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"Yes?" She carried the phone to the bathroom. |
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"Mrs. Hazzard, my name is Jack Perry. You don't know me, but I have some information that might be of vital importance to you. I'm wondering if we can find some time to talk . . ." |
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She knew the sound of the voice, the nasal timbre of a salesman on the prowl for some poor sap to lay out her money. She got at least one a week, usually during supper. But here was a new pitch, nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. A revolutionary new family protection plan from the good folks at OKAY Insurance Co.; a higher credit line on her VISA; just-built, must-see condos on Lake Winnipesaukee. |
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"You haven't got a goddamn clue what's important to me," she said, and slammed down the phone. |
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The words rang in his ear. The woman sounded irrational. Maybe he'd show up in person. |
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Jack Perry lit another cigarette. What about him? Was he being irrational? Was there a problem or was he projecting his own paranoia? He had become increasingly worried the last couple of weeks, since his old colleagues began showing up on the obituary page. But to rush up there on impulse would mean exposing himself to strangers. Of course, he'd have to spell out the sordid details to maintain credibility. They would have questions and raise a fuss and call the authorities. Which was where the danger lay. Besides, it could all be for nothing. All he had were a couple of visits to the doctor. That could be anything. Kids were always picking things up. And the father seemed to be in good health. (But how could you tell from two cars back?) |
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He poured more bourbon into his cup as his mind drifted back twenty-four years to when he was a young technician at BiOmega Labs. Like flash cards he saw the rhesus and chimps in their cages behaving like nothing intended by genetic design. Little faces distorted with lightning rage as they raced around the cages beating their heads with fists. He could still see Waldo, a young male chimp, on his first injection, leap to his ceiling perch and press his face into the bars so hard his nose bled. When his mother, Martha, was released in the cage, she hid in the corner with her hands to her |
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