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fees. Delphine studied it for a few moments.
    ‘I’ll write a cheque right now,’ she said. ‘Please start on this job as soon as possible.’
    Delphine’s life could well depend on this, thought Gemma, as she took the cheque. And she must also be careful, a little voice
     in her mind warned. This man is dangerous.

    After Delphine Tolmacheff left, Gemma typed up her notes, underlining the points she would discuss with Angie.
    Her thoughts were interrupted by her mobile.
    ‘Gemma?’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘It’s Janet – Janet Chancy.’
    ‘Janet! I was just thinking about you—’
    But Janet’s urgent voice cut her off. ‘Listen. I’m calling from Sapphire Springs Spa. But I might not be able to talk very
     long. My phone battery’s about to die and I don’t want to use a line fromhere. I’ve stumbled on something enormous here – something so huge, so unbelieveable, so, so—’
    ‘About DiNAH therapy?’
    ‘You know about that? Good, then I don’t have to waste time explaining—’ Janet’s voice faded then came back. ‘I know how it’s
     done,’ she said in a conspiratorial whisper. ‘I’ve got to see you. I can’t talk now. Too many people around. You have no idea
     what’s going on here. It’s the scoop of a lifetime. DiNAH – it’s not what people think. I managed to get into the medical
     supercentre and – oh, it’s unbelievable! Look, I have to go but I’m coming straight to your place when I leave here. Then
     we can plan what to do next.’
    ‘What? Now?’
    ‘Yes, yes. You’ll understand why when I tell you.’ Her voice dropped. ‘It’s just too shocking—’ The phone cut out.
    Gemma leaned back in her chair, puzzled. Why had Janet rung
her
? They weren’t close friends. Why not her newspaper, a classic hold-the-front-page phone call? Why would she want to talk
     about her discovery with a private investigator? What were she and Janet supposed to do? Gemma wondered. Raise some kind of
     philosophical debate?
    She knew that many researchers were questioning the ethical position of the scientific team that had perfected the DiNAH therapy
     because they were in the process of patenting the revolutionary breakthrough so that they would receive all the royalties.
     Most in the local scientific community argued that this treatment should be made available around the world, where its use,
     especially in developing countries, could reduce post-operative infection rates and cut down the duration of hospital stays.
     There was already talk of legal action and demands for peer reviewbefore DiNAH could be patented. If Janet had new information about this therapy, it should be published immediately. So why
     did she call
me?
Gemma asked herself again.
    She reached for her phone and called Lance at Paradigm Laboratories, whose services she used whenever she needed to fast-track
     scientific assays or DNA profiling.
    ‘Good to hear from you, Gemma. What’s up?’
    ‘What do you know about this DiNAH therapy – the accelerated healing process?’
    ‘Funny you should mention it. I was talking to a colleague about it the other day. It uses the patient’s own DNA to formulate
     their medication. And this powerful new growth factor. A Russian, Dr Benjamin Popowitz, is
the
name in the area of enhanced growth factors. Did you know that a foetus that has been subjected to injury or surgery in utero
     heals without scarring?’
    ‘Only because a client told me a little while ago. But that’s all I know. How come?’
    ‘Developing embryos have enhanced levels of something called transforming growth factors – TGFs. And some of our organs have
     something called immune privilege. They’re protected from attack by the immune system. Popowitz has been working on that too.
     But that’s more relevant in organ transplants.’
    ‘And that’s what they’re using with DiNAH therapy? Dr Popowitz’s enhanced TGFs?’
    ‘That plus the client’s own DNA, which apparently creates a powerful