Sidney Sheldon - Are You Afraid Of The Dark

Tanner rode to Washington in the ambulance plane with his unconscious brother.

He kept reassuring him during the entire flight. "The doctors say you're going to be fine…

They're going to give you something to make you well… All you need is a little rest." Tanner put his arms around his brother. "You've got to get well in time for us to go to Sweden to pick up your Nobel Prize."

FOR THE NEXT three days, Tanner slept on a cot in Andrew's room and stayed by his brother's side as much as the doctors would allow it. Tanner was in the waiting room at Walter Reed when one of the attending doctors approached him.

"How is he doing?" Tanner asked. "Is he-?" He saw the expression on the doctor's face. "What is it?" "I'm afraid it's very bad. Your brother is lucky to be alive. Whatever that experimental gas was, it was extremely toxic." "We can bring in doctors from-" "It's no use. I'm afraid the toxins have already affected your brother's brain cells." Tanner winced. "But isn't there a cure for-for what he has?" The doctor said caustically, "Mr. Kingsley, the army doesn't even have a name for it yet, and you want to know if there's a cure? No. I'm sorry. I'm afraid he's-he's never going to be himself again." Tanner stood there, his fists clenched, his face white.

"Your brother's awake now. You can go in and see him, but only for a few minutes." When Tanner walked into Andrew's hospital room, Andrew's eyes were open. He stared at his visitor, a blank expression on his face.

The phone rang and Tanner moved to answer it. It was General Barton. "I'm terribly sorry about what happened to-" "You bastard! You told me that my brother wouldn't be in any danger." "I don't know what went wrong, but I assure you-" Tanner slammed down the receiver. He heard his brother's voice and turned.

"Where-where am I?" Andrew mumbled.

"You're at Walter Reed hospital, in Washington." "Why? Who's sick?" "You are, Andrew." "What happened?" "Something went wrong with the experiment." "I don't remember-" "It's all right. Don't worry. You'll be taken care of. I'll see to it." Tanner watched Andrew's eyes close.

He took one last look at his brother lying in bed and left the room.

PRINCESS SENT FLOWERS to the hospital. Tanner planned to call her, but his secretary said,

"Oh, she phoned. She had to go out of town. She'll call you as soon as she returns. She said to tell you that she loves you." A week later, Andrew and Tanner were back in New York. Word about what had happened to Andrew had raced through Kingsley Group. Without him in charge, would the think tank continue to exist?

When the news of the accident became public, it was sure to damage Kingsley Group's reputation.

That doesn't matter, Tanner thought. I'm going to make this the biggest think tank in the world. Now I can give Princess more than she ever dreamed of. In a few yearsTanner's secretary buzzed. "There's a limousine driver here to see you, Mr.

Kingsley."

Tanner was puzzled. "Send him in." A uniformed chauffeur walked in, holding an envelope. "Tanner Kingsley?" "Yes." "I was asked to deliver this to you personally." He handed Tanner the envelope and left.

Tanner looked at it and grinned. He recognized Princess's handwriting. She had planned some kind of surprise for him. Eagerly, he opened the envelope. The note read:

It isn't going to work, my dearest. Right now I need more than you can give me, so I'm marrying someone who is able to do that. I love you and always will. I know you will find this hard to believe, but what I am doing is for the good of both of us.

Tanner's face had gone pale. He stared at the note for a long time and then dropped it nervelessly into the wastebasket. His triumph had come one day too late.

THE FOLLOWING DAY Tanner was sitting quietly at his desk when his secretary buzzed.

"There's a committee here to see you, Mr. Kingsley." "A committee?" Yes, sir.

"Send them in." Supervisors from several Kingsley Group departments walked into Tanner's office.

"We'd like to talk to you, Mr. Kingsley." "Sit down." They took seats.

"What's the problem?" One of the foremen said, "Well, we're kind of worried. After what's happened to your brother…

Is Kingsley Group going to stay in business?" Tanner shook his head. "I don't know. At this point I'm still in shock. I can't believe what's happened to Andrew." He was thoughtful for a moment. "I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't predict our chances, but I'm going to make every effort to see if we can stay afloat. That's a promise. I'll keep you informed." There were murmurs of "Thank you," and Tanner watched the men depart.

THE DAY THAT Andrew got out of the hospital, Tanner set him up in a little staff house on the property, where he could be taken care of, and gave him an office next to his. The employees were stunned to see what had happened to Andrew. He had changed from a brilliant, alert scientist to a zombie. Most of the day Andrew sat in his chair, looking out the window, half asleep, but he seemed happy to be back at Kingsley Group, even though he had little idea of what was going on. All the employees were touched by how well Tanner treated his brother and how solicitous and caring he was of him.

THE ATMOSPHERE AT Kingsley Group changed almost overnight. When Andrew was running it, it had been casual. Now suddenly it had become more formal and was being run as a business instead of a philanthropy. Tanner sent out agents to sign up clients for the company. Business began to flourish at an extraordinary pace, and Tanner changed the company name to Kingsley International Group, just as he had planned.

WORD ABOUT PRINCESSS'S good-bye note had spread quickly through KIG. The employees had been prepared for the marriage, and they wondered how Tanner would take this blow. There was a great deal of speculation among the staff about what he would do after being jilted.

Two days after Tanner had received the letter, an item had appeared in the newspapers announcing that Tanner's bride-to-be had married Edmond Barclay, a billionaire media tycoon. The only changes in Tanner Kingsley seemed to be an increased moodiness and a work ethic that was even stronger than it was before.

Every morning he spent two hours alone, working on a project that was shrouded in secrecy.

ONE EVENING, TANNER was invited to speak at MENSA, the high-IQ society. Since many of the employees at KIG were members, he agreed to accept.

When Tanner came into headquarters the following morning, he was accompanied by one of the most beautiful women his staff had ever seen. She was Latin looking, with dark eyes, an olive complexion, and a sensational figure.

Tanner introduced her to the staff. "This is Sebastiana Cortez. She spoke at MENSA last night. She was brilliant." Tanner's whole attitude suddenly seemed lighter. Tanner took Sebastiana into his office, and they did not reappear for more than an hour. After they came out, they had lunch in Tanner's private dining room.

One of the employees looked up Sebastiana Cortez on the Internet. She was a former Miss Argentina, and her home was in Cincinnati, where she was married to a prominent businessman.

When Sebastiana and Tanner went back into his office after lunch, Tanner buzzed his secretary and told her to hold all calls. Moments later, Tanner's voice could be heard in the reception room through the intercom, which had been left open.

"Don't worry, darling. We'll find a way to make it work." The secretaries started gathering around the intercom, eagerly listening to the conversation.

"We have to be very careful. My husband is a jealous man." "There's no problem. I'll make arrangements for us to keep in touch." It did not take a genius to figure out what was happening. The staff was amazed at how quickly he had gotten over Princess. It was all that the secretaries could do to keep from giggling. "I'm sorry you have to go home just now." "I am, too. I wish I could stay, but-it can't be helped."