by Sarah Rubin
‘So what did you find?’
‘A ton of emails from Mr Delgado asking Dr Learner to get “all the data about the suit” ready for an important meeting. There was also an email offering Dr Learner a new job.’
‘So he was definitely working on a suit?’
‘That’s what the emails said.’
‘But that’s not possible.’
‘I’m telling you, it was right there in the emails.’
‘And I’m telling you there’s no way an invisibility suit could be real.’
Scientists have been trying to figure out a way to make people invisible for years. The closest they’ve come is using cameras to take photos of whatever is behind the suit and projecting it on the front of the suit, but that isn’t really invisibility. That’s more like a chameleon changing colour to match his surroundings. Plus there are always problems with camera delay. But the kind of suit Dad was talking about – one that could actually bend light – no one had even come close.
‘Why can’t it be real? What about that invisibility cube the lab assistant showed you? That looked real enough to me.’
‘That’s different.’ I said. ‘The pen lid had to be inside the box to disappear. If you used that technology to make a person invisible, he’d have to stand still inside something the size of a refrigerator. And you heard how much noise it made. What’s the use of being invisible if people can hear you coming from a mile away?’
Dad laughed. ‘OK, OK. So maybe it isn’t a suit yet. Maybe they’re still trying to figure it out. Maybe Dr Learner has invented a way to make pen lids invisible outside of the box? Have you thought about that?’
I started to tell Dad he was being worse than Della, but stopped. If you’d told me before breakfast I would see a pen lid vanish before my eyes, I never would have believed you.
‘Maybe,’ I said slowly, drawing out the word. If Dr Learner had made that kind of breakthrough it was no wonder Mr Delgado wanted him and his research back. It would be priceless.
Dad banged his hands triumphantly on the steering wheel.
‘But just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s true,’ I said quickly. I didn’t want Dad to get carried away.
‘It doesn’t mean it’s not true either.’
Dad’s phone bleeped, saving me from any more of his crowing. He shifted in his seat so I could pull it out of his back pocket.
‘Seriously?’ I asked.
‘It could be important.’
I rolled my eyes and got the phone with as little butt contact as possible.
‘It’s from Della. The audition is running late. She wants you to bring her some lunch.’
‘No problem,’ Dad said, so I sent Della the good news. I put the phone in the cup holder on the dashboard, just in case anyone else called.
‘So, Dr Learner had another job offer?’ I said. Dad nodded. It made sense. If there were even hints that Dr Learner’s research might make a real invisibility suit possible, everyone would want him to work for them. And if he didn’t come willingly, they might even take him by force.
‘What was the name of the company?’ I asked.
‘Chronos R&D.’
I’d have to look them up.
We stopped at Logan Square, double parking outside the Franklin Institute, the greatest science museum in the world. Dad gave me a twenty and I ran across the street to get in line at one of the small metal food carts in front of the museum. The banner hanging from a lamp post showed an impossible staircase: Math and the Art of M.C. Escher. Tickets were probably expensive, but maybe I could talk Dad into taking me when this Delgado business was over. We used to love going to the Franklin Institute. It was one of the few outings that the whole family enjoyed.
The man in front of me finished paying and took his food and the smell of fried onions with him.
‘Three soft pretzels with mustard, two cherry Cokes and a Sprite,’ I ordered quickly, craning my neck to check on Dad to make sure a traffic warden hadn’t forced him to move the car.
The Plymouth was still there. I gave a little sigh of relief and stopped halfway. The silver Mercedes was there too, waiting patiently behind my dad instead of trying to go around. Other drivers honked angrily as they forced their way past both cars. I felt a small shiver, but brushed it away. The driver was probably from out of town. Somewhere small and polite where you didn’t drive on the wrong side of the road no matter what.
The vendor handed me three piping hot brown paper bags and three cans of soda and I struggled not to drop them all as I jogged back to where Dad was blocking traffic. On my way, I took a look at the people inside the Mercedes. There were two men sitting in the front. They looked perfectly normal, and I felt foolish for being suspicious.
‘Here,’ I leant in through the window and handed Dad his and Della’s share of the food. He needed to go to the office to pitch his story and it was quicker for me to walk home from the museum rather than the Walnut Street Theatre.
‘I’ll see you back at the house,’ Dad said, and swerved back into the traffic.
I watched Dad drive down Race Street. The silver Mercedes was right behind him. For some reason they didn’t look like tourists any more. I felt a cold knot twist in the pit of my stomach. I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture right before the car turned on to 21st Street. The same direction my dad had gone. I was getting ready to dial 911 when I noticed the next three cars turning in the same direction. There were roadworks at the end of the street. All the cars were turning that way. This Delgado case was making me jumpy.
I shook myself and started the walk home, counting my steps as I went. The city smelt of summer – hot concrete and the things that stuck to it. I took a swig of my cherry cola and tried to shake off my gloom. I knew what the problem was. The case was too important. I’d lost track of how many mysteries I’d solved for people at school. But finding the basketball team’s missing bake sale money was one thing. Finding a missing scientist working on a top secret invisibility project . . . that was a whole new level.
I took a breath and thought about maths. Even the most complicated equations can be simplified. I just needed to look at all the factors and break them down. According to the security camera, Dr Learner hadn’t left his office. That meant there were four possibilities. One: there was another exit from Dr Learner’s office. Two: someone had tampered with the security camera. Three: Dr Learner was still in his office now. Four: Dr Learner was invisible.
I laughed to myself. As impressive as Graham Davidson’s demonstration had been, I just couldn’t believe Dr Learner had made a working invisibility suit. A breakthrough in the right direction, maybe, but not a working suit. I like to see things before I believe them. Although I had to wonder, could you see an invisibility suit or was it invisible? I laughed a little louder and a man screaming into his mobile stared at me like I was crazy. I ignored him and kept walking.
It took about twenty minutes to get home. The pale strip of skin where I parted my hair burnt and I knew brushing it later would be like holding a match to my scalp. My shirt clung to the small of my back. It might as well have been raining. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw our front steps. And then I sighed again. Sammy Delgado Jr was sitting on them.
‘Alice!’ he shouted, jumping up. He was wearing pressed tan shorts, a blue button-up shirt and a navy-blue blazer. He looked like something out of a sailing magazine. ‘Hi. I was waiting for you. We didn’t get to talk yesterday.’ Sammy blushed and looked at his shoes. He was probably remembering that the last time I saw him he was running out of a room in tears.
‘Hi Sammy.’ I stepped past him and unlocked the front door. Sammy stood on the top step watching me, the way a dog watches you when you’re making a sandwich.
‘Would you like to come in?’ I asked. I didn’t have much of a choice.
It was like I’d offered him a ticket to Disney World. He bounded in and then stood there, unsure of what to do next.
‘Sit down,’ I said, nod
ding toward the couch on the living-room side of things. ‘I’ll get us a drink. What do you want?’ I opened the fridge and stood staring at the practically-empty shelves, trying to soak up the coolness. ‘We have water.’
I needed to remind Dad to go shopping.
‘Water’s good,’ Sammy answered.
‘So why are you here?’ I put some ice cubes in a glass, filled it from the tap and handed it to Sammy.
‘I’m here to talk about the case! I wanted to come this morning, but Dad made me go to the university and watch him graduate.’ Sammy flopped down onto the couch. ‘So what did you find at the lab? Were there any clues? Did anyone act suspicious?’
‘I told you. I don’t need a partner.’
‘I know, but you’re working for my dad.’
‘So I need to let you tag along?’
‘No, but I want to help. I really like Dr Learner. I want to help find him. It’s important.’ Sammy stuck out his chin. He put it back when he saw me staring. ‘I know Dr Learner. I know all sorts of things about him. I have inside information.’
It was like fending off a dog with a stick. He just kept coming back for more. ‘Well, do you know where Dr Learner is?’ I asked.
Sammy was silent. He looked miserable. I sighed again. I was starting to hate myself a little bit. Like my dad said, I should give Sammy a break.
‘All right. I get it. You just want to help. So, what can you tell me about Dr Learner?’
‘Well, he’s great. He’s super smart, but a little bit weird. But I guess a lot of smart people are weird. Not that I’m saying you’re weird, Alice.’
‘Whoa, Sammy, slow down. Just tell me what you know.’
Sammy took a gulp of water, coughed as it went down the wrong way and then tried again. ‘Dr Learner’s really nice. He lets me watch his experiments, even the dangerous ones. And he’ll always explain the things I don’t understand. He’s great at explaining things. But he’s been different ever since Christmas. It’s like he’s always thinking about something else.’
That was about the same time Graham Davidson said Dr Learner started to get secretive. And when Mr Delgado said he had his big breakthrough. I guess he was worried about the competition trying to steal his ideas too. I wondered if he worried about being kidnapped?
‘How was he different? Did something happen?’
Sammy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked at his shoes like they were the most fascinating things in the room.
‘Was he having trouble at work?’ I tried again. ‘Was there a reason he’d want to run away?’
Still no response.
‘Sammy?’ I said it more sharply than I meant to, and Sammy jumped.
‘No,’ he said sheepishly. ‘I don’t know about any trouble.’
‘Well, what about his invisibility research? You said you helped him. Can you tell me exactly what he was working on? Do you have any idea where it is?’
Sammy jumped again, his mouth open in a perfect O. I guess he’d forgotten he told me that.
‘I did help him,’ Sammy said slowly, sitting on his hands to stop them from twitching. ‘But not in the lab. I mean I could have, I’m pretty good at science, but Dad doesn’t like it when I visit the labs. He says I’m a nuisance.’ He paused just long enough to take a breath and kept talking. ‘But I helped Dr Learner in a lot of other ways, like running errands and tidying up for him. Things like that.’ He trailed off.
I didn’t buy it. No one brags that they helped the guy accepting the award by keeping his room clean. And Sammy did say he’d helped in the lab before. Then again, this was Sammy. What did I know?
‘So he was just different. Maybe he was just busy?’
Sammy bit his lip and shook his head. ‘No, he wasn’t just busy. He was different. He’d forget to do the things he promised. He never used to do that. I think he must have been in serious trouble. And now he’s missing. And all his research too. You need to find him, Alice.’
Sammy looked at me with big wet eyes, like somehow I was going to make everything all better. But this wasn’t a squirrel hiding in a secret passageway, this was a real missing person.
‘Tell me about how your dad and Dr Learner met.’ I didn’t think it was important, I just wanted to change the subject.
‘Well, I think they met when they were in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. They were in the Physics department. My dad’s donated money for a whole new science building, you know.’
‘So I heard,’ I said.
‘They were always putting on shows together. Dad told me, this one time—’
I interrupted him. ‘Keep to the point, Sammy.’
‘Yeah, anyway, Dr Learner got some big prize and went to work at a lab somewhere in California, and when Dad opened his own company he hired Dr Learner to come back to Pennsylvania and work for him. Dad says they always dreamt of opening a science company together.’
Sammy wiped his nose with the back of his arm. He looked at me expectantly, like he’d just given me all the clues I could possibly need and all he had to do was sit back and let me solve the mystery.
I took the empty glass out of Sammy’s hand. ‘OK, Sammy. Thanks for your help.’
‘Wait, is that it?’
‘That’s it.’ I knew I was letting him down, but it wasn’t my fault Sammy thought I was some kind of hero.
‘But what about the lab? Don’t you want to talk about what you found out there? Shouldn’t we start chasing down leads?’
The questions rained down with no signs of letting up. And then I had a flash of inspiration.
When I was younger and asking my father endless questions, he used to send me on a treasure hunt. First he’d ask for something easy, like a white pillow or an apple. And then something harder and harder until he asked for the impossible and I was too into the game to stop looking. I remember one time he asked for a rainbow frog. I searched the park for three hours before my mother came and found me.
‘Actually, there is something you could help me with,’ I said. Sammy’s face lit up like the Fourth of July.
‘What? What can I do?’
‘I know you’re not supposed to, but can you get into your dad’s lab?’ I asked.
Sammy grinned. ‘Sure, I go there all the time. But don’t tell my dad, OK?’
‘OK, I won’t,’ I agreed. I took out the photos of Dr Learner’s office. ‘Here. Look at this. Can you see the surveillance camera?’
Sammy nodded.
‘Can you see this metal piece clipped to the side?’
He nodded again, so hard I worried he might shake his brain loose.
‘Is it a clue? Is that how Dr Learner got out of the office?’ Sammy spoke excitedly, barely finishing one question before asking another. ‘What do you think it is? Some sort of jamming device? Like for radar? Or a hologram projector? Or—’
I stopped him before he bit his tongue.
‘I don’t know what it is,’ I said mysteriously. ‘But when I was there today, it was gone. I don’t know if it’s important or not, but if you could find that piece of metal it might be a big help.’
Sammy’s eyes sparkled. His mouth opened and then closed and then opened again.
‘But make sure you don’t let people know you’re looking for it. If it is connected to all this, then it might be dangerous.’ I couldn’t resist making the job seem more important than it was. With any luck Sammy would be out of my hair and searching for that metal ‘rainbow frog’ for the rest of the summer.
Once I got Sammy out of the house, I shut myself in Dad’s office. I wanted to look up the name of the company that had been emailing Dr Learner. It was the only solid lead I had.
Chronos R&D. The R&D stood for Research and Development, apparently.
They were based in upstate New York. Really upstate, where there are forests and farms and it snows in feet not inches. Their website said they were ‘an independent research facility working with the world’s top scientists to solve
the world’s top problems.’
The Google news feed said they weren’t very nice.
I found three lawsuits against Chronos R&D, and that was just on the first page. The lawsuits were still ongoing, so no details were published, but from what I could see Chronos was accused of misappropriating research. Which is a fancy way of saying they stole it. Chronos would find out what project a competing company was working on and then they’d start working on the same thing. And they’d usually get results first. If they were doing all the work on their own, well, there was nothing you could do about it. But if they were getting ahead by ‘peeking’ at the other research first? Then they were in big trouble.
If Chronos R&D were emailing Dr Learner, did that mean they were after his research? Did they really want him to work for them, or did they just need to get close enough to steal his results? Dr Learner’s invisibility suit would have to be pretty amazing if they were willing to take that kind of risk. If they got caught there’d be huge fines. They might even end up in jail. Dr Learner and Mr Delgado were friends, so I didn’t think Dr Learner would leave and take his invisibility suit to another company. Still, it was hard to tell what people would do for the right amount of money. I should know. I once saw a kid eat a worm for ten dollars.
I should have asked how much those diamonds in Dr Learner’s office were worth. Graham Davidson said they were industrial, but they were still diamonds. It made me wonder if the ten I saw were the only ones there.
The front door slammed.
I turned off the computer and followed the sound of chaos. Della thundered past me and ran up the stairs, her arms full of sheet music. I heard my bedroom door slam, then open again. Dad came in behind her. He looked a bit like he’d been hit by a cement mixer.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked.
‘Della got a callback. They want her to see her again. She’s trying to decide if she should dye her hair.’
‘A callback is good news, isn’t it? Why does she look so upset?’