?” Joshua said, running down the stairs, his sister following. He took the paper from his dad and read the front page: KIDS SOLVE MITLAND CASE. Joshua Keegan, a thirteenyear-old student from Cleveland Middle School, with the help of his sister, Kelley, who is eleven, solved a bizarre case involving a health insurance company, Mutual Health, and Dr. Milton Channing, a physician at Cleveland General Hospital. For their heroic efforts, the Keegan children will be given this year’s Crime Solver Medal of Honor at police headquarters this coming Sunday at two o’clock. The paper continued with an explanation about the 137
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motives behind the crimes. Dr. Channing’s research on the Stachybotrys toxin antidote was not funded as he had hoped. Mutual Health was interested in his research project and offered to fund it on the condition that he withholds expensive treatments to ill children. Without the research funds, Dr. Channing would have lost his job and reputation. Detective James stopped by the house to continue his questioning. “Mr. Munster mentioned that he gave money to Kelley in exchange for some documents that she had,” the detective said. “Mr. Munster?” Joshua asked with raised eyebrows. “The lisping man, your stalker.” “I never knew his name. Funny name! Well, the name fits him, he is definitely a monster,” Joshua said, chuckling. Kelley joined them in the living room. “Hi, Detective James. Are the bad people in jail already?” she asked. “Yes. Their lawyers are trying to set them free on bail until the trial.” He looked at her and continued, “Kelley, did Mr. Munster give you money in return for information?” Kelley’s face turned red and she looked frightened. It took her a while before she responded, “Yes. I’m sorry. Does that mean I’m going to jail, too?” “No, no. You’re not going anywhere,” Detective James reassured her. “But I need to get all pertinent information about the case.” Kelley told him how she wanted to take revenge against her brother for not letting her in on the case. She also needed the money to repair her CD player. The lisping man gave her one hundred dollars for the printed document on 138
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the Mitland babies. She had stolen it from Joshua’s backpack during her visit to Dr. Channing’s lab. She continued, “Mrs. Morrow was very nice to me and we talked and I told her about Joshua’s mystery case.” After Detective James hurriedly jotted down the information on a small pad, he got up and excused himself. “I’ve got to go back to the station and question the suspects. I’ll be in touch.” He walked out the door, then turned around and shook Joshua’s and Kelley’s hands. “I almost forgot! Congratulations on your efforts in solving this case. I’ll see you tomorrow during the celebration in your honor.” vvv The next day was a dream come true for Joshua. He and his sister were given medals for their heroism and, for the first time in his life, he was happy to share the limelight with his sister. When the ceremony was over, he awkwardly put his arms around her and said, “Congratulations, Sis. I… couldn’t have done it without you.” His sister smiled at him, “Congratulations to you, too!” Their parents beamed at them and looked very proud. vvv The trial took several months. Dr. Channing and Mr. Myrtle were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the infants’ deaths. Mrs. Morrow and the lisping man got twenty years imprisonment for their roles as accomplices in 139
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the Mitland case. After five years, Mrs. Morrow was paroled for good behavior. She changed careers and became an undercover detective, posing as a faithful secretary for employers who were under suspicion by the police. The Department of Health was notified and promptly bleached areas infected with mold in homes located in Mitland. Mrs. Baker abandoned her house and joined her relatives in Florida. As the new senior scientist heading the research team at Cleveland General Hospital, Dr. Tang continues his quest to find a substance that will neutralize the mold’s toxin. The antidote that seemed to work on small groups of cells, failed when used in animal trials. With Kelley as his partner, Joshua hopes that he’ll get to solve new medical mysteries, only with the help of Detective James, of course. vvv The next school year, Joshua once again made headline news. However, this time it was in the local school paper: BEWARE OF TOXIC MOLD! In the article, Joshua gave a remarkable presentation of the dangers of mold and the importance of keeping homes dry and free of any water damage.
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Note from the Author Menace in the Walls is a fictional novel based on events that actually occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, in the early 1990s. Infants with nosebleeds or coughed-up blood had mysteriously died. With the help of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Dr. Dorr Dearborn, Professor of Pediatrics at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, examined the possibility of a link between the infants’ illnesses and spores from the Stacybotrys mold. The mold was found in the drywall of homes damaged from heavy floods in the area. Dr. Dearborn continues his research on the effects of the mold on children’s health. The CDC does not claim an association between acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants and exposure to molds, specifically Stachybotrys chartarum (atra). Further studies are needed to determine what causes acute idiopathic hemorrhage among infants.
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About the author A scientist with many physicians in her immediate family, author N. L. (Lucia) Eskeland combines medicine, science and intrigue in a new medical mystery for children. N. L. Eskeland earned a B. S. degree in chemistry from the University of Florida. She worked as a research scientist in different laboratories in New York City, including the laboratory of the Nobel Prize Laureate, Dr. Bruce Merrifield. Subsequently, Eskeland earned her doctoral degree in biomedical sciences from the City University of New York, Mount Sinai Medical Center with an emphasis in molecular pharmacology. She went on to do her post-graduate work at the University of California in San Diego. Eskeland is a member of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This is Eskeland’s first novel. N. L. Eskeland lives in Southern California with her family.
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