Eternal (15 page)

He turned her face to his and kissed her, his lips more tentative, uncertain, and gentle than ever. She felt an ache spread through her chest, and she began to sink into the moment.

She was jolted into reality with a sudden thought and pulled away abruptly. “Oh crap, the laptop!”

“What?”

“Someone stole my laptop! I need to call the police.”

“Your laptop?”

“It has all of my research notes on it.”

“So you need to call
Austin
.”

She nodded. “It’s his case.”

Tyler nodded and rubbed the heel of his hand against his red eyes. “I understand. Really. But I don’t want to be here for this. I, just, I can’t take it. I’m going home.”

“Call me tomorrow?” she said.

“Okay, sure.” He shook his head, muttering to himself, and hurried out the door.

Julia watched Tyler as he yanked open the door of his car, revved the engine, and screeched out of the parking lot. She felt a pinch in her heart as she watched him leave. She allowed herself one last look then pushed her feelings aside. She walked to the kitchen phone—and just as she reached for it, the phone started to ring. She looked at the clock. It was nearly ten o’clock. She picked up the phone and answered in a voice just above a whisper. “Hello?”

“Julia, this is Caleb. Dr. Bertel. Please don’t hang up. I called to warn you. You’re in terrible danger.”

S
EVENTEEN

J
ulia held her breath. Thoughts swirled in her head like a whirlpool, and she felt herself starting to drown in I them. She was stunned that Bertel would dare to call her after their last encounter. Her first urge was to hang up. But there was something in his voice that reminded her of the old Bertel. Her friend was trying to warn her about some danger. But danger from whom? Himself? She hesitated.

“Julia? You still there?”

Curiosity took over. “Yes, I’m still here.”

“Before I say anything else, I just want to tell you I’m sorry. I wasn’t … I wasn’t myself before. It was as if someone had taken over my body, and I was watching from the sidelines. But now—I remember everything, Julia! All the way from my mother taking me to my first science museum, to the moment before I put in that light bulb. I could have killed you this morning, and I am very sorry.”

“Like you said, you weren’t yourself this morning.”

“Yes, but I’m still responsible. Can you possibly forgive me?”

Julia wasn’t sure if she was ready to trust him, but she wanted to. “Of course I forgive you. I’m just relieved to hear you’re back to your old self.” She paused. “Dr. Bertel, do you remember asking me about your research?”

“Yes, I do. I was so desperate to figure out who I was, I guess it drove me a bit mad.”

“I have another theory about that,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

“That sounds serious.”

“It could be.”

“Should we meet somewhere to discuss it?”

“First, I think we need to meet with the police and clear this up.”

“But that’s what I called to warn you about, Julia. I have learned some things about your police friend, things that I am very concerned about. I don’t think you should trust him.”

“Why not?”

“We should talk about this in person. Could you meet me?”

“What, right now?”

“I know how this sounds, Julia. And the way I’ve been acting, lately, I don’t blame you for being skeptical. But I am your friend, and I am worried for you. We need to meet tonight.”

“I don’t know if I can leave. There’s a cop watching my place.”

“The back window. Could you slip out through that?”

“I don’t know. I mean, he’s a detective. Wouldn’t he be watching for that?”

“For someone sneaking out? Not likely.”

Julia considered his plea. Then she reconsidered. “Dr. Bertel, the police have been good to me, and you have been, well, inconsistent. There’s no way I’m going with you after what happened last time.”

“Julia, I’m very sorry about last time. Like I said, I wasn’t myself. But I promise that if you hear me out, I will go to the police, I will go see a therapist, I will do whatever you want. I just want you to know what is really going on.”

“I don’t know.” Julia quickly reviewed her options. If she met Bertel, then she could finally find out what was going on. At the very least, he would get some professional help. If she didn’t, he’d keep calling. And if she got the police involved, she knew they wouldn’t be as forgiving as she would be to her mentor and friend. “Okay,” she finally said.

“Wonderful. I knew a great mind like yours couldn’t resist the lure of knowledge. Let’s meet at Le Delice. The tables are candlelit. No one will notice us there.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in twenty.”

It took her forty-five minutes to arrive at Le Delice. She couldn’t use her car, which was sitting out front, right under the nose of Detective Alvarez. She walked to the next block and called a cab company from her cell. She grew increasingly frightened as she waited in the dark. Bertel had told her that she was in danger, possibly from the police. But was that just a ploy to draw her out into the darkness, where she would be more vulnerable? Could someone be watching her right this minute?

By the time the taxi arrived, she was covered in a thin film of sweat. The driver gave her an odd look, and she wondered if he might be in on it too. Then she looked at herself in the rearview mirror and saw that her eyes were ringed in raccoon circles of mascara. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since her tearful meeting with Tyler. She grabbed a tissue from her purse, spit on it, and rubbed away the black smudges. When she was done, she didn’t look that much better; her eyes were now ringed in pale white instead of black. But at least she no longer looked deranged.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she saw that Le Delice was dim, almost dark. The hostess guided her to a booth toward the back. As she approached, she saw Bertel scowling and twirling a glass containing some sort of drink on the rocks. She’d never seen him look so angry before, nor had she ever known him to drink. But then, she’d never spent much time with him outside of work, aside from the rare lunch or coffee break. When he saw her, his face transformed into a distracted but friendly smile, as he pushed a nonexistent pair of glasses against his nose bridge. Now that was classic Bertel, who could never seem to get used to wearing contacts. He rose to his feet, and she took in the all-black suit he was wearing. Bertel had always been good-looking for a middle-aged man, but there was something new, something dangerous, about his demeanor this evening.

They both sat down in the high-backed booth and considered each other over the ruby glow of a flickering candle. Anyone who saw them would have assumed they were on a date, an intimate candlelit dinner for two. “Did you get held up?” he asked. She explained about her car.

He nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. So, now can you tell me about this danger I’m supposedly in?”

Instead of answering, he pushed a menu toward her. “What do you say we order first?”

She stared at the closed menu without touching it. “I’m not hungry.”

“Well I’m starving. After all, this
is
a restaurant. When in Rome, or in this case, Paris.”

He flagged down a waiter and ordered a blood rare filet mignon and a bottle of Bordeaux, much to Julia’s surprise. Julia ordered a side salad.

When the waiter left Julia said, “Meat? I thought you were a vegetarian.”

“I was. I thought it would be healthier. But I couldn’t seem to get enough protein.”

When the waiter brought two glasses for the wine, Julia waved hers away. “That’s okay, I’m not having any.”

“But we should celebrate,” Bertel said.

She looked directly at Bertel and said, “I’m barely eighteen.” Then she addressed the waiter. “So I won’t be having any wine, thank you.”

The waiter snatched up the glass and strode away without another word.

Julia hissed, “Dr. Bertel, what are you doing?”

He smacked his head. “I wasn’t thinking. I keep forgetting how young you are.”

“So, can we talk now?”

“Yes, of course. I just didn’t want the waiter to interrupt. You never know who you can trust.” He leaned across the table and whispered so low she could barely hear him. “I know who left that note on your car.”

She shivered. “How did you know about that?”

“After I ran out of the building, I didn’t know what to do. So I found an unlocked car in the parking lot, hid inside, and rolled down the window. Remember, I still wasn’t sure who I was or what I should do. I waited a long time. When I saw you and that detective come out, I sank down in the seat so you wouldn’t see me, but I could still see you. I saw you find the note. I heard him read what it said.”

“You realize we thought the note was from you?”

Dr. Bertel looked perplexed. “Why would you think it was from me?”

Julia ignored the question. “Who is it from?”

“I can’t tell you everything yet, because I’ve been cooperating with an FBI investigation, former associates of mine when I worked at the Bureau, and much of what I know is strictly confidential. But I will tell you that we have enemies who would like to steal the research we’ve been doing, and others who would simply like to see it fail.”

Enemies?
For a moment Julia wished she could return to the days when she’d simply been unpopular. “Are these enemies religious? Is that why they chased me through the graveyard and wrote ‘Death to the heretic’ on my car?”

“Corporate, scientific, religious, you name it. I am unable to tell you specifics. But you must know: Austin Moore is working with one of these clandestine organizations that the FBI is tracking.”

Julia stared at Bertel, silent. “But he’s a cop—”

“You’ve never heard of a corrupt police officer?”

“… from a family of cops.”

“I’m sorry, Julia. No doubt this comes as a great shock. I sense that you …
like
this Detective Moore. Nonetheless I’m telling you the truth. Moore is not to be trusted.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

He shrugged. “Pretend to cooperate. Just don’t give him any more information about our research. As long as you keep up the charade, you’ll be safe.”

“About the research, Dr. Bertel …”

“Yes?”

“Someone stole my laptop.”

“Oh, not to worry, Julia. The FBI took it to protect you and the secrets that lie within it.”

“
You
took it? But how? Why?”

“They were concerned that critical, proprietary information might fall into the wrong hands.”

“How did you get into my apartment?”

He smiled. “The FBI has its ways. We didn’t intend to invade your privacy, I assure you. We just wanted to protect our research.”

Julia didn’t know what to believe. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

“Think of my former research with the FBI. My cover story was that I had ‘retired’; but I never left the Bureau. They merely changed my assignment. I was to work at UCI to have better access to university resources and funding without incurring suspicion.”

Julia eyed him with suspicion. Bertel continued.

“Don’t worry, Julia. My mission is almost over; and when it is, you and I will see our dream through to a fruition beyond our wildest dreams. We should be celebrating!”

“Celebrating what?”

“That you and I have found the human soul and a way to turn death back to life.” He grabbed Julia’s hand, fumbling, and gazed into her eyes with total adoration.

Shocked, Julia pulled her hand away. This was a side she had never seen before. “What are you saying?”

“That we’re two of the most brilliant minds in science. We belong together.”

“What are you talking about? You’re my boss, and, and … this is inappropriate!”

“What is wrong, Julia? That heretic,
Pierre?
You must know by now that you’ll never feel the meeting of minds with him that you have with me.”

“You mean Tyler, don’t you?”

“Who?”

“My boyfriend, Tyler?”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“No. You said
Pierre.”
The name she had given Austin in her dreams. Julia stood up. She could feel herself shaking from head to toe. “And what makes you say that our research worked? We haven’t tested it on any actual people, just cadaver brains.”

Dr. Bertel cleared his throat. “Perhaps I am a little overeager, but somehow I truly believe it is going to work.”

Julia felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. Her head was spinning, and she was utterly confused. But she knew one thing: she had to get out of there. “I’m sorry, Dr. Bertel, but this conversation is over!” She turned to leave and barreled into the waiter, who dropped the plate he was carrying. Julia stared at the bloody hunk of filet between her feet, then broke into a run.