The Chemistry of Death

Chapter 32

Vivian gave Tesla a half hour to fall asleep. He’d looked pretty beat when he went up the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing. Plus, he’d drunk more whiskey than he was used to. She figured he’d conk right out.

This was good because she had work to do. While she was washing the dog, she’d checked the rooms upstairs for signs that the home invader had stolen anything or laid any traps for Tesla. Everything looked the same as it always had, but she’d gone over it carefully, wishing that Edison had training in explosives detection.

Then she’d stumbled on Tesla’s high-tech stash. He had a handheld explosives detector and a bug sweeper. Expensive gadgets. She hadn’t given him enough credit for being paranoid, although she should have. The guy worried about everything.

After giving the dog the quickest bath in history, she’d used her eyes and his tools to check every nook and cranny upstairs while he was talking to his girlfriend. Everything came up clean in the end, including the dog.

That left her the downstairs to sweep, the chamber outside, and the elevator.

Once he was asleep, she started with the kitchen and worked her way forward. She worked the kitchen, the billiards room, the library, and the pantry. If the intruder had come in here, he hadn’t left any electronic surprises. Her eyes were gritty with exhaustion. She’d had more cups of tea than she could count, but the caffeine wasn’t helping anymore. She needed sleep.

She went outside, glad to see that Tesla’s artificial ceiling lightening up. Morning was coming down here and up above.

Painstakingly, she covered every inch of the large room in front of his house. The plants and the LEDs that fed them made it tough going, but she had to admit that she liked them anyway. They brightened the place up, and they also told her that Tesla was settling in. He clearly didn’t think he’d be leaving any time soon.

Which meant she had to make this place safe for him. She was in charge of his security, so it was her job, but he was also her friend, and it was her duty. Nobody died on her watch. Slowly, she walked down the tunnel, sweeping left to right. Her shoulders ached. She’d been doing this for hours.

She checked the security systems at both entrances. Both undisturbed since they’d entered.

She decided to head back to the house and see what Tesla had in the way of breakfast. She tiptoed through the front door and back to the kitchen. She set his detectors on the table, so she would remember to tell him what she’d done. Then she went over to the icebox. He had milk in there and cornflakes in the cupboard.

As she reached for the milk, she stopped. What about poison? What if the women on the tracks had been poisoned? That might make their weird behavior make sense.

She took out a large box and began loading Tesla’s food into it.

His footsteps sounded on the stairs. Still limping.

He hobbled into the kitchen. His dark hair was wet from the shower, and he wore a pair of clean slacks with a white shirt. “What are you doing?”

He looked better than yesterday. He had dark circles under his eyes, and still looked tired, but the worst of his pallor was gone. “Good morning.”

Edison padded over and looked at his empty dog dish.

Tesla rubbed his eyes and yawned. “What have you been up to all night?”

She pointed to the detectors on the table and explained, then gestured to the food. “I think it makes sense to get all this stuff tested. If he did drug those women, maybe he left something here for you, too.”

Tesla hobbled to stand next to her, holding onto the counter with one hand. His foot clearly still hurt. “I’ll pack that up. You go home.”

“I’d feel better taking you to your office first, sir,” she said. She’d actually feel better going straight to bed. She had to be up that afternoon to watch Katrinka.

It only took a few minutes for the two of them to pack up the rest of his and the dog’s food. He didn’t cook much, and didn’t have much on hand — just two boxes full.

“You know it’s a crime that you only have two boxes of food in your apartment after all these months, right?” she said.

“Only a misdemeanor.”

“My mother would call it a felony.” If she told her about it, her mother would be over here later today, filling Tesla’s fridge.

Tesla laughed and invited her out to breakfast at the Grand Central food court. She’d have preferred to eat at Pershing Square Restaurant. It was just across the street, but it might as well have been on the moon as far as Tesla was concerned.

By the time she got Joe to the elevator, it was clear that his foot was in bad shape, worse than the night before. Vivian left the food boxes with Evaline, the capable woman who manned the information booth, and practically carried Tesla to his office. Miss Kay, the office manager, let them in while Tesla was still fiddling with his keys.

“What are you doing here on a Sunday, Marnie?” asked Tesla.

“What the hell happened to you?” Miss Kay hurried into one of the offices and came back out with a streamlined electric wheelchair.

It was a sign of how much pain he was in that Tesla sat right down in it.

“I’ll get Phil in to scan your foot,” Miss Kay said. “He lives nearby.”

Tesla looked over at Vivian, but she didn’t help him out.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said.

“You’ll never know what’s going on inside that foot unless you look,” Vivian said. “It could look like a sock full of marbles.”

Tesla glowered at her, but Vivian ignored him. Miss Kay pushed the wheelchair back toward Tesla’s office. Vivian followed. She pulled up Dr. Stauss’s number on her phone.

“Who are you calling?” Tesla asked.

“Dr. Stauss,” Vivian told him.

“He’s a neurologist!”

“I bet he knows someone who can set a broken foot.” What if Tesla needed surgery? His panicked face told her he’d had the same thought.

Dr. Stauss said he’d be there in an hour, and he’d call in a friend who specialized in sports medicine.

That problem taken care of, Vivian looked around the office. “Anything unusual on the security system this morning?”

“Should I be worried?” Miss Kay asked.

“No,” Tesla said.

“Keep an eye out,” Vivian said, at the same time.

Miss Kay walked Vivian over to show her the security records. No one in or out since Tesla left the night before, not unusual for a weekend. The surveillance footage was clean, too.

Miss Kay left to get everyone breakfast and coffee. She took Edison with her, and Vivian walked her out. She had to get the boxes from Evaline, and she didn’t think that Tesla was at much risk right now.

Nothing seemed amiss in the concourse. A lot of folks heading to work. Still, crowds like that were the best place to hide. Vivian ferried the boxes back and dropped them next to Tesla’s desk.

“Go home,” Tesla said. “I’ve got Marnie here, doctors, an MRI tech coming, and police and military personnel on guard in the terminal. I’m safe here.”

Vivian waited until Miss Kay returned, took a cup of coffee, and left after extracting a promise from Tesla that he not leave the office until Mr. Rossi sent out a replacement for her.

Instead of catching a subway home and walking, she went straight outside and caught a cab. She needed to get home and get to sleep before she fell over. She intended to sleep all day. With any luck, she’d be so tired that she wouldn’t dream about the woman who’d died on the tracks.