Nathan returned to his laboratory in the Schiller building. In the absence of any vetoes from the Schiller board of directors, he was continuing his work on the phoenix project as if nothing had happened. He had heard no more about future funding, or whether Schiller would support the project to its logical conclusion – which would be to breed phoenixes on a large scale so that their stem cells could be used to heal burns sufferers all over the world.
Kavita was running tests on Torchy’s glands. She was wearing a white lab coat but a red silk scarf tied around her head, pirate style, and large gold earrings.
‘How’s it going?’ Nathan asked her.
‘There’s at least twenty percent more prolactin in his pituitary gland than there was the last time I tested him, and almost twice as much corticosterone in his adrenal gland. Normally, birds only produce hormones in this quantity when they’re getting ready to migrate, and need a huge amount of stored energy for very long flights. I think it’s possible that Torchy releases all of this tremendous energy in one burst to become incandescent.’
Nathan went over and looked at the results that she had printed out from the QX diagnostic computer. ‘That looks highly likely, Kavita. Good work.’
He was about to suggest some further blood tests when his cellphone bleeped. He checked the number but he didn’t recognize it.
‘Nathan Underhill.’
‘Ah, Professor Underhill. Here is Theodor Zauber.’
‘Herr Zauber – I was wondering if you’d call me. What happened at the penitentiary this morning, that was nothing to do with me. I had no idea that the police had a tail on me.’
‘And you expect me to believe that? You think I am some kind of dummkopf?’
‘No, I don’t. But I wouldn’t do anything that puts my family at risk.’
‘You can protest as much as you like, Professor. It is plain to me that I cannot trust you.’
‘So what are you going to do now? If you want your gargoyles to come back to life and stay alive, you’ll have to trust me, won’t you?’
‘You told that police detective that your intention in meeting me was to find out where they are and destroy them. Was that a lie?’
‘Of course it was a lie. I couldn’t let them think I was really going to help you, could I?’
Theodor Zauber was breathing very hard, as if he were trying to control his temper. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I cannot risk you discovering where my gargoyles are. I will just have to carry on my experiments without you. If I bring enough gargoyles back to life, I am bound to find out eventually how to prevent them from transmuting back into stone.’
‘You said yourself that if you do that, a whole lot of innocent people are going to get killed.’
‘Well, so be it. My father took many lives in order to further his research. I will have to do the same. You have only yourself to blame, Professor. You could have prevented this, but you chose instead to double-cross me. When the people of this city start to be torn to pieces, look in the mirror and ask yourself who is responsible.’
‘Listen, I will help you!’ said Nathan. ‘Just give me the chance to prove that you can trust me! We could start with only a couple of gargoyles, in any location you choose.’
‘Too late, I’m afraid. You admit that you lied to the police. How do I know that you are not lying to me? You have poisoned the well, Professor. Now you and many others will have to pay the price for that.’
‘Zauber—’ Nathan began, but Theodor Zauber had gone. He tried to call the number back, but the cellphone had been switched off.
‘Shit,’ he said, under his breath.
Kavita looked up from her readings. ‘What’s wrong, Professor?’
Nathan was already punching out Grace’s number at Chestnut Hill Medical Center, so that he could warn her not to go home this evening.
‘What’s wrong?’ he replied. ‘I think I just set the end of the world in motion.’
*
He called Grace, and then he called Denver, and told them not to go home when Grace had finished her surgery for the day and Denver had finished football practice, but to meet him at the Doubletree Hotel downtown.
After what had happened to Stu, Nathan had asked Denver if he wanted to take some time off school, but Denver had preferred to go back to his studies and his sports. ‘I don’t want to think about Stu, Dad, even for a second. Every time I close my eyes I see him lying on the floor, all covered in blood. And that screaming monster trying to bust in through the window.’
Next, Nathan called Detective Pullet. She was on a coffee break and she had her mouth full of lemon Danish.
‘I just had a call from Theodor Zauber. He’s extremely pissed, to say the least.’
‘Did you get his number? I doubt if we’ll be able to trace it, but we can try.’
‘I have it on my cell. I’ll send it to you. But trying to arrest him like that – you blew any chance I had of finding out where he’s keeping those gargoyles.’
‘Look, I’m sorry. I had no idea that he would be able to give us the slip. I mean, how was I to know that he was a hypnotist?’
‘There’s no point in beating yourself up about it, Detective. But I have to warn you that he’s going to bring a whole lot more of those things to life, and everybody who’s out on the street is going to be in danger of being attacked.’
‘We can’t put out a warning like that,’ said Jenna. ‘Either people won’t believe us, or else there’ll be total panic, like that War of the Worlds broadcast. The whole city could come to a standstill.’
‘I don’t know,’ Nathan told her. ‘Maybe you could find some way of wording it so that people will just keep their eyes on the skies. Maybe you could tell them that the city is being plagued by a flock of unusually aggressive crows.’
‘Unusually aggressive crows? You can’t be serious.’
‘People remember The Birds, don’t they? Tell them it’s a similar problem to that.’
‘I don’t know. I think I need to talk to my captain.’
Nathan said, ‘Our number one priority is locating Theodor Zauber. Maybe you could put out a description.’
‘Again, I’ll have to talk to my captain. It took me long enough to believe that these gargoyles are really real, but he’s the most skeptical man I ever met. He doesn’t even believe in global warming.’
‘Please keep me up to date, Detective. I’m taking my wife and son to stay at the Doubletree Hotel until this is all over.’
‘OK, Professor. And if you hear from Zauber again, let me know immediately, you got it?’
‘I hate to say this, but I think we’ll be hearing from one of his gargoyles before we hear from him.’