The Adam Enigma by Mark; Ronald C.; Reeder Meyer Read Free Book Online Page A

from Myriam’s postdoc research team. Not only was Dr. Ron Grange brilliant, but his father was a highly successful and connected lobbyist in D.C. As the firm grew, Ron wanted to move their offices to the East Coast, where most of the world’s geopolitical powerbrokers were located. But the idea of living in a large metropolitan city had not appealed to Ramsey. The two men compromised. Ron chose to live in Bethesda and Ramsey returned to Grinnell. He had found the Victorian house on the edge of the campus and had rented office space on the upper floor of a local bank.
    Parking his car in front of the garage, he carried his bags to the back entrance. A motion light flicked on, bathing the house’s large portico in a soft light. The back door was unlocked. Inside a note from the housekeeper was pinned to the refrigerator. “Dinner is ready; just heat for two minutes in the microwave. Gladys.”
    Food would have to wait until tomorrow. He went into his office, and after pouring himself a snifter of fine cognac, stood in front of the French doors that opened onto the backyard. The soft scents of spring filled the crisp night air. Somewhere in the trees beside the garage a barn owl hooted. He tipped his glass in salute, glad to be back amid familiar sights and sounds. But even as he took a sip of the fine brandy, his thoughts kicked him out of the comforts of home and back into events of the past two days. The memory of what happened beside the Cottonwood tree was losing its vibrancy, and he could have called Myriam and graciously decline her offer. But then there was what had happened at Chicago’s O’Hare airport late this afternoon.
    While waiting for a connecting flight to Des Moines, he had looked up Adam Gwillt on the Internet. But after twenty minutes of searching, it was as if man didn’t exist. The only information he found was a short article in Rio Chama’s local newspaper about his disappearance—along with a picture of Adam—that was probably placed at the request of the sister, Carlotta. Otherwise, nothing. He had recalled again how the apparition beside the cottonwood tree had looked remarkably like the picture of Adam that Carlotta had shown him. But was it really him? The question was becoming both perplexing and intriguing. Then the strangest thing had happened. While sitting in O’Brien’s Restaurant & Bar enjoying a burger and fries, he had overheard the name “Adam Gwillt.” Looking over his shoulder, he saw a man talking on his cell phone. By his fine clothes, Ramsey surmised he was a successful businessman. Just as he got up to ask about Adam, the man had looked at his watch, grabbed his computer and dashed off.
    For a moment Ramsey had thought about chasing after him. Then he noticed the man’s credit card receipt on his table. Walking over casually, he had read his name: Malcolm Grossinger. A quick Internet search revealed he was the president of Midwest Cable based in Des Moines, Iowa.
    Ramsey wasn’t sure how he felt about coincidences. He knew that the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung had built a whole theory of psychological development around meaningful coincidences thathe called synchronicity. Taking another sip of the fragrant brandy, Ramsey felt like he was being steered along some path much like what had occurred on his journey to Peru. Back then I was led astray by some mysterious forces. Is the same thing happening again? Am I misreading what happened in the last two days? Or, as Jung might say, “are these signs that providence is at work in my life.”
    But today the problem at hand was quite different. What should he do about Myriam’s offer and what were all those coincidences around Adam Gwillt about? It came down to rationality versus intuition, he supposed. So he settled into the large wingback chair before the fireplace in his office. Around him on the walls hung beautifully framed historical maps collected