Chapter 43
The following Monday afternoon in London, Rick was surprised not to be escorted up to Dean’s apartment like he had been before. Instead, Zac merely waved an arm towards the elevator with an unsettlingly cheerful greeting. ‘Hi, Doc. You know the way, don’t you?’
Up in the apartment, the concertina wall had been reinstated. There was no sign of any medical equipment and no sign of Dean. Cora strode across the thick carpet towards him. ‘Dr Mahon. Thank you for coming.’
‘I was glad to be invited. How is Dean?’
‘He’s—’ A short soft ping sounded in the room. Cora frowned. ‘Damn it, that’s the lift. They’re early. I was hoping for more time.’
‘Who’s early?’
Her tone suddenly became urgent. ‘Dr Mahon, will you trust me?’
The back of his neck prickled. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Please, there isn’t time to explain, but please trust me.’
‘Explain what?’
‘I’m about to receive some guests.’
‘Would you like me to leave?’
‘No, quite the contrary, you need to be here for this, but… Dr Mahon, I’m sorry, I was going to… oh never mind.’ Cora picked up a black folder from the coffee table and turned towards the entrance hall just as that soft ping sounded again.
The door opened. ‘Ms Diamond,’ called Zac. ‘Your guests have arrived.’
‘Thank you, Zac. Please show them in.’ Cora flipped her hair, encouraging her curls to tumble over one shoulder. She seemed different from the woman Rick had met last time. Harder, more in control. A worm of suspicion stirred in his belly. Then, Zac ushered the last two people Rick ever wanted to see again into the room.
Sal and Abe.
There was suddenly not enough oxygen in the room.
Cora exchanged noisy air kisses with the arrivals. ‘I am glad you could both join us.’
Rick steeled himself not to react.
Sal shot Rick an evil grin. ‘Dr Death. We meet again.’
‘Yo, dude.’ Abe waved his camera at Rick. ‘Hang on a mo. Lemme start rolling. The fans will want to see this little showdown.’
Aware that Zac was blocking the door, Rick looked from the YouTubers to Cora and then over at the balcony.
Sal snickered. ‘You’re four floors up, Ricky, babe. No jumping out of windows today. We got you.’
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.’ Cora’s tone was brisk. She opened the black file, drew out some papers and placed them on the coffee table with a pen. ‘Legal formalities first. You need to sign these consent forms for the right to film the first time that Dr Mahon and I appear on camera together. Remember? We talked about this. You and I will both film this little discussion and then you and Abe get forty-eight hours to release your scoop before I go public with footage, too.’
‘Yeah, yeah. Abe, you first.’
Abe lowered his camera and scrawled his name. Sal did the same.
‘Excellent.’ Cora tucked the papers away.
Rick cleared his throat. ‘I—’
Cora shot Rick a look. ‘Don’t worry, Dr Mahon. I’m only interested in recording the truth here. The forms state that footage can only be used if it’s shot in one continuous piece. No editing allowed. None of us wants anyone to claim that it’s been altered.’
Sal tutted. ‘Can we get on with it?’
‘Of course.’ Cora gathered up the papers and handed them to Zac.
‘Is he staying?’ asked Abe.
‘He’s here to make sure everyone… how shall I put this?’ Cora looked meaningfully at Rick. ‘Behaves themselves.’
‘Good idea,’ said Sal, shooting a sideways glare at Rick. ‘Don’t want Dr Death cutting up rough.’
‘Can I start filming already?’ whined Abe.
‘You can,’ said Cora. ‘I’ll start my cameras, too.’ She picked a remote up from the coffee table, pointed it towards the huge screens on the wall and pressed a button, saying to Rick as if there was nothing untoward happening, ‘I mentioned Dean’s obsession with gaming technology, didn’t I? There are cameras everywhere in this room. To record him playing, as well as his reactions, and so that he could explain his strategy to his fans. I never thought I’d ever find them useful.’
Rick’s eyes darted around the room, sweat trickling between his shoulder blades. Bloody hell. There really are cameras everywhere. One over the main screen, one on the wall to the right and one over the door. There was even a small one on the coffee table. Little red lights indicated that all were recording. Rick’s eyebrow twitched. He pressed shaking fingertips to his scar. I am totally screwed.
‘Ready?’ asked Abe.
‘No comment,’ muttered Rick.
‘Not you. He means her,’ hissed Sal, waving a hand at Cora. Then, without missing a beat, she turned a beaming smile towards Abe’s camera. ‘Here we are again, fans. Sal and Abe discovering the real truth behind all the big celeb stories. Just for you guys.’ She turned towards Cora. ‘I can’t believe I’m here with the wonderful Cora Diamond, mother of the tragic D-Man. And, big scoop, fans, I’m also here with the villain of the piece, Dr Death. That’s right, folks. Bet you didn’t expect that. Everyone out there trawling for sightings for the Find Dr Death Podcast can relax. The man of the moment is right here.’
Abe panned his camera from Cora to Rick, then spun it around to face himself and gave a big smile and wave into the camera lens, saying, ‘I’m here, too, folks.’
‘Abe,’ hissed Sal, ‘not now.’
‘Sorry.’ Abe focused back on Sal and Cora.
Sal pinned a fake smile back on her face. ‘Cora, I understand there’s something you want to give to the doctor responsible for Dean’s tragic situation.’
‘I hope it’s a smack in the mouth,’ muttered Abe.
‘Abe, come on,’ Sal snapped. ‘Remember, we can’t edit this.’
Abe stuck his tongue out. ‘But I do hope it’s a smack in the mouth. An action shot will look great.’
Sal glared at him and then turned back to Cora. ‘So, Cora, what is it you want to give Dr Death?’
Cora, reaching into her folder and pulling out some papers, replied, ‘I’d like to give him these.’ She held the papers out to Rick.
Rick didn’t move. A curious sense of detachment washed over him, as if he were watching a play he had no part in.
‘What are they?’ Sal’s tone was belligerent.
Cora held the papers up, making sure that all the cameras got a good shot of them. ‘These are the missing temporary resident forms from Dr Mahon’s medical practice and the accompanying consultation notes, too. They prove Dr Rick Mahon did exactly what he said he did. He warned Dean that mixing the medicine he was being prescribed with heroin could be fatal.’
‘Wha…’ Sal looked closer. ‘No way. They must be fakes.’
Cora shook her head. ‘They’re genuine. I assure you.’
Sal’s eyes darted from Cora to Rick and back again. ‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying that Dean is responsible for his situation. Not the kind doctor who tried to help him. It’s bad enough that you’ve repeatedly twisted things I’ve said in interviews and misquoted me, and tried to big yourselves up using my son’s illness.’
‘Now, wait a min—’ Sal frowned.
‘No, you wait. You’ve played a huge part in hounding Dr Mahon out of his home, away from his job and the patients that need him. These papers prove he is innocent. You should be ashamed of yourselves.’
‘Let me see them…’ Sal lunged at Cora.
Zac darted forward. ‘Stay back.’
Sal stopped.
‘What you and Abe have done is immoral,’ said Cora. ‘Worse than that, it’s evil. Destroying a person’s life for entertainment, for clicks; growing your social media following through scandal and lies. You’re monsters, both of you.’
Sal looked as if she might be sick.
‘What’s going on?’ Confusion clouded Abe’s gaze.
‘Shut up, Abe. And for God’s sake, stop filming, will you?’
Abe tightened his grip on his camera. ‘You told me not to. We signed, remember?’
Sal rubbed a hand over her face. ‘Just let me think.’
‘What is going on, Abe,’ said Cora, ‘is that you and Sal are about to deliver a major scoop to the world’s social media.’
‘Really?’ Abe gave a big smile. ‘That’s great, isn’t it, Sal?’
‘Don’t be so thick, Abe. She’s going to destroy us.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Cora. ‘I’m giving you a chance to make this right.’
Rick rocked back on his heels, watching the interplay between Cora and Sal.
Sal’s eyes narrowed. ‘How?’
‘You’ve got two hours to put together and upload a post exonerating Dr Mahon. Publicly apologising to him for everything you’ve put him through.’
‘But… we can’t… our award…’
‘You claim that your channel uncovers the truth. Well, you’ve just been given the truth. Contrary to the papers you signed, I will allow you to edit the film, but only if it is edited to tell a positive story about Dr Mahon. Do you understand?’
After a pause, Sal nodded.
Cora continued, ‘I suggest you make this post a really good one, Sal. Because if I don’t like what I see, I’ll release my footage from this afternoon.’ She pointed to the four cameras around the room in turn.
‘You can’t do tha—’
‘I can. And I will. You’ve given me the right to do exactly that and much, much more. Always read things before you sign them. I promise you that if I’m forced to post anything at all, I’ll do it properly. It will go everywhere – social media, the papers, the radio, both in the UK and around the world. Trust me, you don’t want me to do that. Or do you?’
‘No,’ Sal mumbled.
‘I didn’t think so.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Sal wailed. ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Taking drugs isn’t cool. Dean made a mistake and paid a heavy price, but it was his own fault. People need to know that. If I can stop even one of his followers from copying his example, then I will sleep easier.’
Sal stared at her in shocked silence.
‘You have two hours. You’d better get a move on, hadn’t you?’ Cora indicated the way out. ‘I’ll be watching.’
Rick watched Cora as Sal and Abe disappeared out into the hallway. The sound of the lift doors closing reached them and she sagged, as if her legs could no longer hold her up. Sinking onto the nearest leather sofa, she reached for the remote and turned off the cameras, then leaned back. Her eyes closed. ‘It’s done.’
Rick stumbled over to a couch, too. ‘Uh. Do you mind telling me what the hell just happened?’
She opened her eyes. ‘With luck, I’ve just restored your reputation. Or, at least, I’ve started the ball rolling. I honestly had no idea what was happening to you. I mean, I knew there was some social media nonsense going on, but I had no idea of the extent of it until you told me. Plus, in my defence, I genuinely believed you hadn’t warned Dean about the dangers of mixing street drugs with the medication you prescribed.’
‘Where did you find the consultation papers?’
A hoarse voice, rusty from lack of use, came from behind. ‘I gave them to her.’
A frail figure in a wheelchair emerged from behind the sliding doors.
Rick lurched to his feet. ‘Dean!’