Malcolm had never seen her so angry. "Please, Tanya. Try to understand. Joe is dead. Charles Aldrin is dead. Edda Milton is dead…"
"And my roommate Kathy Alcin is dead," Tanya said sharply. "What are you trying to do? Compile an obituary update?"
Malcolm closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back in his chair, pondering. He needed Tanya's cooperation. "What I'm trying to say, Tanya, is that your life is still in danger. I need information that only you can give me. I need it to protect you."
"Protect me? Protect me from what, Malcolm? Don't you understand? If Kevin doesn't make it, the only thing I want for myself is death."
"Don't say that!" Malcolm banged his hand against the desk.
"But it's true. I don't care about anything. And you-you don't care about people." She paused and looked at Malcolm. "No, that isn't true. You care about people. But what's most important to you right now is to catch the crook who outsmarted you. That's why you're so obsessed." She turned from him in distaste.
Malcolm stared at Tanya. It was true. He had been haunted, obsessed with finding the missing link, the reason why so many people had died. He hadn't been able to sleep more than a couple of hours each night. He knew now that only Tanya had the key to the puzzle, even if she wasn't aware of it. He slumped into his chair behind his desk. "It's true. I'm an old fool. You hired me to protect you and all I've done is to surround you with corpses."
Tanya, calmer now, looked at Malcolm. "What I mean is that the most important thing for me right now is to take care of Kevin. Nothing else is important." She paused, tossed her hair away from her face. "I have the name and address of a doctor who has operated in cases where the patient was in a coma-cases even more desperate than Kevin's. His name is Justin Vander Groote." She paused again and forced a smile on her face. "I want to find out if there's a chance for Kevin to recover. That's my first priority. Contacting this South African doctor is very high on my list."
Malcolm stared at her intently, a frown between his eyes.
"Yes, yes," Tanya said. "I know I have to go through all the papers I signed or approved after I became a millionaire. I'll do that. I promise."