The Burning Wire (Lincoln Rhyme 9)

"It was amazing," she told him. "I saw a video of this paraplegic who'd been implanted with a computer controller and a number of wires. She could walk almost normally."

Rhyme was staring at the length of the Bennington cable that Galt had used in the first attack.

Wires . . .

She described something called the Freehand system, and others like it, that involved implanting stimulators and electrodes in the arms. By shrugging your shoulders or moving your neck in a certain way, you could trigger coordinated movements of the arm and hands. Some quads, she explained, could even feed themselves.

"None of that bullshit quackery you see, doctors preying on the desperate." Susan angrily mentioned a doctor in China who'd pocket $20,000 to drill holes in patients' heads and spines to implant tissue from embryos. With, of course, no discernible effect--other than exposing the patient to risk of death, further injury and bankruptcy.

The people on the staff at Pembroke, she explained, were all from the top medical schools from around the world.

And the claims were realistic--that is, modest. A quad like Rhyme wouldn't be able to walk, but he could improve his lung functioning, perhaps get other digits to work and, most important, get back control of bowel and bladder. This would greatly help in reducing the risk of dysreflexia attacks--that skyrocketing of the blood pressure that could lead to stroke that could render him even more disabled than he was. Or kill him.

"It's helped me a lot. I think in a few years I'll be able to walk again."

Rhyme was nodding. He could think of nothing to say.

"I don't work for them. I'm not a disability rights advocate. I'm an editor who happens to be a paraplegic." This echo made Rhyme offer a faint smile. She continued, "But when Detective Sachs said she was working with you, I thought, Fate. I was meant to come tell you about Pembroke. They can help you."

"I . . . appreciate it."

"I've read about you, of course. You've done a lot of good for the city. Maybe it's time you did some good for yourself."

"Well,

it's complicated." He had no idea what that meant, much less why he'd said it.

"I know, you're worried about the risk. And you should be."

True, surgery would be riskier for him, as a C4, than for her. He was prone to blood pressure, respiratory and infection complications. The question was balance. Was the surgery worth it? He'd nearly undergone an operation a few years ago but a case had derailed the procedure. He'd postponed any medical treatment of that sort indefinitely.

But now? He considered: Was his life the way he wished it to be? Of course not. But he was content. He loved Sachs, and she him. He lived for his job. He wasn't eager to throw all that away chasing an unrealistic dream.

Normally buttoned tight about his personal feelings, he nonetheless told Susan Stringer this, and she understood.

Then he surprised himself further by adding something he hadn't told many people at all. "I feel that I'm mostly my mind. That's where I live. And I sometimes think that's one of the reasons I'm the criminalist that I am. No distractions. My power comes from my disability. If I were to change, if I were to become, quote, normal, would that affect me as a forensic scientist? I don't know. But I don't want to take that chance."

Susan was considering this. "It's an interesting thought. But I wonder if that's a crutch, an excuse not to take the risk."

Rhyme appreciated that. He liked blunt talk. He nodded at his chair. "A crutch is a step up in my case."

She laughed.

"Thanks for your thoughts," he added, because he felt he ought to, and she fixed him with another of those knowing looks. The expression was less irritating now, though it remained disconcerting.

She backed away in the chair and said, "Mission accomplished."

His brow furrowed.

Susan said, "I found you two fibers you might not otherwise have." She smiled. "Wish it were more." Eyes back on Rhyme. "But sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference. Now, I should go."

Sachs thanked her and Thom saw her out.

After she'd left, Rhyme said, "This was a setup, right?"

Sachs replied, "It was sort of a setup, Rhyme. We needed to interview her anyway. When I called about arranging it, we got to talking. When she heard I worked with you she wanted to make her sales pitch. I told her I'd get her in to see the chairman."

Rhyme gave a brief smile.