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Authors: James M. Tabor
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you. Not very nicely, either.”
She nodded. “Graeter went through some bad times. He wasn’t in such good shape when he came down here. And he’s been at Pole way too long, poor man.” Merritt sipped her coffee.
“What happened?”
“He was the executive officer on a nuclear sub. The
Jimmy Carter
. An accident in the reactor area killed three sailors. May not have been his fault, but the captain had better connections up the chain. Graeter got the blame, and his career was over. Then his wife left him for another man—the same captain who had tossed him under the bus. Can you believe it?”
“Did he tell you all that?”
“God, no. You met him. The man talks like every word costs ten dollars. No, that information came from other sources.” She looked at her hands, then back at Hallie. “I’m going to share something gal to gal: be careful with Graeter.”
“Careful how?”
“The man is a sad case, but he has problems.”
“Other than disliking women, you mean?”
“Oh, yes. He’s obsessed.”
“In the clinical sense?”
“He’s not certifiable. I don’t think he’s a bad man, deep down. But he can be like a little Hitler with his rules. Just don’t get sideways with him.”
“Forewarned,” she said. “But about Emily.”
Merritt scratched a fingernail over her desktop, as if trying to scrape away something crusty and foreign. “It’s tricky, with all these confidentiality regulations now. You’re not family, so I don’t—”
“What I hear stays here. I
promise
.”
“Why are you so interested?”
“Emily and I worked together at BARDA, part of CDC, and got to be good friends a few years back.”
“I didn’t know that.” Merritt seemed surprised and, for some reason Hallie couldn’t fathom, unhappy to hear that. “Not sure any of us did. No matter. It was very sad. That young woman was so sweet, and had such potential. What an awful waste.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe this will help you understand why I wasn’t eager to talk. The sad fact is, Emily killed herself.”
Hallie knew that this was not true. She also knew that it was important not to let anyone else know that yet. She did her best to look and sound horrified. “
Really?
My God.”
“Isn’t that just the most tragic thing you ever heard?”
“Suicide? Emily Durant? It’s hard to believe.”
“I didn’t say suicide.”
“You said she killed herself.”
“Accidental drug overdose. There is a difference.”
“Who determined that?”
“The station manager, Doc, and me. I found her and wrote up the report, since technically she worked for me. But the others had to sign off.”
“How did you come to find her?”
“Her partner—Fido—started to worry after she didn’t show up in the lab. He went to her room and knocked. No answer. Called and asked me to look in on her.” Merritt shook her head. “Oh dear. It was very bad. She was dead on her bunk with a syringe stuck in one arm. There were injection marks in other places, syringes, more drugs. Just … just
awful
. I’m not used to that kind of thing.”
“How do you know about the injection marks?”
“She was almost naked. You couldn’t miss them. I’m no expert on druggies, but Doc said they find all kinds of strange places to shoot up.”
“I seriously doubt Emily Durant was a druggie,” Hallie said.
“Pole changes people. Emily had been here almost a year. You’ve just arrived.”
“Emily never used drugs when I knew her. She rarely even drank. She was a nationally ranked ski racer in college. Stayed in top shape.”
“To tell you the truth, her health had been deteriorating for some weeks before she died. I saw it. Others did, too.”
“How so?”
“The poor girl was exhausted. Depressed. Not eating. Forgetful.”
Must have been watching her pretty closely to know all that, Hallie thought. But then, a good chief scientist would.
“It’s called getting Polarized,” Merritt said. “Happens at the
She nodded. “Graeter went through some bad times. He wasn’t in such good shape when he came down here. And he’s been at Pole way too long, poor man.” Merritt sipped her coffee.
“What happened?”
“He was the executive officer on a nuclear sub. The
Jimmy Carter
. An accident in the reactor area killed three sailors. May not have been his fault, but the captain had better connections up the chain. Graeter got the blame, and his career was over. Then his wife left him for another man—the same captain who had tossed him under the bus. Can you believe it?”
“Did he tell you all that?”
“God, no. You met him. The man talks like every word costs ten dollars. No, that information came from other sources.” She looked at her hands, then back at Hallie. “I’m going to share something gal to gal: be careful with Graeter.”
“Careful how?”
“The man is a sad case, but he has problems.”
“Other than disliking women, you mean?”
“Oh, yes. He’s obsessed.”
“In the clinical sense?”
“He’s not certifiable. I don’t think he’s a bad man, deep down. But he can be like a little Hitler with his rules. Just don’t get sideways with him.”
“Forewarned,” she said. “But about Emily.”
Merritt scratched a fingernail over her desktop, as if trying to scrape away something crusty and foreign. “It’s tricky, with all these confidentiality regulations now. You’re not family, so I don’t—”
“What I hear stays here. I
promise
.”
“Why are you so interested?”
“Emily and I worked together at BARDA, part of CDC, and got to be good friends a few years back.”
“I didn’t know that.” Merritt seemed surprised and, for some reason Hallie couldn’t fathom, unhappy to hear that. “Not sure any of us did. No matter. It was very sad. That young woman was so sweet, and had such potential. What an awful waste.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe this will help you understand why I wasn’t eager to talk. The sad fact is, Emily killed herself.”
Hallie knew that this was not true. She also knew that it was important not to let anyone else know that yet. She did her best to look and sound horrified. “
Really?
My God.”
“Isn’t that just the most tragic thing you ever heard?”
“Suicide? Emily Durant? It’s hard to believe.”
“I didn’t say suicide.”
“You said she killed herself.”
“Accidental drug overdose. There is a difference.”
“Who determined that?”
“The station manager, Doc, and me. I found her and wrote up the report, since technically she worked for me. But the others had to sign off.”
“How did you come to find her?”
“Her partner—Fido—started to worry after she didn’t show up in the lab. He went to her room and knocked. No answer. Called and asked me to look in on her.” Merritt shook her head. “Oh dear. It was very bad. She was dead on her bunk with a syringe stuck in one arm. There were injection marks in other places, syringes, more drugs. Just … just
awful
. I’m not used to that kind of thing.”
“How do you know about the injection marks?”
“She was almost naked. You couldn’t miss them. I’m no expert on druggies, but Doc said they find all kinds of strange places to shoot up.”
“I seriously doubt Emily Durant was a druggie,” Hallie said.
“Pole changes people. Emily had been here almost a year. You’ve just arrived.”
“Emily never used drugs when I knew her. She rarely even drank. She was a nationally ranked ski racer in college. Stayed in top shape.”
“To tell you the truth, her health had been deteriorating for some weeks before she died. I saw it. Others did, too.”
“How so?”
“The poor girl was exhausted. Depressed. Not eating. Forgetful.”
Must have been watching her pretty closely to know all that, Hallie thought. But then, a good chief scientist would.
“It’s called getting Polarized,” Merritt said. “Happens at the
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