Read Online The Dolomite Solution by Trevor Scott - Free Book Online Page A

wind of it somehow and insisted we move our schedule up. I’m sorry, Jim.”
    The doctor rose from his chair, and Greenfield took this as a sign that their chat was over, meeting his friend at the door.
    â€œDon’t worry, Per.” He grasped his friend’s shoulder and squeezed down. “I have a feeling this solution is nothing more than an elaborate hoax like cold fusion a few years back. I mean who will believe in mysterious minerals affecting the genetic code that way, recombinant DNA gene therapy, implanted on a virus? Even if it’s true, which I don’t believe for a second, it would take ten or twenty years before the FDA would approve it in this country. By then we’ll both be hanging out at the nineteenth hole sipping martinis and reminiscing about our college days.”
    Greenfield smiled with that thought. “You’re right, of course. You always are.”
    The doctor smiled as he walked his old friend to the front door. “You have a good day now Perry. Try to stay dry.”
    The doctor closed the door and went back to his study. He sat for a minute before picking up the phone. He thought about punching in a number, and then decided against it. He had to do this in person, but he wasn’t looking forward to it.
    Out in the foyer he put on his long London Fog and picked up an umbrella. He glanced back up the wooden staircase. His wife would still be sleeping for another hour or so, and his twin daughters, who were only five, would slumber in their rooms until eight. He was used to leaving for the hospital early, since his first surgery wasn’t usually until nine. That gave him plenty of time.
    â—
    Dr. Winthrop pulled his Mercedes to the side of the road in a small strip mall next to a phone, powered the window down, punched in a number, and waited. Fog drifted across the parking lot, but at least the rain had turned to a drizzle, he noticed.
    On the fifth ring, a gruff-sounding man answered with an irritated, “What do you want?”
    â€œIt’s me.” He paused, not wanting to say his name. “I need something else.”
    â€œDoc? You saved my ass. I don’t forget that shit. What you need this time? Hey, I don’t do kids. I don’t know if I made that clear.”
    The doctor hesitated, not knowing if he should proceed. But if he didn’t...he didn’t want to think about that. “Can we meet at the New Patriot Cafe on Blakely in a half hour.”
    â€œHalf hour? Jesus.” He grumbled something under his breath that the doctor couldn’t make out. “Yeah, I guess I can,” he finally said. “Where is it?”
    Winthrop was looking right at the cafe as a young woman changed the sign from closed to open. He explained how to get there and then hung up.
    The doctor waited in his car until he saw the man enter the cafe. He thought about backing out, but realized he had already made up his mind weeks ago. There was no turned back now. He got out under his umbrella and went inside.
    The New Patriot Cafe was one of those new places trying to be trendy by offering fresh bagels and espresso. The walls were salmon colored with prints of famous Monet paintings framed in aluminum. The metal tables were right out of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Winthrop would have rather cut out his own heart than be seen in the place, but that made it the perfect meeting point. He wasn’t likely to run across anyone he knew.
    They shook hands and then the doctor took a seat across the booth from the man he had done quadruple bypass on just two months ago. A man whom he had called a few weeks ago, once he had first seen the article.
    The front door opened and two men entered, taking seats at a table with a view of the door and the doctor and his former patient. The older man had dark hair with a thick mustache and long sideburns. The younger man was also dark with a three day growth of beard. They both picked up menus and started