Finding the Fit Chapter 78
Rick finds no shortage of articles about Francine Meyers. Like most activists, she sought as much press as possible to make her case. She also had accounts on several social media sites. Her message was clear. Lilavonera Pharmaceutical's blockbuster drug for shedding pounds has dangerous undisclosed side effects. The company, of course, vigorously denies this and points to multiple studies showing the safety and efficacy of the drug. It insists that medical professionals and consumers were alerted to all the known side effects. Lilavonera also cites all the material they presented for FDA approval and to overseas agencies with similar functions. If Rick were reading all of this to research the drug, he'd probably come to the conclusion that Francine Meyers was some kind of a nut, like so many others flooding social media with their claims. Still, Francine Myers is dead and not of natural causes. Someone wanted her out of the way.
Rick quickly ticks off to himself Stephen Cannell's litany of murder motives: love, money, and to cover up another crime. So far, in his cases with Beckett, Cannell's wisdom has borne out. So, if he's going to figure out which motive, if any of them, applies, he'll need to look into Francine's personal life as well as what she was shouting from the metaphorical rooftops. The financial and phone records Beckett said she'd order will give possible windows into the first two and possibly the third. A few of Francine's more detailed portrayals on activist sites may give him more insight into motive number one.
After scrolling through several pages of hits from his search engine, Rick brings up an article titled "The Making of an Activist: the Journey of Francine Meyers." The piece discusses Francine's childhood when she was bullied on the playground as "Fat Francine." In self-defense, the grown-up Francine took work that rarely involved contact with the public. She was a professional software debugger, a good one.
Still, Francine was hopeful she could emerge into a wider world. She tried a long string of dietary interventions and stints with various fitness gurus until she found a sympathetic doctor who prescribed Glipsovy from Lilavonera Pharmaceuticals.
At first, Francine regarded the drug as a miracle. As the pounds started dropping off, she started working out at a fitness center that she'd never dared enter before in fear of fat shaming. She began adopting the diets of her fellow gym rats and followed blogs suggesting recipes to go with her newfound lifestyle. Then Francine's new troubles started. Her face became gaunt. No matter how hard she worked out, she couldn't replace her lost fat with muscle mass. The muscles that she still had, cramped and she became nauseated and confused. Thinking that she'd fallen down on the hydration urged by the blogs and all her fitness buff friends, she tried drinking more water. If anything, that just made things worse.
When Francine's doctor had her bloodwork done, her electrolytes came back dangerously out of balance. But neither her physician nor Francine could figure out why that might be. She was living what should have been an eminently healthy lifestyle. The debugger in Francine posed the question that had always worked for her: what changed? Clearly, the biggest change in her life had been the Glipsovy, but no side effects even close to what she was suffering, had ever been reported. She came to the only conclusion that made sense to her. The drug company was lying.
Since the official test data said otherwise, Francine dug deeply into the drug itself, studying its origin and synthesis. The natural compound that Lilavonera had started with came from a plant in the Lake Titicaca basin. The occupants of a remote village there had used it to stave off hunger during long trips. The natural source, however, was hard to extract, and the plant refused to grow anywhere but in its natural habitat.
Lilivonera got to work creating and testing chemical analogs capable of large-quantity production. Animal testing indicated enough safety and efficacy to move on to human testing. All of that created the piles of paperwork that were presented to the medical community, the FDA, and various other agencies. According to Francine, the only other conclusion she could draw was that the people who used the original plant knew something that protected them from developing the side effects that plagued her. The article ends with Francine's assertion that Lilivonera had never tried to find out or didn't care.
Could Francine have found out Lilavonera's secret and been killed because of it? That would certainly fit a money motive. Rick sinks back in his chair, staring at the screen. First, South Africa and now the Lake Titicaca Basin, which would probably mean Bolivia or Peru. Things would be much easier if the juiciest mysteries centered in Manhattan, or at least the greater New York Metropolitan area. Still, Francine really could be a nutbar, and Beckett might be finding something both more mundane and more local in Francine's financials and phone records. Rick stretches to counteract the stiffness of hunching over his computer for too long. Seeing Beckett in person would beat a phone call all to hell, and a walk to the 12th Precinct could be just what he needs.
Kate stares blearily at the security video from the park around the museum. The cameras focus primarily on the entrances to the museum and the planetarium. There is a steady flow of people in and out, none of them blood-spattered. The traffic cams aren't much help. The museum has a preferred parking area, but vehicles drive in and out of it all day, and Kate hasn't a clue what she might be looking for. It's also possible and even likely that Francine's murderer didn't come by car. 81st Street sits over a subway station. The killer could have easily come and even gone by train. As usual, the subway cameras are broken, and even if she had the video, she wouldn't know what to look for there either. So far, the canvass has turned up no descriptions of an unusual park patron.
"Detective Beckett," LT calls from the doorway, "those financials you ordered just came in. They're on your desk."
"Thanks, LT." Kate gets up, rolling her shoulders, and heads back across the bullpen just as Rick trots out of the elevator.
"Hey Beckett, any great clues jump out of the paperwork at you?"
Kate picks up the printout on her desk. "I haven't had a chance to look yet. I still don't have the phone records, but from the speed the financials got here, the clues would more like crawl."
"Splitsies?" Rick proposes, settling into his usual seat.
"Yeah, but did you find anything that would give us an idea of what to look for?"
"Not really. I'm guessing that we'll see a lot of gym fees, health food, and charges for a drug called Glipsovy."
"Glipsovy, was that what Lanie was talking about?"
"Probably. In any case, it's what Francine's personal crusade was all about. But perhaps something in here will make sense based on what we heard from Dr. Janelle."
"Like what?" Kate asks.
Rick shrugs. "You've got me. But maybe we'll know it when we see it."
"Castle, so far, this whole case is like a treasure hunt with no map."
"If we find one, it might have Lake Titicaca on it."
Kate rolls her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"
"If I were, given the name of the place, it would be more fun to come up with a dirty joke. Just give me my half."
Sighing, Kate hands it over.
A/N Both the pharmaceutical company and the drug in this story are fictitious. However, there is a reason behind the Lake Titicaca basin location. I'll get there.