Chapter Twenty-one



It was almost noon when Barbara Mason got out of her car in front of the main house at the Quest Compound. Race stood on the flagstones waiting for her.

"So?" she asked immediately.

Race shook his head. "I haven't told him yet. I went out there to do it, but he was still in a foul temper and in absolutely no mood to listen. I simply made up an excuse about needing something and retreated."

"You know, I used to think this family had the most even tempers of anyone I had ever met," she replied in disgust. "What happened?"

Race smiled weakly. "Hormones?"

"Or advanced senility . . . I'm not sure which."

"Probably both."

Squaring her shoulders, she replied, "Well, let's get it over with so I can take a look at Estella. Where is he?"

"Still out in the lab. Come on." The two of them strode purposefully around the corner of the house and made their way to the lighthouse.

Barbara looked around with interest. This was one of the few places in the Quest Compound that she'd never visited. It was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside. There were no walls on the interior, so you entered the main door into one large circular room. Unlike most lighthouses, which were generally about ten to twelve feet in diameter on the interior, this one was probably closer to 25 feet. Whitewashed walls and carefully recessed lighting kept it from being either too dark or too brightly lit. The spiral staircase that led to the second floor was of black wrought iron and was situated on the far side of the room from the door. A beautiful seascape of Nova Scotia and two watercolors of Rockport and Camden harbors hung in an alcove that held a comfortable-looking seating area. The rest of the first floor was taken up with storage cabinets. The whole thing was remarkably welcoming for a lighthouse.

Race saw her surprised look and grinned slightly. "Not quite what you expected?"

"No, definitely not. This is not the original lighthouse," she said with conviction.

Race laughed. "Not even close. When we bought this place, the original lighthouse was still here. I think there was something about the place that touched the romantic side of Benton's soul . . ." He chuckled at her look. "No, really, he does have one! But the original structure simply wouldn't accommodate a research lab. So he tore down the old one and built this one."

Barbara frowned. "He did? I don't remember it being torn down. This looks just like the one I remember as a child." She looked around again. ". . . only bigger."

"It should look the same," Race agreed. "You have no idea how hard he tried to modify the old one to make it work. When he realized it wasn't going to happen, he disassembled the old one, piece-by-piece, built the new one in the exact same style as the old one, and used the original stone to face it so it would look just the same as before. Initially, the Coast Guard was unhappy about it. But when Benton told them that as long as they would allow him to use the structure for his own purposes, he would take over the maintenance, cost and all, of the lighthouse, they changed their tune. So now it's Benton's lab and we ensure that the light stays on and warns ships about the point."

"How many floors are there?"

"This is kind of a reception area. There are very few people that Benton will allow inside at all, and even fewer that he allows beyond this point. The second floor is the main lab, there's a secondary lab on a third floor, and then there's an observation level that's all glass and finally the light. There's also a large room below ground level that's blasted out of the bedrock that houses the actual mainframe computer systems."

Barbara just shook her head. "I'm impressed."

Race just chuckled. "Come on. He's in the main lab, I think." The two of them climbed the spiral staircase and emerged into a large, open room filled with computer consoles. Sitting slightly away from the center of the room, was a grouping of four support chairs. The wall directly opposite the staircase looked different and Barbara finally decided that it must be some sort of view screen. It ran ceiling to floor and was about eight feet across. To the left of that was a bank of smaller, wall mounted monitors. She looked around, searching for Benton, but he was nowhere in sight. Just as she was about to ask Race where he might have gone, Benton appeared from behind one of the large consoles on the right-hand side of the room.

Spotting them, he glared and said sourly, "What do you want? I'm busy."

Before Race could reply, IRIS' neutral tone interrupted.

"THERE IS AN INCOMING CALL VIA COMPUTER ACCESS FROM JESSICA BANNON FOR DR. BENTON QUEST. DO YOU WISH ME TO PUT THIS CALL THROUGH?"

Barbara and Race exchanged concerned glances as Benton responded grumpily, "Oh hell, why not. What's one more interruption? Put it though."

The large monitor on the far side of the room suddenly flickered to life and Jessie Bannon appeared on the screen. She was obviously sitting at a desk and behind her, they all got a quick glimpse of a room with blue floral wallpaper and white furniture before everyone's attention focused on Jessie. One look at her face told them they were in for a rough time. Her eyes locked on Benton.

"How DARE you!" she hissed at him in fury.

"What do you want?" Benton repeated. "I'm busy."

"Don't you ever do that to him again, do you hear me? I don't care if your whole life goes straight down the toilet, I will NOT allow you to undermine him or make him feel worthless just to boost your morale!"

"I wouldn't have to point out the obvious to him if he'd just listen to reason," Benton snapped back, his face flushing angrily. "If you would help me rather than supporting this idiocy, we wouldn't be in this position."

"Jessie, wait!" Barbara interrupted frantically. "Take it easy . . ."

If anything, Jessie's fury became even more pronounced and she plowed right on, completely ignoring Barbara. "He's right. You don't give damn. He's not interested in the stuff you enjoy, so he's little more than a piece of furniture to you!"

"That's a lie . . ." Benton began hotly, but Jessie cut him off sharply,

"You listen to me, you bastard. If I find out that you've done something like this again, I'll make certain that he NEVER talks to you. Do you understand me? NEVER!"

"Easy, Jess," Race said. "You're upset . . ."

"You're damned right I'm upset and I will NOT take it easy," she snarled, turning her glare on her father. "Jonny doesn't deserve any of this, and he hasn't from the very beginning. He works hard, he never makes demands on anyone else, and he helps everyone around him . . . even when it's not his job." They could literally see the young woman shaking. "I couldn't understand . . . but now I see . . ."

"Couldn't understand what, Ponchita," Race said, deliberately using her childhood pet name in an effort to distract her and break down the fury that consumed her.

"Why, when he talks about himself to others he always describes himself as 'the dumb one'. He's NOT dumb," she said fiercely. "And he's not incapable, and he's doing a damned good job of making a place for himself, and providing for me." Her eyes flicked back to Benton again. "And regardless of how much you think of yourself, you self-centered, egotistical sonofabitch, you had nothing to do with him getting this job. He did it on his own merits. What's more, he loves what he's doing . . . more than anything you ever had him work on. He's done nothing to deserve having you say those things to him, and I won't tolerate it! You just remember what I said, Dr. Quest. If you want to be a part of your son's life . . . of Rachel's son's life, then you better not do this again, or I swear to you . . . I'll see to it that you won't have the chance to do it a third time!" They all watched as she reached out and hit a key in front of her. The screen flashed and then she was gone.

After a long moment of silence, IRIS' quiet, uninflected voice stated, "THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN TERMINATED FROM THE INITIATOR'S SYSTEM. DO YOU WISH TO TRY TO REINSTATE THE CONNECTION?"

Barbara crossed to where Benton stood, rigid and furious. "No, IRIS," she replied. "Leave it. We'll talk to her later." Barbara laid her hand on Benton's arm. "Benton?"

He turned his head slowly and the look he gave her was glacial. "If Jonny chooses to go his own way, there's nothing I can do about it. I've tried everything I know to do, and he won't listen. So let the two of them dig their own grave. It's their life." He turned away. "Just leave me alone. I'm busy."

Race and Barbara watched as he walked away and disappeared behind one of the consoles once more. Barbara looked at her companion, fear evident in her face. But Race shook his head and grabbed her arm, drawing her toward the stairs again. When they reached the first floor, they stopped and Race commanded quietly, "IRIS, monitor Benton Quest's vital signs closely. If there are any fluctuations in them at all, you are to notify Barbara Mason and myself immediately. Also, do not allow any calls through to Dr. Quest at all . . . even family members. They are to be routed to me. Repeat instructions, please."

"MONITOR BENTON QUEST'S VITAL SIGNS AND NOTIFY RACE BANNON AND BARBARA MASON OF ANY FLUCTUATIONS IMMEDIATELY. STOP ALL INCOMING CALLS TO BENTON QUEST AND ROUTE THEM TO RACE BANNON. SPECIFY DURATION OF INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE."

"Until further notice. Also, please route all e-mail from Benton Quest's account to the account for Race Bannon."

"PLEASE SPECIFY EXTENT OF TRANSFER."

"All existing mail currently in the account that is unread, and all incoming mail until further notice."

"ACKNOWLEDGED. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN MESSAGES HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED. FORWARDING ORDER HAS BEEN INSTITUTED. PLEASE SPECIFY E-MAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER FOR BARBARA MASON."

Race looked at her questioningly, but Barbara shook her head. "I don't have a home or office computer, Race."

He sighed and then addressed IRIS once more. "Establish an e-mail address and ISP access for Barbara Mason on the Quest system. Hold for further instructions."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

Grabbing Barbara's arm, he drew her from the lighthouse and they set off at a rapid pace for the main house. When the back door closed behind them, Race stopped and leaned against it.

"Dear Lord," he breathed. "And I thought it couldn't get worse." After a moment, he looked at Barbara. "You said there would be an explosion between Benton and my daughter sooner or later . . ."

Barbara nodded wearily. "It was inevitable. Although I have to admit that I really didn't anticipate it would happen this way. My God, Race, what could he possibly have said to Jonny that would have set her off like that?"

Race sighed. "My daughter tends to be pretty literal in situations like this. I'd say that Benton told Jonny that the reason he got that job . . . whatever it is . . . is that he was Benton's son and that they were only keeping him on as charity."

"Oh yes, that would have done it!" Barbara agreed. "Benton could have said anything he pleased about her and she wouldn't have said a word, but she won't tolerate seeing Jonny undermined by anyone, especially his father."

"What the hell are we going to do?"

"I honestly don't know."

"And we didn't even have the chance to tell him about Hadji."

"Oh hell . . ."


~ ~ ~ ~ ~


"Well, I don't see anything obvious," Barbara said to Estella some time later. "Protein levels haven't fluctuated since the last time we ran them and your blood pressure is the same too. If I had to guess, I'd say that getting up on your feet and moving around caused your blood pressure to fluctuate. A sudden drop in pressure might explain that episode."

Estella breathed a sigh of relief. "That means that you aren't going to tell me that I have to go to the hospital, right?"

"No, I don't see any reason at this point. But I do think this is something that the two of you need to face." Barbara looked from Race to Estella seriously. "This is escalating quicker than I hoped it would. You aren't going to be able to hold out much longer unless it stabilizes, and I have to tell you that I don't think it will. It rarely does after blood pressure and protein levels get this high."

"Make your point, Barbara," Race said quietly, sitting on the bed behind his wife and putting his arms around her. "What are you telling us?"

"That we need to get you situated with a specialist in Portland and that you need to be preparing for the inevitable . . . that you're going to end up in Maine Medical Center very, very soon." Estella made a tiny sound of distress and Race tightened his arms and nuzzled the top of her head.

"Benton told me you were planning on calling in a specialist," he said.

"We have to," Barbara told him firmly. "We need someone who can ensure the best and most up-to-date care for both Estella and the baby. There's a good man there . . . Saied Eftekari . . . I know him personally and have worked with him before. I've already talked with him and he's agreed to take Estella as a patient."

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm going to set up an appointment for you to see him next week. I'll let you know when. I think that when you go down to see him, you need to pack a bag and be prepared to stay. He may not think it necessary yet, but you need to be ready if that's what happens."

"You think he'll keep her," Race said.

Barbara sighed. "Yes, I think he will." Barbara reached out and caught the other woman's hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "I'm not abandoning you, Estella. I've already contacted the Medical Center and provided them with all of my current credentials and asked that they reactivate my privileges. The head of their Credentialing Department assures me there should be no problem. And Dr. Eftekari has already agreed to allow me to remain on your medical team. We'll make it through this, I promise you."

Estella squeezed Barbara's hand in return and whispered, "Thank you . . ."

"MR. BANNON, A LARGE TRUCK HAS TURNED ONTO THE ACCESS ROAD TO THIS FACILITY. IDENTIFICATION MARKS INDICATE THIS IS THE ANTICIPATED TRANSPORT FOR THE NEW LABORATORY EQUIPMENT. YOU LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN THEY ARRIVED."

Race sighed. "You know, for once in his life, I really wish Benton would quit working for a while. All right, IRIS, I'm on my way. When they reach the main gate, have them wait. I'll be with them shortly."

"ACKNOWLEDGED."

"So you need me for anything else?" Race asked them.

The two women shook their heads and Estella added, "No, you go on. We're fine."

"You do not get out of bed without someone here to help you, you understand me?" he commanded in a no-nonsense tone.

"I won't . . . I promise." Race nodded, kissed the top of her head, and then rose and strode out of the room quickly.

Estella sighed. "Poor Race. Everything's really dumping on him right now."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "More than usual?"

The lovely redhead eased herself down until she was lying prone in the bed again and then replied regretfully, "Yes. You know, Barbara, it's funny how you really take things for granted sometimes. Like the business with the kids. We knew they would all be gone this fall. I'll grant you that we didn't anticipate the circumstances, but the fact that all of them would be out of the house by the end of August was no surprise. And yet, I don't think any of us really realized how much Jonny, Jessie and Hadji did around here until they were gone. Even after Hadji left in January, we didn't see it . . . Jonny and Jessie just picked up the slack and nothing much seemed to change. But then May came and those two left, and all of a sudden we discovered just how much of the day-to-day stuff those three really did. I was able to pick up some of it . . . at least until this happened . . . and Benton started doing some of it, but the majority of those tasks just naturally fell to Race. And then I developed this problem and couldn't help, and Benton's health began to deteriorate, and the relationship between Jonny and Benton continues to be rocky . . . and poor Race is stuck trying to cope with it all."

"He never complains," Barbara observed.

"No, never. And if you say something to him, he just laughs and makes some flippant comment about having been through worse." Estella looked up at Barbara. "I worry about him."

Barbara smiled. "Of course you do. It's your job. But my experience says that Race is pretty tough. He'll weather this."

Estella looked at the other woman thoughtfully. "How bad was the fight today?"

"I beg your pardon?" Barbara said, startled.

"There was a fight today. I can tell it. He's strung tighter than piano wire. That always means that someone's gotten into it again . . . usually Benton and Jonny. How bad?"

Barbara sank slowly to the bed. After a moment, she shook her head. "Bad," she admitted. "And it's more than Jonny this time. Evidently Benton and Jonny got into it this morning and whatever he said has finally set Jessie off. She called a little while ago while Race and I were in the lab and she just raked Benton over the coals. I've never seen her so angry."

Estella stared at Barbara in obvious concern. "We can't have Jessie taking sides in this," she exclaimed. "If she turns against Benton . . ."

"It may already be too late . . ."

"Tell me what she said." Reluctantly, Barbara summarized the confrontation. When she was finished, Estella just shook her head. "Oh, God. Barbara, what is Benton doing? It's almost as though he's deliberately burning his bridges."

"I know. I just don't understand it."

"And what's so weird about it is that one minute he will be in a towering rage at Jonny . . . being totally unreasonable and obstinate . . . and the next it's as though he hears himself and it dawns on him that he is being unreasonable, and then he's sorry. I've even seen him try to call Jonny back and apologize. And for a while, things will seem to improve. It just never seems to last."

"I know," Barbara agreed. "I'll tell you, of all the families I've ever known, this is the last one I ever expected to develop a generation gap."

"Tell me about it. I just wish . . ."

"ALARM! SENSOR'S INDICATED A FLUCUATION IN THE BIOLOGICAL READINGS OF DR. BENTON QUEST. BLOOD PRESSURE DROPPING, IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT, SHALLOW RESPIRATION . . ."

But Barbara didn't hear the rest. She was already out of the door and headed for the lighthouse at a run.