Lost in La La Land(17)

I put on my raincoat and boots and kissed Lola goodbye, ensuring my dog sitter had read the message I sent. If something Machiavellian were lurking behind the appointment, I needed my dog cared for.

When I got to the office, I opened the blinds and turned on the heat, setting up shop like I normally would every day.

I gave everything a quick wipe and made sure the diffuser was plugged in. The soft scent of lavender was helpful to the sleeper. Also, it masked the scent of the old building.

I waited for an hour but she didn't come.

An hour and a half passed as I sat in the window, staring out at the droplets of rain hitting the puddles it had formed. My eyes darted to the machine several times, narrowing and contemplating putting myself into it, but I was stuck on who I could get to observe me. Dr. Brielle came bursting through the door. She locked it and leaned against it, soaked from the rain and winded.

“Dr. Hartley, you have to believe me.” She gasped. “I had no part in this.”

My heart thumped wildly as I shot up from the chair. “What is it?”

“The mayor is having the equipment seized. The inquiry was never a review. Dr. Williams and I were unaware at the time that Dr. Dalton was only here to assess the equipment, as in what benefit it could have in a military setting. The government is going to come and take it, seizing it under the protection act. It’s bullshit.” She sobbed without crying. “I booked the appointment to warn you. They’ll be here tomorrow. They don't know I’m aware of the whole thing.”

“My God.”

“I was working early this morning, I always come in later. But today I didn't. I was in the coffee room when Dalton took a phone call in the hallway, speaking about the seizure of your equipment. I asked Williams if he knew anything, and he said the review was over and it sounded bad for you. He hinted that he’d just realized Dalton has been on the mayor’s payroll from the start.”

“Of course he has.” I slumped, wanting some of this news to be a shock but none of it was.

“You have to remove this brilliant equipment and get out of here, away from Manhattan even. If you can.” She glanced back at the door. “I need to get back. I will try to message you if anything else happens. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Nor yours.” Her eyes sparkled with knowledge. “I know about the mayor’s unhappy wife. Everyone does. She married him under duress, sort of how all decisions are made around him.”

“She did?” I hadn’t heard this story.

“You didn't know?” Her eyes searched mine. “Her family has a bakery. The building isn’t worth anything but the land is right in the middle of a development prospect. Her parents refused to sell. Someone made their lives miserable, trying to coerce them into selling it. Suddenly, Lana marries the mayor and her family’s bakery is protected. The building, though not quite suiting the parameters of the designation, became a heritage building and the development moved to another part of the city.”

“I did not know that.” My heart ached for Lana, even if she was suing me.

“Everything works that way for him. He’s a bully and a criminal.” Dr. Brielle scowled, her eyes revealing so many emotions, flashing one after the other. “Take care of yourself, Emma.” She turned and unlocked the door, rushing back out into the rain.

I locked the door again and turned, plotting the removal of all my equipment and exactly what I would need to bring with me to protect my work.

It was going to be a long night.

And it was.

By the time I had everything packed into the back of Marguerite and Stanley’s SUV, I was exhausted.

“Thank you for coming to help.” I offered Stanley a weak attempt at a smile as he closed the back door of the vehicle.

“Emma, I can’t believe this shit.”

“I fucking well can! I want to kick that pig mayor in the balls!” Marguerite blasted Stan and me. “The thing I find the most disgusting is that the scientific community joined in on bullying one of its own, and then allowed the government to plan to steal the technology to weaponize it. Or at least under the guise of weaponizing it. The government has officially gone too far.”

“I agree.” Stan wrapped an arm around his zesty wife as she frothed.

“And another thing, who the hell does he think he is, blackmailing some poor girl into marriage? What a psycho. How do New Yorkers not know this story?”

“I don't know.” I sighed, exhausted beyond the ability to converse. “We need to get going though.” I glanced behind us, checking the alley for spies, something I’d been doing all night long.

I never moved the chairs or any of the large equipment, just the computers and tablets and robots. I didn't need anything else. With my equipment gone, the space resembled every other dental office. What it had been when I came upon it. From the windows, it still looked like my office. The desk and chairs and magazines remained; only the important technology was gone. It fit into five boxes, not even large ones.

All my work, technically, could have fit into one box, but I had the equipment for four beds.

The drive out of Manhattan and across New York to Rhode Island was long—long enough to contemplate what my next step would be.

Arriving at the old house my dead husband’s aunt left him, the one I’d never stepped foot in before this moment, made the question of “what next?” even more convoluted.