CLONER : a Sci-Fi Novel about Human Cloning (A Captivating Story about Reproduction Outside the Womb and Identical Humans) (38 page)

‘What about Multiplier, Alec? You can’t just go on helping them to sell that time bomb, or even allow them to leave it on the market.’

‘Time bomb?’

‘Think, Alec! Think what happened to us. It could happen to millions of organisms all over the planet. It may already be too late to stop it, but we could at least try.’

He sighed, but smiled again. ‘I have thought about it all carefully, pet. I haven’t just assumed you hallucinated everything.’

‘But you still don’t believe a single word of what I’ve told you.’

‘I think it’s conceivable we had triplets because of the original strain of plankton used,’ he said slowly. ‘But that’s been completely modified.’ He took a folder out of his briefcase and opened it up. ‘See? An entirely different type of plankton.’

Lisa skimmed over the text, turned a page. The carefully coloured charts looked familiar - just like the ones Janus had shown her on the computer.

‘And there had to be other factors involved, darling. Apart from taking fertility drugs, having multiples is hereditary, you know.’

Only fraternal multiples, Lisa repeated to herself. Could Alec really believe she hadn’t thought all that through? But she wasn’t going to argue the point. No one, as yet, knew precisely what triggered the forming of identical multiples. All the same, whatever it was, it certainly didn’t happen just before birth, or after it.

‘The scan, Alec. Aren’t you forgetting about the scan? We
saw
it, you
know
. There was only one foetus,’ she reminded him.

‘I thought we’d agreed that he was hidden behind the second one.’

‘There were
three
infants; you’re going to tell me next we only had twins. That I imagined Jiminy altogether.’

‘I know how hard it’s been, darling. I know how much you loved that little boy. And so did I; of course I understand.’ He came over and stroked back her hair, twisting the little tendrils round his fingers. ‘They say time heals. We’ve simply got to get away from here. From all the unhappy past. I really thought that you’d be pleased.’

‘That you’re going to go on working for Flaxton?’

‘They’re on the way to being another faceless multinational company. They don’t count one way or the other.’ He sat down next to her. ‘Frank and I have been over the ground time and again,’ he went on, taking her hands in his. ‘There’s just no evidence about doubling up after the births. Honestly, Lisa. He would know.’

Frank? He’d talked to Frank about cloning? Frank had as much to lose as Flaxton if what had happened became common knowledge. He was raking in loads of money from testing Multiplier, from his increased yields. And still he wasn’t satisfied. He plotted to gain every extra penny that he could. Worse than that, he’d never cross Flaxton; he wouldn’t dare. How could Alec trust a man like that?

Lisa felt a cold knife of fear slice through her. Frank knew all about cloning, even if she couldn’t prove it now Don and Susan were dead. Frank had deliberately covered up what had been happening on his farm. What other reason would he have had to kill everything off so systematically? And what else had he been up to? Shuddering, she remembered the milk lorry, the near miss with the triplets in their pushchair.

‘It all happened on
his
doorstep,’ Alec went on, putting his arms around her shoulders, steering her to a sofa.

‘The most significant result happened on
ours
, Alec.’

Alec sounded irritated. ‘There
were
more multiple births - Frank doesn’t deny that. But that’s something which only affects animals with a specific genetic makeup. The new strain of plankton doesn’t have that effect. All that first strain of Multiplier did was to bring out the latent tendencies, encourage what’s there already.’

‘Like cigarettes bring out a latent tendency to lung cancer?’ Lisa said softly.

‘Come
on
Lisa, everything has its negative side. Flaxton are monitoring the new formula meticulously, there really isn’t a problem. Shall I get you a coffee, or something?’

‘I’m fine, darling.’

‘Try to forget all that. So what d’you think? How about leaving, getting away from here?’

She had to admit Alec was right in some ways. Much better not to be reminded by the sight of the Tor outside the nursery window, or looming up across the moor. Even meeting Meg and her children flooded her with memories, brought back scenes of happier times. It certainly would be better to make a fresh start.

‘What I thought was wonderful about it all is that we can still live in the country.’

‘I thought you just said Glasgow. That’s hardly the country.’

‘The Hebrides,’ Alec told her. ‘The Western Isles. You remember, darling; our honeymoon on Islay. We said then how marvellous it would be to live there. I thought we might look for a house there. The plane to Glasgow only takes about half an hour.’

‘You mean you’d commute by plane every day?’

‘Perhaps not every day. Stay in Glasgow Monday to Friday, then come home for the weekend.’

They’d had a blissful time there on their honeymoon. Islay, known as the queen of the Hebrides, was a glorious place. They’d gone bird watching, run over the sands, collected shells, sampled malt whisky, made friends. Alec was doing all he could to accommodate her. Lisa liked the idea of going back. Her whole being responded to the call.

‘What, exactly, do Flaxton want you to do?’

‘I’m an accountant, Lisa. They want me to be their financial director; Glasgow is their headquarters now.’ He smiled. ‘It’s very flattering. They’ve been so taken with my work they want me on their board.’

‘So you would be in a very strong position. You’d be able to fix the company if you wanted to.’

‘Fix them? You mean ruin them?’

‘If you found out I wasn’t demented, if Janus clones again. You could stop them manufacturing?’

‘In theory I could do just that.’

‘And what about your mother? An island in the Hebrides would be even harder to get to than Somerset.’

‘I know. She’ll just have to settle for it. That’s where my career is taking me.’ He paused for a moment. ‘You can do your painting anywhere. They say the light is wonderful in Scotland.’

‘And what about the children’s education? Have you thought about that?’

‘Scotland has an excellent educational system,’ Alec said firmly. ‘Particularly in the primary schools. If anything, they’ll be better off up there. And safer; we can let them roam without worrying. Remember what happened at Milton...’ He tailed off, aware at last of possible undertones, possible implications.

‘You’re not really asking me,’ Lisa said. ‘You’re telling me we’re going to move to Scotland - the Hebrides. Out of the way,’ she finished, triumphantly. ‘You’re ashamed of me, is that it? You want me settled in Islay, where I won’t embarrass you.’ Her eyes went blank.

‘Give me a bit of credit, darling.’

Was she being unreasonable? Alec did have to earn some money. Whatever he did, he wasn’t going to be able to challenge Flaxton openly. If she could convince him of what had happened he could destroy the company from within. That was her best course.

‘Actually,’ he went on, ‘it wasn’t only my idea. Meg suggested it. I do believe she put Carruthers up to offering me the job! She told me she thought you’d never get over Jiminy if we stayed here. I hadn’t really thought that through, I must confess.’

‘Meg told you that? Thought I’d get over it better somewhere else, did she?’

‘That’s what she said.’

‘It didn’t occur to you she thought we ought to leave for other reasons?’

‘Other reasons? What other reasons?’

Lisa crossed her left knee over her right. ‘You’ll think it’s just another aspect of what you choose to call my overexcited imagination. The events on the Tor - d’you really think they were entirely accidental?’

She saw his eyes glaze over, heard the deep intake of breath. ‘I went over it endlessly with Trevor, pet. After all, he was there, on the spot. Presumably you don’t think
he’s
got an axe to grind?’

In fact she did. Trevor, more even than Alec, was keen to forget that day. Seb had told her that a red-haired young man had played with them that afternoon, had taken the kite and soared it high against the wind. He’d even carried Jiminy up to the Tor. But Trevor evaded Lisa whenever she tried to find out more about this helpful stranger. Where had he got to? Why hadn’t he come forward to talk to the police after the accident? Trevor, apparently, had been as taken with the redhead’s looks as Alec had been with Geraldine’s.

‘So what did Trev say?’

‘He agreed with Meg. If anything, he was even more taken with the idea. It was he who pointed out to me about the light and the colours in Scotland. He thought your scope would improve tremendously.’

Lisa didn’t doubt that. The grim thought struck her that now Trevor had flooded the market with scenes of the Somerset Levels he’d be keen on something new. Hebridean seascapes, pictures of gulls hovering over shipwrecks - a welcome change.

Alec leaned towards her again, uncertain but smiling, beguiling her. ‘Darling; why don’t we at least have a try at it?’

‘You mean you’d come south again if it didn’t work out?’

‘I promise. I absolutely promise that if you don’t like it after a year, we’ll leave.’ A brighter smile. ‘I tell you what; Flaxton offered me a really grand house on Islay. Belongs to one of their major shareholders; he’s moved to Jersey, or somewhere tax efficient. We could try out living there, not buy a house until we’re sure. That means we could leave at any time.’

Lisa saw the force of that. ‘I suppose so,’ she said listlessly. ‘I don’t know that I care.’

He laughed, slightly embarrassed. ‘It comes complete with a rowan tree.’

‘A rowan tree? Is that significant?’

A faintly sheepish look. ‘Very, apparently. It’s just the thing for breaking evil enchantments; a safeguard against calamity.’

Lisa could see that her husband was doing his best to do what he thought she wanted. But the very idea of possible omens made her feel ill.

‘It’s a woman’s tree,’ Alec went on, unaware. ‘So the future will be up to you. A woman who curses a rowan tree brings death on her husband. So I shall be trusting you to look after it for me,’ he finished off.

‘We won’t cut it down, then,’ Lisa said softly, smiling up at him, snuggling towards him.

Islay; they could make a completely new start on Islay. The plan was beginning to grow on Lisa.

CHAPTER 34

‘Mrs Wildmore! This is a pleasure. Busy again, I see.’ Ian Parslow scanned his notes, then lifted his eyes to hers. Penetrating, green. They gave nothing away.

Alec had insisted Lisa consult Parslow again, go through that whole battery of tests once more.

‘We don’t want anything unforeseen this time.’ Alec had smiled at her.

‘But Parslow was the one who called it “a perfectly normal pregnancy”!’ Lisa was now sure he’d seen something unusual at that very first meeting.

‘He’ll be especially on his guard this time. He’s the top man, darling. Everyone we know uses him. We can’t do better.’

Lisa had agreed to the tests reluctantly. Parslow could misread the scan again, could mess up the test results. But he couldn’t really harm her. The baby would, in any case, be born in Scotland.

Would he even refer to the last time he’d seen her? Presumably there’d been some sort of feedback about the triplets. At the very least Gilmore would have let Parslow know with the letter of referral.

‘Here I am again, Mr Parslow. Alec and I are trying for a little girl.’

He bristled at once. ‘I can’t arrange that at this stage, I’m afraid.’ Thin lips drew back to show it was a joke. ‘At any rate, not in the present state of medical knowledge.’

He didn’t flaunt quite the dismissive manner of almost three years before. Instead of talking from afar, he walked right over to Lisa and shook her hand. He moved her to the couch and hooked up the ultrasound. ‘But maybe you can. I was absolutely astounded to hear about your triplets.’ He looked at Lisa, a long deep stare. ‘And such unusual circumstances. I gather the third one was born two weeks after the other two.’ There was no smile, no hint of an apology. ‘Quite remarkable.’

‘I did – ’

‘Word of your special powers has spread!’ His strong baritone drowned her attempt to speak. ‘Lady Carruthers particularly mentioned you when she consulted me the other day. Suggested that, as I’d been so brilliant with you, I might be able to arrange for her to have twins.’ He smiled. The cat that’d licked the clotted cream. ‘Told me not to overdo it, though. Apparently triplets would be too much for her.’

He hadn’t heard about Jiminy’s death from Gilmore, Lisa felt sure. And Diana wouldn’t have mentioned it to him, either.

‘I’m not expecting miracles,’ Lisa told him, a little coolly. ‘ I just thought you might be able to say whether this one’s a girl.’

Parslow scrutinised the monitor carefully. ‘I think that’s pretty clear. Your ultrasounds are always so distinct, my dear. A little girl it is.’

‘You’re sure?’

The green eyes looked cold. ‘It isn’t absolutely fool-proof at this stage; but I would say ninety-five percent certain.’

‘Could you just show me...’

‘Certainly.’ He took the blunt end of a pencil and traced out the relevant parts. ‘I think the simplest way to tell is by the absence of the male genitals.’

Why was this man’s behaviour to her so different from the Parslow she’d met before? His apparent regard for her made her quite nervous. Was it simply because she knew Diana? Was he really such a snob? ‘Do you foresee any problems?’

‘A perfectly normal pregnancy.’ Parslow turned from the scan and faced Lisa directly, that affable expression spreading over his face. ‘I do assure you, Mrs Wildmore, there is no reason for anxiety.’ Another sharp quick glance at the monitor. ‘None at all.’

That old spiel again. Had he seen the foetus within a foetus of her nightmare? Was she carrying another cloner?

‘I can’t see why you shouldn’t carry a beautiful baby to term.’ He looked at his notes again, then back at Lisa. ‘Of course I have given some thought to what happened last time. I simply couldn’t believe the letter from your GP.’

‘You may remember, I thought it would be twins.’

‘I do remember; we both got it wrong.’ His lips smiled but his eyes were darts. ‘Though you were nearer the mark.’

Lisa clenched her nails into her palms, crunched her teeth together.

‘There really is only one explanation,’ Parslow continued, voice loud and overriding. ‘The two others must have been lying
directly
behind the first one, right on top of one another.’ Another attempt at a smile. ‘An extraordinary fluke. I do remember being surprised at how clear the image was - much denser than normal. I’d no idea I was seeing it in triplicate!’