The Back of the Turtle Read Online Free PDF Page B

purchased.
    “You’ll sleep like babies,” the sales associate had told them. “The foam moulds to your body and eliminates any pressure points.”
    They had taken off their shoes and stretched out on the mattress. It had been a pleasant enough experience, much like sinking into warm custard.
    But when the new mattress arrived and the plastic wrapping was removed, their bedroom immediately filled up with a violent odour that irritated their eyes and set the both of them to coughing.
    Olivia opened all the windows, but the room remained unbearable, and they were forced to take their books and pillows upstairs and sleep in the guest quarters.
    The next morning, Dorian called the store.
    Yes, the sales associate told him, off-gassing was quite common. Yes, all the emissions were within government regulations and did not pose a health hazard. Yes, in rare cases, thefumes might irritate eyes and cause some minor coughing. No, the guarantee only covered manufacturer’s defects. But there was no need to worry, the man assured Dorian. In most cases, the problem would resolve itself.
    Two months later, Dorian and Olivia were still in the guest suites. By then the smell had disappeared, but each time they tried sleeping on the mattress, they would wake up in the morning with headaches and sore throats.
    The store manager was sympathetic. “Aside from that, how does the bed feel?”
    “It’s comfortable,” Dorian admitted. “A little warm for my liking, but comfortable.”
    “And that’s the most important thing, isn’t it.”
    As a token of the company’s commitment to customer service, the manager gave Dorian twenty percent off on a special mattress cover that protected the bed from moisture but still allowed the foam to breathe.
    “We recommend this cover for people with heightened sensitivities, and it reduces the incidence of dust mites.”
    Dorian put the cover on that evening, and, over the next two weeks, the headaches did go away.
    The sore throats continued for a while longer.
    THROUGH the glass partitions, Dorian watched Winter step off the elevator and come along the corridor towards the office. The woman had the unsettling ability to move through the physical world as though it didn’t exist.
    “Do you know anything about organic mattresses?”
    Winter tilted her head to one side, as though she had been asked a question for which there was no good answer.
    “Olivia and I have to get a new mattress. We’re thinking we might try natural latex.”
    “I spoke with Dr. Thicke.” Winter adjusted her glasses and consulted the tablet. “He’ll be here tomorrow.”
    “Probably thinks I want to talk to him about the biofuels position.”
    “Yes, sir,” said Winter. “He did mention biofuels.”
    Dorian snorted. “Cold day in hell.”
    “And it appears that Dr. Quinn didn’t go anywhere for his vacation.”
    “He stayed in town?”
    “Archives,” said Winter. “Dr. Quinn spent his vacation in archives.”
    Dorian rubbed his eyes. The ringing in his ears was back.
    “Our archives?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Access to archives is restricted.”
    “It is,” said Winter.
    “Did I authorize such access?”
    “No, sir,” said Winter. “You did not.”
    “Then how the hell did he get in?”
    “Archives were reorganized in the last restructuring.” Winter slid a finger across the tablet several times. “Currently, we have no staff in archives.”
    “Security footage? Computer records?”
    “We’re going through everything now,” said Winter. “An initial assessment indicates that Dr. Quinn was interested in the files on
Klebsiella planticola.
”
    “
Klebsiella planticola?
”
    “The SDF 20 variation.”
    Dorian turned to the monitor. “PAM environment,” he said, speaking clearly and distinctly. “I’d like a PAM environment now.”
    KLEBSIELLA
planticola,
or SDF 15, was a naturally occurring bacterium that grew in the root systems of every plant in the world. In the 1990s, a German