“That’s an idea,” Marissa said, recalling that tampons turned out to be the basis of the toxic shock syndrome.
“I certainly use tampons exclusively.”
“Me too,” Wendy said.
“Trouble is, there’s no mention of tampon use in the article.”
“I have an idea,” Marissa said.
“Why don’t we call Brisbane and talk to the author of the paper. We can quiz him about tampon use. It would also be interesting to know if there’s been any follow-up on the twenty-three cases and if there are any new ones at the Female Care Australia Clinic. After all, this paper was written almost two years ago.”
“What’s the time difference between here and Australia?”
Wendy asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person.”
Wendy picked up the phone. Calling an overseas operator, she asked about the time. Then she hung up.
“They’re fourteen hours ahead,” she said.
“So that makes it..
“About noon tomorrow,” Wendy said.
“Let’s try.”
They got the number of Female Care Australia in Brisbane from overseas information and placed the call.
Wendy put the phone on its speaker mode. They could hear the phone ring, then someone at the other end picked up. A cheerful voice with a crisp Australian accent came over the line.
“This is Dr. Wilson calling from Boston in the U.S.,” Wendy said.
“I’d like to speak with Dr. Tristan Williams.”
“I don’t believe we have a Tristan Williams here,” said the operator.
“Just a moment, please.”
Music came out of the speaker while they were put on hold.
The clinic’s operator came back.
“They tell me that there was a Dr. Williams at the clinic but I’m afraid he is no longer here.”
“Would you tell us where we can reach him?” Wendy asked.
“I’m afraid I have no idea,” the operator said.
“Do you have a personnel office?” Wendy asked.
“Indeed we do,” the operator said.
“Shall I connect you?”
“Please,” Wendy said.
“Personnel here,” a man’s voice said.
Wendy repeated her request to get in touch with Tristan Williams.
Again they were put on hold, this time for a longer period.
“Sorry,” the man apologized when he came back on the line.
“I’ve just learned that Dr. Williams’ whereabouts are unknown.
He was dismissed from the staff about two years ago.”
“I see,” Wendy said.
“Could you transfer me to pathology?”
“Surely,” the man said.
It took a full ten minutes to get one of the pathologists on the line. Wendy said her name and what she wanted.
“I’ve never met the man,” the pathologist said.
“He left before I arrived.”
“He wrote a paper while at the clinic,” Wendy explained.
“It concerned a series of patients at your clinic. We are interested in knowing if there has been any follow-up on any of the cases.
We’d also like to know if there have been any additional cases.”
“We’ve had no new cases,” the doctor said.
“As for follow-up, there hasn’t been any.”
“Would it be possible to get some of the names of the original cases?” Wendy asked.
“I’d like to contact them directly to discuss their medical histories. We have five similar cases here in Boston.”
“That would be completely out of the question,” the doctor said.
“We have strict confidentiality rules. I’m sorry.” The next thing they heard was a click.
“He hung up!” Wendy said indignantly.
“The nerve!”
“The old confidentiality obstacle,” Marissa said, shaking her head in frustration.
“What a pity! Twenty-three cases is probably enough to draw some reasonable inferences.”
“What about talking in greater detail with the two women we found at the Resolve meeting?” Wendy asked.
“I suppose,” Marissa said, losing some of her enthusiasm. It seemed impossible to get information.
“What I’d like to do more is get at those eighteen cases the computer suggested there were at the Women’s Clinic.”
“Obviously that’s out of the question,” Wendy said.
“But I wonder how these people at the Female Care Australia would treat us if we showed up on their doorstep?”
“Oh, sure!” Marissa said.
“Why don’t we wander over there in the morning and ask?”
“It doesn’t sound so preposterous to me,” Wendy said, her eyes alight.
“I’m curious as to what they would do if we visited the clinic. I think they’d be flattered that we’d come halfway around the world to see their facility.”