Acceptable Risk

11

Early September 1994

The lab was finished, stocked with reagents, and opened during the first full week in September. Kim was glad. Although she had the month off and was available to sign receipts for the hundreds of daily deliveries, she was glad to be relieved of the duty. The person who relieved her was Eleanor Youngman.

Eleanor was the first person to start work officially in the lab. Several weeks previously she’d given her notice to Harvard that she was relinquishing her postdoctorate position, but it had taken her almost two weeks to wrap up all her projects and move to Salem.

Kim’s relationship with Eleanor improved but not drastically. It was cordial but stiff. Kim recognized that there was animosity on Eleanor’s part born of jealousy. At their first meeting Kim had intuitively sensed that Eleanor’s reverence for Edward included an unexpressed longing for a more personal relationship. Kim was amazed that Edward was blind to it. It was also a point of minor concern for her given her father’s history of licentious relationships with his so-called assistants.

The next occupants to arrive at the lab were the animals. They came midweek in the dead of the night. Edward and Eleanor supervised the unloading of the unmarked trucks and getting the menagerie of animals into the appropriate cages; Kim preferred to watch from the window of the cottage. She couldn’t see much of what was going on, but that was fine with her. Animal studies bothered her even though she understood their necessity.

Heeding the advice of the contractor and architect, Edward had established a policy that the less the community knew about what went on at the lab the better. He did not want any trouble with zoning laws or animal rights groups. This policy was aided by the natural insulation the compound enjoyed: a dense forest ringed with a high fence separated it from the surrounding community.

Toward the end of the first full week in September the other researchers began to arrive. With Edward and Eleanor’s assistance they secured rooms at the various bed and breakfast establishments sprinkled in and around Salem. Part of the contractual agreement with the researchers was that they come alone; they left their families temporarily behind to ease the stress of working around the clock for several months. The incentive was that everyone would become a millionaire once their stock was vested.

The first out-of-town member of the team to arrive was Curt Neuman. It was midmorning and Kim was in the cottage, preparing to leave for the castle, when she heard the muffled roar of a motorcycle. Going to the window, she saw a cycle glide to a stop in front of the house. A man of approximately her age dismounted and lifted the visor of his helmet. A suitcase was strapped to the back of the bike.

“Can I help you?” Kim called out through the window. She assumed it was a delivery person who’d missed the turnoff to the lab.

“Excuse me,” he said in an apologetic voice that had a mild Germanic timbre. “Perhaps you can help me locate the Omni lab.”

“You must be Dr. Neuman,” Kim said. “Just a minute. I’ll be right out.” Edward had mentioned an accent when he’d told Kim he was expecting Curt that day. She hadn’t expected the renowned researcher to arrive by motorcycle.

Kim quickly closed some fabric sample books left open on the game table and picked up several days’ worth of newspapers strewn over the couch in anticipation of inviting Curt Neuman in. Checking herself briefly in the foyer mirror, she opened the door.

Curt had removed his helmet and was cradling it in his arm like a medieval knight. But he wasn’t looking in Kim’s direction. He was looking toward the lab. Edward had apparently heard the motorcycle and was barreling along the dirt road in his car on his way to the cottage. He pulled up, jumped out, and embraced Curt as if they were long-lost brothers.

The two men talked briefly about Curt’s metallic-red BMW motorcycle until Edward realized Kim was standing in the doorway. He then introduced Kim to Curt.

Kim shook hands with the researcher. He was a large man, two inches taller than Edward, with blond hair and cerulean blue eyes.

“Curl’s originally from Munich,” Edward said. “He trained at Stanford and UCLA. Many people, including myself, think he’s the most talented biologist specializing in drug reactions in the country.”

“That’s enough, Edward,” Curt managed to say as his face blushed red.

“I was lucky to steal him away from Merck,” Edward continued. “They wanted him to stay so badly that they offered to build him his own lab.”

Kim watched in sympathy as poor Curt squirmed in the face of Edward’s encomium, reminding her of their own reactions to Stanton’s praise during the dinner when they’d first met. Curt seemed surprisingly bashful for his commanding size, model-like good looks, and reputed intelligence. He avoided eye contact with Kim.

“Enough of this blabber,” Edward said. “Come on, Curt! Follow me with that death-wish machine of yours. I want you to see the lab.”

Kim watched them caravan across the field toward the lab before she went back inside the house to finish what she had to do before heading up to the castle.

Later that day, just as Kim and Edward were finishing a light lunch, the second out-of-town researcher arrived. Edward heard the car drive up. Pushing back from the table, he went outside. Shortly afterward he returned with a tall, thin, but muscular man in tow. He was swarthy and handsome and appeared to Kim more like a professional tennis player than a researcher.

Edward introduced them. His name was François Leroux. To Kim’s surprise he made a motion to kiss the back of her hand, but he didn’t actually do it. All she felt was the light caress of his breath on her skin.

As he’d done with Curt, Edward gave Kim a brief but highly complimentary summary of François’s credentials. But unlike Curt, François had no trouble hearing Edward’s praise. While Edward went on and on, he’d locked his dark, piercing eyes on Kim in a manner that made her squirm.

“The fact of the matter is that François is a genius,” Edward was saying. “He’s a biophysicist originally from Lyons, France, who trained at the University of Chicago. What sets him off from his colleagues is that he has managed to specialize in both NMR and X-ray crystallography. He’s managed to combine two technologies which are usually competitive.”

Kim noticed a slight smile had appeared on François’s face at this point in Edward’s accolade. He also bowed his head in Kim’s direction as if to emphasize that he was everything Edward was saying and more. Kim looked away. She had the feeling that François was a bit too sophisticated and forward for her taste.

“François will be responsible for our saving a lot of time with the Ultra research,” Edward continued. “We’re truly lucky to have him. It’s France’s loss and our gain.”

A few minutes later Edward led François from the house to take him to the lab. He was eager for François to see the facility and meet Curt. Kim watched them climb into Edward’s car from the window. She couldn’t help marvel how such widely disparate personalities could end up doing such similar work.

The last two of the core researchers arrived Saturday, September 10. They arrived by train from Boston. Edward and Kim went together as a welcoming committee and were standing on the platform as the train pulled into the station.

Edward saw them first and waved to get their attention. As they walked toward Edward and Kim, Kim jokingly asked Edward if physical attractiveness had been one of the requirements for employment at Omni.

“What in the devil are you talking about?” Edward asked.

“All your people are so good-looking,” Kim said.

“That’s something I hadn’t noticed,” Edward said.

When the two groups came together Edward did the introductions. Kim met Gloria Hererra and David Hirsh, and she shook hands with each.

Gloria, like Eleanor, did not fit Kim’s stereotypical image of a female academic researcher. But that was their only similarity. They were complete opposites in coloring and manner. In contrast to Eleanor’s fairness, Gloria was olive complected with hair as dark as Kim’s and dark eyes almost as penetrating as François’s. In contrast to Eleanor’s cool reserve, Gloria was warm and forthright.

David Hirsh reminded Kim of François. He too was tall and slender, with a panache like an athlete. He was dark but not quite as swarthy as François. His demeanor was equally as urbane but more pleasant since he wasn’t as bold and had a demonstrable sense of humor along with a pleasing smile.

On the drive to the station Edward described Gloria and David’s accomplishments with similar detail and accolades as he’d done with Curt and François. Both Gloria and David assured Kim that Edward was exaggerating. They then turned the conversation around to talk about Edward. In the end all Kim was certain of was that Gloria was a pharmacologist and David was an immunologist.

At the compound Kim was dropped off at the cottage. As the car pulled away en route to the lab, Kim could hear more laughter. Kim was happy for Edward. She was confident that Gloria and David would be good additions to the atmosphere of the lab.

The following day, September 11, Edward and the other five researchers had a brief celebration to which Kim was invited. They uncorked a bottle of champagne, clinked glasses, and toasted Ultra. A few minutes later they fell to work at a furious pace.

Over the next few days, Kim visited the lab often to lend moral support as well as to make sure there were no problems she could help solve. She thought of her position as somewhere between hostess and landlord. By midweek she slowed the frequency of her visits considerably. By the end of the week she rarely went since every time she did, she’d been made to feel as if she were intruding.

Edward did not help. On the previous Friday he told her outright that he’d prefer her not to come too often since her visits interrupted their collective concentration. Kim didn’t take the rebuff personally because she was well aware of the pressure they were under to produce results as quickly as possible.

Besides, Kim was content with her own activities. She’d adjusted nicely to living in the house and found it pleasant. She still felt twinges of Elizabeth’s presence but not nearly so disturbingly intense as that first night. Indulging her interest in interior design, Kim had obtained dozens of books on wall and floor covering, drapery design, and colonial furniture. She’d brought in scores of samples which she had littered about the house in the areas she considered using the materials. As an added treat she’d spent many an hour rummaging through the area’s many antique shops hunting for period colonial furniture.

Kim also invested significant time back in the castle, either in the attic or the wine cellar. The discovery of Elizabeth’s diary had been a great incentive to her. It had also wiped away the discouragement built up by so many previously fruitless hours.

In the very beginning of September during Kim’s first trip back to the castle after finding Elizabeth’s diary, she’d found another significant letter. It had been in the same sea trunk as the diary. It was addressed to Ronald and was from Jonathan Corwin, the magistrate who originally occupied the Witch House.

20th July 1692Salem Town Dear Ronald:

I esteemed it prudent to draw your attention that your removal of Elizabeth’s body from its interment on Gallows Hill hath been espied by Roger Simmons who in like manner did see the son of Goodwife Nurse remove his mother’s body to the same end as yourself. I beg of you my friend not to flaunt this act in these unruly turbulent times lest you bring more molestation to yourself and your family for raising the departed is seen by many as witch’s work. Nor would I in the mood of the public call attention to a grave for the likewise reason that it result in you being wrongfully accused. I hath spoke with said Roger Simmons and he hath sworn to me that he will speak of your deed to no man except a magistrate if he be deposed. God be with you.

Your servant and friend, Jonathan Corwin.

After finding the Corwin letter Kim entered a two-week period of finding nothing related to Ronald or Elizabeth. But it did not dampen her enthusiasm for spending time in the castle. Belatedly recognizing that almost all of the documents in the attic and the wine cellar had historical significance, Kim decided to organize the papers rather than merely look through them for seventeenth-century material.

In both the attic and the wine cellar she designated areas for storing papers according to half-century periods. In each area she separated the material into business, government, and personal categories. It was a monumental task but it gave her a sense of accomplishment even if she wasn’t adding to her collection of documents relating to her seventeenth-century ancestors.

Thus the first half of September passed comfortably, with Kim dividing her time between decorating the cottage and searching and organizing the castle’s disordered archives. By midmonth she avoided the lab altogether and rarely saw any of the researchers. She even began to see less of Edward as he came home progressively later each evening and left earlier in the morning.