Ark (6 page)

THOU SHALT ...

In the weeks that followed Gene’s visit Jim continued his research quietly and resolutely. Now and then he’d surprise Lou with a sudden gush of trivia relating to the ark, but otherwise he kept a low profile, afraid he’d alienate those around him with his obsession. Like Gene, Jim was becoming hooked on the mystery and resolved not to let it go. Now, twenty years after the mystery had been planted in his mind, he was inches away from solving it, or so he thought.

Kas sensed a change in Jim after Gene’s first phone call. She thought it spooky that events were coming together in a kind of pattern. She didn’t believe in predestination or fate. The events of the Bible were light years from her daily routine. Jim, on the other hand, was consumed by the subject. Always curious, he had an angle on almost any subject from UFOs to natural history. Kas didn’t discourage him. His imagination and sense of wonder had put plenty of bread on the table.

This was different. The Bible was being shoved under her nose fairly regularly now. The angry God in the Old Testament was becoming omnipresent in their life. Now Jim was using most of his spare time on research, usually off by himself and working very late.

“He isn’t seeing other women, at least,” Claire noted when Kas confided to her about it, but Kas found little encouragement in those words. Jim had always been loyal. It was her husband’s sanity that might be at stake. The more he obsessed about it, the more concerned she became.

“Last night in bed he discussed the Ten Commandments,” she told Claire. “What kind of bedroom talk is that?”

Claire suggested that Jim might be having some kind of crisis. “It happens, Kas,” she said. “The brain is an organ too. Sometimes it needs fixing.”

“He’s not crazy, if that’s what you mean,” Kas grumbled. “He’s just obsessed.”

This was true. Jim would be the first to admit it, and it bothered him as much as it did Kas. The subject was always there, like a pool of gasoline, waiting to be set alight by the merest spark.

#

Exactly a month after their initial meeting, Gene contacted Jim again. He wanted to set up a meeting with Jim and the lawyer, John Wilcox.

Jim balked at first, saying he had mouths to feed and couldn’t just run off on a lark, but Gene insisted and pointed out that this would eventually be a paid project.

“Paid?” said Jim to his studio’s speakerphone.

“Of course,” said Gene, adding that Jim and Kas were invited to come to the Wilcox estate the next weekend. Wilcox would pay for Jim’s time, if that was necessary, and he wanted to meet the family. Gene described the man’s estate as a monument to greenness. “Wilcox wanted me to tell you that you can sleep in the main house or in the dome by the waterfall, or the teepee in the deep woods. He says the teepee has a hot tub.”

Lou was in the next room listening to the conversation. “That gave you a smile, I bet. Eh, sport?” he said when he heard Jim sign off. “All this and the ark, too.”

“You wanna come, too?” asked Jim, hoping that a little altruism on his part might improve Lou’s attitude toward the subject.

“Sure,” said Lou. “Can I bring Claire?”

Jim’s offer had backfired. Now he had to impose on Gene and his friend to invite more guests to the estate, but Lou was his closest friend and Jim felt good about having him along. It wouldn’t hurt to have witnesses. After all, they were going to visit a lawyer.

#

The Ford pulled out of Jim’s driveway at eight a.m., March the first, with Jim driving and Lou riding shotgun. In the back seat sat Claire and Kas, full of conversation about the Philadelphia Flower Show they’d visited the week before. That was the last time they’d seen each other so they had some catching up to do.

Jim was pleased to have Lou beside him. Now, with his friend as a captive listener, he might be able to discuss some concerns he had about the ark project.

“Mount Kisco,” said Lou. “Who do I know from there?”

“All I remember is some panelists on a 50’s TV show What was it called?
What’s My Line?
That was it.”

“Right. Bennet Cerf. Dorothy Kilgallen,” said Lou. “I remember her. I heard she was the only person to interview Oswald. Then she was snuffed. He told her he was framed.”

Jim shook his head. “Give me a break, Lou.”

“What the fuck?” said Lou. “Oh, Okay. You get to chase after Bible arks and holy grails but if I smell a rat in the government ...”

“Will you two shut up?” yelled Claire. “We haven’t even hit the turnpike and you’re at each other.”

“Yes, deeeear,” bleated Lou.

“Hopeless,” Claire muttered, staring out at the traffic.

Jim laughed. “Look, Lou,” he said. “I know how you feel about this, but don’t forget that this guy has big bucks. There might be some jobs in it for the studio.”

“Right. Well, I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”

Jim smiled. “Besides, I wanted to tell you what happened at the university.”

“You said it was weird, but you didn’t say why. Some kind of computer simulation with radio waves and the ark, right?”

Jim’s eyebrow rose. “Oh. So you have been listening!”

“No so I had much choice,” said Lou with a grin. “Okay. Since you brought it up, I’ll tell you what I expect would happen if you rebuild the ark.”

“Okay. What?” said Jim.

“Nothing,” said Lou confidently. “Jack shit! Zip!”

“Okay,” Jim said with a shrug. “So what? We put the money in our pockets and go back to the Raftworks. Case closed.”

“Cool,” said Lou with a smile. “So why’re you so spooked about this?”

“A lot of things. My obsession with this subject, the fact that the simulation ran but only the computers know the results. And then there’s the idea that maybe God will strike me down at any moment for messing with the ark.”

“Oh, is that all?” said Lou, lighting up a joint.

“Jeez, Lou,” said Jim, eyeing the passing cars. “Keep that out of sight at least, will you? And open the window.”

Lou opened the window and an icy blast of air blew ashes into Kas’ face. Her howls of rage were almost deafening. Lou ignored her utterly. “So what exactly do you expect to get out of this?” he asked as he fiddled with the radio dial.

“I don’t know,” said Jim after considering the question for a moment. “Maybe only an interesting weekend.”

That seemed to end the conversation for a while. Lou found a suitable FM station and all sat happily listening to it for at least an hour.

As they approached the entrance to the George Washington Bridge Kas dangled two cookies over the seat. Lou and Jim each took one. Lou looked back at Kas. “Look, Kas, I’m really sorry you got ashes in your eye.”

“No, you’re not,” Kas growled. “Eat your cookie, Lou.”

Jim smiled. In spite of their bickering, he enjoyed being with these people. They were both family and friends. An hour more and they would perhaps be taking a step into the real unknown; the first step, perhaps, on a very dangerous road.

In the back of his mind, Jim’s internal dialogue was nagging him. Perhaps he was dragging his friends into the same mysterious pool of uncertainty and danger he’d imposed upon himself. Finally he could contain his fears no longer. “Listen everybody,” he began. “I want to ... well, I don’t really know how to say this. I just feel like I have to warn you.”

“Warn us?” said Claire.

Jim shrugged. “I don’t know. Years ago, back when the Raftworks still had a raft, I had a talk with Gene. Just a short back and forth about the significance of the ark. Anyway, he told me that he was spooked by the idea of building the ark. I remember him saying, ‘What if it works?’ He had this look on his face.”

“What’s your point?” said Claire.

Lou laughed. “Afraid you slap some boards together and put it together and it’ll zap us?”

Kas was keeping her mouth shut. If she had an opinion it was her secret. All she seemed to care about was enjoying the ride. She held up her hand. “Anybody hungry besides me? Maybe we should stop before we invade this person’s home. Can we find a restaurant?”

Lou seconded the motion. Then Claire spotted a man in a neighboring car she swore was Robert Redford.

Jim gave up. It was clear that his angst about the ark was a private matter, whether he wanted it to be or not. Fifteen minutes later they were in a booth at a roadside restaurant discussing the Philadelphia Eagles with a couple in the next booth.

#

The driveway to the mansion was a crisp river of macadam, wide enough to warrant a stripe down its middle. After they passed an unassuming gray mailbox marked Wilcox, they drove for the better part of a mile before they could see the house. Around it, the grounds heralded early spring, with the help of some expensive looking gardening. Claire let out a little squeal when she saw the house, pure white, with cream and gold gingerbread. Lou commented that the place looked as though it had been built yesterday.

“Gene says that there’s a couple of houses,” said Jim. “This must be the main house. It’s principally for entertaining guests, he said.”

They circled a wide cul-de-sac that surrounded a fountain built of seemingly loose boulders piled into a tall mound. Water poured in thin rivulets down its rough sides. Beside it sat an antique glider painted white like the house. Near it a gardener was throwing lime on the ground. He directed Jim to another house where he said Mr. Wilcox was waiting for them. Jim thanked the man and commented on the beautiful grounds.

“Thanks. We take pride in what we do. Nice to see it shows.”

A quarter mile past the mansion they found a modern house built of natural wood, blending so well into the surrounding trees and rounded boulders that Jim had a hard time estimating its size and shape.

The four travelers knocked at the door and asked the man who opened it for Mr. Wilcox. Glad to be out of the car, Kas took off her coat and handed it to him. He took it graciously and bowed. “Mr. Wilcox at your service, ma’am. Can I take the rest of your coats?”

John Wilcox was younger than Jim expected of a lawyer of his stature. Though his hair was graying, he looked doe-eyed and innocent and remarkably youthful. A moment later Gene appeared and happily introduced everyone, ending with Jim. “This is Jim. It’s his intuition and his artwork that has us here today.”

“Aha!” laughed John with raised eyebrows. “A graphic adventurer!”

Jim smiled. He liked the phrase but he wondered about this youngish looking man. His calm and self-effacing style seemed incongruous with the image of a powerful corporate lawyer.

“You’re a lawyer?” said Jim somewhat awkwardly.

Wilcox smiled. “You won’t shoot me, will you, Jim? Some would, you know. We were about to have some sandwiches and champagne,” he added. “I hope you’ll join us?”

They passed through an atrium filled with flowering vines that towered two stories up to a skylight of multicolored glass. Jim almost missed seeing the live turtles and the exotic birds caged there as Kas pulled him into the living room. It surrounded an inviting blue arm of water that connected to the larger swimming pool through a cave of natural stone. The pool was edged with large natural slabs of layered stone. To the left of the pool was a huge fireplace, and to the right a bubbling jacuzzi, large enough to accommodate six people, beckoned to Kas who stared at it longingly.

The living room was built on several different levels. A slightly elevated lounging area surrounded the fireplace, backed by a sumptuous bar. But what caught Jim’s eye was the view through the huge picture window. “I didn’t know that there were canyons in New York,” he said. “What an amazing view.”

“Thanks,” said John, “but I wouldn’t call it a canyon. It’s just looks like one from this viewpoint. The rock walls seem to go on forever, but they don’t. I actually chose this site for the house for the view. Found it hiking one day. We have to pipe water quite a ways, but I think it’s worth it.”

“How far?” asked Lou.

“Maybe four miles.”

Wilcox raised a finger as though he’d just remembered something. “By the way, I think you’ll get a kick out of the model of the tabernacle I have in the rec room.” He excused himself. “I want to tell the staff that there’s four more for the lobster.” As he disappeared through a large rustic door he called back for everyone to help themselves to the bar. Then he was gone.

“Talk about good first impressions,” said Claire.

Kas snickered but made no comment. She seemed to be still taking in everything at once. Her eyes danced with delight.

Jim walked over to the edge of the pool and stared out at the canyon. “You say Wilcox has a tepee?” asked Jim. “An Indian tepee?”

Gene was by the bar examining the bottles. “Yeah,” he said, “and horses somewhere, and a geodesic dome. The estate goes on for miles.”

“A dome?” said Lou, sitting down on the leather sectional.

“You’ll like this one, Lou,” said Gene, looking at pointedly at him. “He says he has a pot garden.”

Lou hung his head in disbelief. “I should have guessed it,” he said. “We had an accident back there on the interstate and we’re all dead and gone to heaven. This place has everything.”

“Purgatory, if you ask me,” said Claire, surveying the room. “We can’t keep any of it.”

#

John Wilcox returned to the group, followed by two of his staff with drinks and sandwiches for the guests. “After you folks have relaxed a bit I’ll introduce you to the rest of the house,” he said. “And the staff, of course,” he added, patting the back of a tall blond man who was setting out the coffee service. “This is Aaron,” he said, “and that’s Consuela serving the sandwiches. She’s our cook. Wonderful,” Wilcox added, picking up one of the tiny sandwiches and taking a bite.

The servants finished what they were doing and stood waiting for orders. Wilcox nodded to them and they left the room. He said little while his guests relaxed and enjoyed their food, and when everyone was finished he rose to address them. “The main purpose of our gathering is to get acquainted, but I confess that I’m eager to begin work on the project. I hope you’ll forgive me if I try to keep the ark project central to our discussions.”

Gene lifted a hand and caught John’s attention. “In all fairness to Kas and Claire, and maybe Lou, I suspect they aren’t really too interested in it, John. They’re just along for the ride.”