Read Online Mutation by Robin Cook - Free Book Online Page B

kid's clean. No meningitis as I said earlier. We just don't understand. The man upstairs is in control." He pointed skyward.
         As if responding to Dr. Nakano's morbid prediction, the cardiac monitor let out a brief alarm, indicating that Mark's heart had paused. Mark's heart rate was becoming irregular. The alarm sounded briefly again. Dr. Nakano didn't move. "This happened earlier," he said. "But at this point it's a 'no-code' status." Then, as an explanation, he added: "The parents see no sense in keeping him alive if his brain is gone."
         Victor nodded, and as he did so, the cardiac monitor alarm came on and stayed on. Mark's heart went into fibrillation. Victor looked over his shoulder toward the unit desk. No one responded.
         Within a short time the erratic tracing on the CRT screen flattened out to a straight line. "That's the ball game," Dr. Nakano said. It seemed like such a heartless comment, but Victor knew that it was born more of frustration than callousness. Victor remembered being a resident too well.
         Dr. Nakano and Victor returned to the desk where Dr. Nakano informed the secretary that the Murray baby had died. Matter-of-factly the secretary lifted the phone and initiated the required paperwork. Victor understood you couldn't work here if you let yourself become upset by the frequent deaths.
         "There was a similar case last night," Victor said. "The name was Hobbs. The child was about the same age, maybe a little older. Are you familiar with it?"
         "I heard about it," Dr. Nakano said vaguely. "But it wasn't my case. I understand many of the symptoms were the same."
         "Seems so," Victor said. Then he asked: "You'll get an autopsy?"
         "Absolutely," Dr. Nakano said. "It will be a medical examiner's case, but they turn most over to us. They're too busy downtown, especially for this kind of esoteric stuff. Will you tell the parents or do you want me to do it?"
         Dr. Nakano's rapid change of direction in his conversation jarred Victor. "I'll tell them," he said after a pause.
         "And thanks for your time."
         "No problem," Dr. Nakano said, but he didn't look at Victor. He was already involved with another crisis.
         Stunned, Victor walked out of the ICU, appreciating the quiet as the electronic doors closed behind him. He returned to the waiting room where the Murrays guessed the bad news before he could tell them. Gripping each other, they again thanked Victor for coming. Victor murmured a few words of condolence. But even as he spoke a frightful image gripped his heart. He saw VJ white and hooked up to a respirator in the bed where Mark had lain.
         Cold with terror, Victor went to Pathology and introduced himself to the chief of the department, Dr. Warren Burghofen. The man assured Victor that they would do everything in their power to get the two autopsies, and get them as soon as possible.
         "We certainly want to know what's going on here," Burghofen said. "We don't want any epidemic of idiopathic cerebral edema ravaging this city."
         Victor slowly returned to his car. He knew there was little likelihood of an epidemic. He was only too conscious of the number of children at risk. It was three.
        
         As soon as Victor got back to his office he asked Colleen to contact Louis Kaspwicz, the head of Chimera's data processing, and have him come up immediately.
         Louis was a short, stocky man with a shiny bald head, who had a habit of sudden unpredictable movements. He was extremely shy and rarely looked anyone in the eye, but despite his quirky personality, he was superb at what he did. Chimera depended upon his computer expertise for almost every area, from research to production to billing.
         "I have a problem," Victor said, leaning back against his desk, his arms folded across his chest. "I can't find two of my personal files. Any idea how that could be?"
         "Can