The Mind Man

Chapter twenty five

In stark contrast to the heat and bright sunshine of Sydney, Laura found the weather in Boston cold, windy and damp. Low, scudding gray clouds blew in off the North Atlantic drenching the city in squally succession. As she rode the Massachusetts Turnpike from the airport the city looked drab and uninviting and for a moment she wished she had stayed in Australia. 

They reached the Danielsen Institute quicker than she expected, and the taxi pulled up outside 185 Bay State Road before she had become properly orientated. A sign out front suggested the institute was part of the Boston University campus. 

She made herself known at the security desk and was summoned to a waiting room. As she had only scheduled a brief stopover in Boston she hoped her request for a meeting with Dr. Zimmerman would be duly honored and punctual. After thirty minutes of waiting she became impatient and angry. She was about to return to the security area when a tall thin man in a white coat appeared at the door. He removed his thick rimmed glasses and held out a hand. 

"Miss Taylor?" 

"Yes, you must be Dr. Zimmerman. Thanks for meeting with me. Can I ask you a few questions?" 

"Certainly. Let's go to my office where we can speak without interruption." 

He led her along a carpeted hallway. The rain pelted relentlessly against glass windows. Zimmerman refrained from further conversation and walked as though she were not with him. She used the opportunity to study him further. He had a surprisingly thick head of hair for his age, cut almost comically, like an English schoolboy. It showed little signs of graying even though she presumed the man would be in his early sixties. He looked aloof and unapproachable as though he had very few friends. Laura thought he looked like a man who had been in the Boy Scout movement when he was younger and had been subjected to much torment by the other members leaving him bitter and removed. 

"Here." He suddenly stopped and ushered her into a room. He caught her looking at him. 

Sliding behind a large desk onto an old leather chair he closed a laptop with a slow deliberate movement which gave Laura the impression he didn't want her to see what was on the screen. 

He made no attempt to offer her a seat so Laura sat on the only other chair available, which was against the wall opposite his desk. 

"Now, how can I help you? You are from The Global Tribute is that correct?" 

"Yes that's right, Dr. Zimmerman. I'm doing research on telepathy and I've found in my readings thus far that you are a leading specialist on the subject so I thought it would be appropriate to speak with you." 

"If you come as a skeptic, Miss Taylor, or to ask about all the popular psychic paraphernalia then you've come to the wrong place." His voice was harsh and gritty. 

"No...no that's the thing. I'm trying to delve down beyond that to seek out conclusive studies and research from prominent scientists like yourself that telepathy actually is a reality and can be practically used." 

"And why do you want to know that?" 

Laura became increasingly aware that she had no sexual influence over this man. She suspected his demeanor would not change if she were sitting in front of him naked. Most men would at least flit their eyes over her once in a while as they were talking to her but Dr. Zimmerman stared rigidly at her with cold eyes grotesquely magnified by the thick lenses of his glasses as though searching for her soul to adopt as his own. It was as if the rules of the game she had always played had unexpectedly changed, landing her in unfamiliar territory from which she didn't know how to proceed. She suddenly wished the interview would end. His room was not at all as she imagined. It was filled with piles of folders, old books and journals both on his desk and on the floor. It had a dusty smell which began to irritate her. Zimmerman sat behind his laptop as though seeking protection in a cave.