Title: The Price of Genius
Author: Lin Wilder
Genre: Medical Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Book Blurb:
Dr. Lindsey McCall's worst fears are realized. Not only have both drugs been stolen but two women have been kidnapped- one maybe dead. Lindsey had known Liisa Reardon's new drug was alchemy, only this time, the end product actually more precious than gold.The desperate call from Hank Reardon in Switzerland came late at night.
Could Lindsey and Rich Jansen uncover who was behind the crimes?
It was an inside job-could they figure out who had sold out the Reardons?
All in time to save Reardon's daughter and her chief tech Ariana?
Were they risking their lives as well?
The evil words smolder in her mind, the contents of the letter delivered to Hank Reardon:
Hello Mr. Reardon, By the time you get this letter, it will be too late. We'll already have her. Here are the steps you must not take:
Do not call the cops.
Do not contact Interpol.
Tell no one.
You must know Sir, there is a price for genius. We trust you will pay it if you want to see your daughter alive.
Excerpt
Prologue
Lausanne, Switzerland
Suddenly regaining consciousness, Rich Jansen attempted to stand, then instantly regretted the movement. The pain began at the base of his head and exploded in successive and increasingly intense waves of agony, forcing him to close his eyes, hang his head and wait motionless. Remaining on his hands and knees for a minute then two for the pain to subside, for the nausea to fade, Jansen risked opening his eyes. Squinting at the bright light, he very slowly and carefully moved his head from right to left.
So far so good. Linoleum floor, shiny black and white. That noise what is that sound? Aw no, don’t tell me, please God...
The memories flooded back as Rich raised himself up enough to crouch, knowing better than to immediately stand up. Gingerly reaching behind his head with his right hand, he winced when his fingers probed a large wet and sore swelling at the back of his head. Slowly he stood, swaying a bit while the vast room spun about him.
Whatever they hit me with carried a hell of a wallop.
The phone call from Reardon had happened last night? Or was it yesterday? The minute he hung up the phone, Rich had called the airport to secure a seat on the next flight to Zurich. Sixteen hours later, he had arrived at the animal research labs in the corporate offices of Andrews, Sacks, and Levine, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, located in Lausanne Switzerland.
The elfin Ariana had been showing him where the test mice were kept when everything went black. Looking around for her Jansen saw only a few spots of blood and some scuff marks. He saw mice scrabbling all over the lab; for whatever reasons, whoever broke in decided to free hundreds of mice and Ariana was nowhere to be seen.
The letter...where is the letter?
Jansen reached into the pockets of his sports jacket, the copy of the one he’d had on since leaving San Luis Obispo, California and breathed a sigh of relief when his right hand pulled out the single page. A page now bloodied from his head wound.
Hello Mr. Reardon,
By the time you get this letter, it will be too late. We’ll already have her.
Here are the steps you must not take:
Do not call the cops.
Do not contact Interpol.
Tell no one.
We’ll know if you contact the police or Interpol. We’ll know and we’ll kill her instantly. But we are civilized businesspeople; this is all about business after all. Do nothing at all until you hear from us. And you will hear from us, Mr. Reardon.
You must know Sir, there is a price for genius. We trust you will pay it if you want to see your daughter alive.
In the other pocket of his jacket, Jansen found his cell. He hit her number.
Please pick up, please pick up.
Heart hammering as he counted the rings, Jansen’s knees nearly buckled with relief when his wife answered her phone. “Lindsey, where are you?”
“Neither. I’m at the track, I was just starting a run with Max.” Lindsey stopped still. She could hear the tension in her husband’s voice.
“Honey, I need to you to get here as soon as you can find someone to take care of Max and get a flight out to Zurich. We’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“What’s happened Rich, what is going on?”
“Someone clubbed me while Ari was showing me around the lab. When I woke up, Ariana was missing and hundreds of mice were running around loose. Ari and I must have surprised whoever has decided to steal Liisa’s research. Hank is...well, you can imagine how he is.” Grabbing a nearby chair to steady himself, “There’s a letter from Liisa’s kidnappers. We need you to figure out how we meet their demands, we don’t have a lot of time.”
"Are you okay?" Lindsey was on her phone searching for flights out of San Francisco to Zurich as she waited for his answer.
Rich swayed from another wave of dizziness and nausea, gulped and replied, “Other than a mega lump on the back of my skull, yeah, I’m fine.. Whoever it was just wanted me out of commission for a few minutes. Ari and I must have interrupted whoever it was.”
Rich surveyed the disarray in the lab. Cages were overturned and he could hear the squeals of mice and the scrabbling of their feet on the tiled floor. That had been the noise he had heard when he was coming to. He was way too old for this crap and knew just who he’d call once he ended the call with his wife.
“I can get there faster from San Francisco. I’m calling Kate to make sure it would be okay to bring Max to their house. I’ll aim to be in Zurich tomorrow , will call you when I know the time I’ll get in. Be careful Rich, please.” But there was only dead air.
“Hey, McAllister, Rich Jansen here. Are you and Baron still roaming free around the country?
“Yo, Rich!” Rich could hear the smile in Gabe’s voice.
“Are you still looking to work for Zach and me?”
“You mean like as a private investigator?”
“Probably more than just investigation Gabe.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gabe, this could get dicey. Two women have been kidnapped, Reardon has a note threatening that they’ll kill his head of research at his pharmaceutical company Andrews, Sacks, and Levine if he brings in the police or the feds. She also happens to be his daughter. And I’ve been attacked within my first hour here.” Scanning the space once again, hoping that Ariana would materialize, Jansen added, “And it looks as if they grabbed the head of the animal research labs too. She was showing me around when we were suddenly assaulted. She is nowhere to be found. From the looks of what they have pulled off so far, these threats don’t seem empty. This has got to be an inside job.”
He took a shaky breath, trying to think past the excruciating pain in this head. “In other words, McAllister, we’ll be working solo. No safety net. No backup.”
“Jansen, this is by far, the best thing that has happened to me in the last three months. Baron and I are sick of the life of leisure down here in Baja. Where do I go and when?”
“Can you get to Zurich, Switzerland on the next flight out of the airport you’re closest to?
“Sure but I’m bringing Baron with me, Rich.”
“Good, we can use him.”
“Call me when you have your flight arrangements and I or someone will pick you up at Zurich Airport.”
Dialing his law partner in Mustang, Oklahoma, Jansen closed his eyes in relief when he answered on the second ring.
"Hi Zach, I think we need Toni out here in Lausanne. But you need to know this looks bad, really bad. If you don't want her to take the risk, I'll understand.”
Jansen smiled when he heard the reply.
“They have taken Ariana too, haven’t they?”
Hank Reardon stood behind Jansen. For the first time looking every one of his sixty-eight years, the slight billionaire CEO needed no reply to his rhetorical question. As he looked around the research lab, the scattered cages, scurrying mice and the small pools of blood on the otherwise immaculate floor, the story told itself.
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Runs July 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on August 1.
Author Biography:
Lin Weeks Wilder holds a Doctorate in Public Health from The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston and has over thirty-five years of experience in academic health centers. During those years, Wilder published extensively in fields like cardiac physiology, institutional ethics, and hospital management. After ten years of running an online marketing business, and publishing four self-help books, Wilder switched from writing non-fiction to fiction.
The Fragrance Shed By A Violet: Murder in the Medical Center, Do You Solemnly Swear? A Price for Genius and Malthus Revisited: The Cup of Wrath comprise the Dr. Lindsey McCall medical thrillers with many references to the Texas Medical Center where Wilder worked for 23 years. Finding the Narrow Path is an unplanned surprise return to non-fiction. Her latest novel is I, Claudia: A Novel of the Ancient World.
Lin is the recipient of numerous awards for her work, including a Feathered Quill, two NABE Pinnacle Awards, and two IAN Best Books awards.
She is married to a former Marine and psychologist with 25 years of experience counseling ex-combat veterans. They reside in northern Nevada with their two dogs.
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