it will benefit one person in particular.’ Kelly looked at her fellow investigator, wondering what he had meant by the statement.
i think it would be best if you left now, John,’ Vernon said, quietly.
‘There’s nothing more to discuss.’
Fraser let out a deep breath and got to his feet. He glanced at Kelly then at Vernon before turning and heading for the door.
‘And the next time?’ said Fraser, chaliengingly. ‘Will you take responsibility for what happens, Dr Vernon?’
The older man didn’t look up.
‘Get out, John,’ he said, quietly.
As Fraser slammed the door behind him, Kelly, too, rose. She was anxious to speak with Fraser.
‘Wait a moment, Kelly,’ Vernon said.
She sat down again, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from her skirt.
‘Do you want me to replace Fraser?’ Vernon asked.
‘I don’t think it’s up to me,’ Kelly told him.
‘You’re the one who has to work with him.’
She opened her mouth to speak but the words remained locked inside and it was Vernon who broke the silence again.
‘This project is too important to be jeopardised by one man.’
Kelly saw that the steel had returned to his eyes.
‘I hope you agree with me?’
She nodded.
‘Dr Vernon, don’t you think that the murder of his wife and child might have some effect on Grant?’
in what way?’
She shrugged, not sure whether or not what she was about to say would sound ridiculous.
‘The catalyst, the object of his subconscious fantasies no longer exists,’ she said. ‘We assumed that his nightmares were unconscious manifestations of actual desires, but now his wife and son are dead he has nothing to direct that hostility towards.’
Vernon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
‘You mean his wife was the object of his fury, the cause of the nightmares?’
he suggested. ‘So, theoretically, the nightmares should stop.’
Kelly nodded.
it’s strange though,’ she said. ‘She was murdered while Grant was under a drug-induced trance, in more or less the same manner as he had previously described. Almost as if the dreams had been warnings. Perhaps that’s the key we’re looking for. Maybe Grant’s nightmares weren’t unconscious desires, they were visions of the future.’
Vernon shifted the cough sweet around inside his cheek where it bulged like a gum boil.
‘Possibly,’ he murmured.
Kelly sat a moment longer then got to her feet.
if there’s nothing else, Dr Vernon.’
He shook his head.
Kelly walked to the door, watched by the Institute Director. He coughed and, as Kelly turned the handle, Vernon spoke once more.
‘Remember what I said, Kelly. This project means too much. There’s a lot at stake. If Fraser causes any trouble I want to know about it.’
She nodded and left him alone in the office.
Vernon dropped his pen, his fingers bunching into a fist.
Fraser.
The last thing they needed now was opposition.
Fraser.
Vernon’s breath came in short, angry gasps. No, Fraser must not be allowed to disrupt the research programme.
No matter what it took to stop him.
Kelly checked in John Fraser’s office, in the labs, in the library.
He was nowhere to be found.
As she made her way back across the polished wooden floor of the Institute’s reception area she spotted him outside, clambering into his familiar red Datsun.
Kelly ran out on to the gravel driveway and across to the other investigator who had already started his engine and was in the process of pulling out.
He saw Kelly but did not slow up until she had reached the side of the car and banged on the window. He rolled it down.
‘What do you want?’ he said, sharply.
‘Where are you going?’ she wanted to know.
‘I’m taking the rest of the day off,’ Fraser said, sarcastically. ‘I’m going to find the nearest pub and have a few beers. Maybe some shorts to wash them down.’ He jammed the car into first, the gearbox groaned in protest.
‘What you said in Vernon’s office,’ said Kelly. ‘What did you mean?’
The roar of the revving engine almost drowned out her words.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Fraser.
‘About the research,’ she said. ‘You said it would benefit one person in particular. Who did you mean?’
Fraser stepped on the accelerator, the back wheels spiining madly. A flurry of pebbles from the driveway flew into the air.
‘Did you mean Vernon?’ she persisted.
‘Ask him,’ hissed Fraser and drove off.
Kelly watched as the Datsun disappeared from view along the tree-lined drive.
She stood silently for a moment then made her way back towards the main building.
She was not the only one who saw Fraser drive away.
From the solitude of his office on the second floor, Vernon had watched the entire tableau.
He stepped back out of sight.
Dr Stephen Vernon poured himself another scotch and returned to his chair beside the fireplace. The gentle strains of the New World Symphony issued forth from the record player and Vernon closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the soothing sound to wash over him. It did little to relax him and he jerked his eyes open almost immediately, seeking comfort instead in the whisky which he downed almost in one gulp, allowing the amber liquid to burn its way to his stomach.
Outside, the wind stirred the branches of the trees and clouds gathered menacingly in the night sky, like dense formations of black clad soldiers.
Inside the house the fire was warm, the room bathed in the comforting glow from the flames and the two lamps which burned, one behind him and the other on the table nearby. But, despite the warmth, Vernon felt uncomfortable. As if the heat refused to penetrate his pores. He swallowed some more of the scotch, regarding warily the A4 size envelope which lay on the table nearby. Only when he had downed the last dregs of the fiery liquid did he find the courage to open the envelope.
Inside was a file, a ring binder, and there was a letter paper-clipped to it.
Vernon read it hastily then balled it up and tossed it into the waste-bin beside him. His grey eyes narrowed to steely slits as he opened the file. The first page, neatly typed, had the familiar notepaper headed: FAIRHAM SANATORIUM
It also bore a photo. A ten by eight, glossy black and white of a woman in her middle forties, a warm smile etched across her face. Even given the monochrome of the photo there was a welcoming radiance about the eyes and Vernon found himself gazing deep into them. The photo had been taken six years earlier.
