Fade to Blue

by Sean Beaudoin

  “Maybe it’s like a dog marking its territory,” I said. “The anorexic Kirstys warning the bulimic Kirstys.”

  “Anyway, you two are gonna have to go now,” Larry said. “This room here, as you’ve probably guessed, is not entirely kosher.”

  There was still a period left before Trish was due to pick Lake and Kenny and me up.

  “It’s okay, we need to go to the library anyhow.”

  “We do?” Aaron said.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  SOPHIE AND AARON

  OBVIOUS IS AS OBVIOUS DOES

  We walked to the main desk and I asked the librarian for a reel of microfiche containing the last fifty years of The Crossly Press-Democrat.

  “What’s microfiche?” Aaron asked.

  Sitting in front of the huge metal projector, we got online and crossed dates with searches for Sophie Blue, Albert Blue, Fade Labs, Local Experiments, and Menacing Ice Cream Vehicles. I’d already read all the articles about my father disappearing, interviews with detectives who knew nothing and gave the same tired quotes about “working the case” and “hoping someone from the community steps forward.” What I’d never done is look for articles that led up to it.

  “What is that going to show us?”

  “Okay, you know about my father, right?”

  Aaron examined his sneaker tops.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said. “The rumor, the test tube, I’m an anarchist, I’m the head of a Masonic lodge, I drink the blood of virgins. You don’t need to pretend.”

  “Sure,” he said. “Of course I know—”

  “You don’t,” I said. “Trust me.”

  “Sorry, I—”

  “And don’t keep apologizing.”

  He nodded while the computer clicked. Eventually, the search engine responded with just under twelve million hits. I tied the searches together, refining, cross-referencing, and managed to narrow it down to a couple hundred. There were at least twenty articles on the microfiche that corresponded with those hits. Aaron fed the film into the machine, and we began to pull them up, sliding through page after page.

  Jan. 19, 1956

  Parker-Fade Marriage

  Rosemary Emelienko to wed Ben Fade in local ceremony. Prominent young chemistry student Ben Fade marries Ukrainian beauty after graduating magna cum laude from…

  Mar. 03, 1958

  Ben Fade Opens Lab with Local

  Partners

  Local boy Ben Fade has purchased the old Sir Melty’s Finest ice-cream factory at the edge of town and is having it refitted as a modern laboratory. “I always knew I wanted to come home and set up a business,” he said glowingly to this reporter. “After a number of years overseas working as a contractor for Soviet labs, I decided the time was ripe. Especially since my wife, a registered nurse…”

  Dec. 10, 1960

  Massive Power Outage Cripples

  Half of State, Fade Labs and

  Other Local Businesses Report Complete Systemic Failure

  Power company officials are at a loss to explain a rare “cascade effect” reaction that blew transformers and seized power stations over a four-hundred-mile radius. Residents are expected to be without power for another week as workmen scramble to effect repairs. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said James Osterman, a company spokesman. “The kind of juice that was drawn off the grid could have lit up all of Russia. There isn’t anything around here I know of requires that kind of power. Not even close.”

  Dec. 13, 1960

  Ben Fade Reported Dead in

  Tragic Lab Accident

  Hundreds turned out to mourn one of the community’s bright lights as Ben Fade was buried today after a tragic laboratory accident still under investigation. Firemen called to the scene say the mysterious explosion, which seems to have originated in a room full of machinery known as computers, caused massive damage to the structure and will require…”

  Feb. 17, 1970

  Lab Still Sits Empty, Lot Popular

  With Vandals

  Real estate agent Sydney Barrett says, “It’s a crying shame,” but they have been unable to find a buyer for the old laboratory all these years, which, although covered with graffiti and barely possessing a window that remains unbroken, still has…

  June 12, 1988

  Fade Labs to Keep Name,

  Reopen with New Partners as

  BioTech Start-up

  Amazingly, Fade Labs is finally back in business, and right there on the cutting edge. A trio of overseas investors have signed papers on the land and begun a massive rebuilding project. The reconstruction of the lab is expected to provide dozens of new jobs for local workers and the entire town seems to have swung behind the effort. From the zoning commission to the Rotary Club, folks are pitching in…

  Nov. 04, 1989

  Groups of Local Men Hired as

  Security Guards at Fade Labs

  Fade Labs has delivered on yet another promise: to hire directly from the community, picking from numbers of local men with longtime town standing and, in particular, former Upheare High graduates, when rounding out their new security team. Fresh uniforms have recently arrived and were being fitted as we go to press. “Awesome,” said dapper new hire Herbert…

  Aug. 17, 1990

  Odd Number of Missing Person

  Reports Keeping Local Cops Busy

  According to police reports there has been a surge of missing reports in the surrounding area. While most reports are dismissed by police as the result of domestic difficulties, transients, or runaways and there is no evidence of any foul play, the spike in numbers is troubling enough that extra patrols have been added along the water-front and in industrial sections of town, including the open lots near Fade Labs…

  Nov. 20, 1992

  Autism Cure at Lab Being

  Tested — Fade Labs Throwing

  Lot Behind New Experimental

  Inoculation

  Even skeptics in the scientific world are cautiously excited about a possible breakthrough in autism research and a new inoculation that is now being tested at Fade Labs. The local concern recently received the okay to conduct animal trials of their product Bio-Rite, which is being marketed as the first wave of “injectable software,” or “bioware.” Said a Fade Labs spokes-woman, “Obviously, with considerable industry competition, we can’t be too specific until our patent is processed, but Bio-Rite is a new direction in medicine, a software program that interacts with the brain and essentially rewrites…”

  May 01, 1993

  Town Council Votes 8-0 to

  Invest Pension Fund and Other

  Available Monies in Fade Labs’

  Bio Rite II

  “We just feel like it’s a great investment,” said Chester Burnett, town manager. “Given the contracts they’ve recently been awarded and being so obviously on the scientific cutting edge as well as the dotcom boom, it just seems like a no-brainer that they are a superior investment compared to the volatility of the stock market as a whole. We just thought this was a wiser way to spend our…”

  Sept. 15, 1994

  Volunteers Line Up to Do Their

  Part with Bio-Rite III

  “It’s so safe, I’m having my own kids participate,” said Albert Blue, standing in front of a group of excited volunteers. “This is a great day, where the notion of community service meets the dictates of responsible science. We here at Fade, White, Templeton, and Sour could not be more proud to be part of this effort to find a cure for autism. And yes, volunteers will receive a small stipend.”

  (See inset photograph)

  “We just want to do our part to help find a cure, or at least a cause, for this tragic disorder,” said Donny Ballar, holding the shoulder of his young son, Bryce, and Bryce’s best friend, Zac Grace. With him was carpenter Jake Agar and son, Upheare Toros’ coach Ron Dhushbak, Winnie Daynes and her daughter, Dayna, with friends Kirsty Crash, Kirsty Cervenka, Kirsty Ving, and Kirsty Morganfield, as well as high school teacher Sadi
e Last and Albert Blue’s two children, Sophie and her younger brother, Kenny.

  “Holy crap. That’s me!” Aaron said, practically jumping out of his chair.

  “Shhh,” said the librarian.

  “Maybe it’s not just my last birthday,” I said. “Maybe it’s been my last ten birthdays.”

  “Today’s your birthday?” he said. “Happy —”

  “Quiet,” I shushed. “There’s a couple more.”

  June 10, 1995

  Profits from Fade Labs to Fund

  Town Pool

  Ground was broken today on the old Dolphy Farms location, which will soon house the new town pool. Representatives from Fade, White, Templeton, and Sour as well as local officials participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of construction crews. Smiles abounded as this long-stalled project finally began. Other joint Fade/town projects are on the docket, including many product distribution, retail, and employment concepts being floated by forward-thinking Fade management. “Snap up your retail space now,” said lab spokesman Elenora Fagan, “the time for investment is ripe.”

  May 01, 1996

  Popsicle Truck Stolen from Local

  Man — Teen Prank Suspected

  “It’s funny,” said the truck’s owner, Dave “Dubbsy” Thomas, as he stood in his driveway. Thomas, a fixture in local neighborhoods a generation ago with his gleaming white truck and nickel Popsicles, was perplexed. “It didn’t even run. The tires were flat. I didn’t bother to lock it. I got no clue how they even moved it out of here.…”

  Apr. 13, 1997

  Prominent Scientist, One of

  Several Responsible for Fade

  Labs’ Resurgence, Disappears

  In a strange and unsettling turn, local police admit to being baffled by the sudden disappearance of Albert Blue. Some have speculated that the rumored visit to the labs by federal auditors may have had something to do with…

  I hit the cancel button and stopped the flow of articles. Aaron nodded. “Sorry, I—”

  “If you say you’re sorry one more time, I swear—”

  “Okay, okay,” he laughed, putting his hand on my shoulder. I could feel the calluses on his palm. They were sexy calluses. He took the dial and spun it back to the picture of the group of volunteers standing outside the laboratory. In the grainy picture, my father was wearing a lab coat over a white shirt. He had a huge cheapo watch on his skinny wrist and a bunch of pens in his front pocket. So did all the other men. Except the four in the front row, who all wore black suits, presumably the “foreign investors.” And there was a woman, standing slightly farther back. A woman with long legs and a severe mouth, who almost looked to be wearing a nurse’s uniform. Aaron zoomed in, the pixels widening and abstracting.

  “Look how close the Fade chick is. Standing to your father.”

  It was hard to tell, but it did look like The Nurse was leaning into him. She had a certain smirk. And my father seemed distracted, trying to hold it together for the lens. In the very front was a picture of tiny me in a little skirt and blouse, holding a pocketbook way too big, with a frown on my face.

  “That’s you, all right. I’d recognize that frown. Anywhere.”

  “Even without the black lipstick?”

  “Especially without. And that’s me.” Aaron zoomed in. The pixels became huge and grainy. He read aloud: “The widow of Ben Fade has been hired as a laboratory nurse and will be on hand to administer the tests herself. ‘After Ben’s tragic death, I just wanted to stay involved in his vision in any way I could.’ ”

  I looked closer at the picture. “I totally don’t remember any of this. Do you?”

  “Not really,” Aaron said. “A little, I guess. My dad is big into volunteering. But I had no idea. About your father running things.”

  Under a separate inset of me was a caption, “Brave Little Volunteer.”

  “Is that why they call you Test Tube?” he whispered. “The real reason?”

  I reached over and grabbed his arm.

  “What are you—?”

  I yanked his sleeve up, but there was nothing on his elbow, no red mark. I tried the other one. Nothing there, either.

  “Never mind,” I said. “It was just a guess.”

  I zoomed in to the edge of the photo. A tall man in a security uniform stood with great slumping shoulders. He looked younger but familiar. Very familiar.

  “Oh, my God,” I said. He was wearing a hat but no glasses. His hair was darker and unpermed. But it was definitely him.

  “What?”

  In the text under the photo it said, “Larry Goethe, security team recruit.”

  The screen went blurry. I heard a rush of water in my ears, the nausea starting to rise.

  I leaned over, whispering. “We so totally need to get out…”

  “… of here?” Larry finished, standing behind us in the little cubicle. He had his mouth wide open now, a big smile, that high brown watermark running across his teeth. He pressed himself against my back and squeezed my shoulders. On the wall behind him was a poster. It had a picture of a smiling dictionary with horn-rimmed glasses. Underneath, it said Stealing library books is like boning your mom. I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them, the poster was still there, but it said Stealing library books is no fun!

  “Sorry,” Larry said. “Just thought I’d check up on y’all.”

  “Hey, thanks,” I said, swallowing hard and reaching to the side, blindly trying to turn off the microfiche machine.

  “Whacha lookin’ at?” Larry smiled.

  “Nothing,” Aaron said as I found the switch and the screen went dark. “Just checking out some. Sports scores.”

  “Right,” Larry said. “Anyway, I’d like to chat all night, but I’ve already called in all my favors. It’s time to lock up.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, wanting to just get up and run. I forced myself to sit still.

  Larry looked at his watch. “It’s four-thirty. We’re the only ones left. Everyone else has gone home.”

  “We’ve been in here almost two hours?” I said, shivering. “I was supposed to meet my mother and Lake!”

  “And I’m supposed to be at basketball practice.”

  “Sorry, y’all.” Larry smiled, pressing himself closer. I could feel his belt buckle between my shoulder blades. “I would have said something, but I thought you guys wanted some privacy.”

  Gross, gross, gross.

  “Well, hey!” Larry said. “I have a car. I’d be happy to give you guys a ride. Pretty much anywhere.”

  “Really?” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

  “Sure thing,” Larry said, his orangey hair glinting in the fluorescent light.

  I got up and grabbed Aaron’s hand, squeezing by. The library was dark. The doors were closed. I didn’t hear any teachers talking, or kids. It was completely quiet. “We’ll meet you in the parking lot in ten minutes, okay?”

  “You sure you don’t want to come this way, honeypot?” Larry pointed his thumb toward the closest door, his teeth looking like they’d been steeped in turd water.

  “We have to go to our lockers first,” I said.

  “I don’t need to—” Aaron began, but I yanked his arm and pulled him down the hallway.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  O.S. “KENNY” BLUE

  A LITTLE HEART-TO-HEART-TO-HEART

  Okay, I waited by the buses for almost an hour? No Sophie. No Lake. No Trish. I looked around in the halls and caf, but they weren’t there, either. I finally saw Miss Last, loaded down with a huge pocketbook and an even huger bag of term papers to correct.

  “C’mon, Kenny,” she sighed. “Help me carry this and I’ll give you a ride.”

  When I got home, was Sophie there? No. I looked up Lake’s number in the phone book, but was there an answer? No. In the kitchen, I made four sandwiches and put them on a tray. I added a bag of chips, an apple, two bananas, a spoonful of peanut butter, two yogurts, and then went down to my room and k
icked stuff around for ten minutes before I found Suck Me Twice #12, The Vampire Totally Rises under a pile of junk. Oh, man, did my room need a quick sweep. On the other hand, I didn’t feel like looking for a broom. And was scared of what I’d find if I did, since it looked like the house had been broken into again. I could swear I hadn’t left my stack of Gobble Gobble Gobbler: Cock of the Roost #1–81 against the far wall, and yet, there they were. It was so disturbing that I lay down on the bed and read for a while.

  An hour later, after vampire hunter Gunter X had staked about twenty nubile undead, there was still no Sophie. Still no answer at Lake’s. Upstairs, I could hear Trish’s slippers chuffing across the ceiling. I got up and knocked on her door. There was no answer. I knocked again. There was no answer. I knocked once more.

  “What?”

  “Mom? It’s me, Kenny. Is it okay to talk for a minute?”

  “Thank you for calling. I’m sorry, but Trish is gone for the evening. Please leave a message after the tone, or try again tomorrow. Beep.”

  “That would only work if I were on the phone. Mom. Here I am, in person. Open up. Please?”

  Trish cracked the door in a pink robe. Her hair stood in pointy shanks. She exhaled. Her breath smelled like freezer burn.

  “What is it, honey?”

  “You were supposed to pick us up,” I said. “At school? And take us to the lab?”

  She looked at me blankly. Once when I was ten, she’d picked me up at chess club so red-eyed her head seemed to be floating above her neck, tethered by a string. The teacher, a Russian named Kaprik who favored rapid exchanges, spent the next year asking me if “Everytink was hoky-dory at home.”

  “It’s Sophie,” I said. “I think something’s wrong.”

  “More detentions?”

  “No. See, this sort of uncomfortable thing happened in the cafeteria, and…”

  Trish turned away from the door. She went and lay on the bed. I sat on the far corner as she nestled back under the comforters. The room was arctic, the air-conditioning on high. I picked up her TV Guide, which had a bunch of shows circled in red.