“Yes, that’s true. I’ll have my secretary fax that document over this afternoon. Do you suppose I could get Mrs. Silva’s signature?” He made a note on his pad.
“That, I will discuss with Caroline and Mrs. Silva when it’s appropriate. Mrs. Silva is improving but is still quite sedated. Until proper documents are signed, I’d like to have the tapes please.”
There was reluctance in Dr. Spencer’s face, but she had him. He motioned for the technician to hand over the tapes to her.
She dropped them in her bag. “And I’d like copies of any test results also.”
“Certainly, I’ll be sure you receive those, and thank you for making today’s work possible. I’m very grateful.”
Sarah liked his more compliant attitude. Sincere or not? The future would tell. She took Bella’s hand. “Let’s go see Caroline. Maybe your mamá is awake. You haven’t seen her in days. She is missing you.”
“Mamá said, ‘I’ll come to you.’ ”
“Yes, she did Bella, but let’s surprise her and go to see her.”
Bella looked at Sarah and smiled. Nothing Sarah had seen or heard all day delighted her more than that one, simple expression. They walked hand in hand out the door and down the long corridor, leaving six stunned and energized professors perched like vultures around a silent piano.
Dr. Spencer pulled his chair in front of the five other chairs, sat down, and waited for the door to close and the sound of footsteps to fade before he spoke. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt. We have truly witnessed a savant this day—an autistic, musical savant, one of slightly less than one hundred in recorded history.”
His colleagues agreed in unison. Dr. Purcell put his pen in his pocket. “So, what’s the next step? I guess the real question is, what do we do after we have discovered such a rare individual?”
“I have some very definite ideas.” Elena Daniels, in a mocha-colored suit and brown alligator pumps, stood and walked to the piano. She adjusted the leopard print scarf, which had been flirting with her cleavage all morning, and tucked thick strands of auburn hair behind her right ear. “We need to move quickly to claim this moment. Think what it could mean for the university and for our own careers.”
Wyatt Spencer sat straighter in his chair as if to reclaim his seat of power. “Need I remind you we didn’t discover Bella? That honor belongs to one Miss Caroline Carlyle, who is the key to the next step. At present, it would appear that Dr. McCollum has earned Caroline’s trust. Our next step is to earn Dr. McCollum’s trust. I believe what she says will determine what happens next.”
Elena played with the gold chain around her neck. “Perhaps not.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Wyatt bristled.
“What would happen if the press learned of Bella? Wouldn’t that attention put this whole issue in an entirely different arena?”
Wyatt had no doubt Elena’s beguiling smile had disarmed any number of men, including professionals, but he wasn’t playing. “I suppose it would. But just explain to me how the press could learn of Bella when only a group of professionals who practice rules of confidentiality know about her.”
“Oh, I can think of a number of ways. After all, her grandfather is in jail for beating her. That makes news, doesn’t it, especially in a small town?”
Wyatt’s palms were sweaty. The air in the room was heavy with ambition, and he was finding it stale and harder to breathe.
Return of the Song Page 38