Tolerance Book II

Chapter Ten: Persuasion

Central Park: One Week Later

Although the new HS Director had not been overly enthusiastic about his Assistants' new line of inquiry unexpected pressure from the Mayors' Office had aided Murphy in obtaining permission to pursue the new lead. Wagners' initial scepticism about the likelihood of Wells going after ill people had waned once he had been shown they had evidence, legally obtained through Search Warrants and subsequent Coroners' Reports arising out of two exhumations, many of the victims did in fact have the common denominator of being diagnosed with a serious illness. Amongst the Intelligence Unit there was relief that they had been able to amass further proof after Mouses' initial findings.  As time went on their doubts about Jays' theory had been almost fully dispelled and they were now certain they were, finally, on the right track.  The one issue that stood out in its' seriousness was that Spellman had not in fact diagnosed or treated Wells.  Nonetheless they were still assuming, due to the substantial number of ill victims, that the theory in question was correct.

That certainty had led to a meeting being arranged between Voight, Jay and Dr. Spellman in Central Park.  The choice of location had been agreed upon as it transpired the silver haired, bespeckled Oncologist spent his daily hour long lunch breaks in the Park feeding pigeons.  The Chicago men did not bother trying to conceal their identities.  There was another reason a public rendezvous had been sought .... they were trying to provoke Wells.  The time for being cautious had run out. Voight had already met and spoken to the Specialist on a couple of occasions and to his credit the man had been remarkably calm when informed that his life might be in danger once their target realized the connection between the Specialists' patients and the attacks had been made.  Initially Spellman had been adamant that he could not really assist the investigation team as he had to adhere to patient confidentiality. That concern had been somewhat negated when the Sergeant explained candidly that they had already accessed his records, albeit through a back door thanks to Mouses' skills, and that they were not going to ask him for any details he was obliged to keep confidential.  The Oncologist had asked how they were going to prove the connection between his patients and Wells if they only had evidence obtained Illegally apart from the two exhumation results which Voight had informed him were not considered adequate for a conviction.  That query gave rise to the present meeting.  After all they needed to have as much official proof as possible of a link between Wells and his ill victims and as the Oncologist clearly was in no position to help directly in that regard they needed his aid in approaching his former patients' families.

Sitting on a wooden and concrete bench, in a row of World Fair benches created in 1939, Voight scanned the area for the Specialist.  They were early so he wasn't concerned the man had not yet arrived.  He shot a quick glance at his companion and hoped he was doing the right thing.  Truth be told Halstead looked like death warmed up, not that he complained.  With an internal sigh the older man wished life for the young man he considered a son would soon return to some semblance of normality.  That concern had been one of the deciding factors in arranging the meeting.   His request to speak to Spellmans' patients' loved ones officially had to date been firmly but politely rejected by the Oncologist. Needing to convince the man of the enormity of what they were dealing with Al had suggested to his friend that Jay might in fact be successful in persuading the man to co-operate. Voight was the first to admit his own approach with people oftentimes worked against him.  He was never going to be seen as easy to get along with.  That had been the very argument Al had used to convince the gruff Sargeant that a different approach was needed with the medical professional. Of course Voight knew they could contact the families without Spellmans' input and co-operation but he also knew that the mans' approval of the investigation teams' contact would go a long way to allay any doubts the various individuals might have.

For his part Jay sat beside his Superior wondering, not for the first time, why he was in fact required for the meeting. His request for the reason behind the need for his presence had not been imparted to him.  It never struck him that the experienced Sergeant needed someone genuinely empathetic to convince Spellman to help them make contact with the bereaved families. Although he had been surprised the recovering man had not hesitated in accepting the task, even when an explanation was not forthcoming. Shifting carefully on the wooden slats as he tried to alleviate the pain from his mending ribs Jay considered the import of what putting his theory forward meant.  That the Unit gave credence to it was expected, even with their doubts. The surprise for the young Detective had been how quickly Murphy and Parker had also supported the possibility that Wells was gravely ill. Frowning Jay wished they had actual proof about their targets' medical condition.  True the high number of ill victims definitely cast off many doubts about his theory but they needed to know for sure that Wells was dying. Thinking back to his fraught stay in the shipping container he couldn't recall seeing any signs his Captor was unwell. Only on one occasion did he observe him out of breath, the time Jay had prodded him for a response resulting in the thorough pounding the ramifications of which he was still dealing with.  The physical exertion expanded by Wells during the onslaught had clearly drained him. That however was the only occasion that the man looked less than healthy. They needed to ascertain the true medical status of their dangerous target.