18
Chewing his steak Anthony gazed at Martin. Where has he been? And what has he been doing? It is obvious Martin doesn’t want me to know. Every time I raise the subject, Martin gives an evasive answer. What can be so secretive? Does it have anything to do with me? Is he also part of a secret group? Are they out to get me here in the USA? Isn’t there any place on earth where I am safe?
Martin seemed to have moved on from the matter, he was making small talk. Anthony didn’t listen.
The afternoon he spent with the woman a few houses down the block had been an absolute bliss. Closing his eyes, he revisited the image of the white-faced woman. There was something about her that he couldn’t quite grasp. It’s like I’ve known her all my life. They’d talked most of the afternoon. It has been years since someone treated me so kind, even my wife. May probably married me out of pity.
Opening his eyes, Anthony gazed at the white face of Anika. She looked weak and her hazel eyes stared right through him. The dark circles around the sockets made them appear hollow and glassy. At first, he was taken aback by her shaven head. But soon he got used to her Sinead O’Connor look. He knew she couldn’t see him. However, that afternoon they both wanted to forget what was going on in their life and they talked about everything except their problems.
Anika made him forget about the past.
“Would you like to sit outside for a while?” Anthony continued to replay the afternoon.
Fixing his eyes on Martin, he envisioned the frail woman in his mind’s eye. He spoke the words in his mind.
“I would love to,” Anika’s voice was soft and tender.
Carefully Anthony led her into the garden. The warm rays of the sun touched their bare arms. Knowing the garden was nothing but a collection of weeds and broken tiles, he led her back into the kitchen.
“Come and sit over here. In front of us is a flower bed,” Anthony lied. Normally he wasn’t someone who lied so easily, but he felt sorry for the poor woman. Looking at her he saw she knew he wasn’t telling the truth. Taking her by the hand, he guided her around the table.
“I can smell them, are they white?” Anika played the game. She turned her head towards him.
“Some of them are yes, but they all have different colors, it’s like a rainbow out there. Whoever made this garden must love nature. It’s a cacophony of flowers, scrubs, and plants. There is no structure or theme.”
Even though Anika was blind, she still had a good sense of humor. The connection between her and Anthony was indescribable. Never before in his life he’d felt so comfortable with another human being. All their shortcomings faded during the afternoon. With her, he didn’t have to prove anything. The yard though reminded him of St. Joseph’s. He was glad he didn’t have to go back to that grey and lifeless place any more.
*
John Kinsella and his wife just finished clearing the dinner table when the doorbell rang. Mrs. Kinsella looked at her husband, “Are you expecting someone?” Wiping her hands on her apron, she walked to the door. A tall man with ebony skin and a blond man both waved some sort of ID in front of her face.
“LAPD, do you mind if we talk to your husband for a minute?” The blond man asked.
The men didn’t wait for a reply they pushed their way into the house. Stunned by their behavior, Mrs. Kinsella’ deep-set blue eyes stared hard at the men. The rudeness of the officers annoyed her. Even the police force had given up on politeness. They have to be taught a lesson, she thought.
Once inside, it was the tall man who addressed Kinsella, “Our forensics have found your DNA in your mate’s car.” The man was almost a head taller than his colleague.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kinsella smirked.
“We have reason to believe you used Mr. Ellis’ car,” the tall man ignored Kinsella tone of voice.
“Well, what are you gonna do without a warrant?” Kinsella smirked at his wife. She threw her head back and laughed out loud.
At that moment, the blond man opened his blazer and put his hand inside his inner pocket.
“Wait a minute,” Kinsella uttered. “We didn’t mean anything, you know.” His face lost all color.
“I picked the Ford up from the dealer for Edgar, that’s all. You can’t accuse me of murderer.”
When the blond man released his hand from his blazer, he held a folded piece of paper. “Here is your warrant.” He handed it over to Kinsella.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it’s up to you Mr. Kinsella. Just let us search the house.” The blond man said.
For a moment, John Kinsella deliberated with himself on what to do. “Alright then have it your way. I have nothing to hide.”
“Oh before you go any further I’d like your names please,” Kinsella said.
“My name is Adams and this is Burnett,” The tall man said.
It didn’t take long for the experienced officers to find a weapon in the couple’s bedroom. They both stood in the room’s doorway when Burnett asked Mr. Kinsella,” Do you have a license for this?” In the meantime he checked if the 22 caliber was loaded.
“I got it for our protection. I got frightened when Ellis went missing, I’m afraid I will be next.”
“What are you going to do with my husband?” Kinsella asked Burnett.
“We have to confiscate the weapon to see whether it was used recently. We also have to bring him in for an interview,” Adams answered.
Mr. Kinsella was driven to the station in a police car. At his arrival he was signed in by an officer. He had to empty his pockets and give his driving license and other ID’s to the officer who put everything in a paper bag and placed the bag in a grey iron cabinet which had separate pigeonholes.
Next Kinsella was brought into a small room without windows. The place was lit by a bright artificial light in the form of a Fluorescent Tube. Blinking against the vivid glow Kinsella was made to sit down on one of the three chairs present.
Back in the Thompson Research Station a forensic had already taken his DNA and his fingerprints.
“You know, Mr. Kinsella I find it extraordinary you haven’t got a security camera in your laboratory. With such an important and dangerous mission you were working on, it is a necessity,” Dupree said.
“We didn’t have one because we were the only three bio technicians having access to the lab,” Kinsella replied.
“So you thought you didn’t need to protect the room against burglary?”
“No we changed the pin code every day.”
“Yes and that was a great help,” Adams said.
“Well that’s all water under the bridge now,” Dupree said. “I would like to talk about this weapon my men found in your house. How shall I put it? Even if you have handled the bullet with great care, nowadays there is a technique which can re-track fingerprints from the bullet case and even the fired bullet itself. This is done by electrostatic enhancement. You might not always notice you’re sweating but even the smallest amount is traceable. However it isn’t the sweat we are looking for, it is the reactions of the sweat to the brass on the bullet. One of those is sodium chloride. This simple chemical reaction leaves a mark on the brass which can be seen when we charge the item with the right voltage. But please do not worry if this isn’t the weapon that killed an innocent human being. Have you anything to say or ask Mr. Kinsella?” Dupree asked.
“No.”
“Then as soon as Adams here is ready typing up the paperwork and you sign your name under it, you are free to go home where you can wait for the result.”
*
By the time, David returned home, it was evening. He found Anika sitting in the kitchen by herself. She seemed very content. Noticing two mugs on the table, David understood she must have had a visitor.
“How was your afternoon?” David asked while he put his briefcase down beside the table.
“It was very entertaining. The new neighbor came over to say hello. We drank tea together. I hope you don’t mind, I let him in the house. He was very kind to me.” Anika’s voice was soft and it seemed like she’d forgotten all her troubles. He could see her eyes twinkle as she spoke.
“It’s funny, but he arrived on the same day we did, from Ireland. Isn’t that ironic?”
“Yeah, it’s a small world,” David replied. He did his best to hide his concern. He had a fair idea of who the man might be.
“He is also going to the Delphi Clinic in a few days,” Anika continued.
“What is his name?” David asked semi-surprised. His heart was racing in his chest. There was no need to ask the man’s name anymore. Anika had already confirmed his fears.
“Anthony, I can’t think of his surname.”
David just nodded, than he stood up and said, “I brought you a DVD.”
He put on the DVD for Anika and contemplated what to do next. Now Anika met their prime test subject, he had to do whatever he could to prevent them from meeting each other again. It could seriously affect the outcome of the whole process if there was one thing the company didn’t need; it was the two of them meeting again before the operations. He needed to find out what they had discussed.
“Did this Anthony tell you why he was going to the clinic?” David did his best not to sound too keen.
“Not really, I didn’t ask. We talked about lots of things except for that. I had the idea that he didn’t want to talk about it,” Anika answered somewhat annoyed. “I would like to listen to this DVD now if you don’t mind.” A sigh escaped her pink lips.
“Sure, you’re all right. I have to go out again for a minute, won’t be long this time,” David said. He rewind the DVD back to its starting point.
A few hundred meters from the house stood a wooden bench. Before sitting down, David took his mobile phone from his trousers pocket. Casting his eyes on the stretch of grass in front of the bench, he waited for the call to be answered.
“We need to talk. I’m outside on the bench.” Without further delay, he closed the phone.
Watching the traffic go by, he spotted a transit parked across the road. He’d seen it when he came back from the bookshop. How long had the van been there?
A few moments later, Martin Tyler approached the bench holding a newspaper under his arm. He sat down and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“My subject had a visit from Mr. Baker.”
Waving the newspaper, Martin replied, “Somebody is looking for him. They placed an ad.”
A soft drizzle dampened the empty space between them on the bench. On the stamp-sized stretch of grass, a thrush was busy collecting her evening meal. The bird pulled worm after worm from the soil. The thrush used its beak and small claws to dig the worms out.
Gazing at the bird, Martin put his collar up. “We have to bring them to the clinic as soon as possible.”
“They’re not ready in the clinic yet,” David protested. “The all clear hasn’t been given since they operated on the first guy.”
“Don’t worry about the people in the clinic; they are well capable of doing their job. You just do what you’re told,” Tyler stated.
In the meantime the thrush had ploughed a square foot of grass and was about to start on the area next to it, when an abrupt move of Martin’s arm scared the bird away.
*
The need to close her eyes repeated itself constantly. Anika’s hands shook uncontrollably she felt her heart beating rapidly. Something wasn’t right. “Where is David?” she thought. “I need you.”
Her head twitched. She wanted to call for help, but she couldn’t. Her tongue didn’t do what she wanted. The twitching became more frequent. She dropped on the floor, hitting her head on the carpet. Her eyes moved uncontrollable in their sockets. Her body shook violently.
Anika skin was cold and clammy when David touched her. He took her pulse to find a heartbeat. He felt a weak pulse. “Anika, can you hear me?”
No reply came. He lifted her eyelids. Only the whites of her eyes were detectable. David realized she was unconscious. How long had she’d been like this? He rolled her on her side and put her in the recovery position. “This is all I can do for you.”
An ambulance arrived after 12 minutes, although it seemed much longer to David. All the time he’d waited he’d hold Anika’s hand.
“She has a tumor behind her eye,” David said to one of the paramedics. The man placed a breathing mask over Anika’s face.
“Thank you,” he replied.
“That is a great help. Are you family?”
“I’m a friend.”
“We need to contact a relative in case.”
“I can do this,” David offered.
Soon Anika lay in the back of the ambulance, strapped in and covered with a cotton blanket. The door closed, and with the sirens on, the paramedics took off. David followed in his car.
Apparently things had been too much for her. Hopefully she would pull through. There was only one other subject on which the team could try the drugs and device.
Unsure what to do about the setback he contemplated whether to call Anika’s mother. The fact he’d promised to notify her next of kin didn’t mean he meant to do so. The less people who were involved the better. He’d been relieved she didn’t want her mother to come with her to LA. The disagreement between the two had been a welcome element.
In the hospital David sat down on one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area. There was nothing he could do but wait; it was the waiting that bothered him most. He ought to do something he couldn’t sit and twiddle his thumbs. He left the crowded room and made his way out side. He gathered Anika’s recovery might take a significant amount of time. The doctors in the clinic needed to be notified. He didn’t look forward to tell his boss about the situation.
A young doctor, a resident David presumed, arrived and sat beside him. He held a clipboard and a biro. “I need to ask you some questions concerning Ms. Jansen. Did she have a seizure before?”
“Not that I know off.”
“Is she diabetic?”
“No, but she does have a brain tumor.”
“Did she have chemo or any other treatment like medication for this?”
“She told me she is taking Avastin.”
“Excellent, you’ve been a great help,” the doctor answered.
“Come again?”
“The drug could case seizures in some patients.”
“But she takes it for nearly a year and she never had any symptoms before,” David said puzzled.
“It is possible patients react as late as a year or more to the drug, but I have to bring the information to the treatment room.”
The next morning David returned to the hospital to call in on Anika. At the entrance he passed a line of parked wheelchairs for visitors. Throughout the corridors of the hospital, trolleys with laundry, empty plastic beakers and medical gloves and other equipment stood against the walls. Anika still lay in the ICU, although her situation had improved during the night.
At the side of her bed stood equipment to assist her breathing and administer medication. From time to time one of the equipment produced a beep. A cloth peg on her index finger took her heart beat and was registered in yet another machine. A dark blue band on one of her arms measured her blood pressure. It reminded David of his own father after he’d suffered from his last heart attack, there had been wires everywhere, going from his chest, his arms and even places where no one ever comes. The difference with Anika was that she had less wires coming from her chest but instead she had wires coming from her head, also measuring information.
He looked at her as she lay there, helpless. Her eyes were closed. A nurse in a light blue uniform approached him, she introduced herself and said,” I am the nurse who is looking after your friend this morning. She has improved during the night and the doctor is optimistic.”
“Thank you, “David replied. “Can you tell me what her situation is at the moment?”
“At the moment we’re giving her Phensuximide and she is reacting well to it. If she goes on like this we hope to move her to the Neurological department in a couple of days.”
That is very good news, nurse, I’d never thought things would improve so quickly.” David smiled at the nurse, this time he meant what he said.
First there had been the fake traffic warden. Then Anika had to go to the hospital for the wrong reason. What would be next, or was this all? After all bad things came in threes. At this rate there wouldn’t be many useful candidates left for the experiments. From the beginning of the project David didn’t believe in the project, however the money injected in it didn’t allow anymore subjects. He didn’t understand why the beneficiary hadn’t infused more finances. The man must have a blind trust in the skills of the doctors in the clinic.
Nevertheless there was nothing he could do but wait and hope for the best concerning Anika. He left the hospital and drove into the city. He parked his car in one of the underground parking lots. The lot was busy and he had to drive all the way up to the third floor to find a pace.
He slid a microchip card in his pocket and rode the lift down to ground level, sharing the car with a young family of four. The mother had her hands full with the two children. While her husband seemed oblivious to her efforts.
David thought about his own efforts concerning the project. The house he and Anika lived in was rented for a month. Anika was one of the experimental subjects for the project. All those years of preparation, were they coming at an end without reaching their goal?
He didn’t have the intention to call Anika’s parents to tell them what occurred to their daughter. In the short time he’d met the mother he’d come to understand she’d want an explanation. She wouldn’t be satisfied with a make believe story. She’d be bound to travel to LA taking the first available flight and figure what was going on for herself. The best thing to do was keep them in the dark about Anika’s circumstances.
Down at level zero David took the stairs to the air-conditioned mall. Troops of shoppers, tourists and the occasional homeless person crowded a square. In one of the corners a man in a long beige raincoat stood playing his saxophone. His hat was turned upside down to collect coins. David seized a table at one of the cafes. The tables of the café were small and placed close together in order to produce more income for the owner.
David ordered a cold glass of beer when a waitress went by. He had to grab her by her tiny apron to attract her attention. Around him punters occupied tables they either played with their phones or were working on their laptops. Except at one table where two young people were folding out a massive map. It was obvious they were tourists.
David followed the example of the majority of the customers and produced his own notebook. There must be something I can do? He thought.
“Sorry, did you say something?” One of the tourists asked.
Not aware the man was talking to him David didn’t reply.
“Hello,” the tourist waved. “Excuse me; I thought you were asking something.”
“Not at all, I was just thinking. I must have thought out loud,” David answered.
*
“I don’t believe it. “What happened?” Frank asked on the phone He gazed out of the lounge window of the Aphrodite. Tiny waves hit softly against the schooner.
Well, somehow the man tried to talk on the table when we were in the middle of the operation. First I thought one of the doctors was having us on, but later it appeared the patient was doing the talking,” Narette Phillips answered.
“So he must have been awake during the operation.” Frank said.
“No. It was incredible, the man was totally under. But from the moment we put the chip in, he began to act weird.”
“What? Was he moving as well?”
“No, I just mean this as a matter of speaking,” Narette answered.
“What are you going to do now, because I can’t wait forever you know?” Frank asked.
“Don’t worry, Sir, we’re going to get it right. Our technician is working on the fault as we speak.”
“How is the patient?”
“He is asleep and when the fault is found we’re going to re-operate to fix the problem. The technician promised things won’t take long. It was probably a faulty chip,” Narette answered.
“A faulty chip”? Are those things not tested before use?”
“Well, the actual testing can only begin when the device is implanted in the patient. Before that we can only test the basics. How a particular person reacts is depending on his or her DNA.”
“Yeah and he has to have the right blood group. I still don’t understand what that has to do with anything,” Frank said. “We can do so much more if other blood groups would qualify as well.” And I would make lots more money, he thought.
“I have to hang up now there are lots of things I have to take care of. But any way, we are running some tests on the patient and as soon as we have the results we can start the next operation, it won’t take much longer than a day,” Narette promised.
“I sure hope so. I can’t wait forever.”
Turning off his mobile Frank sat back in his chair. He had been waiting for so long to get his own operation and now this. Following his operation, he was going to start the procedure to bring Caryo.32 to the legal market. He and the other recovering patients would be proof of the benefits of the medicine. Doctors all over the world would hear about the first-class results of the new medication. After that, nothing or no one could stop him. The miracle cure was going to make him the richest man on the planet.
*
Is there actually a law against keeping evidence from a crime scene? Leo Taoldo asked himself. Ah, sure a key or something other small item wouldn’t matter much. Finger prints and body fluids were of much more important. He wondered whether the pathologist had gotten a handle on whom the victim in the house was. How were those people able to face up to the terrible mutilated and stinking bodies? Leo turned himself around on his other side. He wife slept soundly.
“Was that a noise downstairs? Ah, no, it’s probably the cat coming in through the cat flap, nothing to worry about. No, there it is again, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs”.
“Who’s there?” Leo voice sounded in the dark bedroom
“What’s wrong with you?” His wife asked sleepy.
“Shush, there is someone in the house.”
Then a knock followed on the bedroom door. What kind of an intruder knocked on a door?
“What do you want from us?” Leo asked. He’d switched his bedside lamp on.
“I’d like to have a talk, come out here in the corridor,” a voice spoke.
Reluctantly Leo stepped out of bed and walked to the door. “Be careful,” his wife warned. As if he didn’t know that. He changed his mind and went to the bed side locker beside his bed. Slowly he opened the top drawer and picked out a gun. The weapon was loaded.
“Who are you?” Leo asked. He stood against the bedroom door, listening to any sound. “Are you alone?”
“Those are two questions,” the intruder said. “Come out, I’m alone.”
Leo opened the door a small bit, just to see who stood outside the door. A wind appeared; next his gun flew out of his hand on the floor. A stabbing pain in his hand made him realize the man had pushed a knife into his hand. However when he looked at the wounded limb, there was no blood.
“What the fuck did you do?” Leo asked.
“Just make sure you don’t harm anyone,” the intruder said. “Now let’s go down to business, I have wasted too much time with you already. I am here to pick up the key you stole from Ellis’ house. Did you know you can get up to five years in prison for withholding evidence?” The intruder switched on the light in the corridor. Dressed in a black diving suit, including cap and balaclava he looked like a Ninja.
How does he know I kept a piece of evidence?
The next morning when two officers in uniform presented themselves at the Taoldo residence, there was nobody to answer the door.
“They know we’re coming,” the oldest of the two said. He sniffed and rubbed his hand across his nose.
The other officer nodded and moved over to the windows. He carefully placed his feet, so he didn’t damage the plants in the garden. The senior officer just barged through everything. At the windows, both men put their hands against the glass and peeked inside the house. What they discovered brought both of them back to the front door in a few big steps. Neither of them cared for the flowers in the garden anymore.
“Step aside,” the older officer ordered. With one kick of his right leg, the front door flew open. Both men pulled their service weapon and entered the house cautiously.
They found Taoldo in the sitting room. A shotgun lay beside his lifeless body. The man lay in a pool of blood; his face was half missing.
“We better call forensics,” the young officer said. He took off his hat in respect for the dead man.
The senior officer was about to make the call, when they suddenly heard a thump coming from upstairs. The men gazed at each other for a moment, but then the young officer cautiously ascended the stairs. Half way up the stairs he called, “Come on out with your hands in the air.” There was no reply. At the top of the stairs, the officer hid behind a pedestal.
His colleague who had been calling for back-up was calmly climbing the stairs. Although the young officer beckoned him to seek cover, Senior didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Neither did he do anything to protect himself. His stocky features made him a perfect target.
Upstairs at the landing, Senior called, “You can come out now, we are the police my colleague forgot to mention this. You have nothing to fear Mrs. Taoldo.”
“How do you know it’s her?” The young officer asked, still hiding behind the pedestal.
“Who else can it be? Come on, Burnett don’t be such a baby, help me find the woman.”
Opening all the doors on the landing, they finally found a timid woman sitting on the bathroom floor. She looked bewildered, almost like a wild animal. Burnett gazed alarmed at her.
“It’s all right now, Mrs. Taoldo, we are not going to harm you. My name is Adams and this here is Burnett. Can you hear me?”
Adams kneeled beside the woman and looked into her eyes. They stared right through him.
“The paramedics will be here soon, they’ll look after you, everything is going to be all right.”
Getting up, Adams addressed Burnett, “Get her a glass of water.”
The water was handed to Mrs. Taoldo with a long stretched arm from Burnett; she drank it in one go.
“Guess she would like some more,” Adams summoned Burnett.
Once Mrs. Taoldo finished a second glass of water, she dropped her hand back in her lap, where she had been clasping both hands together for hours. She wanted to do what the officer said but she couldn’t get up from the ground. Images of her husband kept coming into her mind.