Implant. Part 30

They'd lost. Again.

She put her car in gear and waited to see which direction he turned.

Whichever way, she'd be close behind. She wasn't crazynot psychotic, not even neuroticand she wasn't going to let anyone make her think so.

Duncan had secrets. He lied about where he went on his afternoons.

She was going to find out where he really went. He wasn't going to be able to sneeze without her saying Gezhunteit.

She was not going to drop this.

Gin watched him turn south, she let a car get between them before she pulled out and followed. When he turned onto East-West Highway, she had a pretty good idea where he might be headed.

Sure enough, he pulled into the surgicenter.

Now what? She couldn't exactly pull in behind him and follow him into his office.

His office . . . he had that rock garden with the pool and all those thick bushes outside his office window. Maybe she could get a peek.

She found a parking spot half a block down and trotted back. Homing in on the glow from Duncan's windows, she crept along a gra.s.sy buffer between the surgicenter and the neighboring office building and lowered into a crouch as she neared the rear wall of the rock garden. Duncan's office windows were just past that If she could get a look . . .

Look at me, she thought. Creeping across lawns, spying on people ..

This wasn't her. And hadn't she sworn she wasn't going to do the Nancy Drew thing? Was this the behavior of a stable personality?

Maybe I do need help.

The thought chilled her, but she shook off the doubts. She had to see this through.

She parted the branches of a small evergreenfrom its ginlike odor she guessed it was some sort of juniperand peered through the plate gla.s.s into Duncan's office.

He was seated at his desk. Gin settled onto her knees and watched, hoping he'd do more than just straighten papers. It was getting cold out here in the wind.

She caught her breath as he leaned to his right and unlocked the top desk drawer. She leaned forward, all but thrusting her face through the p.r.i.c.kly juniper as she watched him remove the TPD from the drawer, heft it in his hand, then rise and wander about. He opened cabinets and poked inside, lifted bottles, pulled out books and journals, peered into the s.p.a.ce they left, then shoved them back.

What's he doing?

He seemed to be looking for something.

Or somewhere.

Finally he pulled a volume the size of the Merrk Manxal off a top shelf, placed the bottle of TPD in the rear of the gap, then slid the book back in.

He was hiding the TPD.

Gin was dumbfounded.

Why would he hide the bottle when he had a locked drawer for it?

Maybe he had no further use for it. Or maybe he'd never used it. But then why was he hiding it now?

d.a.m.n! Why didn't any of this make sense?

Suddenly the office went dark. Duncan had turned out the lights. Gin spun and scampered back to her car. It was good to get the heatergoing again. She watched Duncan's car turn back the way it had come on East-West. She gave him a good lead, then swung around and followed.

When she saw him turn into his neighborhood, she turned east and headed for Connecticut Avenue. For Adams Morgan. For home.

She'd had enough Nancy Drew for one night. In two days of trailing him she'd learned two things, one, he liked to hang out at Caliguire Electronics, two, he'd changed the hiding place of his bottle of TPD.

No answers. Just tW0 facts which did nothing but engender a whole slew of new questions. She didn't need more questions. She had questions coming out her ears. She needed answers, dammit!

Maybe tomorrow. When Duncan left early to go to his golf club, Gin would be right behind him. She'd find out where he really went. Maybe a mistress. Or maybe something to do with that little bottle of TPD.

Hopefully she'd be able to cross one question off her lengthening list.

MONDAY OKAY, DOC. SHE S ALL SET.

Duncan walked over to the corner of his office where Harry stood on a small aluminum utility ladder. Dressed in a Guns n' Roses T-s.h.i.+rt, he was heavyset, maybe forty, with a receding hairline and a ponytail. He was positioning some of the bric-a-brac on the top shelf around the sensor. When he finished, he stepped down and pointed to it.

"Would you ever know it was there? " Duncan scrutinized the shelf.

The sensor was a small brown rectangle the size of a cigarette box. It blended neatly with the woodwork, appeared almost a part of the cabinet. The camcorder lens looked like some sort of gla.s.s bauble.

Duncan nodded approvingly. "Only if I knew exactly where to look. "

"Cool. Now just stand still a moment while I get us some power " He plugged a transformer into the outlet to the left of the sink. "All right. Now move your arms. ' Duncan waved his arms and saw a red dot begin to glow on the sensor.

"Smile, " Harry said. "You're on Candid Camera."

"What about that little red light? " Duncan said.

"That just means it sensed motion. You tripped the . . . .

clrcutt.

"Yes, but the light is a giveaway. The whole idea is - sgrrept.i.tio"Jsurveillance, Harry. Kill that light."

"No problem." Duncan sipped his morning coffee as Harry climbed back up his step ladder and began whistling while he removed the back plate of the motion detector.

Harry seemed to love his work. Why not? Duncan was paying him handsomely for playing at his hobby. Duncan remembered how excited Harry had been when he had challenged him to miniaturize an ultrasound transducer. That had taken weeks, but the big bill had been more than worth it.

This little ch.o.r.e, on the other hand, was a piece of cake. . Duncan had told him he thought one of his employees might be pilfering. He'd said he had a pretty good idea who but wanted to catch the culprit in the act. Which was true. He wanted to see if Gin would try again.

Harry had said that was cool. Yeah, what with the labor laws these days, you just about had to catch someone rethanded before you could give them the cot.

Harry's solution, a video camera activated by a motion detector.

"All right, " Harry said, coming off the ladder again. "The light's disabled. Now, remember, the only time you want this thing on is when you're out of the room. Otherwise you're gonna find yourself fast-forwarding through umpteen hours of yourself sitting at your desk or making coffee or whatever." '"Mostly whatever, I should think, "

Duncan said. "I often engage in whatever while I'm here."

"Cool, " Harry said. He laid a finger on the upper edge of the transformer.

"Okay. Two little b.u.t.tons here. This one turns the power off, this one on. Just before you leave, click it on. That'll arm the sensor.

Any movement then will trip the sensor which'll turn on the camera and you'll be taping for the entire time someone's here until a full minute after they leave. It's also got a date and time readout that'll appear in the corner of the picture. I fixed the cam with a wide-angle lens so's you've got the whole office covered." Duncan said, "Cool."

"You know, if you decide to make this a permanent setup, I can rig the camera directly to a VCR and'' "Just temporary, Harry, I a.s.sure you.

And here is your check." Harry glanced at the amount, said, "Cool, "

one last time, packed up his tools, and was gone.

Okay, my little cygnet, Duncan thought, staring into the blind eye of the video camera. The next step is up to you.

He glanced at the clock. Perfect timing. Harry had arrived early and done his work quickly, leaving Duncan a few minutes to spare before scrubbing for the day's first surgery.

An abbreviated schedule today, mostly minor procedures. Dr. VanDuyne was due here about noon and Duncan wanted a clear field when he toured him and the others around.

He pushed The ON b.u.t.ton, moved an empty carafe in front of the transformer, and headed for the locker room. The back of his neck tingled with the knowledge that his movement had triggered the sensor and his exit was being recorded.

Gin rushed through her dictation and other paperwork so she'd be ready to tail Duncan when he took off. She'd had to hustle. The way he'd whipped through those procedures this . .

morning made her think he was in a big rush to leave. But once surgery was over, he seemed in no great hurry to go anywhere.

Gin was up and down the stairs, keeping an eye on Duncan's office, ready to grab her coat as soon as he looked like he was going to leave.

But he seemed to be killing TIME On one of her surveillance runs she glanced out into the parking lot and saw the mysterious Dr. V. and two other men get out of a gray sedan.

So that's why he's hanging around.

Twenty minutes later, Duncan was leading the trio downstairs on a tour.

"And here are the nether regions. My brother's lab and our , .

recores room.

The good-looking Dr. V. looked relaxed, but his two suited friends were as stiff and uptight as they were clean-cut. Nosy too. Peeking into every closet, every cubbyhole, asking questions in low voices Gin could not pick up.

"Just showing these gentlemen around, " Duncan told Gin as they pa.s.sed.

"Don't let us disturb you." He didn't bother with introductions.

She followed the group upstairs and watched the two suits point to doors and windows as they conferenced with each other. Neither of themsmiled once. What were they? Lawyers? Accountants? Security consultants?

Then the entire entourage, including Oliver, retired to Duncan's office and closed the door.

What was going on? She was pretty sure now it wasn't a matter of taking on a new a.s.sociate. Was Duncan selling the building? He'd never mentioned moving. And why did this Dr. V. look familiar?

Curiosity was eating Gin alive. She'd have given almost anything to be a fly on a wall in that officer right now.

* * * Forty-five minutes later all five came out in a group. They stood in the hall, shaking hands. The suits looked as grim as ever, Duncan and Dr. V.

were pleasant, and Oliver was quite literally beaming. Then the visitors headed for the parking lot, Duncan returned to his office, and Oliver bustled down the hall toward Gin.

"This is wonderful, " he said as he approached. The overhead fluorescents gleamed from his gla.s.ses and exposed scalp. He was grinning like a man who'd just won the lottery. "This is so wonderful!

" "What is, Oliver? What's going on? " '"I can't tell you, ' he said as he hurried past her. "I wish I could, but I can't. Not now. Maybe sometime." Gin watched him disappear into the stairwell down to his lab. She'd never seen him like this. Had he worked out some huge deal for his implants? She started to follow. She was sure she could pry it out of him.

But then she saw Duncan shrugging into his sport coat asX he stood before Barbara's desk. He was talking, she was taking notes and nodding her head. Then he was on his way.

Gin ducked into the locker room, grabbed her coat and purse, and hurried after him. She'd have to put off grilling Oliver until later.

"Hey, great news, " Barbara said as Gin pa.s.sed her desk. "We've got a three-day weekend coming up." Gin slowed. "When? " "This weekend.

We're going to be closed on Friday. Dr. Lathram just told me to give everybody the day off with pay. Isn't that great? " "Yeah, " Gin said, picking up speed again. "Great." Friday off. Normally she'd a.s.sume Duncan had someplace to go this weekend and wanted an extra day.But the decision seemed to have been made right after his conference with Dr. V. and the suits. How come?

* * * No surprise when Duncan's Mercedes led her away from his golf club, but she was completely unprepared for the course he took through the District. East, then down Connecticut, past Adams Morgan to Dupont Circle. From there he took Ma.s.sachusetts downtown.

He's heading for the Hill, Gin thought, but he breezed past Union Station and kept going, deep into Southeast. Ma.s.s was lined with two and three-story row housu down here, painted in bright reds, yellows, bluo, greens, even orange. The neighborhoods deteriorated, on a couple of corners she saw men in rough clothes drinking from bottles in paper bags. Gin was almost afraid to stop at the red lights. And she was in a three-year-old American compact. Duncan's Mercedes stood out like a luxury yacht in a fleet of tugboats. Yet n.o.body was bothering either of them.

What was he doing here? He had such a haughty att.i.tude, she could not imagine him down here among the po' folk.

And then they came to the end of Ma.s.s Avenue and she caught on. D.

C.

General Hospital lay spread out on the downhill slope before them. She followed Duncan along the winding driveway through the well-kept complex of a dozen or so brick and stucco buildings, past the D. C.

Correctional Treatment facility to a restricted parking lot"Decals Only" warned the sign. As Duncan turned in, Gin scooted into the nearby patient lot. She saw uniformed guards everywhere. Security seemed a major concern here.

She spotted Duncan strolling toward the doctors' entrancea rectangular hole in the brick face of one of the buildings. How was she going to get in? She wasn't on staff.

But she could look like she was.

She grabbed an extra stethoscope from her glove compartment, hung her Senate ID badge around her neck, and hurried after him.

She wished she knew D. C. General. The brick building ahead was a big one and had a jury-rigged look. Eight storiff high at the front end, six at the rear, it looked as if it had started out considerably smaller and grown by accretiona wing here, a few extra floors there.

This could be tricky.She kept up the quick pace as she pa.s.sed the guard perched on a stool inside the entrance, smiling and waving with the hand holding the stethoscope, hoping he wouldn't notice that her photo ID wasn't for D.

C.

General.

The guard smiled back and nodded, then went back to reading his newspaper.