“I can’t wait for you to see this,” Victor said. He banked sharply. “And to think I was proud of a secret tree house I built when I was twelve!”
Marsha wondered if he’d taken leave of his senses. He’d been behaving so oddly lately, but she’d never seen him like this.
Victor thundered over the Merrimack River and eventually pulled into Chimera. The security shift had changed in the guardhouse. Fred wasn’t the one manning the gate.
In deference to VJ’s concern for secrecy, Victor parked in his usual spot in front of the administration building. “We have a little walk,” he said to Marsha as they alighted from the car.
It was late afternoon as they approached the river. Long shadows had begun to creep across the alleyways. It was also quite cold. Marsha guessed it was in the thirties. Victor walked slightly ahead of her, glancing back over his shoulder as if he expected someone might be following them. Marsha glanced behind them out of curiosity, but no one was there.
She pulled her coat around her more closely, and decided what was chilling her was more than the weather.
Victor took hold of her hand as her gait began to slow.
She’d noticed they had moved from the occupied section of the complex to the part that was unrenovated. On either side of her were the dark hulks of abandoned buildings. They loomed ominously in the gathering dusk.
“Victor, where are you taking me?” she asked, threatening to stop.
“We’re almost there,” Victor said, urging her onward.
When they got to the gaping entranceway of the derelict clock tower building, Marsha stopped.
“You don’t expect me to go in there?” she asked, incredulous. She leaned back and looked up at the soaring tower. Rapidly moving clouds made her momentarily dizzy. She had to look away.
“Please,” Victor said. “VJ is here. You’ll be wonderfully surprised. Trust me.”
Marsha looked from Victor’s excited face to the interior gloom of the building and back. Victor’s eyes were bright with anticipation. “This is crazy,” she said. Grudgingly, she moved forward. The gloom enveloped them.
Marsha let Victor lead as they stumbled over the rubble-strewn floor. “Just a little further,” Victor said.
Marsha’s eyes adjusted enough to see vague outlines on the floor. To her left were large window openings through which came the roar of the falls as well as reflected light from the surface of the millpond. Victor stopped in front of an empty corner. He let go of Marsha’s hand and bent down. He knocked on the floor. To Marsha’s surprise, a section of the floor lifted and incandescent light flooded up.
“Mother,” VJ said. “Come in quickly.”
Marsha gingerly climbed down the stairs. Victor followed and VJ let the trapdoor glide back into place.
Marsha looked around the room. To her, it looked like a scene out of a science fiction movie. The combination of the rusted gears, the huge paddle wheel, and the granite, along with the profusion of high-tech instrumentation, was disorienting. She nodded to Philip, who nodded back at her.
She nodded to the Chimera security guards but they didn’t return the gesture. She noticed the man with the droopy eyelid.
“Isn’t it the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?” Victor said as he came up alongside Marsha. She looked at him. He was beside himself with excitement.
“What is it?” Marsha questioned.
“It’s VJ’s lab,” Victor said as he launched into a brief explanation of the setup, including how VJ had been able to build it without anyone having had the slightest suspicion.
He even told Marsha about VJ’s discovery of the implantation protein, and what that would mean to the infertility field.
“So now you have some idea why VJ hasn’t been as social as you’d like,” concluded Victor. “He’s been here, working his butt off!” Victor chuckled as he let his own eyes roam around the room.
Marsha glanced at VJ, who was eyeing her cautiously, waiting for her reaction, no doubt. There was an enormous piece of equipment in front of her. She had no idea what it was. “Where did all this equipment come from?” she asked.
“That’s the best part,” Victor said. “It all belongs to Chimera.”
“How did it get here?” Marsha asked.
“I guess . . .” Victor began, but then stopped. He looked at VJ. “How did you get this stuff here?”
“A number of people helped,” VJ said vaguely. “Philip did most of the actual moving. Some of the things had to be disassembled, then put together again. We used the old tunnel system.”
“Was Gephardt one of the people that helped?” Victor asked, suddenly suspicious.
“He helped,” VJ admitted.
“Why was someone like Gephardt willing to help you get equipment?” Marsha asked.
“He decided it was the prudent thing to do,” VJ said cryptically. “I’d spent some time with the Chimera computer, and I’d discovered a number of people who’d been embezzling the company. Once I had that information, I merely asked these people for help from their respective departments. Of course, no one knew that the others were involved, or what they were doing. So it all stayed nice and quiet. But the point is, all this equipment belongs to Chimera. Nothing has been stolen. It’s all right here.”
“I’d call it blackmail,” Marsha said.
“I never once threatened anybody,” VJ said. “I merely let them know what I knew, then asked for a favor.”
“I’d say VJ was quite resourceful,” Victor said. “But I’d like to have this list of embezzlers.”
“Sorry,” VJ said. “But I have an understanding with these people. Besides, the worst offender, Dr. Gephardt, was already exposed by the IRS. The ironic thing was that he thought that I’d been behind his exposure.” VJ laughed.
Victor’s face lit up with sudden comprehension. “I get it,” he said. “Gephardt was directing the messages at you when he tossed the brick and killed poor Kissa.”
VJ nodded. “The fool,” he said.
“I want to get out of here!” Marsha said suddenly, surprising both Victor and VJ.
“But there’s more to see,” Victor said.
“I’m sure there is,” Marsha said. “But for the moment I’ve seen enough. I want to leave.” She looked from father to son, then glanced around the room. She felt distinctly uncomfortable. The place scared her.
“There are living quarters . . .” Victor said, pointing toward the west end of the room.
Marsha ignored his gesture. She walked back to the stairs and started up.
“I told you we shouldn’t have told her,” VJ whispered.
Victor put a hand on his shoulder and whispered back,
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.” Then to Marsha he called, “Just a second, I’ll come along.”
Marsha went directly up to the trapdoor and pushed. Once out of the basement, she stumbled blindly across the wide expanse of rubble-filled floor space. When she reached the door and the fresh air, she felt a flood of relief.
“Marsha, for goodness sake,” said Victor, catching up with her and turning her around. “Where are you going?”
“Home!” She walked on with determination. But Victor caught up to her again.
“Why are you acting this way?” Victor asked.
Marsha didn’t answer. Instead she increased her pace. They were practically running. When they got to Victor’s car, she opened her door and got in.
Victor got in on his side. “You won’t talk to me?” he questioned with some irritation.
Setting her jaw, Marsha stared ahead. They drove home in strained silence.
Once they were home, Marsha poured herself a glass of white wine.
“Marsha,” Victor began, breaking the veil of silence, “why are you acting like this? I thought you’d be as thrilled as I am, especially after all your worry about whether VJ’s intelligence would drop again. Obviously the boy’s just fine.
He’s as bright as ever.”
“That’s just the point,” Marsha said sharply. “VJ’s intelligence is fine, and it terrifies me. By the looks of that
