Burden of Proof

by Davis Bunn

  “Hold still.” She filled the first vial, pulled it off, and inserted a second. “Will you tell me why you think the attack on Adrian is connected to this case?”

  “Of course. But I’d rather wait and talk to you both together.” He pointed with his free hand toward the two women. “And I need to hear what Madeline is telling Gina. I’m still trying to fit the pieces together myself.”

  Sonya did not press. “Adrian had nightmares. He doesn’t say it, but I think he blames himself for you not having long . . .”

  “You can go ahead and say it, Sonya. To live.”

  She extracted the second vial and inserted a third. “I was really so definite?”

  “Yes. You and Delia both.”

  She froze momentarily, then inserted the fourth and final vial. “We got the results back yesterday from the pregnancy test. I think that’s why Adrian slept so poorly. I’ve had two miscarriages.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

  “This should be such a moment of joy and anticipation. Instead, my husband is sobbing in his sleep.” Sonya’s entire body clenched up tight. By strength of will alone, she relaxed, then extracted the needle and released the tourniquet. “I’m so sorry, Ethan.”

  “You have nothing, absolutely nothing, to apologize for.” The force behind his words caused her to look up. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course you can. And don’t feel like you need to ask permission. Not ever again.”

  He shook his head. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “This is not the kind of relationship you and I had before.”

  Sonya wrote on the vials with a felt-tip pen. “What do you want to know?”

  “The investment group that’s buying you out—”

  “Trying to acquire my lab,” she corrected. In a more sullen tone she said, “All right. Yes. It looks increasingly definite that my life’s work will sooner or later be stolen by Cemitrex.”

  “Are they involved in brain-wave stuff?”

  “Stuff? You call my life’s work stuff?” She laughed. Or tried to. “To answer your question, so far as Adrian has been able to determine, they have never invested in a medical-research group of any kind before. But they are like the mythical giant squid of the deep. You have heard of them, yes?”

  “Sure. Big enough to drag ships down.”

  “That is Cemitrex.” She continued labeling the vials. “Six billion dollars in assets, and they are everywhere. When they made their investment, they bragged about their reach. They claimed . . .” She set down the pen and last vial. “I was very foolish to agree to their terms. Adrian blames my attorney. Perhaps it was partly his fault. But I was the one who listened to their promises of complete scientific freedom, and I was the one who signed.”

  Ethan gave that the pause it deserved, then asked, “Is there anything in your current research that might make them think this time-travel concept is possible?”

  “Absolutely not.” Her response was unequivocal. “Since this episode began, I’ve gone back through all my notes. Right back to the very beginning, Ethan. Now that I know what to look for, I’m finding elements that suggest this temporal transfer of consciousness is feasible. But I am years away from making this an actual foundation for experimentation. Perhaps . . .” Abruptly she stopped and smiled. “I was going to say, perhaps never. But you’ve made a hash of that, haven’t you.”

  For a woman who smiled so seldom, it had a transformative effect. “Then maybe I’ve got it wrong. Maybe Cemitrex is just greedy.”

  She lost her good humor. “My pain-control work is far from completed. But it does hold huge potential.” She hesitated. “Adrian thinks you’re onto something.”

  “He didn’t tell me that.”

  “Adrian said it was his gut talking and not his head. But his gut is often right. So you will keep on searching?”

  “You bet.”

  “Thank you, Ethan.” She gripped his upper arm. “I am so very glad you are on our side.”

  As Sonya began fitting his chest and neck and forehead with electrodes, Ethan said, “So there I was, thirty-five years from now, minding my own business. And up you pop with your daughter.” He pretended not to see the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm Sonya. “Then the two of you shoot me back to now. What I want to know is, how can that happen since by the time we get to the future, I will be long dead, and you won’t be the same person?”

  “The million-dollar question.” Sonya’s gaze went from intense to farseeing. “The answer is, all the physical and observable elements of the macro universe do not represent the full scope of reality.”

  “Okay. Now break that down into bite-size grammar-school segments.”

  She resumed plugging his electrode cords into the EKG machine. “Have you ever heard of the quantum universe?”

  “Oh, sure. Where I come from, everybody is talking about it. Some people even claim to understand what it means.”

  “Hold still, please.” Sonya watched the machine spin out the narrow graph paper. “Quantum entanglement may be the true answer to what you have experienced. And you in turn might be the first physical proof of its existence. The issue, Ethan, is that no one can define human consciousness. You can’t bottle it, you can’t find it on a map of the brain. It’s been a hotly debated issue for almost five hundred years. The more we study the human thought process, the less we understand.”

  The machine beeped. Sonya tore off the strip, studied it intently, then rose from her stool and pointed toward the next room. “There are recent studies that indicate thoughts do not take any time at all. One study in particular suggests resolution to some problems occurs simultaneously with the right question being posed. All of which point to thought and consciousness actually being governed by the laws of the quantum universe.”

  Ethan liked the way she spoke. She was fully engaged now, the brilliance on full display. What was more, she included him in the process. He was not some outsider knocking at the gates. She revealed herself. He did not understand most of what she said, but he didn’t care. “Back to my question.”

  “We never left it. Do you mind if I take a scan of your brain while we talk?”

  “Not at all.”

  She pointed to a windowless cubicle at the lab’s other end. “Please undress and put on the sterile hospital gown and cap I’ve left for you.”

  When Ethan stepped behind the barrier and was out of sight, it seemed to release Sonya. She began talking as she would to a colleague. Or like they were equals. Ethan listened and marveled at everything she knew and he never would.

  “Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles interact and share spatial proximity in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of others. Distance between the particles changes nothing. Time . . .”

  Ethan pulled the gown free of its plastic covering and slipped it on. The cotton felt cold against his bare skin. “Go on. Time . . . what?”

  “Three years ago, two physicists, one of whom is a close personal friend, suggested that time is nothing more than an emergent phenomenon, a side effect of quantum entanglement.”

  Ethan stepped from the cubicle and turned around so she could fasten the cords of his gown.

  “I can get you a pair of slippers if the floor is cold.”

  “I’m okay. Go on.”

  “Don Page and William Wootters have developed a theory that time as we know it is nothing more than a result of observing a quantum event under Newtonian conditions.”

  Ethan turned and just looked at her.

  She smirked and translated, “The concepts of past, present, and future are all merely side effects. They are part of our physical existence. Like how gravity holds us to the earth but can’t be defined until we reduce it to the level of the very large or the extremely small. At those junctures, gravity becomes a component of space-time entanglement.”

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nbsp; As she led him into the MRI chamber, Ethan said, “Back to my question.”

  “If Don and Bill are correct, time is a map. All points coexist.” She guided him down onto the sliding gurney and fit a strap across his chest. “This machine is very noisy. Do you want earplugs?”

  “No. So I’ve changed a point on the map.”

  “Precisely.” She beamed down at him. “Isn’t that exciting?”

  “Confusing, more like.”

  “Welcome to quantum mechanics.” She continued to smile. “There are any number of possible answers. Does a new secondary map branch off now? Have you merely shifted lines on the current map? Can you alter one component of a future ‘now’ and have this resulting change merely be absorbed in the present ‘now’? Your transition opens up a whole new universe to explore.”

  “That’s what you called it.”

  She stopped in the process of rolling him inside the machine. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Transition. That’s the word you used when you and Delia shot me back here.”

  She studied him a moment. “Every time you say my daughter’s name, I want to weep.”

  For the first time, Ethan found himself filled with a bone-deep affection for his sister-in-law. “Delia is as smart as you, and as beautiful.”

  She rolled him all the way inside, locked the gurney in place, then set a hand on his bare ankle. “I never thought I would say this to you. Never, never, never. You dear, sweet man.”

  The good feeling stayed with Ethan as the machine began warming up. It was far louder than he expected, something he assumed was the result of it being an early version of what had become a standard part of every medical exam. The initial hum grew louder and was joined by a rhythmic drumming.

  Sonya’s voice asked, “Can you hear me?”

  “Barely.”

  “We are beginning the scan in just a—”

  Then the world fractured, and his skull felt like it split apart.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  The machine’s hum was joined by a screeching that grew inside Ethan’s head. The clamor rose until it felt like it was shattering his brain.

  And then it did precisely that.

  For Ethan, it seemed as though the noise actually took on a visual form. He saw himself back on the other gurney, the one in the truck’s rear hold. He saw the other Sonya lean down over him, her face aged beyond her years, her gaze filled with bitter struggle and loss. He saw . . .

  Ethan was back on the crystal-blue wave. The sun appeared at the far end of the tube. The same white light grew until it blanketed everything. Only this time the light seemed to swallow him whole.

  And then his body convulsed as a fist slammed into his chest.

  Suddenly all the horrible intensity was gone. The savage light, the noise—all of it vanished.

  He was once again seated on his board. Out to sea, massive waves rose up and marched toward him, big as mountains. Closer to shore, everything was a maelstrom of fury and foam. But where he sat, it was calm. Ethan was filled with an immense sense of peace. He had never imagined anything could look quite so, well . . .

  Perfect.

  Then he realized he was not alone.

  Another man was seated on a board not far away. For some reason, Ethan had difficulty seeing him clearly. He found it very difficult to shape his words. “Am I dead?”

  Then he was back. Sort of.

  Quick flashes came and went in the space of a single heartbeat. Faster.

  Madeline Wang straddled him and pummeled his chest while Sonya screamed into a phone.

  He blinked, but it seemed like he left and came back again. Gina shouted at him to stay with them.

  Another blink, and Sonya called to unseen people that they were back here.

  A third brief separation, and a man and woman in pale red uniforms lifted him onto a gurney. Gina held his hand and called his name.

  He might have left again. He probably did. Then lights flashed through ambulance windows and someone shouted, “Clear!”

  Ethan woke up back in the hospital. Gina still held his hand.

  Turning his head required some immense effort. He did it just the same. She was stretched out in a seat where a footstool extended when the chair went prone. A purple blanket was tucked up to her chin. He listened to her breathe and knew he was going to tell her. No holds barred. Then his eyelids started sinking of their own accord.

  Ethan managed to whisper only two words. “It’s time.”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-TWO

  The next day he mostly slept. Sonya came twice, both times to apologize. When Ethan insisted she had done nothing wrong, she smiled in the manner of someone being forgiven for a great wrong.

  Madeline, her associate, was a licensed medical doctor. She and Sonya together kept an almost constant watch. Ethan was subjected to half a dozen EKGs. All of them came back completely clear. Once Gina was assured that Ethan was definitely on the mend, she allowed Adrian to drive her back to the hotel and rest.

  By the next morning, Ethan’s chest had mostly stopped aching. His head and shoulder were also much improved, as if what he most needed was a day and a half of enforced bed rest.

  Soon after breakfast, they all crowded in—Sonya, Adrian, Gary, Beth Helms, Madeline, Gina, the doctor, and two nurses. The doctor insisted that Ethan be held over for a full range of tests. Sonya and Madeline both refused outright, waving the EKG tapes in his face. The doctor grew irate at having his authority challenged. Adrian then added his own brand of force, claiming to be his brother’s legal representative and insisting the doctor stop responding with knee-jerk measures to what was clearly a medical issue beyond his control and his understanding. That made the doctor so furious, the men might have come to blows had Gary not stepped between them.

  When he finally accepted that he was not going to get his way, the doctor scrawled his signature so hard it tore the release form. He then told Adrian and Sonya, “Don’t even think of ever coming here for care.” He could not slam a door on pneumatic hinges, but he tried his best.

  When he and the nurses were gone, Beth said, “I’m glad neither of you were armed.”

  Gary told Ethan, “I think you better make this the last time you ever set foot in here, even for aspirin.”

  Sonya looked at her husband. “In case you were still wondering why I refused to go for a medical degree, he just left.”

  Gina said, “Maybe that doctor should get himself checked out for cardiac arrest.”

  “Everybody take a good look for gunshot wounds,” Beth said.

  Adrian said, “I sure hope I don’t have a medical case where the opposing counsel get hold of that guy.”

  Ethan lay there and watched the exchange.

  Friends.

  Adrian and Sonya expected him to come live with them. They didn’t even invite him. They simply stated it as fact, as though there was no way he could possibly consider residing anywhere else. When Ethan said he was going back to the hotel, all the wrath they still had left over from the confrontation with the doctor resurfaced.

  Before they could unload on him, Ethan said, “Gina and I need space.”

  The words caught everyone by surprise. Especially Gina.

  Sonya said, “You can have the bedroom annex.”

  “Absolutely,” Adrian said. “We’ll shift upstairs into my office.”

  “The upstairs has a full bath,” Sonya said. “We’ll be fine.”

  “That’s not the issue and you know it.” Ethan could see from their expressions that they didn’t, so he went on, “We need a place that is ours—sort of. Independent of the investigation and everything that’s going on. A place where we can step back and just be together.”

  Adrian protested, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Actually, it does,” Sonya said.

  “They can have that just as well at our place.”

  “You just said it, hon.” Sonya kept her gaze on Ethan.
“Our place.”

  Adrian opened his mouth, but all he said was, “How am I supposed to argue with that?”

  Sonya offered Gina a small smile. “Despite everything you’ve heard to the contrary, men are trainable.”

  Beth laughed. “Yeah, but is it worth the effort, that’s what I’d like to know.”

  “Some are,” Sonya replied, still smiling at Gina. “Sometimes.”

  Adrian continued to watch Ethan, his expression sad, resigned.

  Finally Ethan said, “Somebody call the nurse so I can get unhooked and out of here.”

  Gina insisted on pushing Ethan’s wheelchair out of the hospital herself. After the confrontation between Adrian and the doctor, the dispatching nurse did not offer a peep in protest.

  The others stood there on the sidewalk and watched as Gina helped him out of the chair and into the BMW’s passenger seat.

  Sonya made a process of fastening his seat belt, but only so she could whisper, “I am so very, very sorry.”

  “You didn’t know,” Ethan said once again. “You couldn’t have.”

  There was a great deal more she wanted to tell him. Ethan could see it in her gaze. But she merely straightened and stepped back far enough for Adrian to settle his arm around her shoulders. They all stood there and watched Gina drive them off. No one waved.

  They drove through central Jacksonville in complete silence. Ethan kept his eyes shut most of the way. He was content to wait, to enjoy the freedom and the salt-laden air flowing through his open window. He knew Gina was watching him. He knew what she was not saying.

  He knew it was time.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-THREE

  When they crossed the inland waterway bridge and stopped at a red light, Gina turned to him, her gaze a silent plea.

  Ethan took a breath and started talking.

  The sun was a tight sliver over the western skyline when they arrived at the hotel. Gina pulled into the lot and sat there, staring out the windshield, her hands keeping a tight hold on the wheel. Motionless.

  Ethan was grateful for her remaining where she was. He knew he had to tell her how they ended. But after that he needed to be able to walk away from the memories. Rise up, shut the door, leave it all behind.