The Cure: A Genetic Engineering Thriller

Chapter 7

James sat on the edge of his mattress, staring blankly at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

It was a rare afternoon where he had the house to himself. Reggie was three doors down at the neighbors testing out the tractor he needed to do some harvesting in a few weeks, and Irene had managed to convince Margaret to go out for a cup of tea. It was eerily silent, and strangely reminded James of his life back home. While he had only lived in the brownstone for a few months alone, the quiet had been agonizing. While he didn’t always seem like it, he did enjoy the pleasure of company, and not having anyone to talk to when he came home was strange to say the least.

His handwriting was scribbled and sloppy, a result of rushing to jot down the phone number before discarding his cellphone that fateful night. While James had memorized most of his family’s numbers, even the one for the auto shop, he had yet to remember hers, and didn’t want to lose contact forever. Not when they were bound by this secret knowledge of the serum’s existence.

With trembling hands, he retrieved his burner phone from the front drawer of the dresser and sat back down on the bed. He had only made a few calls on the phone 62 since he purchased it at a sketchy tech store on the road and vowed that he would only use it for emergencies. Now had been one of those times where it felt important to catch up.

With every button he pressed, his heart rate elevated, and by the time he held the phone up to his ear, it felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

On the third ring, her sweet voice answered in her usual, friendly customer service tone. “Melanie Hart speaking, how may I help you?”

“Hey,” James barely croaked out, his face flushing a bright red. “It’s me.”

There were a few seconds of awkward silence on her end, and James’s mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. She had changed her mind and wanted nothing to do with him. He was just about to hang up when she spoke again, but it was muffled, as if holding her hand over the speaker.

“Do you mind if I take this alone? We have two inquiries that you could follow up on, and a deal that needs to be sent to the seller. Can you take care of those things and then we’ll reconvene in half an hour?”

He didn’t hear the other person reply, but he assumed it was Melanie’s associate, and she had agreed to the tasks. The click of a woman’s heels quickly disappeared and after a few beats, she let out a deep sigh.

“James,” she murmured, and it sent a chill down his spine.

He didn’t realize just how badly he missed her until she said his name. It made his insides melt more than he cared to admit. A part of him feared having such strong feelings for a woman he barely met; what would happen if she were to ever find herself in danger? Surely he’d do something irrational that he’d regret in the long run.

“Miss Melanie, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

He smiled thinking about her sweet smile and beautiful face, falling backwards onto the mattress and shutting his eyes to relish in the short time they shared together. James wouldn’t even go as far to say that they were a couple or were even technically seeing each other; although, he did find the whole concept of courting a bit ridiculous. He was the type of man that wasn’t shy when it came to telling a woman he felt something between them and would do anything he could to express that. It was one of the things Amelia always said attracted her most when they first started dating. It was different with Melanie though. She had come into his life at a time he didn’t expect anyone, and somehow managed to take a piece of his heart and never let go.

“I’d be lying if I said I thought I was going to hear from you anytime soon. Is this…safe? I mean, aren’t you worried that someone will be listening in on our conversation?”

“I’m using a burner, no one can trace the call. I’ll get a new one the next time I go into town just to be safe. For now, it’s just the two of us.”

“How are you?” she asked. “I won’t ask you where you are because I’m sure you want to cover your tracks as best you can, but is it nice? Are you taking care of yourself?”

“I’m doing better than I thought I would be. I’ve been in the same place for a while, I’ve actually been sort of renting out a room with an elderly couple, and as compensation, I’ve been helping out around their ranch.”

“Ranch?” Melanie giggled and it made James’s stomach flutter. “You really are a long way from home, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea.”

“Speaking of homes, I just listed yours on the market last week. I’ve had a few potential buyers that have come to see it, but I’m waiting on a few things before I start to consider any of their offers. There’s one in particular I think you’d be interested in avoiding at all costs.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s him,” she whispered.

“Him, who?”

“The man dressed in black. The one who, you know, with Ronald. The one you warned me about. I had been by the brownstone a few times before I even put the sign on the front lawn, and I noticed his vehicle parked on the road a few houses down. I didn’t think anything of it really until he knocked on the door one afternoon while I was in there cleaning and staging the place.”

“He came and spoke to you?” James sat up in an instance, his whole body radiating with heat. He was tempted to get in his car right then and there and drive back to protect Melanie.

“Oh, he did a lot more than speak. I actually caught him snooping around in the backyard and demanded to know what he was doing as it was private property. He seemed to have been caught off guard, and quickly said that he’d seen the place was vacant for a while and was curious whether or not it was going to be put up for sale.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That it was a POA sale and that it’d be on the market in a few days, and if he had any inquiries to contact my office.”

“You gave him your number? That wasn’t very smart, what if he’s just toying with you just like he did with me.”

“I couldn’t very well tell him I knew he was a murderer and that he’d been the one who trashed the place trying 66 to kidnap, or worse, kill you. This is a dangerous game we’re playing, I had to be cautious. It’s better to keep your enemies right under your nose where you can keep an eye on them; that’s what my father always used to say.”

“I don’t like it,” James admitted. He sat up from the bed and began pacing circles around the room, unable to sit still. “He’s up to something, I know it.”

“Obviously, but we can’t let him know we’re onto him. As far as he knows, I’m just the realtor looking after the house. He has no idea about us, or the fact that I know about you know what.”

Us. He clenched his jaw tight for a moment, wishing that he could go back to a time when it would be just the two of them. No drama, no secret organization plotting to kill him and drain him of his blood. He could go back to work and fix cars during the day, and at night, they could curl up together on the couch and watch movies until they fell asleep. Nothing in the world sounded sweeter, and his heart ached knowing the chances of that happening were slim to none. He was in this situation deep, and the last thing he wanted was to drag her down with him.

“So, I assume that he inquired about the house then?”

“You bet. Made an appointment with me the day it went up on the market. He started asking a whole bunch of questions which aren’t uncommon with POA sales, like whether or not the furniture and all the 67 belongings would be included in the sale, why you were looking to sell in the first place, if anyone had died recently in the dwelling that he should be aware of.”

“No, just in Ronald’s place,” James growled, that burning sensation returning in the middle of his chest. “He probably thinks he can find some clue to the formula in my stuff. Little does he know I have absolutely no record of it anywhere in that house.”

“I informed him that anything of sentimental value would not be staying, and I’ve actually already packed up most of your sentimental items, or at least the things I thought you’d want to keep. I’ve rented a small storage unit in town to keep them safe until all of this blows over.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” James murmured. It was a nice gesture, but he didn’t want to tell her he had come to terms with parting with everything that he had left behind. He had his picture of him and Amelia, a few other things, and that was it.

“I know, but it was the least I could do. Besides, it wouldn’t look good on the company if we sold a home and the seller’s identity was later stolen. It’s just good etiquette to remove any items that have your name on it and such. Only the furniture will stay, as you requested when we spoke last.”

“Are you considering his offer?” James was afraid of her answer but knew he had to ask. It would eat him alive if he didn’t know.

“Absolutely not. His file has a lot of red flags, and no lender would ever agree to the sale even if I had. He offered nearly ten thousand over the asking price and said he could pay a large lump sum of it down just so he didn’t have to go through the banks and get a mortgage. Clearly he’s never purchased a house under the radar before, because that’s definitely not the way to go about it. Besides, he gave little personal information regarding who he is anyway, so we haven’t been able to pull up any credit history or any assets that he might have for collateral.”

“Did he give you a name at all?”

“Yeah,” she paused as if contemplating giving it to James. “Jeff Payne.”

Jeff Payne. The man who murdered my best friend. Now I have a name to go with a face.

“Do you think it’s his real name or a fake?”

“It’s hard to tell at this point. Again, when I requested bank statements, he wasn’t able to provide any, nor did he give me permission to access his credit report, so I’m at a standstill. Surely he knows the application won’t be able to go forward without this information, so he must not want the house that bad.”

“Good,” James huffed. “But there are families who are interested?”

“A few,” Melanie sighed. He could hear her ruffling through some paperwork, and he wondered if they 69 were the potential applicants interested in his home. “I’m leaning towards a young couple with a baby. They seem like really nice people and are the highest bid so far. He’s a tradesman and she works from home right now to take care of their son. I’m just worried that our friend Mr. Payne will show up unannounced and continue to harass them until he gets whatever he wants.”

“Go with your gut, it’ll tell you what to do. It’s never steered you wrong before, at least not with anything important. Which reminds me, I wanted to apologize to you. You were right about the serum; I should’ve gone public when I had the chance. Perhaps some things could’ve been avoided.”

“Yeah, I was afraid to mention that. It’s sort of been in the news lately, I had been wondering if you were going to bring it up.”

“It was my fault it got leaked. I used my blood to save a woman’s life, the one I’m staying with actually.”

“You did?” Melanie sounded genuinely shocked, and it made him happy knowing she might be proud of his actions. “What happened?”

“She was dying of a brain tumor; my hands were tied. They’re great people, Melanie, better than I’ll ever be. So, we did a transfusion, and it cured her, just like I thought it would. I’m not sure how many doses I’ll be able to get from my blood, but it’s a start.”

Melanie went quiet for a few moments, and it didn’t take long before he heard her sniffling on the other line. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling guilty for making her cry. That was the last thing he wanted out of this phone call.

“That’s wonderful, James,” she wheezed. “I’m sure you made Ronald proud. I know I am.”

Happy tears, he sighed with relief. She’s crying happy tears. That must be a good sign.

“I’m going to fix all this, Melanie. I’ll do whatever it takes, and when I come back, I’d really like to pick things up where we left off.”

“I’d like that,” she whispered.

“We’ll talk again soon, but for now, I should probably go. If you see Jeff again, don’t do anything that might spook him, and definitely don’t be alone in a room with him. Promise me?”

“I promise. Take care of yourself, James.”