Joseph nodded. “What should I tell her?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. If she’s going to help us, she’ll need to know everything. However, if she isn’t willing to help, then the less she knows the better. She’ll need to arrange to spend time here. I have a complete lab and I can probably get anything she needs.”
Lrence led them downstairs to his lab. It looked like any large well-equipped lab with metal tables, cabinets with vials and jars of solutions and various machines, with one exception. In the middle of one wall was a portal. The recess was the same dimension as the one in Guatemala, but the outside rings were smaller and made completely of metal. Lrence explained that he had insulated this room in such a way that he could surge from this portal without detection by the watchers.
He scanned Joseph first with a hand scanner that produced a readout from a machine in the corner. “I’m surprised, your brain is totally normal. Didn’t you come in contact with the crystal?” Lrence asked Joseph.
“Joshua gave me the crystal in a box. I took off the lid to look at it, but I didn’t touch it. I left it in the box,” answered Joseph.
“That’s great. That means that when Erik comes to talk to you, you won’t be in any danger,” said Lrence. Addressing the others he said, “I will also need a blood and urine sample from each of you.” Next, he scanned Joshua. He frowned and scanned him once again. “Have you been having any headaches?”
“Yes, I carried the crystal in my pocket for over a week, but once I stopped carrying the crystal, the headaches went away,” confessed Joshua looking worried.
“I was afraid of that. Your readings are much higher than I would have expected from just one surge.” He composed his face and turned to scan Sam and Maria.
“What does that mean? Is he in any danger?” asked Maria.
“I need to scan you and Sam before I can say for sure.” After scanning them both, and looking at all the readouts, he said, “I was hoping that we could experiment on you and Sam, and once we got the formula right for you, that it would automatically be the right dosage for Joshua. Except, his exposure is much higher than yours were. Therefore, even if we are able to cure your irregularities . . . Well, I’ll need Joshua here to be able to figure out the right dosage for him. It’s just a complication,” he said dismissively, turning away from them.
Sam stepped in front of Lrence to look directly into his eyes. “What you really mean is that even if you can cure us, there’ll be no guarantee that you can cure Joshua.”
Joshua looked stricken and sat down on the lab stool. Maria stood behind him.
Lrence said slowly, “No, I don’t mean that at all. I feel sure that once we get the formula right, it’ll just be a matter of dosage, but you’re right, there are no guarantees that any of this will work. Every complication will take time to work out, time we may not have because of Erik. The good news is that Joshua’s exposure is much less than Harry’s, so if we got that last formula right, it will definitely cure Joshua.” The tension in the room eased up.
Just then, the portal lit up.
Chapter Eighteen
Everyone turned to look as a beautiful strawberry blond woman dressed in jeans and a light blue knit shirt and holding a canvas bag stepped out of the portal and into the lab. Her straight hair curved under an inch or two above her shoulders framing a heart shaped face. She had blue/green eyes and a slight smile on her face. Lrence immediately walked over to her, hugged her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She put down the bag to return his embrace. Lrence then turned to the others and keeping his arm around her shoulders he said, “I’d like you all to meet Kafra.”
Each of them came forward to shake her hand as Lrence introduced them. While Kafra set to work taking blood from each of them and gathering the urine samples, Lrence explained to her their plan to get Dr. Whiting to help them.
Once Lrence left to drive Joshua and Joseph back to their car, Kafra picked up the bag and said to Maria, “I brought you some clothes, make up and a few other necessities. Once we change your looks and get pictures so we can create new identities, you’ll be able to go shopping for whatever else you need.”
***
Joshua called Sara from the car to ask if they could come over to talk. She invited them to stay for lunch.
Once they had eaten and were sitting in the living room, Joseph asked Helen, “Do you remember Harry carrying a crystal rock?” Sitting in one of the armchairs, he faced Helen who sat on the sofa next to Sara. Joshua stood, leaning on the mantle over the fireplace.
“Yes, he said it was his good luck charm,” replied Helen.
“Joshua found that crystal. As a result we met a man who knows what happened to Harry,” he said bluntly.
She leaned forward, her eyes wide. “What happened?”
“It’s a very long story, and it would be better if you heard it directly from Lrence. The crystal that Harry carried around has very unusual properties that caused irregularities in the brain, which led to Harry’s paranoia. Joshua now has those same irregularities. Lrence has been working on a cure, but he needs your help. We need your help.”
Sara jumped up. “Joshua, are you all right? You‘re not still carrying that around are you?”
He took her hands in his. “I’m fine right now. I don’t have it anymore. Grandpa has it secured.”
Turning to face her grandmother, she said, “Gran, you have to help him.”
Joshua kept his arm around her shoulders.
Helen looked puzzled. “Of course, I’ll help, if I can. But, I’ve never heard of any kind of a crystal that causes damage to the brain.” She looked at Sara, the desperation on her face clear. Helen sighed. “I think I have some time this week. Give him my number and we can set up an appointment. What is his name and where is he doing his research?”
Joseph answered, “Helen, I’m just now beginning to absorb everything I found out today. Let me just say, that if you’re willing to help us, you’ll need to keep an open mind. His research is top secret and can only be done in his lab. If you’re willing to help us, we need you to start today. No one can know where you are, not the hospital, or your secretary. You will need to give them a plausible reason for being gone this week.”
Helen frowned, clearly uncomfortable at the turn the conversation was taking. “I just can’t disappear for a week. I have commitments, obligations. Anyway, why the rush? Are you sure you can trust this man?”
Joseph held out his hands. “He is the only one who can tell you about Harry. If you won’t agree to help us under these conditions, then I can’t tell you anymore. The safety of my family is at stake.” He sat back with his hands in his lap waiting for her response.
Helen shook her head. Her eyes scanned the room from Joseph to Joshua and finally falling on Sara. While she desperately wanted to know what happened to Harry, she could not allow her emotions to dictate her actions when it came to her work. The one telltale indication of every scam was that something always had to be done immediately, giving the victim no chance to research or think. Joseph, she knew was a reputable businessman. However, someone had obviously made him believe that his family was in danger in order to get to her. The question was why did they want her? How did they know that information about Harry would entice her to cooperate? The more she thought about it, the less sense it made.
As the silence lengthened, Joseph saw the stubborn set of Helen’s jaw. He looked at Joshua and shrugged.
Sara caught the look and rushed to her grandmother’s side. Pleading she said, “Gran, I’ve seen the crystal and held it in my hands. You can feel its power. Joshua has been having headaches just like Harry. I can’t lose him. You have to help him. Do this for me, please.”
Helen patted her hand. “Sara, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. So even though I think this man is probably a charlatan, I’ll rearrange my schedule and try to help in whatever way I can.” Turning to Joseph she said, “I hope you haven’t given him any money, and while I promise to listen with an open mind, I won’t give him any money either, or consent to do anything illegal no matter what he threatens.”
Joseph went to her. He took both her hands in his. “Thank you. Once you hear his story, you’ll understand. He hasn’t asked me for anything. I promise that the only thing you’ll be asked to do is to use your expertise in Neurology to help him find a cure for Joshua. How soon can you be ready to go?”
Getting to her feet she said, “Let me call my service. I’ll tell them I have a family emergency and to cancel all my appointments this week. How far away is this lab? Do I need to pack?”
“It’s here in town. I’ll give you the address. The man’s name is Lrence. I’ll call him and let him know you’ll be coming. Take Sara with you. Because she held the crystal in her hands, he needs to scan her to make sure she is all right.” Sara and Helen both looked alarmed but Joseph hurried on. “Don’t worry about packing anything. If you decide you need to stay, Sara can always come back and get whatever you need. I’m sorry but Joshua and I can’t go with you. We don’t want to lead the people who are threatening my family to Lrence.” Joseph got up, wrote down the address, and waited at the door for Joshua.
After Helen left to make her calls, Sara embraced Joshua. He kissed her goodbye and made her promise to call him as soon as she got home. As Joseph drove home, Joshua called Lrence.
When Sara and Helen arrived, Lrence greeted them at the door. “Mrs. Whiting, thank you for coming, and you must be Sara. It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Let’s go in the living room. Won’t you be seated?”
Helen remained standing. She looked Lrence up and down and then said, “If you’re going to tell me that you knew Harry then I’m out of here.” She reached a hand out to Sara.
Lrence sat calmly with his legs crossed. “What makes you so sure I didn’t?”
She rolled her
eyes. “Harry disappeared over forty years ago. You can’t be more than forty-five. Even if you knew him, I‘m hardly interested in the memories of a five year old.”
Lrence continued to look up at her and smiled. “I am a lot older than I look. I did know Harry quite well, but I don’t expect you to believe that yet. Let’s talk about the reason they convinced you to come. It was to help find a cure for Joshua, was it not?” he asked.
“Yes, but how do I know there is really anything wrong with him?” She asked still standing.
Lrence rose. “Let me take you to my lab and I‘ll show you the proof.”
Helen and Sara followed Lrence down the stairs to his lab.
Reaching the basement, Helen looked around.
“I must say this looks very well equipped. What is that?” she asked, pointing to the portal.
“I’ll explain that later.” He handed her two of the scans that were sitting on top of the metal table. “First, here are the brain scans of Joseph and Joshua. As you can see, Joseph’s are completely normal. He’s had no contact with the crystal.”
She took them from his hand and scanned them briefly, frowning when she looked at the second one with Joshua’s name on it. However, she said nothing.
He pulled open a drawer and withdrew a crystal. “Do you recognize this?”
“Yes, Harry carried one just like it,” she replied.
Lrence returned the crystal to the drawer. Pointing to the second set of scans that she held in her hand, he said, “These are the br
ain scans of Joshua after carrying around a crystal.”
She shook her head. “That’s impossible. I’ve never seen a human brain scan like this. Obviously it’s faked, or there‘s something wrong with your machine.”
“You have never come in contact with the crystal, right? Do you mind if I scan your brain to test the machine? I assume you’re familiar with your own results?” he asked.
“Harry never allowed me to touch the crystal, and I didn’t see the one Joshua says he had. I’ve had my brain scanned before. So, yes, I would recognize any differences. Go ahead.” She looked around for an EEG machine or a table to lie down on.
Lrence approached showing her his hand held device. “My reader is a little different than what you’re used to, but I assure you that you will recognize the results.” He laid his hand on her cheek and the machine in the corner began printing. He went to the machine and tore off the readout to show her.
She held out her hands, a frown on her face. “I don’t know how you did that. I’ve never seen a palm sized EEG machine.” As she read, her eyes widened. “But I can’t deny that this is typical of a scan of my brain. However, just because your machine is accurate now, doesn’t prove that this is a scan of Joshua’s brain.”
Lrence nodded, turning to Sara. “Sara, I believe that you have had contact with the crystal?”
“That’s right, I held it in my hands for a few moments,” she replied.
“May I?” he asked. When she nodded, Lrence placed his hand on her cheek. Once more, the machine recorded the brain activity on a printout. Lrence tore it off and handed it to Helen. “As you can see, Sara has slightly higher than normal waves in both frontal lobes. Because her contact was brief, she doesn’t show the really high peaks of Joshua’s readout, but I think you can see that even brief contact with the crystal does produce abnormal readings.”
Helen looked at each of the printouts for several minutes, acceptance, and disbelief warring on her face. Scientific curiosity finally tipped the scales. “I don’t know what to say. If these are accurate, they certainly could pose some serious problems. Have you done any other tests?”