“Dinner, my dear, can wait. I’ll have desert first.”
Lindsey jumped up in Jason’s huge arms and he carried her to the bedroom. As Jason pulled Lindsey’s body against his, she felt the weeks of separation dissolving inside her. After they peeled off their clothes, they lay down in a tight embrace. Lindsey maneuvered him onto his back and eased her slender body down on top of his.
Suddenly Lindsey stopped. “Do you hear something?”
“Yea, I hear myself breathing hard, now come on.”
“I’m serious Jason. I heard it last night, too. It’s like a humming noise.”
“It’s probably the air-conditioning system. With a new house, it takes time to get used to all the sounds.”
Lindsey decided she wasn’t going to let anything spoil her reunion with Jason, so she ignored the annoying sound. “Enough house talk,” she whispered, sliding him inside her.
* * *
When Lindsey woke, it was evening. She hugged Jason and pulled herself closer to him. He had his arms behind his head and was looking up. “That was nice,” she said.
Jason gazed over at her and smiled. “Just think, a few more months, and we’ll be together every day.”
“I’m looking forward to being a wife and mother, Jason.”
“Mother? Are you trying to tell me something?”
Lindsey sat up. “Don’t worry. I’m not. But after today, who knows? Besides, it seems to be in the water around here. I think half the women in this community are pregnant.”
“Well, it is too hot to be outside. Now, how about some of that Dom?”
Lindsey lay back on the bed while Jason got the champagne. In the quiet of the room, she realized the irritating humming noise had stopped. She had barely completed the thought, when the phone rang. She considered letting it ring, but knew Jason would be upset if she didn’t answer it. He often got calls about patients on his weekends off from the on call doctors covering for him.
“Hello,” Lindsey said.
The voice on the other end surprised her. Surprised he would be calling on a Saturday night.
It was her boss. Stephen Vetter.
When Katherine Blair entered his
office, Stephen Vetter’s back was to her. He sat crouched over a video screen beside his desk, purportedly to indulge his interest in science.
But Katherine knew otherwise.
Directly beside his desk lay a collection of his favorite tapes. All depicting his employees during various phases of their day.
Katherine paused with her hands on her hips. “Do you think you can pull yourself away long enough to talk?”
Vetter lingered at the screen another moment, just to irritate her, she figured, then swung his chair around to face her.
“We might have a serious problem,” Katherine said.
Vetter rolled his eyes. “So what’s new, what is it now?”
“It’s Collett. He’s found some abnormalities with the blood work.”
“That old fart. He’s probably screwed up the assays.”
Their eyes locked on each other for a moment.
“Well what’s your opinion?” Vetter finally asked.
Katherine sighed, her short skirt sliding up as she lowered herself into the chair opposite him.
“I don’t know. I can’t take any chances though. We’ve got to run some more blood tests to be sure.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t want anyone getting suspicious. Anyway, those blood tests aren’t reliable this early in the trial. Collett has a history of jumping to conclusions. I’m surprised they didn’t fire him before I took over. He nearly cost the company a lawsuit a couple years ago with his snooping around.”
“Well, employee health is his job.”
Vetter paused and picked up a water bottle from his desk. “This doesn’t exactly fall under his jurisdiction though, does it?”
Katherine’s eyes narrowed. “No, but it does fall under mine, and if he’s right, you don’t even want to think about the consequences.”
“What consequences? I’ve already told you, it’s completely risk free. Meyer may have been a pain in the ass, but he was thorough. And Bliss is side effect-free, period.
I don’t give a fuck what the blood tests say.”
“So what do you want me to tell him?”
“Don’t tell him anything. I’ll handle him.”
Katherine got up and stepped to the video screen. An image was frozen on the tape. A naked man and woman engaged in intercourse, obviously enjoying themselves. Katherine didn’t recognize the man, but she did know the woman in the picture.
Lindsey Walsh.
The first message on Lindsey’s
voice mail Monday morning had been left at eight o’clock by Katherine Blair inquiring about the market study she’d been working on. The second was from Jason, thanking her for a fantastic weekend, and the last one came from Vetter’s secretary asking Lindsey to drop by her office as soon as possible.
She wrote a brief note to Katherine that she’d have the marketing study outline done that afternoon, then she grabbed her empty coffee cup and headed toward the executive suites. She passed the elevators and took the stairwell down to level two, where she used her passkey to gain entry. Once in the reception area, she headed to the employee snack kiosk to get some coffee. On her way, she noticed Teresa Hagen, the woman who’d fallen in the bathroom, during Lindsey’s first week.
Lindsey stopped and watched her chatting with another employee.
She looked like a ghost.
Teresa noticed Lindsey right away.
“Hi there.” Teresa said. “I never had a chance to thank you for helping me.”
Lindsey smiled. “Oh, that’s all right. How are you doing?”
“Better. Today is my first day back.”
Lindsey tried not to notice the huge circles under Teresa’s eyes. “Well take it easy, and if you don’t feel good, sit and rest. And if you need anything, just let me know.”
“That’s sweet, Lindsey. Thanks.”
“You bet. I guess I should get going. I gotta meet with the boss.”
After Lindsey filled her coffee cup, she dashed back up to the third floor to see Vetter’s secretary. When she stepped off the elevator, Dr. Collett stood facing her, briefcase in hand. He appeared disheveled and looked as though he hadn’t slept.
What is going on around here today?
“Dr. Collett, just who I wanted to see.”
Collett looked up. “Oh.”
“I just wanted to let you know, I just saw Teresa Hagen. She still looks pretty rough. I didn’t know if you could talk her into taking a little more time off. I’m worried about her. She ju–“
”Ms. Walsh, I would love to help, but the fact is, I’m no longer employed at Imec. I’ve just been fired.”
Lindsey’s jaw dropped. “What!”
Collett’s response was slow, quiet.
“No one is more surprised than I am. Although with some of the things that have happened, I shouldn’t be.”
“What do you mean?” Lindsey asked.
Collett stepped into the elevator and gave Lindsey a gentle tug, then waited for the doors to close. He pushed the emergency stop, and then turned to her.
“Something very dangerous is happening at Imec, Ms. Walsh. I can’t say for sure, but I think Dr. Meyer knew it, too. I found a lot of abnormals in the blood work of many of our employees. When I brought it to the attention of Vetter, he chastised me for it. Said I was obsolete and wasn’t in touch with current protocols. Now this. Be very careful, I wouldn’t put anything past Vetter. Or Katherine Blair for that matter.”
Lindsey could just make out a fine line of capillaries across Collett’s nose. His eyes were red and dilated, and perspiration was forming on his forehead.
“I’ll remember that,” Lindsey said. “Just answer me one thing. The blood work you spoke of. Did it include mine?” “No, it didn’t. Just the people who have lived in Indian Springs since it opened.”
Although she had only arrived there five weeks earlier, in that short span of time, Lindsey had noticed strange behavior in some of her neighbors. Many she worked with on a daily basis, exhibited subtle if not sometimes drastic, personality changes and mood swings.
“People like, Teresa Hagen?” Lindsey asked.
Collett leaned forward. “She’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Good morning, Lindsey,” Stephen Vetter
said, reaching out to shake her hand. He held it for an extra moment and locked eyes with her, then turned to his desk. “Please, have a seat. I apologize for the call this weekend, but I sometimes work on Saturday and your reports were very insightful.”
“That’s okay, I’m glad to help.”
Vetter leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together in his lap. “So how are you finding things here at Imec?”
Lindsey wanted to tell him she found things more troubling every day, but hesitated, remembering what Collett had told her minutes earlier on the elevator.
“Everything is great so far. I can’t believe it’s been five weeks already. It seems like I just got here. I’m starting to get used to the weather finally. It’s very different from New York.”
Vetter rubbed his hands together restlessly and rocked in his chair. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine thanks.”
Lindsey was hoping he would get to the reason for her summons to his office. She noticed how Vetter looked at her, and it bordered on disgusting.
“I guess you’re wondering why I called you in this morning.”
Lindsey nodded.
No shit, Sherlock.
“All right, I’ll come right to the point Ms. Walsh.” He gazed out the huge window behind him. “I’m going to have a rather large gathering at my house this weekend. A lot of important people are going to be there. I’d like you to be my personal guest.”
“Well I don’t th–“
Vetter held up his hand in a stop gesture. “Before you say anything, just let me assure you this is in no way disrespectful of your engagement. In fact, it’s perfectly all right if you bring your fiancé. I’d just like you to be there singing the praises of the Bliss program to all those potential stockholders who are going to attend.”
Vetter rendered Lindsey momentarily speechless. She’d expected him to suggest they go to his affair as a couple. She hadn’t expected him to invite Jason.
Maybe she’d misread him?
“I’ll be happy to come,” Lindsey said. “Unfortunately Jason is on call this weekend, so I’ll have to come alone.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. He’s going to miss a great party.”
An awkward silence.
Lindsey exhaled, already fighting the urge to check her watch.
“I’m sorry,” Vetter said quickly, “I almost forgot, you’ve got work to do. Don’t let me keep you. I just wanted to invite you to the party. My secretary will drop you an inner-office memo with the time. I’ll pick you up myself... if that’s okay with you?”
“That’ll be fine.”
Lindsey excused herself and left Vetter’s office. On her way to the elevators she saw something in her peripheral vision that stopped her in her tracks. She turned half around and looked closer. A short stocky Italian guy with slicked back hair in an expensive suit was about to enter Vetter’s office. He saw her look, and turned around so Lindsey could see him better.
Her heart nearly came to a stop.
It couldn’t be!
The guy went into Vetter’s office and Lindsey held onto the elevator frame to keep from falling. She felt the floor tilt sharply underneath her.
She had just seen Frank Deldeo.
The man who killed her father.
“That’s crazy, Lindsey,” Jason said.
“It can’t be Deldeo. He’s locked up in federal prison. And besides, if he’s not, what would he be doing in Phoenix? You’ve just been working too hard.”
Lindsey felt a wave of nausea. “Jason, please don’t patronize me. I’m telling you it’s him. I could never forget that face. He killed my father. Don’t you think I know what he looks like? His image is burned in my mind.”
“It’s not proof he’s here,” Jason said.
Lindsey sat silent a moment. Jason had managed to get the day off after a frantic call from Lindsey. He had driven the three hours from Tucson and now stood in her living room.
He took her in his arms. “Okay, let’s assume for the moment, it is him. You can’t just go confront your boss and tell him Deldeo killed your father. Obviously they must have some connection, or he wouldn’t be at Imec in the CEO’s office. We need to find out if it is him, beyond any doubt. Then we’ll figure out what to do.”
Lindsey gave Jason a skeptical look. She knew he was right. She would be putting herself and him in grave danger if it were Deldeo. He was a ruthless Mafia thug who held no regard for life. But why in God’s name would he be at Imec? What kind of business is Vetter doing with someone like him? Perhaps the party this weekend would reveal some answers. Meantime, she had to act as if nothing was wrong.
“Jason, I want you to get off your on call duty this weekend.”
“It’s not that easy.”
Lindsey’s eyes bore into him.
“All right, all right,” he said, “I’ll make some phone calls. What exactly do you have in mind?”
Lindsey schemed for a moment. “We have a party to go to.”
Stephen Vetter watched the tape
carefully.
What in the hell was he doing here?
Less than six hours after he had met with Lindsey Walsh, her fiancé had arrived at her house. Unfortunately, the audio was malfunctioning on Lindsey Walsh’s hidden camera, so Vetter had no idea why her fiancé had arrived unexpectedly, nor what they were saying.
The last conversation he had taped on the weekend had revealed that Jason would be on-call for the next seven days at Tucson General. A fact Lindsey had confirmed when he had invited her to the party.
Now, Jason’s appearance on Monday afternoon had Vetter stumped. It didn’t matter. He had already made plans for Jason. He needed Lindsey Walsh to help carry through his plans for Bliss.
Her and the other 99 residents of Indian Springs.
Lindsey looked at her watch:
10:55 A.M. Time for Stephen Vetter’s lecture. She didn’t have time to worry about the contents on her desk right now. Not after yesterday; it could wait.
She rushed down to the auditorium on the second floor.