Page 56 of Hollow State
Darwin picked up the first one and stared at the letters and numbers and then at the graph below them. To most people, even most doctors, these would mean nothing since the drugs weren't common.
To Darwin, they were not only disturbing, they were also his biggest nightmare.
"This is insane." Darwin shifted to the second page. "These are basically toxic levels of TTN-3 with a derivative of KTH-1 with a mood stabilizer and some other shit. I'm shocked this man didn't immediately go into cardiac arrest."
"Funny you should mention that. When he got here, he'd had a cardiac event and a stroke all while in full organ failure."
Darwin raised the last page and took a deep breath. "His insides were rotting like a month-old corpse."
"And there's a hold on the autopsy, now."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Darwin glanced up. "Why?"
"I'm not sure—not my department, but I'll keep asking around."
Darwin put his finger on the screen. "Did you bring the second set to anyone? Or are you going to?"
"I haven't, yet. But there’s no way to log them into the system now." Liam tapped the desk. "They've been completely wiped from my system logs as well as the main one. It's like I never requested it."
"That means Finch has someone on the payroll in this hospital."
"That could be anyone." Liam sat down. "A verified result can be amended, but the amendment carries a name and a time stamp, and the last modification on that panel is sitting under a system account with no human attached to it."
"You sound like my friend, Gideon. I don't know what that means."
"It could be somebody in the lab. It could be health records. It could be an administrator, or somebody in IT with the right permissions and a reason. I want to be careful here. Half the people who could have done it are people I've had dinner with." Liam pressed his hands flat on the sheets of paper.
"So, here's what I want to ask you, and I want you to think before you answer. I've already thought about it, and I don't like where I ended up. If I take these to the coroner, or to a journalist, could this information clear you? If I stand up and say the chart on this man was altered, and Darwin Oswald had nothing to do with his murder, or the murder of Prewit, or anything to do with what happened at Hyperion, will it help you?"
"Not even remotely close to being able to clear me."
"Not on a single count?"
"Even if it raised reasonable doubt with this one case, you're my ex-wife's husband." Darwin picked up the top sheet and set it down again. "A man with a personal connection to the accused, who’s worked with him professionally, who produces a set of lab results that exist nowhere in the hospital system…do I actually need to say more?"
"I'm a reputable doctor with an impeccable record. They'd have to prove I'm lying."
"Okay." Darwin took off his glasses. "How many people know you pull more than one set of labs?"
"Everyone. It's practically a joke on the unit. 'Ash doesn't believe your number. Ash is going to send his own.'"
"Then consider the possibility that the chart was altered by somebody who knew you'd do it." Darwin pushed his glasses onto his nose. "Finch is good at using what he knows about people. He did that with me and Gideon. He knew exactly how I'd react based on the information I was given, and I hate myself every day for falling for it. He knows our history. He knows about Sarah. He knows about Prewit. I'm sure he knows you run two sets of labs. He's baiting you into standing up for me because it's the kind of man you are."
"I can't just do nothing."
"You've done a lot," Darwin said. "And these results are still useful, especially if we give them to my friend Quinn."
"Who's that?"
"He's with the RCMP, and when the time is right, he'll know how to use them." Darwin held up the papers. "Can I take them?"
"I have more copies, so sure." Liam's phone vibrated. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. "Fuck."
"What's wrong?"
"Security advisory to all staff." Liam turned the screen around. "They believe you're in the building."
"Shit."
