LAMONT CLEARED HIS throat and pressed his fingers together, not sure where to begin.
“This is going to sound strange,” he said.
“Stranger than a dead body coming back to life?” said Maddy.
“I wasn’t dead,” said Lamont.
“I know, I know, just cryogenically decelerated.”
Lamont leaned forward. “Look. The lab, the research, the equipment—all mine. I paid for it. It was a gamble, pure and simple. I had no way of knowing if it would actually work.”
“Were you really poisoned?” asked Maddy.
“Absolutely,” said Lamont. “And I knew who did it. And I knew nobody would have the antidote—not back in those days. The plan was always that if something happened to me and Margo, we would be preserved until there was a way to bring us back.”
“Wait.” said Maddy. “You know who poisoned you?”
“Yes. Without a doubt,” said Lamont. “It was Khan. My archenemy.”
Maddy stared at Lamont. She blinked hard. She bit her lip.
And then she burst out laughing.
“Your archenemy?” Maddy squeaked. Just saying the word set her off again. She rolled back on the bed, knees to her chest, red-faced, almost out of breath.
Lamont sat quietly, just looking at her. Maddy finally inhaled deeply and sat back up, holding her belly. She tried to settle herself.
“Khan?” she asked. “Shiwan Khan? The evil villain from the Shadow stories? He’s the one who poisoned you?”
Lamont nodded. “No question.”
At this point, Maddy was pretty sure she had a lunatic on her hands. Or the world’s most extreme prankster. Maybe it had all been a setup—the lawyer’s letter, the warehouse, everything! Maybe the whole frozen-body scene had been fake! But why play such an elaborate trick? And why make her the patsy? It made no sense.
“Maddy,” said Lamont, “look at me.”
She did. He was calm. Calmer than she’d ever seen him. Instantly, all her silliness ceased. He stared into her eyes, persuading her. Convincing her. Not with thoughts or words or sounds. It was as if he were letting her absorb his memories—transferring them to her in a single blast. Not hypnosis. Not deception. In fact, it was the opposite. It was total clarity.
Maddy exhaled slowly, stunned by the fast-motion movie that had just unspooled in her mind.
“Oh my God,” she said softly. “It’s all true.”
And then she passed out.