“It is,” Noah said. He then went over the entire problem for the second time to make sure the lawyer knew all the details. Watching the man’s expression as he talked made Noah feel he was trying to go up a down escalator.
“I can appreciate what you are saying,” John said when Noah finished, “but you did admit to falsifying data. It would have been far better if you hadn’t done that.
“Just so I am not blindsided, have there been any other similar ethical lapses in your academic career that if revealed would influence this current problem?”
“Only one,” Noah admitted. “Once while I was a freshman at Columbia University, I bought a paper off the Internet and handed it in as my own work.”
“Was there any fallout at all at the time?”
“No,” Noah said.
“Does anyone know of this incident?” John asked.
“No,” Noah said. “I don’t believe I’ve ever mentioned it to anyone other than you.”
“Good,” John said. “If the question of other ethical lapses comes up during the Advisory Board meeting, I don’t want you to answer. I will answer for you. Understand?”
“I suppose,” Noah said. The meeting with the lawyer was not helping his anxiety.
“All right,” John said, standing up behind his desk. “I will do my best. Thank you for coming in. If you think of anything else germane, please let me know. Otherwise, I will see you on the twenty-third of August.”
A few minutes later Noah walked out into the August heat onto State Street. He felt so depressed he didn’t even bother to look for his tail until Court Street. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to look back over his shoulder, but he was surprised not to see the Caucasian, so he stopped to look more carefully. When he still didn’t see him, he felt somehow let down, like his life was in such dire straits that even his mysterious followers were abandoning him.
Thinking the man was being more subtle than usual, Noah continued at a slower pace to the northeastern end of the Boston Common. The route required a number of uniquely Boston twists and turns, due to the city having been designed more for horseback than cars. On each corner, Noah checked behind him, expecting to see his follower, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly feeling relieved rather than abandoned, Noah wondered what he should do to take advantage. Since he had no idea why he was being followed, it wasn’t a totally rational thought. Nonetheless, the idea of visiting Louisburg Square occurred to him, maybe even ringing Ava’s doorbell. What could he lose? Since his conversation with Leslie Saturday afternoon, his confusion about Ava had weighed on him. Although he had thought about trying to contact her again, he hadn’t. The idea of confronting her seemed appropriate, although there was the question if she would even talk to him. He decided it was worth the risk.
Arriving outside her house, Noah climbed the half-dozen stairs of her stoop and entered her foyer. Since he knew she had a camera at her front door as part of her security system, he purposefully stood to the side to avoid being seen. He rang the bell. Staying perfectly still, he could hear a phone ring in the distance. When she didn’t respond, he tried again. This time he heard her voice from a hidden speaker asking who was there.
“FedEx,” Noah said in a falsetto, making him cringe at the absurdity of it all.
“Just leave it,” Ava’s voice said.
“I need a signature,” Noah said in the same falsetto. He was embarrassed for himself and suppressed a nervous chuckle about the antics he was capable.
A moment later the door swung open. Ava was back to her yoga pants and tank top, presumably in anticipation of her afternoon workout. Within a fraction of a second her expression morphed from ennui to irritation when she caught sight of Noah. She started to close the door, but Noah inserted his foot like an old-fashioned door-to-door salesman.
“I need to talk to you,” he said.
“I’m still angry with you,” Ava said. She pushed the door against him, but not with much resolve.
“That’s obvious. I want to know if you’re aware that I have been suspended from the hospital.”
“Of course I know,” Ava said. “Everybody in the hospital knows, and no one can figure it out. You are a popular person. I give you that.”
“Can I come in for a moment?”
Ava reluctantly opened the door, leaving it ajar. It was apparent she expected it was to be a short visit. Both cats appeared and sniffed Noah’s leg.
Noah and Ava eyed each other. Finally, Noah spoke: “Knowing my commitment to surgery, I thought I would hear from you. I could have used some sympathy. I’m devastated, and I’m having trouble coping.”
“As I said, I’m still really, really mad at you.”
“But I apologized sincerely about violating your trust. I’m so sorry, Ava. I admitted my mistake of going on your computer. I thought you could forgive me and be supportive, considering how close we’ve become. If the tables were turned, I guarantee I’d be on your side.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Ava said.
“Why not? Why would I lie to you?”
“You betrayed me. Not only did you go into my computer because you had misgivings about my anesthesia training, you went to my boss, Dr. Kumar, questioning my competence in regard to the three deaths. And you did it behind my back. You know how I know? He told me. He has that much confidence in me. How dare you?”
Noah felt his mouth go dry as he realized she was partially right. He had betrayed her in both circumstances. “I felt it was my ethical responsibility as the super chief resident to voice my concerns to the proper person. You weren’t willing to talk to me about them. I’m not an anesthesiologist. In retrospect, it was a mistake to go to your chief. I should have gone to mine and let him talk to Dr. Kumar. I’m sorry for that, too.”
“It seems that your ethics function selectively,” Ava snapped. “The rumor is that you were suspended from the hospital for falsifying data on a thesis that helped get you into medical school.”
“How did you know that?”
“Dr. Mason told Janet Spaulding, which is a sure way to get it all around the OR.”
Noah knew there was no way Dr. Mason would have told the whole story. He worried how such rumors might affect the people on the Advisory Board.
“Dr. Kumar advised me to break off our relationship,” Ava said. “He strongly suggested I avoid fraternizing with you.”
For almost a full minute Noah and Ava stared at each other. Both were overwrought. Noah broke the silence: “So is this the end of our little romance?”
“I don’t know,” Ava said. “I’m trying to digest it all.”
“If it is the end of our relationship,” Noah said irritably, “there is one thing that I’d like to know. Were you the one who raised the Ph.D. thesis with Dr. Mason and got the damn thing from MIT?”
Ava threw her head back and laughed derisively. “Hell, no. I can’t stand the blowhard. There’s no way I would want to help him. Why would you even think such a thing?”