Mindbend

by Robin Cook

  José told Adam to make himself comfortable, laughing at his own joke as he went out the door. Adam eyed the bunk and sat down on it.

  Within five minutes José returned with a paper bag full of food, including bread, cheese, fruit and juice. He handed the parcel to Adam, who pointed at an empty container in the corner of the room which he asked José to fill at the sink.

  “Do you have the same water as the rest of the ship?” asked Adam.

  “I don’t know,” said José. “I’m not an engineer.” He opened the door and peered out. “We have to be careful. There are some people who wouldn’t like the fact that we are doing business.”

  Adam took the hint and scuttled back to his cabin, where he opened his suitcase and hid the food. He put the two juice containers into the closet and covered them with a soiled shirt. Checking his watch, he realized he was late for the third lecture and hurried back.

  • • •

  Stretched out on an examining table in the Julian Clinic, Jennifer was amazed at her own calm. Deciding whether or not to repeat the amniocentesis had been far harder than the actual return to the hospital. Dr. Vandermer had scheduled her for an early appointment, and she and her mother were waiting for his arrival. He didn’t keep them long, but he looked so haggard, Jennifer decided the amniocentesis mix-up had worse ramifications for him than for herself. Vandermer’s face was puffy and his speech brief and halting, yet he performed the procedure even more smoothly than the first time. The only problem for Jennifer was that she felt her child move soon after the needle had been placed. It frightened her, but Dr. Vandermer assured her that there was no cause for alarm.

  Afterward, Jennifer sat up on the table and said, “I guess I don’t have to tell you to contact me as soon as you learn anything.”

  “No, you don’t,” he said. “I’m taking personal interest in how the laboratory handles this. You try to relax, and don’t worry.”

  “I’ll try,” said Jennifer. She appreciated the attention Dr. Vandermer was giving her, but she wished he didn’t look so serious. It made her more nervous than she already was.

  • • •

  At lunch Adam bought another ten dollars’ worth of cigarettes and took them back to his cabin. On his way out, he decided to check again on Alan.

  The door was still unlocked, but when Adam opened it, Alan was gone! Adam checked the bathroom, thinking that perhaps the man had collapsed there, but the cabin was completely empty. Adam was certain that the man he’d seen before breakfast was in no shape to go for a walk. But it was possible he had improved, and Adam hoped that was the explanation. Yet it was also possible that he had been taken out, and the implications of that were frightening. One way or another, Adam felt it was important to find Alan.

  He first checked the dining room, then the sun deck, where an outdoor grill had been set up for hamburgers and hot dogs. A number of passengers were stretched out on deck chairs, sleeping. Adam walked back through the empty conference rooms and made his way down to the gym and doctor’s office. A sign on the door said: “For Emergency, See Steward.”

  Adam was getting more and more anxious. He had to calm down or someone would notice and become suspicious. He decided to go back to the dining room. He wouldn’t eat, but he’d watch the other doctors.

  As soon as he found his table, he realized that the girl on his right was the brunette dancer he’d admired the night before. She was dressed in a demure suit and could have been mistaken for a passenger.

  Gazing around the room, Adam spotted a number of other dancers. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he turned his attention to the brunette next to him.

  “My name is Heather,” she said in that oddly inflectionless voice Adam was beginning to associate with the cruise. She didn’t offer her last name.

  The other guests at the table seemed to be concentrating on their meal. A bowl of savory minestrone was placed in front of Adam. As he pretended to eat a little, Heather rewarded him with her undivided attention. Adam kept nodding and smiling until she finally said, “You’re not eating much.”

  Adam, who had been toying with his food, said simply, “I’m afraid I’ve been seasick.” It was the only excuse that came to mind.

  “It’s better to eat,” said Heather. “Strangely enough, an empty stomach is more vulnerable.”

  “Really?” said Adam evasively. Then as an afterthought, he added, “You haven’t eaten much yourself.”

  Heather laughed a high-pitched, granting laugh. “That’s a problem of being a dancer. I always have to watch my weight.”

  Adam nodded. He knew from Jennifer that dancers were obsessed with their weight.

  “Would you like me to come to your cabin tonight?” Heather asked as casually as she would if inquiring about the weather.

  Adam was glad he hadn’t been eating. If he’d had anything in his mouth, he would have choked. As it was, he coughed and glanced around to see if anyone else had heard, but his fellow guests just continued eating in their silent half-stupor. Adam turned to Heather. Although her voice was strange, she certainly didn’t seem drugged. Adam decided to play along. She might be able to answer some questions about this increasingly odd cruise.

  “Come after your last performance,” he whispered.

  “I’ll be in your cabin at eleven,” she agreed enthusiastically.

  Adam turned beet red. Fortunately, the other diners seemed too out of it to notice. With a quick smile Adam nodded to her.

  He went down to his cabin and hastily ate some of José’s bread and cheese. At the afternoon lecture Adam noticed more and more empty seats. There was no sign of Alan, though later on Adam caught up with Ned and Clair. They smiled but hadn’t seen Alan and had very little to say. Adam guessed they were receiving low dosages of tranquilizers. By the third lecture, a good number of people in the audience were asleep, and Adam was convinced it wasn’t just because they were bored.

  At four he left and went to meet José. Maybe the sailor would have an idea where Alan might be found.

  “I’d like to talk,” said Adam when José let him through the barrier.

  “What’s the matter?” asked José.

  “Nothing,” said Adam. “I’d just like to ask you some questions.”

  José led him back to his cabin and shut the door. From an upright locker he produced two glasses and a bottle of dark rum. Adam declined, but José filled both glasses anyway. “What’s on your mind?” he said.

  “Have you been around the entire ship?” asked Adam.

  José downed his rum in a single gulp. “Nope,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Not all of it. I haven’t seen where all those pricks with the white coats berth.”

  “I thought they lived up here with the crew,” said Adam.

  “What, are you crazy?” asked José. “We never see those weird guys. They have cabins on C deck.”

  “Where is that? I thought B was the lowest deck.”

  José lifted the second glass. “You sure you don’t want some rum?”

  Adam shook his head.

  “The stairs to the stewards’ quarters are in the passengers’ mess,” said José, sipping the second drink. “The only reason I know that is because I went there looking for something to eat one day when we were in port. Unfortunately, I got caught and I almost lost my job. But what do you care about those guys?”

  “The reason I’m asking these questions,” explained Adam, “is because a passenger in the room next to mine seems to have disappeared. First he seemed ill, and now he’s vanished.”

  “Did you try the sick bay?” asked José. “One of the crew told me they have a fully equipped hospital. He knew because he helped bring in the equipment.”

  “Where is it?” asked Adam.

  “On B deck,” said José. “Behind the doctor’s office.”

  Adam picked up the food José had wrapped for him. The sick bay sounded like a promising place to find Alan.

  “What about more cigarettes?” aske
d José.

  “Sure,” said Adam. “Tomorrow morning. Same time.”

  “Sounds good,” said José. “Let me check the hall.” He put down his empty glass and started to open the door.

  “One more question,” said Adam. “Do you know anything about the dancers?”

  José looked back at Adam with a broad smile. “Not as much as I’d like to know.”

  “Are they prostitutes?” asked Adam, thinking it would be good to know for sure before Heather’s visit.

  José shook his head, laughing. “No, they’re college girls working for extra credit. What kind of question is that?”

  “Do you ever get to see them?” asked Adam.

  “I wish,” said José. “Listen, they never let us mingle with those weirdos who run the cruise. But I did see one of the girls on a beach in Puerto Rico about a year ago. I tried to get some action, but she wasn’t interested. I was pretty drunk and tried to grab her. That’s when I found out she was wearing a wig. It came off, and her head was shaved. On either temple there were big round scars. Now tell me that isn’t weird.”

  “What had happened to her?” asked Adam.

  “I never found out,” said José. “She kneed me and suddenly I lost interest.”

  “What a cruise,” said Adam, picking up his parcel.

  “What’s the matter?” asked José. “You’re not enjoying yourself?”

  • • •

  When the phone rang, Jennifer had a premonition it was Dr. Vandermer. She heard her mother answer and then a moment later give a little shriek. That was when Jennifer knew. She started downstairs before her mother could call her. When she reached the kitchen, Mrs. Carson wordlessly held out the receiver.

  “Hello, Dr. Vandermer,” Jennifer said, controlling her voice.

  “Hello, Jennifer,” he said. There was a long pause. “I’m afraid I have bad news.”

  “I expected it,” she said. She could sense that Dr. Vandermer was struggling to find the right words.

  “The amniocentesis is definitely positive,” he said. “This time I supervised the straining of the amniotic fluid myself. There was no chance of error. The same major chromosomal abnormality is there. In fact, the specimens were never mixed up. I’m afraid that in addition to Down’s syndrome, your fetus must have significant developmental abnormality of its sex organs.”

  “Oh God,” said Jennifer. “That’s terrible.”

  “It is,” agreed Dr. Vandermer. “Look, if we are going to do something, I think we should act quickly.”

  “I agree. I’ve thought it over carefully, and I want to have an abortion. The sooner the better.”

  “In that case I’ll try to arrange it for tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Vandermer,” said Jennifer. Then she hung up.

  Mrs. Carson put her arms around her daughter and said, “I know how you must feel, but I believe you are doing the right thing.”

  “I know I am. I just want to talk to Adam.”

  Mrs. Carson’s mouth tightened angrily.

  “Mother, he’s still my husband, and I don’t want to do this without telling him.”

  “Well, dear, whatever you think best.” Her mother left the kitchen and went upstairs, probably to complain about Adam to her husband on the other phone.

  As soon as she was alone, Jennifer dialed the apartment just in case Adam had returned. She let it ring twenty times before hanging up and dialing information for Arolen Pharmaceuticals in Montclair, New Jersey. When the Arolen switchboard answered, she demanded to speak to Clarence McGuire. She wasn’t put through until she’d had a shouting match with his secretary.

  “How are you, Mrs. Schonberg?” McGuire said when he finally came on the line.

  “Not very well,” said Jennifer coldly. “I want to know where my husband is.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know myself. He called in and said he had to go out of town because of family problems.”

  “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” asked Jennifer. “I thought you’d sent him to Puerto Rico.”

  “He turned down the offer,” said McGuire. “And there’s no reason for me to lie to you.”

  Jennifer hung up feeling confused. She’d been so certain that Adam was on a trip for Arolen and hadn’t wanted to tell her, she had trouble conceiving of any other possibility. Impulsively, she placed a call to Adam’s father.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Dr. Schonberg,” said Jennifer, who’d never called the man before, “but I’m looking for Adam and I thought you might know where he is.”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea,” said Dr. Schonberg, “and you of all people should know that.”

  Jennifer hung up the phone as her mother came back into the kitchen. She must have overheard Jennifer’s conversation with McGuire. “Better not tell your father this,” she said. “He already thinks Adam is having an affair.”

  • • •

  Adam was nervous. He’d been handed another yellow capsule about six o’clock, and the stewards were watching him carefully during dinner. Afraid that they were realizing he was avoiding their treatment, Adam resorted to hiding food in his napkin to make it look like he was eating. As soon as he could, he left the dining room. On the way back to his cabin he checked out the infirmary. It was an impressive setup with a full operating room and fancy radiological equipment. But there were no patients in the small ward.

  As he passed Alan’s room, he opened the door, expecting to see an empty cabin. To his surprise, Alan was in bed and in essentially the same condition as he’d been in before his disappearance. Adam roused him. Alan seemed to know where he was but insisted he had never left his room. Adam eased him back onto the bed and returned to his own cabin.

  Coming on the cruise to discover why Vandermer had changed his position on pregdolen had seemed like a good idea in the safety of New York. Now Adam only wanted to get home safe and sound to his wife. He remembered someone explaining to him that the reason Arolen sent the doctors on a cruise was to get them away from their usual cares. But drugging them so they didn’t know what they were doing was more than extreme. It was terrifying.

  A knock on Adam’s door sent his pulse racing. He hoped it wasn’t the blank-faced steward with another pill.

  “Oh God,” said Adam when he saw it was Heather.

  “I’m so glad they let me off the last set,” she said, coming in and looking about the small cabin. She was wearing a see-through blouse and what must have been the shortest skirt Adam had ever seen. She did have a marvelous figure. I’m crazy, thought Adam, unable to take his eyes off her. How on earth would he go about explaining this scene to Jennifer?

  “Heather, why don’t you sit down so I can talk with you?”

  Heather stopped the little dance she was doing about the room. “Sure,” she said, dropping onto the bed next to Adam and pressing her bare thigh against his leg. With two dainty kicks she sent her high heels across the room.

  “What would you like to talk about?”

  “You,” said Adam, finding it difficult not to look down at the curve of her breasts.

  “I’d rather talk about you,” said Heather, putting her arms around his neck.

  “That’s what you told me at lunch,” said Adam, gently pushing her away, “but I really want to get to know you.”

  “There’s not a whole lot to tell,” insisted Heather.

  “Look, this isn’t a run-of-the-mill job for a young girl. How did you happen to end up here?”

  Heather didn’t answer. At first Adam believed she was thinking, but when he looked at her, she appeared to be in a trance.

  “Heather?” said Adam, waving his hand in front of her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said, blinking.

  “I asked you a question.”

  “Oh, yeah. How did I end up on the Fjord? Well, it’s a long story. I was a secretary at Arolen Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey. They liked me and offered me a job with MTIC in Puerto Rico. I started as a secretary there, too, but t
hen they found out I liked to dance, so I got this job.”

  That explained the dancing, thought Adam, but not the prostitution, if she actually was a prostitute. Adam was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

  “Are you enjoying yourself on the cruise?” Heather asked, changing the subject.

  “I’m having a wonderful time,” said Adam.

  “I’m going to make it even better,” promised Heather. “But first I have a present for you.”

  “Really,” said Adam.

  “You wait right here.” Getting up, she went over to the little purse she’d put on the desk. When she turned around, Adam saw she was holding out two more of the yellow capsules. He felt a twinge of panic.

  “Could you get me some fruit juice from the closet?” he asked. “I can’t stand the water.”

  “OK,” said Heather agreeably. She put the pills down on the desk and fetched the juice. Removing the top of the container, she handed it to Adam, who palmed the pills and dropped them behind the bed when she put the juice back.

  “Now I’m really going to make you enjoy this cruise,” she said, sitting on his lap.

  “Wait just a second,” said Adam, avoiding her lips. “What were the capsules you just gave me?”

  “It was for enjoyment,” said Heather. “To make you relax and forget your troubles.”

  “Do you take them?” asked Adam.

  “No,” said Heather with her high-pitched laugh. “I don’t have any troubles.”

  “What makes you think I do?” asked Adam.

  “All the doctors have troubles,” said Heather.

  “Do you visit all the doctors?” asked Adam. “You and the other dancers?”

  “No,” said Heather. “Just the ones Mr. Powell and Dr. Goddard tell us to see.”

  “And they told you to see me?”

  Heather nodded.

  “Do you know why?”

  “Because you haven’t relaxed enough,” said Heather petulantly. “Aren’t you interested in me?”