The clock on my dresser flashed 5:00, when I finally organised my churning thoughts into order. I liked Ash. I enjoyed talking to him. I trusted him. I was definitely attracted to him. Yes, I liked the idea of a relationship with him.
Two hours later, I couldn’t open my eyes. Owen’s voice was shouting my name from the other side of my bedroom door. I knew from his voice he wasn’t about to give me good news. After three more times of calling my name, he opened my door. I held my arm over my eyes as he switched the light on. I felt the bed sink on one side.
“I’m asleep.” I groaned.
“Just think of me as your alarm clock. You need to get up and see this.” He pulled my arm and the blinding lightbulb blazed above me. He was doing this far too often.
I rolled onto my side, shielding my face. “Now? What time is it?” I groaned.
“Just gone seven. I’ll get the kettle on. Meet me in the kitchen in two minutes.” He left the room, leaving the light on.
I didn’t look in the mirror as I dragged my dressing gown on and loped down the stairs. I could hear the kettle boiling as I opened the door. The aroma of coffee hit me like a welcoming hug. Owen laughed when he saw me.
“You look like you were on the lash all night,” he said.
I flashed two fingers at him and sat by the table. It was covered in papers and laptops.
He laughed. “Love you too. Toast?”
“No thanks,” I replied, “and, I wasn’t drinking. Just didn’t get any sleep.”
He walked over and handed me my mug, then pressed a button on his computer. “Well, this will wake you up. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
My head snapped up. I gripped the hot mug and my hands trembled. With all the bad news lately, things had to be terrible to stand out.
“Bad news.” I held my breath.
He turned the laptop so the screen was facing me. “There was another bomb last night.”
“Already?” My trembling hands placed the mug down, with coffee spilling over the sides. “Where?”
“About fifty miles from here.”
“So, the bomber’s still close. How long would it take us to get there? We need to get the team together, go investigate. Jay needs to get the cameras set up, we need to watch the investigation. Can you and Warwick get into the files? We could follow it as they progress…”
“Roz,” Owen interrupted, holding his hand up to stop me, “we can’t go there.” He pulled me back to the seat I didn’t realise I had left. “The whole area is under quarantine.”
“Quarantine? But, the biological component has been in every bomb, they’ve never quarantined for long before.”
Owen shook his head. “That’s because whatever the biological weapon was, it always dispersed within seconds. The people who it killed were always within the immediate area when it blew.” I shook my head to interrupt, and he held up his hand. “I know you were there at a blast. But, whatever that bomb contained at the theatre, it only targeted a few people.”
“It was more than a few from where I was sat.”
“I know.” He leaned back and put his hands over his face. “This one was different, Roz.”
“How? Where was it?”
“That’s the thing, it was just a village. Nothing significant about it. All the others, they were all high visibility. Every one of them had witnesses, crowds of people to panic, and cause chaos. But, this village was in the middle of nowhere.”
“Well, isn’t that a good thing? Fewer people getting hurt.”
“This time was different. The bomb, the biological weapon,” He shook his head. “It didn’t select specific people this time.”
“No. Don’t say it…” I couldn’t say the words. My throat felt like it had closed up against the sheer weight of the reality.
“Five hundred and sixty two people. It wiped out every last person in the village.”
He handed me the report, which he had printed. It detailed the blast and biological dispersal area. It spread three miles past the village boundary. No one living within that area survived. I flicked through pages of pictures. Each of them looked like the scene at the theatre. Rubble, bodies and blood. As I turned the pages, the scenery became more rural, until the pictures focused on herds of cows. Hundreds of black, white and brown bodies scattered the fiends, each perishing where they fell. This weapon didn’t care who it murdered: human or animal.
We sat in silence. Nearly six hundred people had died. I was leading a team to investigate and I had gotten nowhere. I had no leads on who this bomber was or even why they were doing this. I didn’t know why they chose their locations, or how they planted them.
“Owen.” I said his name gently. His eyes met mine. “We have to solve this. Even if it means we fail everything else. Anything we discover could help the police find this guy.”
“I know. But, where else do we look? I’ve got the police channels covered, and most of the university. It’s alright us bugging the campus computers, but this bomb wasn’t here. How do we solve this?”
I stared at the collection of pictures in my hands. The bomber had changed his routine, hit somewhere different. Or, had he? Was this part of the overall plan? Was I just seeing it from the wrong angle? I looked to Owen, steely determination taking hold.
“By thinking out of the box,” I said, as I stood to leave. “I’m going to talk to Wang.”
“The sociology tutor? Why?”
I looked at the reports which scattered the table. “Because I need to understand how this bomber is thinking. If I’m going to predict his next move, I need to see it from his perspective. I need to see through his eyes, think how he thinks.”
“And Wang can do that?”
I shrugged. “He’s a sociology tutor, he understands social groups. It’s my best option right now.” I patted Owen’s shoulder as I pulled open the kitchen door. Then paused. “Oh, what was the good news?”
He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Llamp got a report through her computer. The bomb here at the science lab, didn’t have any biological component.”
“None at all?”
“Nothing. It was just a bomb.”
“Well there’s the silver lining.” I left the room, determination driving my way.
* * *
Wang’s office was located in one of the old castle elements of the campus. Through my time here I had grown fond of the mish-mash of old and new. The rough walls of the ancient castle buildings reminded me of the many trips my family and I had taken to historical sites. The new buildings looked cold in comparison to the hand carved stones and creeping ivy. They reminded me of busy city centres, where new office buildings intruded on tradition.
Wang’s door stood in the centre of a mass of green. The ivy had been trimmed just at the edge of the doorframe, making it look like a natural wooden entrance. I lifted the oversized iron ring which hung in the centre, and knocked. The sound vibrated through the cool air, making me shiver.
“Enter,” Wang’s voice called from within.
The heavy latch creaked as I pushed the door open and stepped through into the overly warm room.
“Excuse me, Doctor Wang. I hope I’m not interrupting you?”
He was sat at an oversized dark wood desk. The surface held a small number of papers and pens. The floor surrounding the desk was piled high with books, giving the impression he was sat within a hard backed nest. The walls were filled with countless pictures in different frames; some small and simple, some as big as a small car with ornate frames.
“Miss Grove, is it?” He said, lifting his head as I approached.
“Yes, I’m in your sociology class.”
“That you are. How can I help you?” He placed his pen down and folded his hands on the table.
I took the chair opposite without being asked. “I need help. I thought you would be the best person to talk to.”
“Help with?”
I took a deep breath. “For my task, I�
�m researching the bombings.”
“An ambitious choice. However, I do not see how I could be of assistance.” He smiled at me in apology.
“I need help with,” I lowered my head, feeling my cheeks flush, “thinking in different ways.”
He sat back in his chair and grinned. “I see. You would like to consider different views?”
“The bomber’s view. I need to try to see what he sees when he sets off a bomb. I need to think differently.” I sat forward in my chair. “I need to think like him.”
He nodded, brushing his stubble as he looked at me. “Think about the words you just used.”
I stared at him and thought about what I had said. I couldn’t think of a fault.
“I have been following the news as you surely have. To my understanding, there has been no mention of the bomber’s gender.” He smiled at me, waiting for me to comprehend.
My eyes snapped wide. “I said he.”
“You made a presumption. History tells us that deviants on this scale are usually male. But, that does not make it a rule. History also tells us that the culprit is often confident, intelligent and in many cases quite charming.” He smiled and shook his head at the thought. “What else have you discovered?”
“The bombs have been placed in random locations, all public, or with a high population. There’s a biological element to most of the bombs, which until last night, didn’t affect everyone at the blast.”
“So, what was different last night?” Wang asked, watching me with interest.
I felt my hands tremble with the thought of the carnage. “Everyone died. The whole village.”
“In the blast, or the biological weapon?”
“The biological weapon. The bomb was set in a community hall, right in the centre of the village. The infection spread out three miles in every direction. Enough to kill every person and livestock living there.” I watched him, waiting for a response.
He stood and paced the front of his office, hands clasped behind his back. “The other bombs, they did not kill in this fashion?”
“No, they killed people who were the closest.”
“But, you were close, were you not? I was told you were present at the theatre.”
“I was, but it must have evaporated before it got to me.”
He tilted his head at me and waited.
“I presume,” I corrected. “I talked to Doctor Levins. He told me that it looked like the toxin was targeting specific people. I just presumed that I was out of the infected area.”
“Or, you were not among the people targeted. What does that tell you?”
I stood and joined him in pacing. “I tells me that the bomber had in mind who they wanted to target.”
“Good, go on.”
“They must have planted the bomb before the people arrived. The place was packed. Someone would have seen something suspicious.”
“I agree.”
“Which means,” my voice was gaining confidence, my pace quickening, “the bomber couldn’t target specific individuals. The tickets didn’t have names on; he didn’t know who was going to be there.”
“But, the toxin didn’t affect everyone?” Wang said, his tone urging me to continue.
“No. So what made it target one person and not the other?” Wang’s eyes met mine as we reached the same realisation. “It was designed to target something in people. The people who died, they must have something in common. Something was done to them to give them something in common.”
“A reasonable assumption. The bombs infect selected people. Why does he select them? Or, more to the point, what did they have to be targeted, that you didn’t?”
“I don’t know. I have to find the connection between them all. If I can find how he’s selecting them, maybe I can predict where he’ll target next.” I rushed back to my chair and grabbed my bag. “Thank you Doctor Wang. This has really helped.”
“Any time, Miss Grove. But,” he sat back at his desk, “be careful. Searching for a murderer with the sole intent of killing isn’t the safest of activities to pursue.”
“I’ll try,” I said, as I pulled the heavy door closed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ash came to my door with flowers in hand. His grin was held in place, like he was wearing it as a shield.
“For me?” Warwick laughed, when he opened my bedroom door. “Gosh, cheers mate.”
Owen whistled at Ash from the desk. “Aw, you shouldn’t have.”
“Piss off,” Ash said, and kicked Warwick as he passed. He crossed the room and handed the flowers to me, without word.
I bit my lip as I accepted. Only once in my life had I ever been given flowers. While I was in the hospital after the hold up at the beach bar, June brought me them as a thank you. My stomach didn’t flip in the same way then. I smiled up at Ash in thank you.
I didn’t have a clue what to do with them. I looked round the room as if looking for a vase to spring into my hands.
“Oh for god’s sake. Give them here,” Owen said, with a snigger as he grabbed the flowers from me. “You get ready; I’ll put these in water downstairs.” He grabbed Warwick by the sleeve and dragged him out behind him.
Ash had his fists thrust into his pants pockets. He looked ridiculously fantastic. His black pants and blue shirt were a shocking contrast to his usual training clothes.
“So, the first time I bring a date flowers. Wasn’t expecting her to have a room filled with other guys.” His nervous smile lifted at the corners.
“Not filled with other guys, just two teammates. We were researching.”
“I know. You ready?”
“I don’t know. We’ve got so much to do. I can’t take the night off.” I picked up a pile of papers to highlight my point.
He took them from me and put them back on the bed. “Yes, you can. It’s one night. We’ll be back to it in the morning. And, I’ve booked a table, so you have to go.”
I sighed and looked at the ever growing stack of work. “Alright, but we’re working the whole day tomorrow.”
“All day. Got it,” he grinned.
I couldn’t hold back the grin in return. “Now, get out and let me get changed.”
* * *
The restaurant couldn’t have been more different from my last venture into town. Ash had selected a hidden jewel amongst a shamble of old buildings. The restaurant was so narrow, only two tables fit across, one on either wall. I looked through the candlelit room to see table after table lining the two walls. It looked like two or three buildings had been lined up together, providing the restaurant with a runway of customers. Beside each table on the wall was a unique painting or sculpture, each following a different culture and theme.
A man in a black tie took my coat at the door. He wordlessly led us to our table, which sat snug in the corner. He pulled back my chair and waited for me to take my seat. I fumbled myself into place and tried not to look too awkward as he pushed my chair in. I always hated that part of nice restaurants. I sucked in a breath as he reached forward to pick up my napkin. I snatched it away from his hand and laid it on my lap with a smile.
Ash sniggered as he watched the man move on to the next table. “I don’t think you could look more uncomfortable.”
I looked behind before speaking, not wanting to be overheard by the enthusiastic waiter. “I know he’s just doing his job, but I can tuck my own chair in. And unfold my own napkin.”
“He knows. It’s just that kind of place.”
“It just makes me feel weird. Back home, I worked in a beach bar. He’s probably on double my wage, and he’s pushing my chair in.”
“Wage has nothing to do with it. It’s his job, doesn’t matter who the customer is.” He handed me my menu.
I tried not to shudder when I saw the prices. This was going to make a bigger dent in my savings than I’d planned.
“You went to talk to Wang today?” Ash asked, sipping his drink.
“It was quite helpful, actually. Just t
alking it through made me think about things in a different angle. For a start, he made me realise I’d presumed it was a man.”
“That’s a good point. I’d presumed it was too.”
“But, the biggest thing we realised was the targeting.”
“Targeting?”
“Yes. At each bombing, there were deaths from the toxin.”
“Except from the one at the university.”
“Well, yeah. But, think about it. He doesn’t know who will be at a location. They’re always busy places, so he can’t really set them there. But, the toxin doesn’t affect everyone. Meaning…”
“Meaning, he has some way of selecting specific people in a group.” Ash whispered.
“Yes, there must be something each of the victims has in common. That’s what we need to find. If we can discover how they were targeted, then maybe we can predict it.”
The waiter sauntered back to our table. I chose one of the first things I saw that I knew I would like: burger and chips. Ash grinned, then ordered the same. The waiter smiled at us like we had just given him a birthday present as we handed back the menus.
I watched him walk back to the kitchen. “Bit eager, isn’t he?”
Ash simply grinned at me.
“What? You’re laughing at me, what’s so funny?”
“Not funny, just awesome,” he laughed.
“Okay, what’s awesome?”
“You are. I’ve never had a girl go for the burger before.”
I folded my arms, immediately feeling defensive. “Exactly how many girls have you brought here?”
“Here? None. I took a few lasses out back home.”
“I see.” I fought back the pang of jealousy. “And, what’s wrong with me having a burger? You ordered the same.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean it in a bad way, just the opposite. I can’t stand dainty girls who only eat a side salad. The last girl I took out would only drink water and refused point blank to even look at the pudding menu.” He held up his glass toward me and waited for me to do the same. He chinked his glass against mine. “Cheers.”
“I’m not completely sure how to take that, but I’ll see it as a compliment, for now,” I said.
Trials in Walls of Ivy (Triskelion Trilogy Book 1) Page 21