Page 35 of Too Old for Love

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

One thing the two women had done right was not to leave a paper trail in their office. The computers had lots of information according to the tech nerds but there was no paper.

“I think we have to interview some of the staff,” said Hex. “Someone there has to know something. It couldn’t have been just the two of them.”

“Maybe we do backgrounds on the entire office,” said Mike. “I’m going to bet that we find some sketchy things.”

“Already done,” said AJ. “Mostly clean. A few traffic tickets, one DUI, one who lied about their GPA on their resume but everything else seemed pretty clear.”

“Can I see what you have?” asked Everest. AJ nodded, handing her the stacks of paper files. “I’ll go in the boardroom and review these, just to see if it matches what I know. Our old office was closed last year and this one in New Orleans was opened but most of the people were transferred here.”

“Wait,” frowned Luke. “Were there issues with the drugs or anything else at your old office?”

“No. Now that you mention it, it all started when we got here about a year ago. Maybe someone who was newly hired,” she frowned. Then she shook her head. “No. No, that can’t be it. We only hired one new person in the last year and he’s already gone, other than Colt and Jordan.”

“Well, if you’d take a look anyway. Something might stick out to you,” said Eric smiling at the woman. She carried the files down the hallway and they all turned to look at AJ. He grinned, then cleared his throat, shrugging.

“What? I know when you guys want to discuss things in secret. I printed the files instead of having her look at them on the laptop.”

“I don’t like your tactic but I appreciate your ingenuity,” frowned Cam.

“What I’m still trying to figure out is what they hope to achieve by all of this. I mean, they’re scamming hospitals, doctors, even the fucking insurance companies. The drugs they’re switching out are killing people, they’re not working,” said Mike.

“For some,” said Hiro looking up. The men around him folded their arms across their chests and glared at the other man. Hiro cleared his throat, looking up at them.

“Why the fuck do we always have to beg for the information?” growled Luke rubbing the spot between his eyes, just above the bridge of his nose. “What do you mean, Hiro? And by all means, take your time. Get a sandwich and a coffee if you need it, just fucking tell us what you mean!”

“Wow, someone needs a break,” he said too casually.

“I can still kill you,” said Luke. “Only Winter would be pissed at me.”

“Not true, I have lots of friends and Mama Irene…”

“Hiro!” yelled Cam, Luke, Eric, Hex, and Mike at the same time. Rory, O’Hara, Magnus and Bron were leaning back in their chairs just watching the show.

“Okay, okay. Sebastian Myers was definitely being helped by the drugs but what really damaged his health were the unnecessary surgeries, tests, all of those things. He’s safe now, thanks to the team that went up there. But there are a few others, not many, where the drugs did work.

“Eighty-two-year-old Coral Smythe of Winter Park, Florida was taking PxR-645 for her osteoarthritis. Nothing had worked up until that point. The drug was switched out with her other drug and within three months she was walking better, had less pain, and had returned to regular daily activities.”

“Was she on anything else? Maybe changed her diet or something?” frowned Mike.

“Nothing. There are four more just like her. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are dozens that got worse or died from the drugs but there is something there. PCiX9 – the drug for libido and penile growth was probably the biggest killer of them all.

“We received the coroner’s report this morning for Jordan. His, uh, penis size was ten-inches but according to the coroner, and I don’t know how they determine this, he was erect for an average of twenty hours a day. That had to have been painful. The drug is what killed him but not because of the constant hard-on.

“The guy was twenty-six years old. Twenty-six. He had multiple tumors on his heart, liver, and lungs. All related to the drug. They were killing him slowly and he didn’t even know it.”

“Fucking hell,” muttered Eric rubbing his bald head. “So, is the game here just money? They get their investors to buy into the drugs or buy into the software? Which is it?”

“I think it’s both,” said AJ. “The drugs can’t be sold, not legally. The only way that patients can get them is if they are switched at the dispensing site.”

“Then pharmacies would have them,” said Cam with a hint of excitement.

“No,” said Hiro. “All of these patients are on prescription delivery services. Their drugs come directly from the manufacturer. If they’re switched in mid-process, no one would know.”

“Shit!” yelled Luke. “We have to find out who owns that fucking company.”

There was a soft knock on the door and Everest came in carrying a small stack of paper.