Anatomy of a Nightmare - M J Marlow (i read a book .txt) 📗

myself.” He nodded at his team. “My former co-workers are all going to a seminar on the lovely island of Santa Caterina.”
“You got room for five more?” Gregory asked as he met Dave’s determined expression.
“Always room for more at our parties,” Dave nodded. “The jet lifts off in an hour, Talbot.”
“We’ll be there,” Gregory nodded. “I’ll have my people bring everything we have on Crawford and what they could glean from my brother and his other lab assistants about the drug.”
“Hurry, Gregory,” Dave said tightly as he finished packing his belongings. “We aren’t waiting.” He set his badge and FBI issued weapon on his desk and lifted the box. “If you don’t catch the ride, you’ll have to find another way to the party.”
“Don’t worry, Dave,” Gregory assured him. “We’ll be there.”

Evelyn was standing at the windows of the hotel room looking out over Philadelphia. She loved this part of the city; so close to the Liberty Bell. She always felt like she was a part of history here. But tonight she was worried about her sister. Geoffrey had gone to speak to her father and she was alone for the first time since Lily had been taken. There was a knock on the door and she opened it to see her mother standing there.
“That was an ordeal,” Marina said to Evelyn as she walked in with two men behind her. “You would think I had spirited the girl away and had her sacrificed to a pagan god by the way they treated me.”
“What are you doing here, Mother?” Evelyn snapped at her.
“Where else should I go?” Marina asked her daughter. “Your father is in jail on some trumped-up charge and I do not feel like going to the estate under these circumstances.”
“So you come here to the one person who has absolutely no desire to see you?” Evelyn laughed. She noticed that the men had moved in closer. “You’re up to something, Mother. I know you.”
“Where’s your mad scientist, darling?” Marina asked as she went to the bar and slipped something into a glass of wine. She poured out two and handed the drugged one to Evelyn. “Oh come on, Evelyn. You really think I am going to stop? You know me better than that.” She raised her glass to Evelyn. “Here’s the life and all the mistakes we make along the way; large and small.”
Evelyn sipped at her wine and wondered which one she was. She sipped more of the wine and felt a boldness she reserved for more important battles fill her. She finished the wine and turned to Marina.
“Which kind of mistake am I, Mother?” she asked bluntly. “Large or small?” She leaned on the back of the couch as her head began to swim. “I always wondered if you were my Mother. I mean, we look alike but you and I just do not have the connection a mother and her daughter are supposed to have. So, Mother,” she giggled and covered her mouth. “Are you the woman who gave birth to me, or is Lily’s mother also mine?”
“How did you find out about her, Evelyn?” Marina asked her daughter as Evelyn was in the truth-telling phase of the sedative.
“I amused myself by learning to pick locks,” Evelyn smiled. “I found Father’s secret files and was quite intrigued by the one he had on Lily Randall. It said he gave her to him so he would keep quiet.” She giggled again. “Oh the naughty man! He got it on with Lily’s mother and her husband found out about it. That’s why Lily and I weren’t raised together, isn’t it?”
“Raising one of you was a blessing in our childless marriage,” Marina told her. “Having to see you both would have reminded me what your father had done to Elena Randall. I couldn’t have born it.”
“And it is always about what you want,” Evelyn snapped, “isn’t it? We don’t like that our husband raped some other man’s wife, so we make a deal with the man. In exchange for his silence, his wife gets to keep one of her children.” She saw her mother’s eyes go cold. “We don’t like the man our daughter marries, so we try to force her sister to convince her to break up with her husband. When that fails, we abduct her and.” Evelyn’s eyes went wide then as she realized what was happening. “You’ve drugged me, haven’t you, Mother?”
“It is for the best, darling,” Marina replied as she watched Evelyn sink down on the couch. “When it is over, you will be married to the man you should have married in the first place.
“Oh Mother,” Evelyn sobbed as she felt herself collapsing. “What an incredibly selfish bitch you are.”
“Get moving,” Marina said when Evelyn passed out cold. “We have a flight to catch.”

Lily opened her eyes and looked around the room she was in, completely confused. It was a small studio apartment with a kitchen, a sleeping area, and a sitting area with a couch two chairs and a desk with a computer set up. A large bed with a mosquito netting cover took up one corner. She got to her feet and her head was pounding as she went to get herself a glass of water. She found some aspirin in the cabinet in the bathroom and took two.
“Where am I?” she wondered aloud as she looked around the room. “How did I get here?” She was looking at the engagement ring on her finger when there was a knock on the door to the left of the desk. “Come in.” She watched Doctor Crawford come in and her confusion mounted.
“Feeling better, Lily dear?” Ken smiled as he picked her up off of her feet and kissed her. She backed up when he set her down and his smile died slightly. “You’ve been ill, darling. That might explain why you are confused right now.” He indicated she should sit down. “What is the last thing you remember?”
“I was in the HR Department at Talbot Pharmaceuticals waiting for an interview,” Lily told him. “I assume that’s why I’m here?”
“They couldn’t use you, Lily, so they sent you to me,” Ken nodded. “I’m Doctor Ken Crawford and you accepted the position as my research assistant. We had just become engaged when you were sidelined by a bout of jungle fever.” She frowned as she tried to remember this. “I have the contract you signed, Lily, if that will reassure you.” He took her hand in his and tapped the ring. “I put that on your finger almost three weeks ago. We’ve been very happy here in our own little world.”
“Where is this place?” Lily asked him as she looked around the place.
“Talbot Pharmaceuticals has sent us to an island where one of their financial backers has set up a dedicated lab for my use,” Ken told her. “We are joining him and the other backers at dinner in thirty minutes, so you might want to change.”
Lily nodded and watched the man leave. She checked the closet and found her clothing and his inside. A tall dresser sat in the center back of the closet and her lingerie, socks, and other such items were folded neatly inside in one half of the drawers. She didn’t need to open the other drawers to know his socks and things would be there. She would hardly be here against her will if she had packed her clothing and brought it here. Her luggage and his were sitting on the shelf above the rod as a testimony to Doctor Crawford’s words.
“Hurry along, darling,” Ken smiled as he came up behind her and hugged her. She shivered but remained still as life with Ambrose had trained her to do. “We’re going to be late if you quit dawdling.”
She went to take a shower and changed into a pale blue sundress. She was lacing a white leather belt around her slim waist when Crawford came back. She slipped her feet into white sandals and joined him outside.
“Your Mr. Caine has gone all out,” Lily said as she saw the lab. “Is there any piece of equipment he missed?”
“Not if I could help it,” Quentin smiled. Lily turned to see the golden-haired man lounging in the doorway of the lab. He looked at Ken. “Do you think it was wise to bring such a beautiful young woman here, Ken? You might not be able to concentrate on your work with her around.”
“Nonsense,” Ken smiled as he put his arm around Lily’s waist. “I am even more focused with my darling here at my side.”
Lily blushed and Quentin was relieved. She had shown no sign of recognizing him. Obviously the drug had worked perfectly. He held his arm out to her and she put her hand on it shyly. He led them along a trail to a large white house and Lily found herself enchanted by the Spanish architecture. There was an open courtyard where waters danced in a fountain and then they entered the living quarters. The table in the dining room was set for eight people. Quentin saw her seated to his right and Ken took the seat across from her.
“So tell me about yourself, lovely lady,” Quentin smiled at her as he kissed her palm. Lily turned bright red as she pulled her hand out of his. “Don’t let me frighten you. I have a weakness for beautiful women and you are one of the loveliest I have seen in a long time.”
“I agree with your sentiment, Quentin,” a man said in a deep rumbling tone. Lily turned her head as a tall dark-eyed man came into the dining room. He took Lily’s hand in his and kissed it. “Good evening. You must be Miss Randall. I am Nicolae Tarus.”
Marina walked in and met the man’s eyes. She scowled at her younger brother and sat down near Ken. She eyed Lily and smiled as the girl greeted her with absolutely no recognition in her eyes. Lily treated her like they had never met.
“We hear good things about this drug of Crawford’s,” another man, Marcus Coleridge said as he sat down and nodded to the others. He looked at Quentin. He eyed Lily in interest. “Your research assistants get younger every year, Crawford. How old is this one, fifteen?”
“Lily is nineteen and she is my fiancé,” Ken lied. “She is going to be quite an asset to me, I am certain.”
“If only to take your mind of the frustrations of blind alleys and dead ends,” Nico smiled at Lily. She felt her skin crawl as she realized what he was insinuating.
“Don’t be crude, Nico,” Marina snapped at him and then saw Lily pale. “Are you all right, dear? You look a trifle ill.”
“Lily has only just recovered from a bout of fever,” Ken lied again. “It is probably best if she turns in early tonight.”
“Not until she meets our first patient,” Quentin smiled at Ken. He rose to his feet as Evelyn was led into the dining room. “Gentlemen, I give you Evelyn, Mrs. Grey’s daughter.”
Evelyn was still a bit dopey from the drugs she’d been given but she perked up when she saw Lily. She had been afraid her sister had been harmed, but here she was alive and well and looking only a little pale from her ordeal.
“Lily,” Evelyn cried as she hugged her sister. “We all feared the worst when you disappeared after the wedding…”
“Do I know you?” Lily asked in confusion. She looked at the others. “I don’t remember meeting this girl. Why is she treating me like she knows me?”
“It is part of her delusion,” Marina said to Lily.