Mutation

When he reached the corner, he saw the pathologist reaching into one of the shelves, noisily pushing around the glass containers. “Eureka!” he said, straightening up. He had a modest-sized glass jar in his hands that contained a bulbous liver suspended in clear fluid. “You’re in luck,” he said.

Later, on the way up in the elevator, he asked Victor why he wanted the tissue.

“Curiosity,” Victor said. “When David died my grief was so overwhelming I didn’t ask any questions. Now after all these years, I want to know more about why he died.”

Marsha drove VJ and Philip through the Chimera gates.

During the drive VJ had chatted about a new Pac-Man video just like any other ten-year-old.

“Thanks for the lift, Mom,” he said, jumping out.

“Let Colleen know where you’re playing,” she said. “And I want you to stay away from the river. You saw what it looked like from the bridge.”

Philip got out from the back seat. “Nothing’s going to happen to VJ,” he said.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go over to your friend Richie’s?” Marsha questioned.

“I’m happy here,” VJ said. “Don’t worry about me, okay?”

Marsha watched VJ stride off with Philip rushing to catch up. “What a pair,” she thought, trying to keep last night’s revelation from panicking her.

She parked the car and headed for the day-care center. As she entered the building she could hear the thwack of a racquetball. The courts were on the floor above, in the fitness center.

Marsha found Pauline Spaulding kneeling on the floor, supervising a group of children who were finger-painting. She leaped up when she saw Marsha, her figure giving proof to all those years as an aerobics instructor.

When Marsha asked for a few minutes of her time, Pauline left the kids and went off to find another teacher. After she returned with a younger woman in tow, she led Marsha to another room filled with cribs and folding cots.

“We’ll have some privacy here,” Pauline said. Her large oval eyes looked nervously at Marsha, who she assumed had come on official business for her husband.

“I’m not here as the wife of one of the partners,” Marsha said, trying to put Pauline at ease.

“I see.” Pauline took a deep breath and smiled. “I thought you had some major complaint.”

“Quite the contrary,” Marsha said. “I wanted to talk to you about my son.”

“Wonderful boy,” Pauline said. “I suppose you know that he comes in here from time to time and helps out. In fact, he visited us just last weekend.”

“I didn’t know the center was open on weekends,” Marsha said.

“Seven days a week,” Pauline said with pride. “A lot of people here at Chimera work every day. I suppose that’s called dedication.”

Marsha wasn’t sure she’d call it dedication, and she wondered what kind of stress such devotion would have on family life that was already suffering. But she didn’t say any of this. Instead, she asked Pauline if she remembered the day VJ’s IQ dropped.

“Of course I remember. The fact that it happened here has always made me feel responsible somehow.”

“Well, that’s plainly absurd,” Marsha said with a warm smile. “What I wanted to ask about was VJ’s behavior afterwards.”

Pauline looked down at her feet, thinking. After a minute or so, she raised her head. “I suppose the thing I noticed the most was that he’d changed from a leader of activities to an observer. Before, he was always eager to try anything.

Later, he acted bored and had to be forced to participate.

And he avoided all competition. It was as if he were a different person. We didn’t push him; we were afraid to.

Anyway, we saw much less of him after that episode.”

“What do you mean?” Marsha asked. “Once he finished his medical work-up, he still came here every afternoon after preschool.”

“No, he didn’t,” Pauline said. “He began to spend most of the time in his father’s lab.”

“Really? I didn’t think that started until he began school. But what do I know, I’m just the mother!”

Pauline smiled.

“What about friends?” Marsha questioned.

“That was never one of VJ’s strong points,” Pauline said diplomatically. “He always got along better with the staff than the children. After his problem, he tended to stay by himself. Well, I take that back. He did seem to enjoy the company of the retarded employee.”

“You mean Philip?” Marsha questioned.

“That’s the fellow,” Pauline said.

Marsha stood up, thanked Pauline, and together they walked to the entrance.

“VJ may not be quite as smart as he was,” Pauline said at the door, “but he is a fine boy. We appreciate him here at the center.”

Marsha hurried back to the car. She hadn’t learned much, but it seemed VJ had always been even more of a loner than she had suspected.

Victor knew he should go to his office the moment he reached Chimera. Colleen was undoubtedly inundated by emergencies. But instead, carrying his latest samples from Children’s Hospital, he headed for his lab. En route he stopped at the computer center.