Робин Кук - Charlatans

“Does he need to be in here?” Noah asked, nodding toward Keyon. The mere presence of the man had him on edge, whether he followed orders from Ava or not.

Ava shrugged. “Not as far as I am concerned.” She turned to Keyon. “Perhaps you could wait out in the hall.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Keyon said. A moment later he was gone.

“Happy?” Ava questioned.

“Hold the sarcasm!” Noah said. “How the hell did I get here?”

“After Keyon and George met you in Lubbock, they invited you on a private jet that had been chartered for them.”

“Invited!” Noah spat. “Ha. They dragged me out of a rental car whose window they busted. What the hell is going to happen to the rental? Jesus!”

“You’re incredible,” Ava said. “You’re really worried about a rental car?”

“I was the one who rented it,” Noah said. “The rental company has my driver’s license information.”

“Good God!” Ava said. “You’re so damn compulsive.” Without warning, she called out for Keyon, who was back into the room in a flash. From his expression, it was apparent he’d feared the worst.

“Keyon,” Ava said with exasperation, “what was done about Dr. Rothauser’s rental?”

“Hank Anderson took care of it,” Keyon said. “He arranged for an agent to go and get it and turn it in. The agent also took care of the insurance deductible.”

“Thank you, Keyon,” Ava said. “That will be all.”

“Right, ma’am,” Keyon said as he touched his forehead with his right hand in a form of salute.

“Satisfied?” Ava asked after turning back to Noah.

“Who is Hank Anderson?” Noah said.

“He is Keyon and George’s immediate boss,” Ava said.

“This is going in circles,” Noah complained. “Who exactly are Keyon Dexter and George whatever his name is?”

“George Marlowe,” Ava said. “You’ve seen him here. I call George my personal trainer. In actuality, he is a security person, but he’s into exercise as much as I am, so it seemed convenient to do it together.”

Noah nodded. In his mind’s eye, he suddenly associated the man he’d known as Ava’s personal trainer with the Caucasian who’d been following him and then as one of the men who had attacked him in Lubbock. On a few occasions when he’d caught a decent glimpse of the man’s face, he’d had the sense he recognized the man on some level.

“Keyon and George work for a security company called ABC Security,” Ava explained. “One of the conditions of my working for the Nutritional Supplement Council from day one has been to accept Keyon and George as my” — Ava groped for the right word — “minders or monitors, or, if you want to be totally pejorative, my babysitters. At first I rarely saw them, but that changed over the last year or so when things with my social media activities got out of hand.”

“What on earth does that mean?” Noah said. Although his mind was clearing, he still felt ungrounded as if in a dream state. “How did they help you with social media?” The idea seemed preposterous.

“There had been a few incidents of serious cyberstalking of my sockpuppets, particularly one called Teresa Puksar. Keyon and George had to take care of it before I was directly involved. Truthfully, I don’t know what they did, but they solved it and also any future problem by making sure I have proper encryption. And now that the Dr. Mason issue has died down and you are brought into the fold, I imagine I’ll see a lot less of them.”

“What do you mean when I am brought into the fold?” Noah said heatedly.

“That’s what we need to talk about,” Ava said. “But before we do, how do you feel, health-wise?”

“Reasonable, I guess,” Noah said, forcing himself to calm down. His emotions were all over the map. “I was dizzy when I first sat up, but that’s gone. The main problem is feeling totally out of it mentally.”

“Let me check your vital signs again,” Ava said. “You had quite a dose of midazolam. I’m surprised you don’t have more significant anterograde amnesia.” She used his right wrist to take his pulse. Then she used a blood-pressure gauge and a stethoscope that had been on the bedside table. Noah watched her as she concentrated, avoiding his line of vision as she wrapped the cuff around his upper arm, inflated it, and then gradually deflated it. A moment later, she was done. “Okay, your vitals are fine. Try to stand up and see how it goes.” She extended a hand, and holding on to Noah’s, she urged him to slide off the bed.

“Well?” Ava questioned once he was standing.

“I’m okay,” Noah said. He teetered a bit. “At least I’m not dizzy.”

“So far so good,” she said. “Would you like to use the bathroom? Your bladder must be about to burst.”

“Now that you mention it, I would,” Noah admitted. Until that moment it hadn’t occurred to him, but now that it was brought up, it seemed urgent.

In the bathroom with Ava waiting just outside, Noah’s mind was progressively moving into overdrive as he urinated. Although he remembered being knocked to the ground in the medical center parking lot, everything else was a blank, and it was disorienting not to have been aware of being transported all the way back to Boston and into Ava’s house. It was as if the Lubbock trip had been a dream. But there was one thing he was aware of for certain. Any suspicions he’d entertained about the NSC being ferociously protective of Ava were absolutely on the money. A private jet had been involved in getting him back to Boston, and he couldn’t even imagine what it might have cost.

“The reason I had you put in this bedroom is that it’s on the same floor as the study,” Ava said when Noah opened the door.

Holding on to the jamb to support himself, Noah stepped out of the bathroom.

“If you are up to it, we could go in there to talk,” Ava continued. “You might find it more comfortable and familiar. There is also some food and drink that I brought up from the kitchen in case you are hungry. What do you say?”

There were so many thoughts going through Noah’s mind that he didn’t have the ability to object. He had no idea of what time it was although he’d noticed the windows were dark. Ava urged him forward. Out in the hallway he saw Keyon and George. Dutifully they got out of the way as Noah and Ava passed. Noah glanced at their faces, impressed with their nonchalance. It was apparent they were professionals. And he did recognize George as the reputed physical trainer.

Ava helped Noah seat himself in his usual chair. She put a plate of small cocktail-style sandwiches, water, and Diet Coke within reach. There was also a plate of potato chips.

“I could get you some wine,” Ava said, as she watched Noah take one of the sandwiches.

“This is fine,” Noah said. After he took a couple bites, he poured himself some Diet Coke over ice. He thought the caffeine might help organize his thoughts, and his mouth was dry. He had no interest in wine.

Keyon and George had quietly followed them into the room and were standing off to the side, leaning against a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. Both had their arms crossed over their chests with the same calm, cool, in-control attitude they’d exhibited in the hallway.

“Do these thugs have to hang around?” Noah questioned, purposefully loud enough for Keyon and George to hear.

“I suppose not,” Ava said. “But they are party to all the details of this affair, as they have been the principal investigators. If it makes you more comfortable, they can wait downstairs.”

“It would make me more comfortable,” Noah said without hesitation.

“Would you mind?” Ava called out to Keyon and George. “If you are worried about him being a flight risk, how about waiting down by the front door?”