The Cure: A Genetic Engineering Thriller

Chapter 8

“Sofia? Sofia! Where’s the paperwork for the Scott brownstone sale?”

Melanie’s assistant entered her office swiftly, a stack of folders tucked neatly under her arm. She looked puzzled, her head tilting slightly to the left. “Are they not on your desk?”

“Not that I can see,” Melanie sighed, searching frantically for the file in question.

It was a bit dense, mostly because Melanie had wanted to find the best possible buyer for James’s beloved home. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest decision to take on the task of selling his house, but she felt a certain obligation to do so. After everything he had been through, and still was by the sounds of that phone call, it was the least she could do. After all, she was the best real estate agent in the area—and selling a home in that neighborhood was a piece of cake.

“Did you take it home with you last night?” Sofia asked.

She placed the folders on the filing cabinet by the door to help Melanie with the scavenger hunt. Melanie pondered Sofia’s question for a moment, racking her brain on whether or not she had brought it home with 72 her. It was a habit she had tried to break for years, keeping work in the office that she had purchased when she was first expanding her business, as a way to have some balance in her home life. Did she always keep to that habit? Not necessarily.

Melanie was a borderline workaholic.

“It has to be around here somewhere,” she muttered under her breath.

She had every intention of reaching out to the young family that afternoon to tell them the good news—that the “seller” had accepted their offer. She hoped that James would be pleased with her decision, after all, it was the place he and Amelia had first bought together. He didn’t know much about his late wife, only that she was a remarkable woman and passed suddenly the year prior. This was a delicate situation that required the utmost respect and sympathy.

“Hello?” a man’s voice called out from the hallway. Both Melanie and Sofia stood upright, glancing at each other and then Melanie’s office door.

“Were you expecting anyone?”

“There were no appointments scheduled for today, but maybe I mixed a date up.”

Sofia’s eyebrows knitted together, and she walked across the room to greet the unannounced guest. Before she could reach the hallway, a man stepped 73 inside, a bright and cheery smile splashed across his face.

“I apologize for the intrusion, but I was in the area, and I thought I’d come by so we can have a quick chat about that property I was interested in.”

Melanie’s heart dropped to her stomach. She stood there for a few beats, frozen like a statue, contemplating her next move. This was her worst nightmare; the thing that James had warned her about.

Don’t do anything that might spook him, and definitely don’t be in a room alone with him.

“Mr. Payne!” Melanie greeted, opening her arms wide to seem welcoming and inviting. Technically, she hadn’t broken either rule yet, but knew she wasn’t going to be able to uphold her promises for much longer. “I was just about to call you.”

“Oh, what a coincidence,” he replied, unzipping his jacket as if he meant to stay for a while. “I guess that means you have time to chat.”

Melanie tapped on the back of her chair, weighing her options. She knew how odd it would look if she kicked him out right then and there, and it wouldn’t definitely lead to Sofia asking questions that she wouldn’t be able to answer. The only thing she could do was play along, at least for a little while, until he grew tired and went away.

“Absolutely. Sofia, can you do me a favor and grab us some coffee? The pot should still be warm. Mr. Payne, how do you take it?”

“Black, please,” he said nonchalantly. “Thank you.”

Sofia nodded and retreated out of the room, sidestepping around Mr. Payne, but making sure to leave the door wide open. It was a little rule that she and Melanie had established, just so that she’d be able to keep an eye, or rather, ear open, while alone with a man. It was possible they were being a bit paranoid and presumptuous, but Melanie would rather be safe than sorry, especially while standing in a room with a murderer.

“Have a seat, Mr. Payne.”

“Jeff,” Melanie corrected. “How are you?”

“I’m well. Been keeping myself busy with work.”

Melanie sat in the chair at her desk, crossing one leg over the other. “It’s that time of year they say. What is it you do for a living again? I’m trying to remember from your file, but it seems to have slipped my mind.”

“I’m, uh, self-employed, you could say, just starting things off but if this next deal goes through, I should be making some good money off it.”

Melanie’s throat tightened. She hoped that deal wasn’t tracking down James.

“I take it you’re here about the brownstone you put an offer on?” Melanie changed the subject. The faster she broke the news to him that the seller had gone with someone else, the sooner he could leave her office. That was the goal: get him out.

“Yes. It has been almost a week and I haven’t heard anything back. I just drove past it on my way here and still saw the for sale sign up. Do you have any idea when I might be hearing from the seller? If you could give me his number, maybe he and I could work out some sort of deal.”

“I apologize, contact information is strictly confidential between myself and my clients. I’m not at liberty to disclose that with you.” Melanie hesitated for a second, deciding whether or not she should ask her next question. “I’m sorry, what makes you think the seller is a man?”

“Isn’t it?” Jeff scratched at the scruff of his beard.

It was not long by any means, but looked as if he just hadn’t shaved in a few days. Probably because he was up to his eyeballs in trying to find James but was having no such luck.

“Again, that’s private information,” Melanie said through gritted teeth.

“I’ve seen him a few times, I don’t live far from the home. He drives a truck I believe; he’s been out in his driveway working away on it when I’ve cruised through the neighborhood. I think he might be a mechanic or something.”

No. No. No. Melanie was absolutely terrified. Jeff had been doing his research on James, clearly, but he didn’t know everything. That would be her only advantage.

“I’m not sure,” she stuttered. “He might be.”

“You don’t know the occupation of your client?” Jeff questioned.

With impeccable timing, Sofia returned with the coffees in hand. She placed Jeff’s down in front of him, the black liquid steaming hot with no cream or milk to cool it. Sofia gave Melanie her usual—iced coffee. They kept a stash of it in the fridge. It was perfect for a hot day like today.

“Sofia, I’m expecting a phone call from Mr. Smith in a few minutes. When he does, can you tell him I had an emergency and will call back in about an hour?” Melanie glanced at her watch and then stared dagger back at her assistant. That was their code phrase for ‘I’m uncomfortable and need help out of this situation.’

“I would, but this is the second time we’ve had to reschedule his phone call, I really do think you should take this. Mr. Payne, is it?” Sofia brushed a delicate hand on his shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m 77 really sorry, but Ms. Hart will have to follow up with you at another time. You understand, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Jeff grimaced. “I wouldn’t want to take away from your work.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Melanie offered.

Jeff led the way through the office, and Melanie’s heart pumped hard in her chest. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but when he stopped suddenly in their foyer, she was consumed by darkness for a few seconds.

“It’s crazy isn’t it?” he said.

“What is?”

“That stuff they’re saying on the news.”

He pointed to the television hanging on the wall in her waiting room. Although it was muted, it was clear they were talking about the mysterious miracle cure that had been all the rave for the past few days.

“Oh, right,” she forced a laugh. “It’s probably just nothing, a hoax or something, I’m sure they’ll find something new to talk about next week.”

“I don’t know.” He lingered a little while longer, leaning his weight onto one side. “I’ve done a bit of research myself on the subject, apparently they’re saying some guy is behind it all. Just a random person like you or me. It’s a bit selfish in my opinion.” Taking a step 78 towards her, she felt his hot breath on her cheek, and for a moment, she thought she was going to pass out from fright. “Between you and me, a guy like that might wind up dead, and I wouldn’t even feel sorry for the fellow. He and whoever helps him, too.”

“Yeah,” she whimpered, “he must be a real bastard if it’s true.”

“Anyway, I should be off. I hope to hear from you soon, Melanie.”

All she could do was nod. No words came to her lips, not even when Sofia came rushing into the waiting room after Melanie had locked the door and broke down in tears on the sofa. There was nothing to say, at least not to her assistant, or anyone else in her life for that matter. The only person she could talk to about this was James.

***

After showering until all the hot water in the house had been used, Melanie crawled into her bed without even eating dinner.

She had no appetite after what happened in her office that afternoon. Still shaken up, she grabbed her phone from her nightstand and sifted through her recent calls until she found the unsaved number in her call history. Taking a deep breath, she pressed dial and put the phone on speaker. It rang twice before a familiar voice picked up.

“Hello?” he said cautiously. “Melanie?”

“It’s me,” she cried, soft tears slipping down her cheeks. “Something’s happened.”

“Hold on.”

There was a brief pause on his end, and it sounded as if he were running up the stairs until she heard a door slam and a bit of static. He was breathing heavily, which was unusual, given the impeccable state his body was in.

“Tell me everything, and don’t leave a single thing out.”

“He came to my office,” she explained, rubbing the tears on the back of her sleeve. “I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t just shoo him out without any valid reason. But before he left, he brought up the cure. He said whoever is behind it should be killed. You should’ve seen his face James,” she whimpered, cradling a pillow to her chest. “It was as if he knew that I know, too.”

“Listen to me, you’re not going to like this, but I think you should take a sabbatical from work for a while, even if it’s just for two weeks. Sofia can handle things in the office, or you can get her to work from home if you feel she might be unsafe. Don’t go back there, please Melanie, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I can’t just leave, there’s so much to do, I have clients who are counting on me to buy and sell their homes,” she said. “What about your house? You must need the money after not working for so long.”

“Don’t worry about me, alright? Worry about yourself. This man is dangerous, Melanie. He killed Ronald in cold blood. What’s to say he won’t do that to you, too?”

“Alright,” she caved. “I’ll call Sofia in the morning and make up some story, maybe I’ll tell her that my mother has fallen ill, and my brother needs me to come home for a few weeks.”

“Perfect,” he said. “Try to stay off the internet as much as possible. Turn your phone off after this call and don’t use your work computer for anything besides cancelling or rescheduling appointments in your calendar.”

“I’m scared, James,” she admitted.

“I know, and I’m so sorry I’ve done this to you. I feel horrible, but I promise, I’m going to make this right. Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“Alright. You won’t be able to call me on this number again, I’m going to be discarding it and getting a new one. I’ll reach out to you soon though. Try not to go anywhere alone. Order your groceries to the house if you can. Or call your brother and see if he’ll come down for a few nights just so you have a man around the house. If he is keeping an eye on you, seeing him might just spook him enough to leave you alone.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Melanie’s brain felt like it was going to turn into a pile of mush. This was all too much for her to handle. “Right now, I think I just need to sleep.”

“Good idea. Get some rest. You locked your door, right?”

“Both. And the windows, too.”