She nods and steps aside to let me enter the office. I plop down on her sofa, and same as last time, the cushions collapse under my weight. A spring pops under my butt, and I sink even a little deeper.
Patrice takes her place in a chair across from me and folds one of her long legs over the other. Like last time, she’s got that pad of paper on her lap, and for a moment, I wonder if I have made a mistake coming here. I don’t like the idea of her writing down everything that I’m saying.
“I’m so glad you contacted me, Abe,” she says. “So few students have reached out this year. But I am here to help you.”
“Right.” I run my fingers through my hair, clutching at the strands hard enough that it hurts. “I know.”
“Is there something in particular you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Uh…” I lean forward, my head now cupped between my giant hands. “I just…”
“What’s wrong? Tell me.”
Is this a bad idea? Once I tell Patrice, she’s going to go to the administration and tell them everything. She has to. “If I were to tell you something that was… not entirely legal, would you have to report it to the dean? Or, uh… the police?”
She arches an eyebrow. “It depends what it is. But yes, if you inform me of a crime that might put other people in danger, I am obligated to reportyou.”
Does this qualify as a crime that puts other people in danger? Several students have already died from drug overdoses. So I’m going to say yes.
“Abe? Do you have something to tell me?”
I don’t want to put my entire medical career at risk. I’m not like Mason, who has parents who can lawyer up and save him. But at the same time, I can’t donothing. If there’s a chance that the clinic is at fault for the student overdoses, I have to say something.
Even if it puts mylifeat risk.
“I think…” I heave a deep breath. “I think I know where the drugs are coming from.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh?”
“Yes.” I try to shift on the sofa, and it groans ominously. “I work at a clinic that a lot of students go to. I… I think the clinic is distributing drugs to students.”
“You think?”
“I’m pretty sure.”
She nods, her pen poised on that notebook of hers. “Where is this clinic?”
I give her the address, all the while trying to push away a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have started the wheels rolling on something that could end up destroying my life. I don’t know if I made a terrible mistake, but on the other hand, what else could I do?
“I’ll look into it,” she says.
“What are you going to do?”
She crosses her legs, her eyes on mine. “Don’t worry. I’ll be discreet.”
I debate if I should tell her my suspicions about Dr. Conlon. The more I think about it, the more certain I feel that he is the one pushing students in the direction of that clinic. But I’ve seen Patrice talking to him many times, and I am pretty sure thatthey are friends. Maybe even more than friends. She might not appreciate the unfounded accusations, so I decide to keep my fool mouth shut.
22
Heather wantedme to come to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving, but I begged off because Kovak offered to pay me double to work on Black Friday. I need money even more badly now that I’ve got a girlfriend. She always offers to pay, but Ihateletting her do that.
Yes, I’m still working at the clinic. Patrice told me that the school is investigating the clinic but hasn’t come up with anything yet. That’s comforting, I suppose. Maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Maybe the whole operation is on the up-and-up.
Yeah, right.
The clinic is especially busy—a lot of people coming in and out. A lot of patients who have a “cough that won’t go away.” I try not to think about it. If Patrice said they’re investigating, it’s out of my hands.
It’s close to midnight when we finish up with the last patient of the evening. Dr. Kovak is in very good spirits, which makes sense because we pulled in a fortune in cash tonight. He unlocks the desk drawer that contains all of the money, and he grins as he flips through the thick wad. He peels off a bunch of billsand thrusts them in my direction. “Thanks for your help tonight, Abe.”
