“You make it sound so reasonable,” Kim complained.
“But it is,” Edward said. “This is the way I want to be. Hell, this is the way I probably would have been if my father hadn’t been such a bore.”
“But what about the forgetfulness and the paranoia?” Kim said.
“What paranoia?” Edward asked.
Kim reminded him of his coming to the house that morning to use the phone and having to go out of the lab to talk with Stanton.
“That wasn’t paranoid,” Edward said indignantly. “Those characters down in the lab have become the worst gossip hounds I’ve ever been around. I’m just trying to protect my privacy.”
“Both Stanton and I thought it seemed paranoid,” Kim said.
“Well, I can assure you it wasn’t,” Edward said. He smiled. The twinge of irritation he’d felt at being accused of paranoia had already passed. “The forgetfulness I’ll admit to but not the other.”
“Why not stop the drug and start it again during the clinical phase?”
“You are a hard person to convince,” Edward said. “And unfortunately I’m out of energy. I can’t keep my eyes open. I’m sorry. We’ll continue this tomorrow if you’d like since it is an extension of a previous discussion. Right now I have to go to bed.”
Edward bent over, gave Kim a kiss on her cheek, and then walked unsteadily out of her room. She heard him moving about his bedroom for only a few minutes. Then she heard the deep heavy respiration of someone already fast asleep.
Amazed at the rapidity of the transformation, Kim got out of bed. After slipping on her robe, she walked through the connecting hall to Edward’s bedroom. A trail of discarded clothes led across the room, and Edward was spread-eagled on top of his bed, clothed only in his underwear. Just as what happened Sunday night, his bedside lamp was still on.
Kim walked to the light and switched it off. Standing next to him, she was amazed at how loud his snoring was. She wondered why it had never awakened her when they slept together.
Kim retreated to her own bed. She turned out the light and tried to go to sleep. But it was impossible. Her mind would not turn off, and she could hear Edward as if he were in her room.
After a half hour, Kim got back out of bed and went into the bathroom. She found the old vial of Xanax she’d been saving for years and took one of the pink, boat-shaped pills. She didn’t like the idea of taking the drug, but she thought she needed it; there would be no sleep if she didn’t.
Coming out of the bathroom, she closed both Edward’s door and her own. Getting back into bed, she could still hear Edward but at least it was muffled. Within fifteen minutes she felt a welcome serenity drift over her. A little while later she fell into her own deep sleep. 16
Friday,September 30, 1994
At nearly three a.m. there was little traffic on the darkened streets of Salem, and Dave Halpern felt as if he owned the world. Since midnight he’d been aimlessly cruising in his ’89 red Chevy Camaro. He’d been to Marblehead twice and even up to Danvers and around through Beverly.
Dave was seventeen and a junior at Salem High. He’d gotten the car thanks to an after-school job at a local McDonald’s and a sizable loan from his parents, and it was the current love of his life. He reveled in the sense of freedom and unadulterated power the car gave him. He also liked the attention it evoked from his friends, particularly Christina McElroy. Christina was a sophomore and had a great body.
Dave checked the dimly illuminated clock set into the center console on the dash. It was just about time for the rendezvous. Turning onto Dearborn Street, where Christina lived, Dave hit the lights and turned off the engine. He slowed and glided to a silent stop beneath the canopy of a large maple.
He didn’t have to wait long. Christina appeared out of the hedges that ran alongside her clapboard house, rushed to the car, and jumped in. The whites of her eyes and teeth glistened in the half-light. She was tremulous with excitement.