Part 9 (1/2)

”Because I have a book contract, Jane. And in the process I need to find out everything there is to know about Winston Bartlett's biggest undertaking ever. He has bankrolled something that could change the face of medicine.”

”You're doing a book about Bartlett?” Her astonishment continued growing and appeared to be genuine. ”Jesus, you didn't tell--”

”h.e.l.lo. That's because who or what I write about on my own dime is n.o.body's effing business around here.”

Now he was thinking about Winston Bartlett and wondering why he'd never told her the most important piece of information in his life. It was how he was connected to the man. He often wondered if maybe that was why he was doing this book on stem cells, knowing that half of it would end up being about Bartlett's self-serving, take-no-prisoners business career. His infinite cruelty. Was the book actually revenge?

”You know you'll have to get permission to reprint anything you've published in the Sentinel. The paper owns the rights to--”

”Didn't you hear me?” He smiled. ”It's a book. My book. There's no editorial overlap.”

”Who's the publisher?”

”They exist, trust me.”

His small publisher wasn't exactly Random House, but they were letting him do whatever he wanted.

”It didn't start out being a book about Bartlett, per se,” he went on, ”but now he's becoming a central figure, because of what's going on--or possibly not going on--at Gerex.”

She was losing her famous poise.

”What ... what are you writing?”

”The end of time. The beginning of time. I don't know which it is. You see, the Gerex clinic in northern New Jersey has clinical trials under way on some new medical procedure involving stem cells. At least that's what I think. They've clamped down on the information, but I believe Van de Vliet, who's the head researcher there, is perilously close to one of the most important breakthroughs in medical history. I just need to get all this confirmed from the horse's mouth.”

”Is that what you want to interview him about?”

”He was available for interviews until about four months ago. I actually had one scheduled, but it abruptly got canceled. Bang, suddenly there's a total blackout on the project. They just shut down their press office completely. When I call, I get transferred to his CFO, some young p.r.i.c.k who likes to blow me off. For starters, I'd like to know why it's all so hush-hush.”

”Stone, private medical research is always proprietary, for G.o.d's sake.

Sooner or later he undoubtedly hopes to patent whatever he's doing. A privately held corporation doesn't have to report to anybody, least of all some nosy reporter.”

That was true, of course. But Stone Aimes knew that the only way his book would be the blockbuster he needed to get free of the Sentinel was to tell the real story of what Gerex was in the process of achieving.

And to be first doing it.

For which he needed access.

”Make it happen. Because, like it or not, Winston Bartlett is about to be the subject of a major volume of investigative journalism. I've already got a lot of what I need.” That wasn't precisely the case, but there was no need to overdo brutal honesty. ”The only question is, does he want it to be authorized or unauthorized? It's his choice.”

Winston Bartlett, Stone knew all too well, was a man who liked nothing better than to see his name in the papers. In fact, he used the free publicity he always managed to get with his jet-setting lifestyle to popularize his various business ventures. Like Donald Trump, he had made himself a brand name. So what was going on here? Was he just playing his cards close to the chest, waiting to make a dramatic big announcement? Or was he keeping this project secret because he was worried about some competing laboratory beating him to a patent?

Or was he hiding something? Had the clinical trials out in New Jersey gone off the track? Was he keeping the project hush-hush because something was going on he didn't want the public to hear about? Had stem cell technology turned out to be an empty promise? Or had there been some horrible side effect they didn't want reported?

”So could you just raise this with his attorneys? Because if he lets Van de Vliet talk with me directly, he can be sure I'll get the story right. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to him.”

”Stone, I hope you have an alternative career track in the advanced stages of planning. Because the minute the Family gets wind of this, that you're writing some tell-all about Bartlett, they're going to freak. Even if you're doing it on your own time, you still work here.

At least for the moment. Your name is a.s.sociated in the public's mind with the Sentinel.”

He knew that, which was why this was going to be all or nothing.