“For the last time,” Daniel said with frustration, “we’re not working with those clowns. God forbid! We’re using their facilities and that’s it. End of story.”
“Let’s hope it’s that simple,” Stephanie said.
Daniel returned Stephanie’s gaze. They’d been together long enough for him to tell that she was not buying his simple assessment, and it irritated him that she wasn’t being more supportive. The problem was, her misgivings called attention to his own, which he was actively trying to ignore. He wanted to believe the whole episode was going to go smoothly and soon be over, but Stephanie’s negativity kept undermining his hopes.
The fax sprang to life out in the reception area.
“I’ll see what it is,” Stephanie said. She got up and went out of the room.
Daniel watched her go. It was a relief to escape her stare. People had a way of irritating him-even Stephanie, on occasion. He wondered if he’d be better off alone.
“It’s the release from Butler already,” Stephanie called out. “Signed and witnessed along with a note saying the hard copy is in the mail.”
“Great!” Daniel yelled back. At least Butler’s cooperation was encouraging.
“The cover sheet asks if we have checked our email this afternoon.” Stephanie appeared at the door with a questioning expression. “I didn’t check. Did you?”
Daniel shook his head and tilted forward, connecting to the Internet. At the new, special email account set up for Butler’s treatment, there was a message from the senator. Stephanie came around Daniel’s desk and looked over his shoulder as he opened it.
My dear doctors,
I hope this note finds you busy with your preparations for my imminent treatment. I too have been productively occupied, and I am happy to report that the custodians of the Shroud of Turin have been most helpful, thanks to the intercession by an influential colleague. You are to travel to Turin at your first opportunity. Upon arrival, you will call the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Turin to speak with Monsignor Mansoni. You will inform the monsignor that you are my representatives. At that point, my understanding is that the monsignor will arrange a meeting at an appropriate location to give you the sacred sample. Please understand that this is to be done with the utmost discretion and secrecy, so as not to jeopardize my esteemed colleague. Meanwhile, I remain your dear friend.
A.B.
Daniel took a moment to delete the message just as he and Stephanie had made a point of deleting the senator’s other emails. It had been their collective decision that there was to be as little evidence as possible of the affair. When he was done, he looked up at her. “The senator is certainly doing his part.”
Stephanie nodded. “I’m impressed. I’m also starting to get excited. The affair is definitely acquiring a touch of international intrigue.”
“When can you be ready to leave? Alitalia has daily flights to Rome that depart in the evening with connections to Turin. Remember, you’re going to have to pack for a month.”
“Packing is not the problem,” Stephanie said. “My two problems are my mom and Butler’s tissue culture. I need to spend some time with my mom, as I mentioned. I also want to get Butler’s tissue culture to a point where Peter can take over.”
“How much time are you talking about with the culture?”
“Not long. As good as it looks this morning, probably by tomorrow morning I’ll be satisfied. I just want to be sure a true monolayer is forming. Then Peter can maintain it, passage it, and cryopreserve it. My plan is for him to overnight an aliquot down to Nassau in a liquid-nitrogen container when we’re ready for it. We’ll keep the rest of the culture here in case we need it in the future.”
“Let’s not be pessimistic,” Daniel said. “What about your mother?”
“Tomorrow I can see her for a few hours during the day. She’s always in on Sundays, cooking.”
“Then you could conceivably be ready to leave tomorrow night?”
“Sure, if I pack this evening.”
“Then let’s get back to the apartment ASAP. I’ll make the necessary calls from there.”
Stephanie walked back into the lab to get her laptop and her coat. After making sure Peter was planning to be in the lab the following morning so they could discuss Butler’s culture, she returned to the reception area. She found Daniel impatiently holding the hallway door open for her.
“My, you are in a hurry!” Stephanie remarked. It was usual for Stephanie to have to wait for Daniel. Whenever they were going someplace, he always found one more thing to do.
“It’s already almost four o’clock, and I don’t want you to have an excuse for not being ready to leave tomorrow night. I remember how long it took you to pack to go to Washington for two nights, and this is for a month. I’m sure it is going to take you longer than you think.”
Stephanie smiled. It was true since, among other things, she needed to do some ironing. She also realized she’d want to hit the drugstore for some travel necessities. What she didn’t expect was how fast Daniel drove once they were in the car. She hazarded a glance at the speedometer as they tore down Memorial Drive. They were going almost fifty in a thirty-mile-an-hour zone.
“Hey, slow down!” Stephanie managed. “You’re driving like one of the taxi drivers you complain about.”
“Sorry,” Daniel said. He slowed down slightly.
“I promise I’ll be ready, so there’s no need to risk our lives.” Stephanie glanced over at Daniel to see if he realized she was trying to be funny, but his determined expression didn’t change.
“I’m eager to get this whole unfortunate affair over with now that I feel we’re really starting,” he said without taking his eyes from the road.
“I thought of something I should do,” Stephanie said. “I’m going to set it up so that any future Butler emails also go to my cell phone inbox. That way, we’ll know when a message comes in, and we’ll be able to access it ASAP.”
“Good idea,” Daniel agreed.
They pulled up to the curb in front of Daniel’s house. He turned off the engine and hopped out. He was halfway up the front walk by the time Stephanie got her laptop from the backseat. She shrugged. He could be such an absentminded professor when he became focused on a single thought. He could ignore her totally, as he was doing presently. But she wasn’t about to take his behavior personally. She knew him too well.
Daniel took the stairs two at a time while deciding he’d first make the call to the airlines to book the flights and then get back in touch with the Wingate people. He thought that scheduling a single overnight stay in Turin would be appropriate. Then he reminded himself to get the money-wiring instructions from Spencer when he made the call to Nassau so he could get the money issue out of the way as well.
Daniel reached the third-floor landing and paused while he fiddled with his keys. It was at that moment that he noticed the apartment door was slightly ajar. For a split second, he tried to remember who had been the last one out that morning: he or Stephanie. Then he remembered it had been he, since he’d had to return for his wallet. He distinctly remembered locking the door, including the dead bolt.
The sound of the building’s front door opening and closing drifted up the stairwell, along with Stephanie’s footfalls on the creaky, aged stairs. Otherwise, the house was silent. The first-floor tenants were off to the Caribbean on vacation, while the second-floor tenant was never home during the day. He was a mathematician who haunted the MIT computer center and only came home to sleep.
Gingerly, Daniel pushed open the door to get a progressively larger view of his foyer. Now he could see down the hallway into the living room. With the sun nearing the distant southwestern horizon, the apartment was in deep shadow. All at once, he caught sight of a flashlight beam as it momentarily flickered across the living room wall. At the same time, he heard one of the drawers of his upright file click closed.