Sigma One (50 page)

Twenty five hundred miles west, Debbie Andrews watched as Daniel Grayson raised his crippled head slowly from the lapboard on the front of his wheelchair. She followed his sad eyes as they moved left and then right. His eyes would stop briefly as he focused on her, but then his gaze would wander again, finally settling on Burt's computer in the corner of his bedroom.

Since Burt's death, his parents had moved Daniel home and had used the insurance money to provide for the round the clock nursing rare Daniel needed instead of leaving him alone in the hospital. The money couldn't replace their loss of Burt. Nothing could do that but having Debbie around helped soften the blow.

It hadn't been that way at first. Debbie had injuries of her own from the head on collision with the government vehicle which took Burt's life and left her with amnesia and two broken legs, and during her recovery Burt's parents weren't allowed to see her--the doctor's fearing the sight of them might set her back. But that had been three months ago.

Now she was almost mended and as she slowly regained her memory, her doctor's thought it would be okay for her to see Burt's parents.

As Daniel continued to stare at the screen, Debbie noticed him close his eyes and as he did, she saw the computer prompt magically begin to glide across the screen and then stop.

This time, however, she didn't know what the unexpected movement meant any more than Daniel's parents could explain the new medication in the blue vile next to his bed stand.