Deep Water
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
A cure for obesity, worth billions. A death in a clinical trial.
When patent lawyer Daniel Marchmont agrees to act for Calliope Biotech, he doesn't know what he's getting into. The first lawyer on the case is dead, and a vital lab book is missing. Daniel and his wife Rachel are hoping biotechnology will also provide a cure for their daughter Chloe, who suffers from a devastating genetic disorder. Then the unimaginable happens, and they face a moral dilemma that threatens everything.
Meanwhile young researcher Katie Flanagan suspects something is very wrong in the lab. But knowledge is dangerous when someone is playing a perilous game...
"An intelligent, thought-provoking read... It gripped me from the start and didn't let go." -Sarah Rayne, author of What Lies Beneath
"Deep Water is an intriguing and original thriller, with the serious issue of medical ethics at its core." - Kate Rhodes, author of the Alice Quentin series.
Christine Poulson
Christine Poulson was born and brought up in North Yorkshire, England. She is now a research fellow at the Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies at Sheffield University and chair of the William Morris Society. She has written widely on 19th-century art and literature, and her most recent work of non-fiction was a book on Arthurian legend in British art from 1840 to 1920. She lives with her family in a water mill in Derbyshire, England.
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Reviews for Deep Water
29 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How far over the line would you go with millions at stake? Millions of lives, millions of dollars...Very tightly plotted scientific/medical thriller with a focus on the ethics of the laboratory scientist. The fast paced narrative also relates the degree of pressure that researchers are under to get new treatments and therapies to those who need them -- the patients, and to those who want them -- for profit.This suspenseful novel has a large cast of characters and quite a few parallel plots that the author cleverly navigates with ease. The main character is Katie Flanagan, a post doc, newly hired at Calliope Biotech to work on a biotech cure for a rare blood disorder. Her cell lines and western blot are a disaster and she's on a deadline. Attorney Daniel Marchmont is a patent lawyer, hired after an accident kills the former attorney handling the case involving a dispute of which lab was first to produce a substance that might cure obesity. It so happens that Daniel's daughter, Chloe, has that very rare blood disease (the first of several major coincidences that had potential to defy belief). There is a lot happening in this short book (252 pages), but the essence of the science is related to the reader through very effective narration and description by the author so is easily understandable. The main focus of the story is that many things are going wrong in the lab and there are several who could be responsible for the bad luck and negative results. Without spoilers, just know that Katie is trying to figure out what is going on with the lab and the blood disorder research while also trying to figure out why her experiments are total failures. Easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable, I'm glad I finally picked this up after reading a review by a Goodreads "friend" (Rachel). I had won this from LibraryThing a long time ago as an ARC and I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it. Medical thrillers are my favorites in the mystery and suspense genre so I'm always happy to find a new author. In fact, I'm reading the second book in this series next!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I wasn't too sure what to expect when I started this book, as it's not the selection I would normally pick up. That being said, I enjoyed it. It's a medical mystery about scientific drug research that's fast paced and well written. It gives readers a behind the scenes look at clinical trials and what drug companies will do for money.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I think I was expecting something slightly different when I first read the back cover. I was leaning towards more of a slight science fiction thriller, it was more science fiction than anything else.The science part kind of lost me but it was interesting to read and see the author try to incorporate into the storyline.The story is told through Katie (the researcher), Dan (the patent lawyer) and Rachel (Dan's wife and board member that is interested in Katie's research). While we get to see what happens in all of their lives and those around them, I don't feel like we really got to know those around them. And what really happened with the lab book and research? I felt like it was leading up to someone intentionally killing the previous patent lawyer (because she knew something was off about the lab book), the sabotage of Katie's research over and over again, the gas leak that lead to the injuries of staff at the lab and the fire on the ship. All of those events weren't entirely connected directly, it's the people that are some what connected. I just felt the climax was a little bit of a let down and came up short.It was an OK story but nothing that would capture my attention beyond an initial read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It took me little while to get around to this one as I was devouring the Slow Horses series of a recently discovered (to me at least, Mick Herron - Thanks to John Harvey for his recommendation over coffee in Foyles).Deep Water is a clearly well researched book on the time of patent disputes, corruption and misfeasance in the world of research scientists with added sub plots of children with genetically inherited conditions, medieval wood carving and big Pharma, all circumscribed by several characters whose egos are dangerous in multiple ways. From the start the front annoyed me - picky I know, but the work is well constructed if slightly pedestrian at times and the twist in the tail is visible from some distance. A Crime Writer to watch as at base this was an enjoyable read, devourable at one sitting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Surprisingly good medical, 'lab' thriller where everything revolves around a missing lab book. A quick, easy-to-read pageturner with attention to the details.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a great medical thriller which is one of my favorite genres. This has everything you would want in a good read...a great plot, interesting characters, and a look into the medical world and how far companies go to make money. Very well written, guaranteed to keep you reading into the night! I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Early Reviewers gift- thank you.Great little fast moving mystery. Well written with a plot I really enjoyed. Have to say there was a part of the ending I wished were different, but otherwise enjoyed the book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This English medical and legal thriller deals with the discovery of a drug that could treat obesity. But there are two companies racing to be the first to have on the market. One company hires a lawyer to makes sure all the research is up to par. But one such research journal is missing when the original attorney is killed in a car accident. This story, although revolves around the research lab, it mainly deals with the lives of those involved. Little suspense and more drama as we learn of the individuals involved. The climax was a surprise but still a slow read for me.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Sadly, this is another book where looks can be deceiving. I thought from the book cover and the fact that I have read a few other books about clinical trials and experiments that this book would drawn me instantly. I admit that in the beginning it did. The story did stay interesting for a while about a third of the way in. After that, my interest was wavering but I was committed to this book. It was a slow tug to bring me back. I never truly got there. What I felt this book suffered from was a lack of complexity from the characters. Most of the voices were muddied by the lack of hype in the story and their voices were not strong. In an effort to rush this story along, I jumped ahead to the last few chapters. This is where the story did seem to pick up again. Yet, when I read the ending, I really had no reactions.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I signed up to review Deep Water by Christine Poulson, I’m not sure what I expected. I guess I thought this book would be a medical thriller with lots of action, but short on character development. I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth of characterization, the complexity of the plot, the ethical and moral themes, and the very good writing of this thinking man’s mystery. Deep Water is a gem, and I am hopeful Christine Poulson will have a long fiction career.Let’s first look at setting. Deep Water is set in Ely, England a place sometimes described as Silicon Fen. This very old cathedral town set in the marshes is home to high tech and biotech firms and labs. I liked that the author spent time describing the city and cathedral — it definitely added to the book. The characters are complex, flawed and very likable. I became invested in their lives. The mystery involves a clinical trial and patent case with some irregularities — an interesting premise that kept the pages turning. But this book has a bit more than the average mystery. There are moral and ethical questions that keep the characters and the reader engaged and thinking. While not an overtly Christian book as one would define it here in the US, Deep Water has a foundation based on a Christian worldview. Life has value, whether it is pre-born or born, healthy or medically fragile. The issues the characters deal with are not easy, but they are true to life. Deep Water is published by a British house, so there is a bit of language and social drinking that may not appeal to those who read only Christian fiction. I did not have any trouble with it.A great blend of mystery and ethical questions, Deep Water gets a recommended rating from me.Recommended.Audience: adults.(Thanks to Kregel and Lion Hudson for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The world of pharmaceutical cures for disease is populated with brilliant people driven to successfully create Nobel Prize winning cures yet amid their world of glass beakers is the conscience shattering lure of the prize. We find that these driven people are still individuals with the hopes, loves, and desires of ordinary men and women.In a story that takes the reader into the meticulous research lab and the daily detailed work of trial and error that is involved in research, the author shows the loving family side of characters. Little Chloe with her genetic code that requires daily treatments just to stay alive is a charmer that Katie can't help but fall in love with. Chloe's parents are successful in their own professional endeavors - Rachel a wood working artist and David a patent lawyer. But as David's past pushes open the door to involvement in a case in which his recently deceased ex-wife was lead counsel, a complication of emotions inserts itself into his life and that of his second wife, Rachel.The moral and ethical issues as well as the criminal activities of life and death show the potential that big pharmacy could potentially drown themselves in as they pursue the high goal of being first to develop a cure. A prize of recognition but mostly a prize of the mighty financial lure.Breadcrumbs of evidence are sprinkled throughout but only the most astute can actually predict the ending in this whodunit.DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy by Kregel Publishing on behalf of Lion Hudson to facilitate a review. Opinions are my own. I was not compensated.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A book that will make you think, and it could possibly happen, and probably has, the falsifying of results in the lab to push drugs through.The premise of a drug that will fight obesity, and what a wonderful drug that would be, no more dieting and exercise, not quite, but sure would be the magic pill, that is until someone dies. We are following a young lab technician and her quest to find a drug to help children born with rare genetic illness, and then we are in the lab with the people who are working on the obesity drug.While greed and prestige does play a big part in this book, there is also the human story of a young little girl afflicted with a very rare illness, and our hope for answers. Then glimpses of hope, but at what cost, another little ones entire life and happiness, these decisions have to be made, and we hope for the best, especially as we put faces to these people.This book will have you page turning from the first to the very last, and we feel like we are walking in their shoes.I received this book through Kregel Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Title: Deep WaterAuthor: Christine PoulsonPages: 256Year: 2017Publisher: Lion FictionMy rating 4 out of 5 stars.The author has written four other novels prior to her latest book though I haven’t read them. Deep Water takes place in the United Kingdom and therefore it might take readers a moment to understand the American equivalent. The story is one of suspense that crosses the scope of science, law, and ethics. There isn’t a strong theme of faith though it is implied by the actions of one character in particular, which I will let readers discover themselves.It took me a little bit to get involved in the story as some of what was happening in the science community was beyond my purview. However, as I continued to read more, the tension increased in many ways between characters, the science community and one family in particular. There wasn’t a whole lot of action or adventure in the book, which I think would have brought more enjoyment. Just so readers know there a few uses of foul language early in the novel and vague references to relations though in a martial framework. In the tale, there is no mention of any body parts or crude descriptions in any way. I liked the plot line of coming up with a drug to fight obesity and the race for a patent as seen through more than one nation’s laws. I thought some of the science got confusing as at times it sounded like more than one race for a cure was going on and later I learned that it was in fact happening. So readers need to know it isn’t about a cure for one cure and the race that ensues along with the danger of sabotage in the lab more than once. I read the book in one sitting which did help me to follow the story to its conclusion though I am one who had hoped for a different ending. Either way it’s a good novel that I think many will enjoy with the tension and happenings, especially in the scientific community.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Book preview
Deep Water - Christine Poulson
Prologue
Ed was nervous and he hadn’t expected that. When he’d talked it over with Melissa, she’d been the one who was uneasy, and he’d argued in favour. But now, as he looked around the sterile little bedroom, small and white and clean like a room in a budget hotel, he would have given almost anything not to be here.
His hand went up to his hairline and traced the line of a scar. It was thirteen years since he had taken a header over the handlebars of his new bike. It had been his eighth birthday. It was the one and only time he’d been in hospital as a patient. You take good health for granted and he’d been lucky, no doubt about it. That was one reason for taking part in the clinical trial: giving something back.
As he unpacked his overnight bag, he reminded himself of what he had told Melissa. There was virtually no risk. This was the last stage in a lengthy process. The therapy had been tested on mice and then on monkeys. Medical students took part in trials all the time.
He discovered a bar of chocolate that Melissa must have slipped in his bag that morning. He smiled: after all, he’d only be away from her for two nights. And with the money he was earning, they’d be able to have a holiday for the first time in ages.
There was a knock on the door. That would be Tom, who had signed up first and persuaded Ed to come along: a chance to revise for their finals. Ed often found himself agreeing to do things with Tom and then half-regretting it. On the face of it, they were an oddly matched pair. They’d first met when they had found themselves in adjacent rooms in their hall of residence. Ed was short and dark and thoughtful, and his idea of a good time was a concert at the Festival Hall or a foreign arthouse movie. Tom was a roaring extravert, a big burly blond who spent his weekends hurling himself round the rugby pitch. Ed wanted to specialize in psychiatry after he’d qualified. Tom planned to be a cardiac surgeon.
So you persuaded Melissa to let you off the leash,
Tom said, as they walked down the corridor to the ward.
No, I’m wearing an electronic tag and she’s put me under curfew.
The teasing had started after Ed and Melissa had announced that they were getting married after they qualified. There was something unkind about it, an implication that Ed had settled for Melissa too soon and could have done better. Ed had wanted to have it out with Tom, but Melissa had told him to chill out. She said, Remember how Tom dropped everything to drive you home when your father was taken ill? And have you seen him with those kids in the paediatric ward? No, under all that bluster Tom’s got a heart as big as a bucket. He’s lonely. That’s his problem.
Lonely! He has a different girlfriend every term!
Exactly. We’re the lucky ones to have found each other so soon. Tom would love to have a woman who cared enough to boss him around. He’s jealous, that’s all.
Ed had laughed. Perhaps you’re the one who should be a psychiatrist.
No, no. GP training for me. Easier to fit round all those babies we’re going to have.
Ed pretended to look doubtful. I’m not so sure about that.
Melissa pursed her lips. Think you might not be up to it?
Might be as well to get in some practice now?
Oh, I think so.
And she’d pulled him down onto the bed…
Ed, Ed,
Tom hissed.
Ed came to himself with a start.
They were in the ward now. Tom nudged Ed in the ribs and raised his eyebrows in the direction of the doctor who was conducting the trial.
She was a young Chinese woman with long black hair so straight that it might have been ironed. Ed caught his eye and shook his head as if to say naughty-naughty
. Tom grinned.
Ed stole a glance at the others: all male, all young. He recognized one of them as a fellow medical student whom he’d met at the chess club and nodded to him across the room. The others were probably students too.
Dr Chan’s voice broke into his thoughts. I’ll be delivering the injections one at a time at half-hour intervals. That’s in case there’s an unfavourable reaction to the drug. It’s highly unlikely, but we have to follow protocol.
Dr Chan glanced at her clipboard and then at Ed. "I think we’ll take you first. Ed, isn’t it?’
He nodded and rolled up his sleeve. His mouth was dry and he was annoyed with himself for feeling a frisson of – what? Not anxiety exactly, more a shrinking back, a reluctance to go first. He reminded himself again that it was very, very rare for anything to go wrong. That was why it made headline news when something did.
When Dr Chan slid the needle into his arm, he had an idiotic impulse to grab his throat and roll his eyes, but of course he didn’t and in fact no one was watching. A couple of the guys were chatting about the prospects of their football teams. Another was playing on his iPad. One was leafing through a copy of New Scientist.
As for Tom, he had equipped himself with a James Patterson novel.
Ed settled back on his bed. Now that he’d actually had the injection, he felt fine. Why on earth had he been so worried?
What about revision?
he asked Tom. They’d been planning to go over things together.
Tom grinned. Plenty of time for that later.
Ed shrugged. He propped himself up on the pillows and resolutely addressed himself to his revision notes. He was soon deep in endocrinology.
At one point Ed was aware of someone else being injected and later that it was Tom’s turn.
He couldn’t have said how much longer it was before he looked up, disturbed by something unexpected.
It was the sound of Tom’s book hitting the floor.
Tom?
Ed said.
Tom turned his head. He stared at Ed with his eyes narrowed. It was as though he had seen something in the distance and wasn’t sure what it was.
A bleeper went off. Heads turned all over the ward. Dr Chan was standing by one of the other men, a syringe actually in her hand. She was about to inject a fourth subject. She dropped the syringe with a tinkle into a tray. She started over towards Tom.
Tom!
Ed swung his legs off the bed. What’s the matter?
Later, when Ed tried to recall what had happened next, the memories were disjointed and he couldn’t even be sure what order they came in. He saw Dr Chan’s face as she bent over Tom, serious, absorbed. Tom was struggling, trying to pull off the electrodes, to brush away the people who were crowding round his bed. Ed caught a glimpse of his face – it was not fear he saw, he thought afterwards, but bewilderment.
Another alarm went off.
There was the rasping sound of Tom trying to get his breath.
Then Ed and the other subjects were hustled out.
Two days later, when Ed got round to unpacking his backpack, he came across the James Patterson novel. He had no idea how it had got there.
He stared at it, weighing it in his hand as though he’d never seen a book before.
Plenty of time for that later,
he heard Tom saying.
But there wouldn’t be plenty of time later. There wouldn’t be any time at all. The long years of friendship that might have lain ahead had been wiped out, deleted.
Big, brash, wise-cracking Tom, who only a few days ago had been making bad jokes about carving people up, was lying in the hospital mortuary, awaiting his own post-mortem.
Chapter One
Two Years Later
The bed was rocking and someone had their elbow in Daniel’s ribs.
He clung to his dream, but it was dissolving, slipping away. He knew only that he was young, everything in front of him, and a beloved woman was beside him. He tried to get back to her, but it was too late. He broke the surface of his sleep. Only the aura of the dream remained, a sense of being warm and cocooned, and yet there was something wistful about it too.
He wasn’t as young as he had been in the dream, he knew that. He was thirty. But no, he wasn’t. I’m nearly forty, he thought with a pang of regret. How did that happen? How did I get to be this old?
The bed was rocking, or it had been; it was just a very gentle motion now.
It came back to him. He was married to Rachel and the elbow in his ribs belonged to their four-year-old daughter, Chloe, who yet again had climbed in between them in the middle of the night. How could he have forgotten Chloe for a single second, even in a dream? And with that thought he was fully awake. He was on the boat. It was the wake from some passing cruiser that had rocked the bed. He eased himself up onto his elbow and looked at the clock: 7.00. They were on holiday. No need to get up yet.
On the other side of Chloe, squashed against the hull of the boat, Rachel murmured and shifted in her sleep. She turned over, pulling the duvet with her. He tugged it back, rearranged Chloe’s sprawling limbs so all three of them lay like spoons in a drawer, and tried to settle back into sleep. But it was no good.
Gently, he disengaged himself and slipped out of bed. He pulled on a heavy woollen jumper over his pyjamas. He padded into the galley and put the kettle on. Who was the woman in the dream? It hadn’t been Rachel. He felt vaguely guilty – but he wasn’t responsible for his unconscious, he told himself. It didn’t really mean anything. Just a bit of flotsam and jetsam tossed up to the surface. Just debris.
He got out the map to plan that day’s journey. They had stretched the holiday out as long as they could, but they had to be back in Ely that evening. That still left plenty of time to meander back along the waterways.
The kettle switched itself off. He spooned ground coffee into the cafetière, and filled it up with boiling water, relishing the fragrance. He took his cup of coffee to the wheelhouse, shivering in the chill of a November morning. Mist was rising from the water. A startled moorhen paddled rapidly away.
He let himself have a few minutes before the demands of the day began, then he went back for his iPhone and brought it up on deck. The deal with Rachel was that he only switched it on once a day, and fair enough, they were trying to have a proper break. It wasn’t as if anything urgent was likely to come up. He was a lawyer, yes, but not the kind whose clients were liable to need him at any hour of the day or night. Specializing in patents tends to be a nine to five thing.
When he switched it on he was surprised to see that it was clogged with text messages and voice mail and emails.
Most of them were from the office, but one phone number appeared increasingly and his heart gave a jolt. Dad. He had rung every quarter of an hour from ten the previous evening and the last call had been at one o’clock in the morning. The fact that he was still up at that hour wasn’t in itself remarkable. Since Mum had died a few years ago, he had become more and more nocturnal. But what could be so urgent that he was ringing so late? Though of course if anything had happened to his father, he wouldn’t be ringing himself.
Daniel listened to the most recent message. All it said was, Ring me as soon as you get this, son, whatever time it is,
but he heard the anxiety in his father’s voice.
He returned the call.
His father picked up on the third ring. Daniel!
What is it, Dad? What’s the matter?
There was a hesitation at the other end. You haven’t heard, then?
Heard what? Dad, what’s going on?
It’s Jennifer.
Jennifer?
he echoed. It was the last thing he was expecting – that she’d be in touch with his father. What did she want?
Not… it’s not… she’s not… you won’t have been following the news. I know this is going to be a shock, son. She’s dead. Jennifer’s dead.
Dan groped for the bench that ran round the wheelhouse and lowered himself onto it. How? What?
A car crash. Sunday evening. I saw it on a news website.
How many times had he told her that she was driving too fast? He felt that he had always known something like this would happen. At the same time it was incredible, fantastic… Jennifer dead… no…
Was there another car involved?
It seems not. It had been raining. The road was wet. Looks as if she took a bend too fast. She came off the road and hit a tree.
There was a sound behind him. He turned to see Rachel climbing up through the hatch. She was wearing a heavy woollen dressing gown over her nightdress and her short hair was ruffled from sleep.
Her smile froze when she saw his face.
Dan, what is it?
It’s alright.
He turned back to the phone and heard his father say, Is that Rachel? Give her my love. And Chloe.
I will, Dad. Thanks for letting me know.
I didn’t want you to hear about it from someone else – or see it on the news.
Look, you did right. I’ll ring you later, OK? Rachel sends her love too.
What’s happened?
Rachel said. Is he alright?
He’s fine.
Daniel ran his hand over his unshaven chin. He rang to tell me that Jennifer’s been killed in a car crash.
Even as he said the words, he thought that it couldn’t really be true. This kind of thing didn’t happen to people you actually knew. But then, didn’t everyone think that?
Rachel stared at him.
He could see she was wondering what this would mean to them, to him and Rachel. He was wondering that, too. And the truth was that he didn’t know what it meant. It wasn’t something he could take in all at once. It was too big, too unlikely…
A car crash…
Rachel said. How?
She ran her car off the road.
Rachel came over to stand by his side. She slipped an arm around his waist.
The phone buzzed. Another call was coming in. It was from his secretary. He had forgotten about the backlog of calls from the office.
He answered the call. Alison?
I thought I’d never get hold of you. Everyone’s running around like headless chickens. Can you get into the office for ten?
What had this to do with Jennifer? He couldn’t make sense of it.
Haven’t you listened to my messages?
she said. We had a call from Lyle Linstrum yesterday.
It’s not about Jennifer?
Now it was her turn to sound bewildered. "Who’s Jennifer? Daniel, Lyle Linstrum’s flying in from Texas overnight. He’ll be in the office at ten and it’s you he wants to see. Mr O’Donnell said I had to track you down. In as far as Daniel had a boss, it was O’Donnell, one of the senior partners.
Daniel, you can be there?"
I’ll ring you back, OK?
He looked at his watch. Amazingly, it was only 7.30. Ten minutes max.
During the conversation Rachel had gone back inside.
Of course: Alison had only been working for the firm for a year. Even if she’d seen the news about Jennifer, there was no reason why she should have connected it with him. There was no question that Daniel would have to go into the office. And in practical terms getting back was no problem – a taxi would get him back to Ely in less than half an hour, which would leave him ample time to go home and get into a suit.
Rachel came back with a cup of coffee in her hand.
That was Alison,
he said. They want me in the office. It’s urgent.
Had she heard about Jennifer?
He shook his head. A new client, an important one – if he throws business our way it’ll be huge for the firm. He wants to see me in the office at ten.
She frowned, but he guessed that she was simply working out what it meant and what adjustments would need to be made to the day. It was a relief to be back on the solid ground of solving little problems and making practical arrangements.
Would you be able to manage OK getting back to Ely?
he asked, though he knew that she would. They were at the Lazy Otter moorings at Stretham, only about five miles from Ely, and there weren’t any locks. It was her boat – she’d been living on it when they first met – and she’d have no trouble managing it for that distance. But in this, his second marriage, he tried not to take things for granted.
She nodded, acknowledging his tact in phrasing it that way, and answered the question he’d really been asking. I don’t mind. It’s the last day anyway.
Chloe…
I’ll tell her I’m promoting her to first mate. She’ll be thrilled.
I’ll go and shave,
he said.
Daniel?
He turned. Yes?
Are you alright?
Yes… no…
Stupid question, really. It’s bound to be a shock.
He shook his head, at a loss for words. That it should end like this. The golden girl – that was what he used to call her. How could someone so full of life just be gone, snuffed out in a moment of carelessness?
As he ducked his head under the hatch to go down to shave, vestiges of his dream came back to him: that beloved female presence; had it been Jennifer?
Chapter Two
Daniel locked the door of the little Regency house on Waterside, near the quayside where Rachel would later be bringing the boat to its winter mooring.
On his way back to Ely in the taxi he had tried to turn his thoughts to the coming meeting with Lyle Linstrum, but had found himself obsessively combing the internet for more information about Jennifer’s accident. There wasn’t much more than his dad had told him.
As he headed up the hill towards the Market Place, he glanced at his watch. He’d be meeting Linstrum in quarter of an hour.
The towers of Ely Cathedral came into view and Daniel found himself wondering where Jennifer’s funeral would be held. Not that he’d be there, but – there’d have to be an inquest, wouldn’t there, first? And a post-mortem. He had a flash of memory: Jennifer naked, getting into bed, and now that body was lying in a mortuary somewhere, and – his thoughts swerved away. A wave of dizziness came over him and dark spots appeared before his eyes. He stopped abruptly and a man bumped into him. The man scowled; Daniel muttered an apology. A few deep breaths and he was alright again. He continued up the hill, more slowly this time.
Ely was a sleepy little market town, remarkable only for its cathedral, and on the face of it seemed a strange place for a firm of patent lawyers. But it was very well placed for the phenomenon that was known as Silicon Fen or the Cambridge Cluster, one of the most important technology centres in Europe. The area was home to over a thousand high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics and biotechnology, many of them with connections to Cambridge University. It was a magnet for venture capitalists, big consultancy firms, bankers – and lawyers.
As Daniel walked into his secretary’s office he was struck by the scent of lilies, a smell he had always disliked. Today it made him feel nauseous. Alison was arranging a huge sheaf of them mixed with pink and white roses in a vase on her desk.
She looked up. He’s already here, drinking coffee in your office.
And those?
Daniel nodded at the flowers.
She nodded. By way of an apology. He was, well, let’s say he was rather pressing on the phone yesterday.
Daniel raised his eyebrows. The look she gave him acknowledged that, yes, it was a cheesy gesture, but on the other hand, the flowers were gorgeous.
He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and opened the door to his office.
Linstrum was sitting in an easy chair by the coffee table, a cup of coffee in his hand. He unfolded himself and stood up. He was long and lean with a leathery face and hair that clustered on the top of his head with a little quiff that made Daniel think of Tintin. Some famous people look shorter in the flesh; Linstrum looked taller. He had to be at least six foot four, and the cowboy boots added to his height. Daniel recalled a photo of him in the Financial Times rounding up steers on his ranch in Texas. Linstrum liked to present himself as a latter-day cowboy and he dressed the part, inviting jokes about John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. But there was a hell of a lot more to him than a bolo tie and a pair of cowboy boots.
Linstrum held out his hand. Sorry to haul you in off your vacation.
Daniel nodded. He didn’t make the mistake of saying that it didn’t matter.
They shook hands. Linstrum’s grip