Stanton raised his hand in mock self-defense. “Enough,” he said. “I give up. You’ve overwhelmed me. Just tell me if it works.”
“It works great,” Edward said. He looked back at the machine. “At least it usually works great. At the moment something is wrong.”
“Is it plugged in?” Stanton asked.
Edward shot him an exasperated look.
“Just trying to be helpful,” Stanton joked.
Edward raised the top of the machine and peered in at the carousels. Immediately he saw that one of the capped sample vials was blocking the carousel’s movement. “Well, isn’t this pleasant,” he said. “The thrill of the positive diagnosis of a remedial problem.” He adjusted the vial. The carousel immediately advanced. Edward closed the lid.
“So I can count on you to read the prospectus,” Stanton said. “And think about the offer.”
“The idea of getting money for nothing bothers me,” Edward said.
“But why?” Stanton said. “If star athletes can sign on with sneaker companies, why can’t scientists do the equivalent?”
“I’ll think about it,” Edward said.
“That’s all I can ask,” Stanton said. “Give me a call after you read the prospectus. I’m telling you, I can make you some money.”
“Did you drive over here?” Edward asked.
“No, I walked from Concord,” Stanton said. “Of course I drove. What a feeble attempt at changing the subject.”
“How about giving me a lift over to the main Harvard campus,” Edward said.
Five minutes later Edward slid into the passenger seat of Stanton’s 500 SEL Mercedes. Stanton started the engine and made a quick U turn. He’d parked on Huntington Avenue near the Countway Medical Library. They traveled around the Fenway and then along Storrow Drive.
“Let me ask you something,” Edward said after a period of silence. “The other night at dinner you made reference to Kim’s ancestor, Elizabeth Stewart. Do you know for a fact that she’d been hanged as a witch, or is the story a family rumor that has been around so long that people have come to believe it?”
“I can’t swear to it,” Stanton said. “I’ve just accepted what I’d heard.”
“I can’t find her name in any of the standard treatises on the subject,” Edward said. “And there is no dearth of them.”
“I heard the story from my aunt,” Stanton said. “According to her the Stewarts have been keeping it a secret since time immemorial. So it’s not as if it’s something they’ve dreamed up to enhance their reputation.”
“All right, let’s assume it happened,” Edward said. “Why the devil would it matter now? It’s so long ago. I mean I could understand for a generation or so, but not three hundred years.”
Stanton shrugged. “Beats me,” he said. “But I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. My aunt will have my head if she hears I’ve been bantering it about.”
“Even Kim was reluctant to talk about it at first,” Edward said.
“That’s probably because of her mother, my aunt,” Stanton said. “She’s always been a stickler for reputation and all that social garbage. She’s a very proper lady.”
“Kim took me out and showed me the family compound,” Edward said. “We even went inside the house where Elizabeth was supposed to have lived.”
Stanton glanced at Edward. He shook his head in admiration. “Wow!” he said. “You work fast, you tiger.”
“It was all very innocent,” Edward said. “Don’t let your gutter imagination carry you away. I found it fascinating, and it has awakened Kim’s interest in Elizabeth.”
“I’m not sure her mother is going to like that,” Stanton said.
“I might be able to help the family’s response to the affair,” Edward said. He opened a bag he had on his lap and lifted out one of the plastic containers he and Kim had brought back from Salem. He explained to Stanton what it contained.
“You must really be in love,” Stanton said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be taking all this time and trouble.”
“My idea is that if I can prove that ergotism was at the heart of the Salem witch craze,” Edward said, “it would remove any possible remaining stigma people felt who were associated with the ordeal, particularly the Stewarts.”
“I still contend you must be in love,” Stanton said. “That’s too theoretical a justification for all this effort. I can’t get you to do squat for me even with the promise of lucre.”