chapter 30
The following morning, at ten o'clock, Elizabeth's private phone rang. It was Emil Joeppli. She had given him the number so that no one would be aware of their conversations. "I wonder if I could see you," he said. He sounded excited.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Kate Erling looked up in surprise as Elizabeth came out of her office wearing a coat. "You have an appointment at - "
"Cancel everything for the next hour," Elizabeth said, and walked out.
In the Development Building an armed guard examined Elizabeth's pass. "Last door to the left, Miss Roffe."
Elizabeth found Joeppli alone in his laboratory. He greeted her with enthusiasm.
"I finished the final tests last night. It works. The enzymes completely inhibit the aging process. Look."
He led her to a cage holding four young rabbits, alert and filled with restless vitality. Next to it was another cage containing four more rabbits, quieter, more mature.
"This is the five hundredth generation to receive the enzyme," Joeppli said.
Elizabeth stood in front of the cage. "They look healthy."
Joeppli smiled ."That's part of the control group." He pointed to the cage on the left. "Those are the senior citizens."
Elizabeth stared at the energetic rabbits, frisking around in the cage like newborn bunnies, and she could not believe it.
"They'll outlive the others by at least three to one," Joeppli told her.
When you applied that ratio to human beings, the implications were staggering. She could barely contain her excitement.
"When - when will you be ready to start testing it on people?"
"I'm getting my final notes together. After that, another three or four weeks at the most."
"Emil, don't discuss this with anyone," Elizabeth warned.
Emil Joeppli nodded. "I won't, Miss Roffe. I'm working alone. I'm being very careful."
The entire afternoon had been taken up with a board meeting, and it had gone well. Walther had not appeared. Charles had again brought up the subject of selling the stock, but Elizabeth had firmly vetoed it. After that, Ivo had been his charming self, as had Alec. Charles seemed unusually tense. Elizabeth wished she knew why.
She invited them all to stay in Zurich and have dinner with her. As casually as possible, Elizabeth brought up the problems that had been mentioned in the report, watching for a reaction of some kind, but she could detect no sign of nervousness or guilt. And everyone who could have been involved, except for Walther, was seated at that table.
Rhys had not attended the meeting or the dinner. "I have some urgent business to take care of," he had said, and Elizabeth had wondered if it was a girl. Elizabeth was aware that whenever Rhys stayed late at night to work with her, he had had to cancel a date. Once, when he had been unable to reach the girl in time, she had appeared at the office. She was a stunning redhead, with a figure that made Elizabeth feel like a boy. The girl had been furious at being stood up. and she had not bothered to hide her displeasure. Rhys had escorted her to the elevator and returned.
"Sorry about that," he had said.
Elizabeth could not help herself. "She's charming," she said sweetly. "What does she do?"
"She's a brain surgeon," Rhys had replied earnestly, and Elizabeth had laughed. The following day Elizabeth had learned that the girl was a brain surgeon.
There were others, and Elizabeth found herself resenting all of them. She wished that she understood Rhys better. She knew the gregarious and public Rhys Williams; she wanted to meet the private Rhys Williams, the self he kept hidden. More than once, Elizabeth had thought, Rhys should be running this company instead of taking orders from me. I wonder how he really feels about it?
That evening after dinner, when the members of the board had dispersed to catch trains and planes back to their homes, Rhys walked into Elizabeth's office where she was working with Kate. "Thought I ought to give you a hand," Rhys said lightly.
No explanation of where he had been. Why should there be? Elizabeth thought. He doesn't have to account to me.
They all set to work and the time flew. Elizabeth watched Rhys now, bent over some papers, rapidly scanning them, his eyes quick and alert. He had found several flaws in some important contracts, that the attorneys had missed. Now Rhys straightened up, stretched and glanced at his watch.
"Oops! It's afetr midnight. I'm afraid I have an appointment. I'll come in early tomorrow and finish checking these agreements."
Elizabeth wondered if his appointment was with the brain surgeon or with one of his other - She stopped herself. What Rhys Williams did with his private life was his own business.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said. "I didn't realize it was so late. You run along. Kate and I will finish reading these papers."
Rhys nodded. "See you in the morning. Good night, Kate."
"Good night, Mr. Williams."
Elizabeth watched Rhys leave, then forced her mind back to the contracts. But a moment later her thoughts were on Rhys again. She had been eager to tell him about the progress that Emil Joeppli was making on the new drug, to share it with him, yet she had held back. Soon, she told herself.
By one o'clock in the morning, they were finished.
Kate Erling said, "Will there be anything else, Miss Roffe?"
"No, I think that's all. Thank you, Kate. Come in late tomorrow."
Elizabeth stood up, and realized how stiff her body felt from sitting so long.
"Thank you. I'll have everything typed up for you tomorrow afternoon."
"That will be fine."
Elizabeth got her coat and purse, waited for Kate, and they walked to the door. They went out into the corridor together and headed toward the private express elevator that stood there, door open, waiting. The two of them stepped inside the elevator. As Elizabeth reached for the lobby button, they heard the sudden ringing of the telephone from the office.
"I'll answer it, Miss Roffe," Kate Erling said. "You go on ahead." She stepped out of the car.
Downstairs the night guard on duty in the lobby looked up at the elevator control board as a red light at the top of the board flashed on and began descending. It was the signal light for the private elevator. That meant Miss Roffe was on her way down. Her chauffeur was sitting in a chair in a corner, drowsing over a newspaper.
"The boss is coming," the guard said.
The chauffeur stretched, and started lazily to his feet.
An alarm bell suddenly shattered the peace of the lobby. The guard's eyes flashed to the control board. The red light was moving in a quick plunging pattern, gathering speed, marking the descent of the elevator.
It was out of control.
"Oh, Jesus!" the guard mumbled.
He hurried to the board, jerked open a panel and pulled the emergency switch to activate the safety brake. The red light continued its downward plunge. The chauffeur had hurried over to the control panel. He saw the look on the guard's face.
"What's going - ?"
"Get away!" the guard yelled. "It's going to crash!"
They ran from the bank of elevators toward the farthest wall. The lobby was beginning to vibrate with the speed of the runaway car inside the shaft, and the guard thought, Don't let her be in it, and as the plunging elevator shot past the lobby, he heard the terrified screams from inside.
An instant later, there was a loud roar, and the building shuddered as though it had been hit by an earthquake.