Recollection Rick

Chapter 38

"Dana, you need to see this," Alexis calls across their lab space at Hudson University.

She points at the spectrometer output on her screen. "That mercury shouldn't be there."

"A trace maybe. It can be pretty ubiquitous in New York. There are still hangovers from heavier coal-burning days. Or whoever this is might eat a lot of fish. But there shouldn't be nearly that much," he agrees. "Gilly was right about expanding our analysis. I'm also finding elevated levels of some organics. It looks like the students have been slowly poisoning themselves without any help from drug-dealing frat boys."

"We have to do something!" Alexis exclaims. "At least we need to tell Gilly."

"I suspect she knows something is happening, or she wouldn't have pointed us in this direction, and she should be in her office now. She's usually there until at least eight or nine at night, sometimes later. That's the only time some of the students can see her. We can download our results and email them to her so she'll have them when we get there. You should probably call your dad. I doubt we'll be making it back to the loft anytime soon. He'll worry."

Alexis sighs. "He worries too much."

"Probably," Dana agrees, 'but if I were in his shoes, I'd want to know you were safe too. I'd want to be sure about that in my own shoes."

With warmth suffusing her cheeks, Alexis retrieves her phone from the pocket of her lab coat. "I'll text him."


Scowling, Rick jams his phone back in his jeans. "What's wrong?" Kate asks.

"Alexis and Dana are going to be late. She says something urgent's come up with her project. What could be urgent about analyzing hair for shampoo additives?"

"When they get back, you can ask," Kate advises. "With the Lee award coming up, Dana may be looking for a last opportunity to shine. Or maybe they found something they weren't expecting. We've solved more than one case when C.S.U. turned up an anomaly."

That's true," Rick admits. "And the absence of two teenagers means the fridge is less likely to morph into Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. Mother's message said she and Craig, her new leading man, will be having a late supper at Sardi's after their performances. We can avail ourselves of house provisions without restraint. Feel like doing some foraging?"

"Only for genuine food. We ate almost half the cookies you baked."

"The rest of which are bound to vanish within seconds of the teens finally putting in an appearance. But we do have to make sure Mama is properly nourished. Whatever fulfills your nutritional needs."

"When you put it that way, I feel like ordering a pizza," Kate teases. "But if you want to thaw out a couple of chicken fillets, I'll start on a salad."

"Yes, Ma'am."


Gilly studies the results Dana and Alexis transmitted. They're worse than she suspected. A substantial portion of the subjects have close to toxic levels of mercury, and she's seeing even more dibutyl phthalate than she expected from the sewage analysis. The source must be nearby and readily available to the students. The trouble is, the area is full of stores that pander to campus dwellers. The university keeps them in business. And a lot of them sell similar merchandise. The problem may also extend beyond Hudson. Unfortunately, with all the emphasis on drugs, getting funding to pursue anything else will be a challenge, a big one.

As Alexis and Dana approach the door of her office, Gilly waves them in. "We need to find out how far this goes," she states without introduction. "And it's not going to be easy. Right now, the school is expending all its emergency resources addressing the drug problem. But with the frats closed down and the perpetrators arrested, that's already been blunted, at least until new dealers move in. In the long run, what we've uncovered may be far more serious because no one is looking for it. But getting funding to do that right now will be pretty close to impossible. Thoughts?"

"We need publicity, and lots of it," Alexis declares. "No one puts out money for anything unless it's right in front of their face. Or that's what my father's agent says, anyway. Dad sells more books with one appearance on Jimmy Kimmel than from reviews in hundreds of newspapers. We need buzz."

"The drug story is taking up all the buzz right now," Dana points out.

"Then we have to create a new buzz," Alexis asserts. "Dana winning the Lee Award should help. He gets to make a speech or something. We could put video of it out on social media."

Dana shakes his head. "Only if I win. And it's not an Oscar, Alexis. Most people never hear about an award like that, let alone care. We need someone famous to talk about it, and the only people I know who are vaguely famous are your dad and your grandmother."

Alexis giggles. "I don't think Dad or Gram would like the 'vaguely' part much. But they both know a lot of people more famous than they are. It's a good thing Gram's on Broadway again, and a bunch of celebrities read Dad's books. I think Ryan Reynolds wants to play Derrick Storm, but after the mess he made of Green Lantern, Dad doesn't want him near his work. He still says he can't figure out how Reynolds got the part. He thought it should have gone to the guy who did the voice in the animated movies. We can ask Dad to make some calls, and Gram too."

"And you need to gather more samples and do more analysis," Gilly instructs. "Even if you can create the 'buzz," as you call it, we still need solid data and lots of it to make our case. Whoever is selling this poison to the students isn't going to want to see their market cut off. If it comes down to a fight, we'll need the best ammunition we can get. Go ahead and see what you can do about publicity. I have a few ideas too. But until we have an unassailable case, you'll both need to spend every spare minute you have obtaining more samples or working in the lab. And Dana, if you're going to write a speech, do it while you've got samples running." The professor smiles. " At least you'll know you're not wasting your time. It's always worked for me."


The play on the stage in the back room at Sardi's is an amusing and spicy tale, but Martha is barely paying attention to it or her cannelloni, the house's current specialty. The blue eyes set off by a shock of white hair are capturing her full notice. Perhaps Craig reminds her a little of Jack. He has that air of danger about him. But unlike Jack, she knows exactly who Craig is and where he came from. And on and offstage, the actor is still a damned good kisser, in addition to his other talents.

It's a wonder that Craig decided to do a stint on Broadway. After starring in a series of spy movies, he has his choice of more lucrative roles. But like Martha, he's always loved the stage. Maybe that's what attracts her to him the most. Immersed in his characters and madly in love with a live audience, he's a kindred spirit. Perhaps, after all these years, she's finally found a man's life she truly wants to share.