Origin in Death (In Death #21)(26)

"If we're all caught up now?" Eve narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, I knew Dr. Icove, and know his son a little, professionally. What happened is a tragedy. He was a pioneer in his field, and very likely had decades left to work and enjoy life."

"You knew him personally?"

"Through my family somewhat." Louise's blood was wealthy blue. "I admired his work and his dedication. I hope you quickly find who killed him."

"I'm looking through some of his case files, particularly at this point the ones he kept in his home office. He had his unit passcoded, his discs sealed, and the text coded."

Louise pursed her lips. "Very cautious."

"In them, he refers to his patients by letter and number, never by name."

"Extremely cautious. He had many important people, political types, celebrities, business moguls, and so on as patients-or so one assume-as he never revealed names."

"Doubtful in this case. All female, all between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two."

Louise's elegant eyebrows drew together. "All?"

"More than fifty, all documented for treatment over the course or four to five years on these discs."

Her attention was caught now as Louise straightened. "What kind of treatment?"

"You tell me." Eve took out a hard copy of one of the discs, passed the several pages across the coffee table.

As she read, Louise's brow knitted. She began to murmur to herself, shake her head. "Experimental, certainly, and vague on the details. These can't be his actual case notes. It's an overview: physical, mental, emotional, intelligence. Treating the whole patient, as was his method. One I agree with. But... Young female subject, excellent physical condition, high intelligence quotient, small corrections to vision and facial structure. Four years of study and treatments wrapped in a few pages. There has to be more."

"Is the subject human?"

Louise's eyes flicked up, then back to the notes again. "The vitals and treatments all indicate a human female. One who was tested regularly, and thoroughly, not only for defects and disease but for mental and artistic progress and prowess. There were fifty of these?"

"That I've found, to date."

"Placement," Louise said softly. "Educational placement? Employment?"

"Dallas doesn't think so," Charles commented with his eyes on Eve's.

"Then what-" Louise broke off, reading the look that passed between her lover and Eve. "Oh God."

"You have to be tested to get an LC license," Eve began.

"That's right." Charles picked up his coffee. "You're tested physically to ensure against disease or condition. You undergo some psychiatric evals, to hopefully eliminate any sexual deviants or predators. And to keep your license current, you're required to have regular exams."

"And there are various levels, with various fee scales."

"Of course. The level of your license is determined not only by your preference, but your skills. Intelligence, knowledge of art and entertainment, your ... style. A street level, for instance, isn't required to be able to discuss art history with a client, or know Puccini from pig Latin."

"The higher the level, the bigger the fee."

"Correct."

"And the higher the level placed, the bigger the placement fee for the agency that either trains or tests and certifies the LC."

"Also correct."

"It doesn't make sense," Louise interrupted. "First someone with Icove's resources, skills, and interests testing potential LCs? For what purpose? And it doesn't take years to train and certify. His fees would be nominal compared to his real work."

"Boy needs a hobby," Peabody added, and considered another bagel.

Charles played his fingers over the tips of Louise's hair. "She's not thinking traditional LCs, sweetie. Are you, Dallas? Not selling services, but the whole package."

"Selling ..." Louise went pale. "Dallas, my God."

"It's a theory. I'm working on a couple of them. You'd agree, as a doctor, that the security on these discs is more than usual."

"Yes, but-"

"That the notes themselves are sketchy, and also unusual."

"I agree I'd have to see more to have an opinion to their purpose."

"Where are the images?" Eve asked. "If you, as a doctor, were documenting information such as this on a patient over the course of years, wouldn't you have images of that patient. At certain points? Certainly before and after procedures?"

Louise said nothing for a moment, then let out a long breath. "Yes. I'd also clearly document the steps of any procedure, who assisted, the duration of the procedure. I would've listed the names of the patient as well as the names of any medical or lay staff who assisted in tests. There would, most likely, be personal observations and comments added. But these aren't thorough notes, certainly not medical charts."

"Okay. Thanks." Eve held out her hand for the hard copies.

"You think he may have been involved in some sort of... human auction? That's why he was killed."

"It's a theory." Eve got to her feet. "A lot of doctors have God complexes."