Book Read Free

Sequence 77

Page 17

by Darin Preston


  After several minutes of browbeating, Seth was finally able to inform his superior about the happenings of the case. Upon finishing the update, he pulled the phone away from his ear and was about to hang up when he could clearly hear Bob’s voice add in an angry tone, “One more thing, Agent Alexander.” Seth reluctantly put the phone back up to his ear and listened intently for a few moments. “What? Why?” he questioned loudly. Reflexively he held up the palm of his free hand in annoyance.

  Squinting as he leaned in, Leo strained to hear what Bob was saying. Losing focus on what he was doing, he nearly turned Gertrude onto a curb. Correcting quickly, he managed to bring the errant vehicle back to the center of the lane, eliciting an all too familiar honk from the vehicle behind him.

  Barely noticing as the car’s swaying buffeted him back and forth on the slippery vinyl, Seth’s lips puckered like he had just eaten an entire lemon in one bite. “Sir, we’re not in need of any help,” he pleaded, his free hand still hovering in the air. “I promise we’ll check in twice a day if that’s what you want. Agent Alejo and I are fully capab—” Interrupted midsentence, it was clear that the boss wasn’t interested in negotiating. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. We’ll take care of it.” Disconnecting from the call with a huff, he threw it forcefully into the vacuous back seat.

  “I bet a little heavy metal doesn’t sound so bad after all that, eh partner?” Leo said in an attempt to cheer up his ego-battered friend a bit.

  Turning his head slowly, Seth gave his partner a look that could’ve melted glass. “My ear is all sweaty. I hate that.” Cupping one hand over his ear, he tested his hearing. “Bob’s screaming was much, much louder,” he said with certainty.

  “And I bet it didn’t even rhyme. So, what did the big hairy grump have to say?” asked Leo, furrowing his brow as he tried to ignore a rude gesture coming from the driver directly behind him.

  Rubbing his chin ominously, Seth gave his partner a choice. “What do you want first, the good news or the bad news?”

  In typical upbeat fashion, Leo shot back a broad smile. “The good news bro, always bring me the good news first.”

  Slapping the sides of the box of files still resting in his lap, Seth gave a nod. “Bob thinks we’ve gathered enough information and wants us to turn all evidence and contact information over to Captain Fillion after we finish our meeting with Doctor Shukla.” Although he hadn’t cared for the delivery, he was in general agreement with Bob’s assessment of their progress. “It’s gonna be nice to get home. I think we found plenty to charge Doctor Kemp with impeding an official police investigation.”

  “That’s cool, but I don’t think that’s what Manisha was worried about.” Leo looked uneasily at his partner, “What exactly what was Kemp covering up?” Dissatisfied, he again had difficulty keeping to his lane of traffic. “It doesn’t feel right just dropping it back in the Captain’s lap.”

  Agreeing to some extent, Seth still didn’t feel as though the case was something the FBI should be heading up in the first place. “Listen, we’ll be able to give Captain Fillion more after a few days than he was able to get in the last few months. You know as well as I do that some cases take years to finally crack.”

  Knowing that it wasn’t the most satisfying answer, he tried to present a silver lining. “Your girlfriend, errr…I mean, the Professor will help us make sense of what we have here. Maybe it’ll be all the Captain needs to wrap things up,” said Seth reassuringly, while also taking the opportunity to poke fun at his partner’s obvious attraction to the brilliant Professor. “I have to say though, almost none of the scientific stuff has made sense to this point, and I see no reason why it would start to now.”

  A laugh dangerously close to a giggle escaped Leo’s lips. Winking at his friend, he smiled broadly. “I hope you’re right, bro. On all counts.”

  Gawking mockingly at Leo for a moment, Seth turned back to gaze through the bug-spattered windshield. He noticed the increasing familiarity of passing street signs again guiding them toward their destination. “Much more of this and Gertrude will be able to find her own way to the hospital,” he mumbled under his breath.

  Pulling slowly into the parking structure, Leo prayed there would still be a stall available with enough room to accommodate his car’s bulk. Now familiar with the sight of the monstrous green Ford Galaxie, the parking attendant waved happily at the agents from his lonely glass booth.

  Luckily for Seth, his partner never did get around to turning on the stereo this trip, and for once, only one of his ears was ringing from excessive exposure to unnecessarily high decibel levels. After a few minutes of rummaging through the back seat, he managed to recover the discarded phone. It had been enveloped in the folds of a greasy green sweatshirt that looked like it had been used to wipe off animals saved from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

  Holding it with just his thumb and index finger, Seth took an unused tissue from his pants pocket and cleaned the device off, tossing the dirty tissue behind him when finished. Putting the salvaged phone back into his pocket, he grabbed the box of files from the floor and opened the car door. Upon getting out, he waited patiently as Leo blocked Gertrude’s tires, per his custom. Satisfied that their cantankerous conveyance was secure, the two men made their way to the hospital’s reception area.

  As they reached the front doors and entered the lobby, Leo suddenly realized that something had slipped his mind. “Hey, what was the bad news you wanted to tell me, bro?” he asked, turning to Seth.

  In seemingly direct response to his question, a familiar-looking, blond man wearing a white dress shirt, black tie, and dark sunglasses quickly stood up from waiting room chair when he saw the agents come into view. “Good morning, Agents. I’ve been waiting for some time,” said Special Agent Toth, slickly removing his dark glasses to reveal his pale blue eyes.

  Giving Leo a pained look, Seth turned his attention toward Joshua. “I hope you didn’t get here too early,” he said, pretending to look at his watch. He wondered just how long the overzealous agent had actually been waiting for them to arrive. “Bob said you wouldn’t be here until later today,” he said, veiling his annoyance with a forced smile.

  “Early bird gets the worm, Agent Alexander,” said Joshua, lifting his chin as he stared down the bridge of his nose impetuously at Seth. “I think that Special Agent in Charge Simpson would agree with that.” He left no question of how he felt about referring to a superior so informally.

  Leo’s raised one eyebrow slightly as he watched his partner’s smile fade away at the haughty agent’s comment. “Well, I think all the worms are pretty well gotten,” said Leo with clear satisfaction. Stepping casually between Seth and Joshua, he broke their visual stalemate while subtly forcing his partner to take a step back at the same time. “We’ll be heading to Milwaukee this afternoon after we wrap up a few…details,” he said, smiling in anticipation of their impending meeting with Professor Shukla.

  Like a bell calling out in the fog, a clear, emotionless voice broke through the contentious mood of the conversation from directly behind them. “I’m not sure what worms have to do with anything, but you are wrong about being finished here,” said Alice bluntly. “Professor Shukla is missing.” Her voice was unwavering and seemed especially incongruent given the statement, but there was no doubt that she was correct.

  They weren’t finished here.

  Chapter 20

  Seeing the Light

  WARMING SUNBEAMS PRESSSED stubbornly against the artificial glow emanating from halogen lights hanging throughout the hospital lobby. Lingering shadows crept away from the familiar morning advance. The smell of fresh coffee permeated the air, welcoming the last of the first shift who arrived to embrace another day caring for patients. Only a small sprinkling of visitors populated the large waiting area in hopes of seeing loved ones before official visiting hours. If not for the unmistakable sounds of apprehensive conversation coming from the reception area, all would have seemed routine.

  Leo’s
shoulders became tense as he looked at the unnervingly calm receptionist staring back at him from behind the blue, marbled countertop. “What do you mean, she’s missing?” he demanded, his voice rising in alarm. “It’s early yet, how do you know she didn’t get caught in the morning rush hour or something?” he reasoned, staring at Alice expectantly.

  Appearing calm and collected, Alice gazed stoically back at the agitated man. “Professor Shukla arrives to work early each day, with few exceptions. She calls whenever she expects to arrive late,” said Alice in an even, matter-of-fact tone.

  Stepping forward, Seth put both palms flat on the receptionist’s desk, looking down at the floor as if he expected to find answers in the tiles beneath his feet. “She was working late last night. Could she have fallen asleep in her office?” he asked, hoping it could be that simple.

  “I called and had her office, lecture hall, and all of the labs checked less than ten minutes ago,” Alice replied, well ahead of the game already. “Her light was on, but she was not in her office.” The woman’s stolid composure was unnerving to the agents, but her machine-like efficiency made it less and less likely that she was mistaken about the professor’s disappearance.

  Having been listening to the conversation from a few feet away, Joshua stepped forward. He cleared his throat and spoke as if reciting from a field manual. “It’s too soon to declare her a missing person. The next step would be to contact the local authorities and have them do a wellness check at her place of residence.”

  Though he didn’t want to, Seth had to admit that the increasingly aggravating agent was exactly right. “We were just getting to that, Joshua,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly in annoyance. “I’ll get on the line with Captain Fillion and see if he can send a unit over to check her place out. Leo, you can bring Agent Toth up-to-speed while I make the call,” he said with a slight wink and smile toward his partner.

  “Well golly, it would be my pleasure, Agent Alexander!” responded Leo, his eyes widening with over-the-top cheerfulness as he displayed a toothy smile.

  Looking for a quiet area to make the call, Seth turned and walked away from the group. His progress was suddenly halted by Alice’s clear, jarring voice.

  “What would you like me to do, Agent?” she asked, tilting her head expectantly.

  Turning back to address her question, he thought for a moment. “Stay close, Alice. I may need you in the event of a high-speed chase,” he said with a faint grin.

  Nodding in the affirmative, Alice gripped her keys in anticipation, clearly not getting the humorous intent of the comment. Recognizing that she may have taken him seriously, Seth turned quickly away and prayed it would not come to that.

  Moving a short distance to a darkened corner near a vending machine, Seth reached into his pocket for the cell phone, which still felt a bit greasy to him. He could still hear Leo’s voice as he debriefed Agent Toth with the details of the case up to this point. It was disheartening to hear how far along Leo’s description already was, signifying just how little they really knew. He began to realize how much was hinging upon Professor Shukla and her analysis of the data. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the professor was indeed missing. Like the computer theft, the timing of her disappearance was just too perfect. He began dialing the phone when the light fixture he was standing directly beneath suddenly sprang to life with a high-pitched buzz. He stopped dialing and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the harshness of what he saw from this angle to be an essentially bare bulb. He pushed a button to clear the dialing memory and again started inputting Captain Fillion’s number. Struck by a thought, he stopped dialing once again, but this time put the phone back into his pocket. Bringing his right hand to his forehead, he slowly rubbed back and forth as if he were trying to summon a genie from an old rusted lamp. “Why would she leave her light on unless she intended to come back?” he asked himself, eyes suddenly widening despite the incessant glare. “We’re losing time!” he yelled, emerging from the hallway as if being chased. Barely sidestepping a small coffee table, he sprinted toward Leo and Joshua in a straight line.

  “Whoa bro, you’re gonna hurt yourself!” said Leo, bracing himself for the possibility that his partner was about to bowl him over.

  “Alice, we’re going to need a ride to the professor’s office,” Seth said breathlessly. In his haste, he didn’t even notice Leo cringing at the suggestion.

  Joshua narrowed his eyes at the display of undisciplined behavior. “What’s going on, Agent Alexander?” Putting his hands on his hips, he refused to budge until he got an answer.

  Hurtling past, Seth wasn’t interested in slowing down, “I’ll tell you on the way!” He ran to catch up to Alice who was already speed walking to where her golf cart was charging.

  “Is he always this professional?” asked Joshua sarcastically. Coolly he flipped open his sunglasses with one hand and placed them ostentatiously on his face.

  Shaking his head, Leo started his own sprint in an effort to catch up to his partner and the speedy secretary. “Nah,” he called, looking back over his shoulder. “He’s usually just as boring as the rest of you gringos,” he added glibly. “Now let’s go! The party bus is leaving.”

  Not wishing to be left out of the action, Joshua ran to catch up.

  ***

  Securing the box of recovered files against his midsection with his left hand, Seth used his right to hurriedly pull open the heavy wooden doors of the Genetics-Biotechnology Center. His partner leaped forward and held the door open so that Seth could secure the unwieldy box with both hands as they entered.

  Looking as though he had been accosted along the way, Joshua followed a moment later, looking a little haggard. His mind-over-matter philosophy apparently met its match when Alice was in the driver’s seat, but with a quick brush of his fingers through his hair and a few deep breaths, he regained his trademark composure.

  Holding the box awkwardly against his stomach, he raised one knee to push the package more securely into his grip. He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out and flashed his credentials to the receptionist, but never stopped moving all the while. “We’re going to Professor Shukla’s office,” he informed her, tossing his badge into the box and continuing on.

  “Professor Shukla isn’t in yet,” the woman responded, quickly coming to her feet as the other two agents rushed past.

  “We know, thank you, miss,” assured Leo. He hastily flashed his own identification in an effort to keep up with the urgent pace.

  Arriving at the Professor’s office to find the light still on and the door fully open, Seth stepped inside to visually survey the room.

  Joshua managed to catch up a few moments later, having taken the time to let the secretary fully examine his identification before barging in. “Let me get this straight,” he said, leaning casually against the door frame as he caught his breath. “You think the professor didn’t leave the building at all yesterday because she forgot to turn her lights off?” he asked, tilting his head and smirking incredulously. “Seems like a bit of a leap to me.”

  Undeterred by the impertinent agent’s misgivings, Seth continued checking the office for any clues that might help find the missing woman. “The professor told us she would go home, but return later in the evening,” he said, squinting as he recounted the conversation in his mind. “She seems responsible and very conscientious. I doubt she would have left her lights on, especially if she had no intention of returning.” His arms ached from the strain of holding on to the cumbersome box of files.

  Removing his sunglasses, Joshua folded them up and slid them neatly into his jacket’s breast pocket. “She may have intended to return, but ended up falling asleep or something,” he suggested.

  Seth shook his head in disagreement. “That doesn’t fit the profile,” he said, trying to connect with Agent Toth by using more formal FBI speak. “This is too important to her. She wouldn’t have taken a chance on missing our meeting this morning.” Placing the files on the floor
behind the desk, he leaned down to retrieve his identification from inside the box.

  “What exactly is it that we’re expecting to find here?” asked Joshua as he, too, began scanning the room, unsure what he should even be looking for.

  Crouching to peer under the professor’s desk, Seth tried to give the young agent some direction. “Papers on the floor, or anything else that would indicate where the professor may have gone.” His voice became little more than a whisper as he focused on his search.

  “Well, I don’t see anything. How about you, Agent Alejo?” Joshua turned toward the doorway, but no one was there.

  Noticing that his partner had not responded, Seth looked up from his search. “Don’t tell me he got lost,” said Seth, standing up and walking toward the doorway. “Leo, where ya at?” yelled Seth loudly as he poked his head out of the office and into the darkened corridor.

  Booming from down the hall, Leo’s voice could be heard coming from an empty room Joshua and Seth had passed on their way to the professor’s office. “Looking in the right place, bro. What the hell are you two doing?” he yelled, beckoning them to his location.

  Following the sound of Leo’s voice, they came upon an open lab where he was crouching near a mop bucket laying on its side. Seth wondered if their recent ride on the Alice Express had beckoned him toward the empty container, but he soon realized what really drew his attention.

  “Over here.” Motioning them toward him with one hand, Leo used the other to point to the area in front of him. “Looks to me like there was a struggle in here last night.”

 

‹ Prev