| General Fiction posted August 26, 2025 | Chapters: |
...5 6 -7- 8... 
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Brian takes action after discovery of the saboteurs
A chapter in the book Beating the Devil
Beating the Devil - Chapter 7
by Jim Wile
| Background A cancer researcher invents an early cancer detection system. |
Recap of Chapter 6: Brian discovers the saboteur was Mal by breaking in on him in the act. Mal reveals that he did it for $50,000 he needs for his daughter’s heart transplant, and he was too proud to ask Brian for the money because Brian had already done so much for him. Brian figures out that it was Vivian Delacroix, another early cancer detection researcher, who was Mal’s backer.
Brian discusses with Julia what to do about Mal and Vivian, and she suggests getting Mal to give Brian the money he’d collected so far and use what he knows to get the rest from Vivian in return for not revealing her crime to the police or the university where she works. Julia and Brian are in agreement that it would be better for Vivian to continue her work on early cancer detection since it would mean saving lives rather than tying her up in a legal battle and possible jail. Brian will then pay for Mal’s daughter’s heart transplant with the money he collects from both. He hasn’t decided yet what to do about Mal.
Chapter 7
Brian awoke at his usual time and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before the kids got up. When he’d finally gotten to bed last night, he had tried not to think about his upcoming conversation with Mal, or else he would never have gotten any sleep at all. He headed down to his lab to start planning what he would say.
While Julia was making breakfast for Johnny and Lindsay, Johnny asked, “Momma, when can we go pick out a dog like Bo?”
“I’ll tell you what. After breakfast, I’ll call Miss Maddy and find out where she got Bo, and then I’ll call to see if they have any puppies available. Sound good?”
“Yippee! You rock, Momma.”
After breakfast, Julia got the promised name and number of the breeder from Maddy, who also told her how to prepare her home for a new puppy and what she would need to buy.
She called the breeder at Pat Malloy, Breeders and spoke to his wife, Terri Malloy. She told Julia they had a litter of six-week-old Labrador pups. She invited her to come see them, but said they wouldn’t be available for purchase for two more weeks. Julia made arrangements for a visit on Saturday.
“Why can’t we get the puppy today, Momma?” asked Lindsay.
“They’re not ready to leave their momma and brothers and sisters yet. They’re still too young. We’ll have to wait two more weeks to bring one home, but we’ll go visit and pick one out on Saturday. You’ll be able to play with it there.”
“Aww!” whined Lindsay.
“Sorry, Sweetie, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Brian sat in his basement office brooding on what to say to Mal. He was severely disappointed Mal’s pride had prevented him from coming to him about the money for his daughter, but he understood how male pride works.
He liked Mal, always had, and he didn’t want to see one misguided action ruin the man who had otherwise done exemplary work for him. In his earlier life, Brian was given a number of second chances while battling with opioid addiction. Besides, Mal had enough problems right now with his daughter’s health.
While he was thinking about what to say, Mal called.
“Hello, Mal.”
“Brian, I should never have gotten involved the way I did or agreed to such a scheme. I had considered coming to you for a loan, but she sought me out with her offer, and it almost seemed too good to be true. I knew it wouldn’t set you back—”
“Mal, did she threaten you?”
There was a long pause before he answered. He was considering lying about it and shifting most of the blame onto a threat if he didn’t comply, but he was done with being dishonest.
“No, not until after I’d already agreed to do it. Do you know about her brother?”
“I’ve heard that he owns a string of illegal gambling operations in the state and that he’s one of the major sources of funding for her cancer research. They’re a family of scumbags.”
“Well, he was there when we made our final arrangements, and she made it very clear I was never to reveal anything about it.”
“What were the arrangements?”
“Half at the start, the rest after this current step, with a promise of more later for other acts. This was going to be it for me, though. Like I told you last night, we were planning to move to Cleveland, but now, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
“Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to give me the 25 grand she already paid you, and I’m going to get the other 25 grand for the operation from her. You move to Cleveland as planned, but I’ll be in charge of paying the medical bills. I can’t have you come back and work for me, Mal, and you can’t expect a reference from me either. I wish you had just come to me for the money.”
“You’re not going to report this or press charges?”
“No.”
Another long pause as Mal tried to compose himself. He was deeply moved by Brian’s kindness and thoroughly ashamed for ruining their good relationship. “Brian, I don’t know what to say except to tell you again how sorry I am. I’ll bring a cashier’s check to you this afternoon.”
“Mal, come at 1:00. Larry won’t be here. You’ll handwrite a full confession of this whole arrangement and your part in it while you’re here, so think about what to say. Then we’ll go together to have it notarized. This is the leverage I’ll have over Vivian Delacroix to make her give me the other half of the reward and to leave you and your family alone.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Brian decided to pay Vivian Delacroix a surprise visit rather than make an appointment with her. He found out from the Wake Forest University website that she was teaching a graduate-level course this summer and when she held office hours. He planned to drive to Winston-Salem tomorrow and show up for her afternoon office hours between 2:00 and 4:00.
When Larry arrived for work at 9:00, he made a beeline for the coffee maker. “Where’s Mal?” he asked Brian. “He usually beats me here.”
“Mal found out a heart has become available for Samantha, and he put in his resignation. They’re planning to move to Cleveland, where the operation will be, and they’ve decided to stay there. He won’t be returning.”
“Well, jeez, does that mean I’ve got to finish building these breathalyzers myself?”
Brian gave him a withering look. “Why, yes. Damned inconvenient for that heart to become available when it did. Maybe Mal and his wife should turn it down and wait for another so you won’t be overburdened with the task.”
Realizing how petty he had sounded, Larry grimaced and said, “Yeah, let’s forget I said that. I think I’ll just get to work on them right away.”
“What a great idea! Listen, I’ll give you a break from it after a few hours. I’m going to have you drive to Charlotte and pick up some supplies as well as a new bunch of lab rats. We’ll need them soon enough. You can take off at noon.”
In truth, Brian didn’t want Larry around when Mal paid his final visit. Larry was nosy and would ply Mal with questions, which Brian wanted to spare him.
He then made an appointment for later with a notary at his bank. Mal’s written confession, even though notarized, probably wouldn’t stand up in court if it ever came to that, but it was unlikely to. He was counting on the threat of exposure being enough for Vivian Delacroix to acquiesce to his demands. She wouldn’t want her position at Wake Forest to be jeopardized, nor her reputation as a top researcher.
Notarizing the document would only verify it was Mal who signed it, but not the authenticity of it. It was still better than nothing and would at least let Vivian know how seriously he was taking this.
 Recognized |
Brian Kendrick: A 41-year-old neuroscientist and cancer researcher
Julia Kendrick: Brian's 41-year-old wife. She is also a world-class violinist.
Johnny Kendrick: Their 6-year-old son
Lindsay Kendrick: Their 4-year-old daughter
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother
Madison (Maddy) McPhail: Owner of Bo
Bo: Maddy McPhail's cancer-sniffing therapy dog
Abby Payne: Brian's partner on the project. She is 65 and a brilliant mathematician
Callie Bennett: The programmer on the project. She is Abby's cousin.
Malcolm Roberts (Mal): One of Brian's two lab assistants
Larry Posner: One of Brian's two lab assistants
Vivian Delacroix: An oncology professor at Wake Forest University also doing early cancer detection work
Picture courtesy of Imagen-4-Ultra-Exp
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