“Yeah,” Jeremiah said. “I suppose. I just don’t see why I have to be the one to suffer. I mean, I lead a very limited life here, Dr. Pike. Food is kind of the best part of my day. And you’ve stocked this place with things that taste like plastic and cardboard. Can we compromise? Just a little?”

Dr. Pike closed the refrigerator and turned to Jeremiah with a severe expression.

“I’m afraid not,” he said at last. “This is too important. I’ll make a deal, however. If you can shed five pounds by your next physical, in about one month, I will agree to some modest adjustments to your food selections. I’ll let you select three things to put back in your diet. In moderation.”

Jeremiah sighed. “I’m calling Dr. Scott,” he said. “We’ll see what he has to say about this. He’s always telling me how he wants me to be comfortable.”

“Don’t bother Dr. Scott with something so trivial.”

Jeremiah stared at Pike. He definitely noted something more behind his words. He was sincerely worried about the man.

“I’m calling him,” he said.

“I believe you’ll find he is in total agreement with me on this,” Pike told him. “I’ll see you at our next appointment.”

“We’ll see about that!” Jeremiah shouted before the door closed behind the doctor.

He picked up the landline phone again and put it to his ear.

“Good morning, Mr. Adams. This is Andrea. How can I help you?”

“I need to speak with Dr. Scott.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t connect you directly, but I could take a message for him.”

“Why can’t I just speak to him?” he asked. “It’s important.”

“He isn’t in the facility at the moment.”

“Then put me through to his ViMed office.”

“It’s Sunday, Mr. Adams. He isn’t there. And even if he were there, you know I can’t do that.”

“No, I suppose not. When is he due back?”

“He won’t be in today. I expect him to call later.”

Jeremiah turned when he heard the familiar click of a key card opening the front door. Brent came in dressed in a wrinkled T-shirt, his red hair in its usual state of chaos.

“Okay, fine,” Jeremiah told Andrea. “Just have him call me.” He put the receiver back on its cradle and turned to Brent. “Charles Scott isn’t even here today,” he said. “Who’s watching the monkeys?”

“He wasn’t here yesterday, either,” Brent told him. “I suppose he has other things to do. He is busy, you know.”

“Other things? I can’t imagine anything important enough to take him away from his precious experiment for two days in a row. You don’t find that strange?”

Brent shrugged and walked into the kitchen. Jeremiah followed him and watched as he poured himself the last of the coffee from the carafe.

“You didn’t want this, did you?”

“Does Scott go missing on a regular basis, then?” Jeremiah asked. “What if something happened here? What if there was an emergency or something?”