To be honest, I was planning on taking a couple of days off to go to Long Island, lie on the beach with a beer, and listen to the new Eminem album on cassette. But no, Elizabeth Crowe, our nosy boss, was in her element: she burst into my office with a box of papers and telegrams, shoved them under my nose and said, "David, get this in order by next week, we need a readable report for the committee." I almost choked on my coffee. There were at least a hundred pages in there: police reports, some medical records, letters from a detective named Earl Knight, and telegrams from the chief of police. Elizabeth, of course, didn't explain why this was happening, she just muttered something about "important business" and left. So here I am, sorting through it, trying to make something coherent out of it. Earl's handwriting is like a chicken's paw, and the police telegrams don't even have dates, like they were just writing at random. Well, that's what I got out of this mess. I hope I didn't screw it up.
Biography of Isaac Brown, Miami, USA
Based on police reports, school records and eyewitness accounts, 1987-1995
Isaac Brown was born on December 22, 1987, in Overtown, a neighborhood of Miami, Florida. His parents were Edwin Brown, 28, a delivery driver at the docks, and Martha Brown, 26, a maid at a South Beach hotel, both Jamaican immigrants. In 1990, when Isaac was three, their house burned down due to faulty wiring-a common occurrence in Overtown, where half the buildings are falling apart. Edwin and Martha died, and Isaac was rescued by a neighbor. His custody was taken by Francois Leblanc, 41, a French-Canadian friend of Edwin's who ran a fish and chip shop in Little Havana, on SW 8th Street. Francois, a bachelor with no children of his own, lived in a cramped apartment above the store that smelled of fish and the Cuban coffee from the café across the street. I guess it wasn't easy for the kid growing up in such a place, but judging by the papers, he wasn't discouraged.
Isaac attended Frederick Douglass Elementary, two blocks from his home. Teachers describe him as quick-witted, with a Jamaican accent that clung to his speech even when he was chatting in English. He loved math, especially speed problems - he wrote formulas for racing cars in a notebook, dreaming of becoming a soccer player like Javier Zanetti.
Note from David S.: Earl's letter says that Isaac was pasting Sanetti posters on the wall, but it's unclear where Earl got that from - maybe from the neighbors? His handwriting is lousy, I can barely make out half the words.
Isaac was the life of the party in the school yard, kicking a ball around with the boys until sundown, when Francois would yell out the window, "Isaac, go home for dinner!" His best friends were Thomas Wilson, the son of a car wash owner, and Maria Gonzalez, the daughter of a cook at a Cuban cafe. The three of them would hang out in the vacant lot behind the store, playing soccer, throwing rocks at an old tire, and collecting baseball cards. Maria once gave Isaac a Spider-Man comic book, and they say he carried it to school until he tore it.
Note from David S.: This is from a school log, teacher Ms. Rodriguez wrote it down in 1994, but is that the correct year? The Miami police chief's telegram has no dates, just "mid 90's," so I guessed.
Isaac didn't live well. Francois earned pennies at the store, bought clothes at the second-hand store on the corner, fed the kid rice with beans, sometimes Jamaican party with beef filling. Isaac helped out at the store - cleaning the counters, carrying boxes of fish, although Francois grumbled that he was too small for such things. In Overtown, where every other house has boarded-up windows, and at night you can hear sirens, Isaac managed to be an optimist. Neighbors remember how he handed out candy to younger kids on the street if Francois gave him a couple of dollars. I think the kid was a real weirdo - in a good way, just like me in my snotty years, when I ran around Brooklyn with a slingshot and dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
Note from David S.: Neighbors, the Mendez brothers, gave statements to police in 1995, but Earl didn't say how they were found. Maybe he was snooping around the neighborhood?
In 1994-1995 (Isaac was 6-7 years old), teachers noticed that he was getting tired more often. In physical education, he was out of breath and coughing, although in Miami, heat and humidity are normal, everyone sweats and puffs. Francois, judging by the notes, thought it was a cold, and stuffed him with cough syrup from the pharmacy.
Note from David S.: Earl writes that Francois bought the syrup at a drugstore on 12th Avenue, but I'm not sure if I've deciphered his scribbles correctly - maybe it's 22nd?
At school, Isaac still carried the ball, but Thomas said he had become slower, and Maria noticed that he sometimes sat on the sidelines, clutching his chest. He and his friends still stuck together: they rode bikes along the embankment, looked at the yachts of rich tourists, argued about who was cooler - Spider-Man or Batman. In general, a normal guy, with his own dreams and pranks, despite their Overtown, where life is not a bed of roses.
In September 1996, Francois Leblanc, the guardian of Isaac Brown, died in his fish shop on SW 8th Street, Little Havana, Miami. He was 47 years old. According to the police report, on September 14, 1996, at about 3:30 p.m., Francois was working behind the counter, cutting tuna on an old fish cutting machine, a rusty contraption he had been fixing himself because he couldn't afford a new one. The machine jammed, and Francois reached in to fix it without turning off the power. The blade came loose and struck him in the neck. Death was instantaneous from massive blood loss. Police describe the body as being found behind the counter, his head partially severed, blood on the floor and boxes of fish, with a knife and an overturned box lying nearby. A neighbor, Jose Mendez, who owned a cafe across the street, heard the noise, ran in and called 911. A police photographer captured the scene: Francois lying in a pool of blood, wearing a work apron, his right hand clutching a screwdriver.
Note from David S.: The report says "September 14th," but Earl Knight wrote "mid-fall" in his letter. I picked the date from the report, but who knows how accurate that is. Honestly, it was creepy to read - I've never seen anything like that in Brooklyn, and then there are these horror-movie photos. I think it was even worse for Isaac, the kid, if he knew the details.
After Francois's death, Isaac, aged 8, was left without a guardian. He had no relatives-his parents' Jamaican relatives were either dead or in Kingston, with no contact. On September 15, 1996, Miami Social Services took Isaac to Miami-Dade Juvenile Services, five miles from Overtown. The shelter was a run-down building with peeling paint, filled with children from poor neighborhoods. Isaac shared a room with three boys: Thomas Wilson (his friend from school, aged 10, sent to the shelter because of his father's debts), Ricardo Perez (aged 9, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic), and Jacob Lee (aged 8, an orphan from a car accident). At the shelter, Isaac tried to keep up his spirits, playing football in the backyard where the grass was trampled to dirt and arguing with Thomas about who was cooler, Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky.
Note from David S.: Earl writes that Isaac "was still the leader," but those are his words, not the orphanage's. How does he know? Maybe he talked to the caregivers? His handwriting is just awful, I could guess half the words. I hung out with kids like that as a kid, kicking a ball around the yard, so I can imagine how they held each other together.
Life at the orphanage was not a bed of roses. The food was potatoes and sausages, sometimes pasta, all cheap, from wholesale warehouses. The clothes were hand-me-downs, sweaters with pilling, sneakers with torn soles. Isaac, according to his caregiver, Miss Carter, still carried around his dog-eared Spider-Man comic book that Maria Gonzalez had given him, and read it under a flashlight before bed. He and his friends made plans to "run away to Miami Beach and live on a yacht," but the caregivers said he was more silent than before. Maria, who visited him once a month (her mother allowed it), brought him candy and told him about school, but Isaac seemed increasingly tired.
Note from David S.: This is from the shelter log, Miss Carter's entry for November 1996, but it's not clear how often Maria came - once a month or less? The police telegram doesn't mention it at all. I think the kid was hanging on to his friends like a lifeline - I'd be hanging on to people like Maria, too.
By 1997, Isaac's health had deteriorated. Caregivers noticed that he was coughing more, sometimes wheezing, and complaining of chest pain, especially after soccer. On walks to the park, he would sit on a bench, gasping for breath, while Thomas and Ricardo kicked a ball around. Ms. Carter wrote in her journal that Isaac had become paler, even though everyone in Miami sunbathes, even in the winter. In November 1997, he stopped going to school (Frederick Douglass Elementary sent a bus to the shelter) because he couldn't get out of bed.
Note from David S.: Earl claims Isaac has been "sick since the summer of 1997," but the shelter logs show the first complaints as early as October. Who is right? I got the shelter logs, they are more accurate.
In December of 1997, Isaac was taken to the hospital after collapsing in his backyard. That's it, end of story, but Elizabeth told me not to go into the medical details, so I stopped there. Honestly, I feel sorry for the kid, living in a shelter, without a family, and then this illness. Reminded me of how scared I was as a kid to be alone if my parents hadn't pulled me out of the Bronx.
Honestly, I'm getting tired of this pile of paper. In the box Elizabeth gave me, I found a stack of documents about Earl Knight, the detective who apparently started this whole mess with the case they call "D.E.L.I.A.." What the hell does that mean?
Note from David S.: The NYPD telegram has the word in all caps, but no explanation. Maybe a code? Or just someone who likes acronyms? Elizabeth won't tell, and I'm not Sherlock Holmes.
Okay, so I put together everything I could find: police reports, some newspaper clippings, notes from neighbors, even a letter from his sister. Is this cop a fucking celebrity? His handwriting is still a nightmare, but I pulled out a few quotes from him to show how he works. Here's what I got.
Biography of Earl Knight, Detective of the New York Police Department
Based on police records, testimonies and personal notes, 1975-2000
Earl Knight was born on October 12, 1955, in the Bronx, New York City, to a working-class family. His father, Henry Knight, 62 as of 2000, was a mechanic at a Ford plant, and his mother, Mary Knight, died in 1985 of lung cancer. Earl has a younger sister, Clara Knight, 40, a schoolteacher in Queens. Earl graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1973, after which he entered the New York City Police Academy. In 1975, he began his career with the New York Police Department (NYPD), first as a patrolman in the Bronx, then, in 1983, as a detective in the Major Crimes Division.
Note from David S.: The NYPD file says "1975" for start of service, but Earl wrote "post academy, '76" in his letter. Maybe he's confused? I got the NYPD numbers, they're more official.
The police department describes Knight as "an outstanding officer with exceptional intuition." His superior, Captain John Regan, wrote in a 1998 report: "Knight is stubborn but meticulous. He sees connections where others see noise." During his 25 years on the force, Earl solved 47 homicides and 19 suicides, above the department average. In 1995, he received the Meritorious Service Medal after investigating a series of robberies in Harlem, where he tracked a gang while working undercover. However, colleagues note his "difficult personality": Knight often works alone, ignores instructions, and argues with superiors. One of his patrolmen, Officer Michael Donovan, told the NYPD in 1999: "Earl is like a bulldog; he will latch on to a case and won't let go, even if you tell him to stop."
Note from David S.: Donovan's quote is from an internal NYPD report, but it's unclear when the conversation took place - 1999 or 1998? Regan's cable is silent.
Neighbors of Knight, who lives in a modest apartment on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, describe him as "an invisible man." Mrs. Rosalia Torres, 65, an upstairs neighbor, said in a police statement (April 2000): "Earl always has his hat and coat on, like in an old movie. Says hello, but doesn't talk. Sometimes I hear him typing until midnight, probably writing his reports." Another neighbor, Juan Carlos, 32, who owns a local grocery store, adds: "He buys coffee and doughnuts, always pays in small change. He once said he hated computers, saying they took the soul out of work." Earl's sister, Clara, wrote in a letter to the department (dated March 2000): "My brother lives for his work. He withdrew after Mom died, but when he takes on a task, he sees it through to the end. Sometimes I worry that he'll burn." Honestly, I read this and think: this cop really lives like in a noir detective story - a raincoat, a car, coffee. Just like a hero from those movies that play on cable at night.
Knight himself describes his work in his notes: "I don't believe in coincidences. If something looks odd, I dig until I find why. Most detectives see facts; I see a story." In a letter sent to our institute in April 2000, he writes: "The case I handed over started with one detail that kept me awake at night. I'm not a doctor, but I know when something doesn't add up."
Note from David S.: The quotes are from Knight's letter, but it's handwritten and I barely made out the word "story." Maybe he meant "pattern"? Elizabeth doesn't say, and I'm no graphologist. His approach seems to have gotten this whole D.E.L.I.A. thing going. Whatever it is, Knight was onto something to hand us his papers. I think he's a bit of a weirdo, but if Captain Regan is right, we wouldn't be here without his stubbornness.
Damn, I just started looking into this case, and here's a Miami news story about a kid named Isaac Brown, and a bunch of police reports. Coffee's not helping, but I'm still trying to put it all together into readable text. Here's what I got from a newspaper clipping and Earl Knight's notes. Honestly, I'm shocked at how this all turned out.
News clip: Isaac Brown's death and doctors' charges, Miami, December 1997
Based on an article in the Miami Herald, December 25, 1997, and notes by Detective Earl Knight
On December 21, 1997, the Miami Herald published an article headlined "Tragedy at Shelter: Death of 10-Year-Old Boy Raises Questions for Hospital." Isaac Brown, a 10-year-old resident of Miami-Dade Juvenile Services, died on December 20, 1997, at Jackson Memorial Hospital after being admitted on December 15. According to the article, Isaac collapsed while playing in the shelter's backyard, complaining of severe chest pain and coughing up blood. A caregiver, Miss Emma Carter, called 911, and the boy was taken to the intensive care unit. Doctors performed an emergency biopsy, but he died five days later.
Note from David S.: The article doesn't say what the doctors did, other than "biopsy." Earl Knight mentions "surgery" in his notes, but doesn't elaborate. Maybe he didn't know? His handwriting is like code.
The news caused an uproar in Overtown. Local residents, including shelter neighbor Monica Ramirez, accused the doctors of negligence. Ramirez told reporters, "They weren't fighting for him. The kid was coughing up blood, and they were stalling!" Parents of other children at the shelter gathered outside the hospital on Dec. 22 to demand an investigation, claiming Isaac was not given adequate care because of his status as an orphan from a poor neighborhood. Signs reading "Justice for Isaac" and "Hospital Kills the Poor" filled the street outside the hospital.
Note from David S.: Earl says the protests lasted two days, but the Miami Herald says one evening. It's unclear who's right - newspapers like to exaggerate, and Earl may have downplayed it. I read this and think: If the kid died because of doctors, that's just awful. How can you screw up a kid like that?
Detective Earl Knight, seconded from New York on an exchange with the Miami police, was assigned to the case. In his notes, he wrote, "I reviewed hospital records and interviewed three doctors. No evidence of negligence, but questions. The speed of response by the medical staff is questionable." Knight interviewed Dr. Adam King, the surgeon who performed the biopsy, and nurse Yvonne Hill, who was on duty the night of the boy's admission. King claimed that "the boy's condition was critical from the moment he was admitted," and a biopsy was the only way to understand what was wrong. Hill confirmed that Isaac was given oxygen and medications immediately, but "it all went too fast." Knight added in his notes, "I'm not a doctor, but their explanations sound like excuses. We need to dig deeper."
Note from David S.: Knight's quotes are from his April 2000 letter, but he doesn't give a date for the interviews. The police report says "December 16-18, 1997," so that's what I went with.
But Knight seemed hesitant to blame the doctors. In a letter to our institute, he wrote, "The hospital blaming is mob violence. I've seen it happen. People want someone to blame, but the truth is more complicated." He requested additional medical records and spoke to a medical examiner, but found no evidence of foul play. That angered the locals: Monica Ramirez called Knight "an outsider protecting the system" in an interview with the Miami Herald. Honestly, I'm confused: Was this cop actually trying to protect these bastards who killed a child? Or was he just trying to get to the bottom of it?
Note from David S.: Earl doesn't explain why he defended the doctors. Maybe he knew something that wasn't in the papers? His notes are sketchy, as if he was writing on a napkin.
The case was hushed up by January 1998. Miami police closed the investigation, saying there was "no basis for criminal charges." The protests died down, but the Miami Herald noted that the shelter had stepped up medical screenings for the children. Knight returned to New York, but judging by his letters, he did not abandon the case. He wrote to us, "Something is wrong with this story. I started with this case, and it led me to more."
Note from David S.: The last quote is from Knight's letter, but without context - what "more"? Maybe it has to do with D.E.L.I.A.? Elizabeth is as silent as a partisan.
So, I'm sorting through the papers, now I have hospital reports in front of me - a whole stack of sheets of medical mumbo jumbo in Latin. Honestly, I'm a biologist, not a doctor, and this terminology is like Chinese. Oh well, let's go, I'll try to translate it into normal language. These reports from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, seized by the police at the request of Isaac Brown's death. There are a bunch of doctors' signatures, graphs and notes that make your brain melt. Earl Knight, it seems, dug into them too, but his notes only confused everything. This is what I understood from this chaos.
Medical Report: Isaac Brown Hospitalization and Biopsy, Miami, December 1997
Based on Jackson Memorial Hospital documents seized by the Miami Police Department
On December 15, 1997, at 4:45 p.m., Isaac Brown, age 10, was brought by ambulance to the emergency department of Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, from Miami-Dade Juvenile Services. The patient presented with hemoptysis, severe chest pain, and dyspnea. Initial examination (Dr. Adam King, Surgeon, and Nurse Practitioner Laura Hill) revealed tachycardia (pulse 130 bpm), hypoxia (SpO2 88%), and low-grade fever (37.8°C). Past medical history included chronic cough for one year, worsening over the past three months, weakness, and weight loss (approximately 4 kg over six months).
Note from David S.: The history in the report is based on the words of the orphanage's caregiver, Ms. Carter, but the dates of the symptoms are vague - "three months" or "six months"? Earl Knight writes "since the summer of '97", but that seems to be his guess.
A chest X-ray showed multiple opacities in both lungs, predominantly the right, with ill-defined margins inconsistent with typical pneumonia or tuberculosis. Low-resolution computed tomography (CT) (GE 9800, 1997 standard) showed heterogeneous lung masses with areas of calcification and abnormal vascularization inconsistent with known malignancies. Dr. King noted in the report, "The lesions do not meet standard criteria for carcinoma or sarcoma; possible rare pathology."
Note from David S.: King uses the term "abnormal vascularization" in his report, but doesn't explain what it is. I googled it and it says something about blood vessels, but it's a mystery to me. Honestly, I read this and think: if doctors themselves don't understand what this disease is, how are they even treating it?
On December 17, a decision was made to perform a thoracoscopic biopsy under general anesthesia. The procedure was performed in Operating Room 3 under the direction of Dr. King, assisted by Dr. Sara Velasquez. Anesthesia: propofol and fentanyl, intubation was successful. During the biopsy, tissue specimens were taken from the right lung (two fragments, 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm). Visually: the tissue is gray-pink, with dense nodules and necrotic areas, not typical for known tumors. Histology (performed on December 18, pathologist Dr. Edward Jackson) showed: "The cellular structure is atypical, with an irregular mitotic index, consistent with neither adenocarcinoma nor squamous cell carcinoma. There are no markers for standard oncological processes." Jackson added: "This does not resemble any pathology known to me in 20 years of practice."
Note from David S.: Jackson writes "atypical" in his report, but doesn't elaborate. Earl Knight points out that the pathologist was "confused," but that's his word, not Jackson's. How does he know the pathologist's mood?
After the biopsy, Isaac's condition worsened. On December 19, hypoxia was recorded (SpO2 82%), despite oxygen support (10 L/min). The patient received dexamethasone and ceftriaxone, but without improvement. On December 20, at 03:15, cardiac arrest occurred. Resuscitation measures (defibrillation, adrenaline) were ineffective, death was confirmed at 03:42. Autopsy (December 21, Dr. Jackson) confirmed the presence of multiple lung masses, with an abnormal cellular structure, not classified by the 1997 oncology standards. The conclusion is: "The cause of death is respiratory failure caused by an unspecified pathological process."
Note from David S.: The autopsy is detailed, but the term "unspecified process" sounds like a cop-out. Earl writes in his notes that the doctors "shrugged their shoulders," but that's his interpretation again.
I sit over these papers and don't understand: what kind of disease is this if even a pathologist with 20 years of experience throws up his hands? The doctors clearly encountered something they had never seen before, but the report is full of Latin and no answers. Earl Knight keeps saying in his notes that "this is not just the death of a child, there is something more to it," but what the hell does he mean? If this is not an ordinary illness, then what is it?
Note from David S.: Earl doesn't elaborate on why he thinks it's "big." Maybe he's just being dramatic? His handwriting is so bad I could guess half the words. Honestly, this whole thing is making my head spin, but I think it's the kind of weirdness that's really why Elizabeth started this.
Okay, this is the last report for today, and that's it, I'm out of here - otherwise I'll rebel, go drink beer and pick up someone at the corner bar. The coffee is flat, my eyes are sore from the paperwork, and this lab mucus from my colleagues is just the icing on the cake. Now I have Isaac Brown's tissue analysis, which was sent from the hospital in Miami for our project D.E.L.I.A. I'm rewriting the reports of our "brilliant" scientists, who seem to argue more about who's cooler than they work. Okay, here we go, I'll try to make this readable, even though I just want to burn it all.
Isaac Brown's tissue analysis for the D.E.L.I.A. project
Based on laboratory reports from the Biomedical Institute, May 2000
Tissue specimens from Isaac Brown (10 years old, Miami, died December 20, 1997) were delivered from Jackson Memorial Hospital to our institute in April 2000 at the request of the D.E.L.I.A. project committee. Specimens, extracted during biopsy (December 17, 1997) and autopsy (December 21, 1997), represent fragments of lung tissue (two specimens: 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm). Analysis was performed on the institute's equipment (Nikon Eclipse E400 microscope, Beckman J-6B centrifuge) using histological and immunohistochemical methods.
Histological examination revealed multiple neoplasms in the lung tissue classified as carcinoma, but with significant abnormalities. The cells demonstrate carcinoma in situ with an irregular mitotic index (up to 15 mitoses per high-power field) and abnormal morphology: polymorphic nuclei, hyperchromatosis and areas of focal necrosis. Immunohistochemistry (marker Ki-67, p53) showed increased proliferative activity, but the absence of standard tumor markers (CEA, TTF-1) characteristic of adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Mark T. noted in the report: "The cellular structure does not correspond to any known subtype of carcinoma. This is clearly something new, like a mutation."
Note from David S.: Mark sure likes to throw around fancy words like "mutation" to make himself sound smart. Dude, you're just a biologist, not a Nobel laureate. Maybe a little less bragging?
The analysis compared Isaac's specimens with others in the D.E.L.I.A. project. In particular, specimen A (from Toronto, 2000) showed similar features: abnormal vascularization (angiogenesis aberrans) and irregular cell clusters. Linda Hayes suggested: "There is some suggestion that specimen A shares some of the dysplasia cellularis features with Isaac's specimen, but further testing is needed." However, a precise correlation is not yet possible due to limitations of the equipment. The spectrophotometer used (Perkin-Elmer Lambda 2) showed atypical absorption spectra in the tissues, which do not fit into known pathologies.
Note from David S.: Linda is trying, sure, but she spent half the day talking to Joe the tech instead of calibrating that damn spectrophotometer. Is she flirting or something? When is she going to work?
The results point to a pathology not described in the medical literature from 1997 to 2000. Dr. Elizabeth Crowe wrote in her notes: "This is not a standard oncology. We are looking for similarities with other specimens, but so far we have more questions than answers." Honestly, I read these terms - carcinoma, dysplasia, necrosis - and I feel like an idiot. This is clearly not a common disease, but something that doctors in Miami have not seen before. And what is D.E.L.I.A.? The project name sounds like code from a spy movie, but no one explains what we are even looking for.
Note from David S.: Elizabeth certainly pretends to have everything under control, but we literally begged the lab next door to her Nikon microscope. They're still mad that we "borrowed" it for a month.
Laboratory analysis of tissue from Isaac Brown (10, Miami, died December 20, 1997) revealed an abnormal carcinoma with features of hyperplasia accelerata. The cells demonstrated uncontrolled growth (proliferatio cellularis abnormis), with abnormal tissue reorganization resembling an attempt at adaptation or remodeling of the organism (remodelatio organica). However, the rapid mitotic index (up to 15 mitoses/field) caused a systemic failure: the immune system launched a cytokine storm (tempestas cytokinica), and the lung tissue and blood vessels (vasculatura pulmonalis) could not withstand the load, which led to respiratory failure and death. Dr. Mark T. noted: "This is not just a tumor, but as if the body tried to rebuild itself, but did not have time." Similar features are observed in all donors of specimens for the D.E.L.I.A. project, including specimen A. Is that all? It is scary to imagine what comes next.
Note from David S.: Mark is being prophetic again, but he clearly Googled half the terms. And Linda missed the last centrifuge calibration because she was chatting with a technician. Seriously, when are they going to start working?
The coffee is gone, my brain is boiling, and these lab reports are like a puzzle. That's it, that's the end for today, I'm running to the bar.