by Jack Dey
"Samu, this is General Bastion of the Australian Army. He would like to ask you some questions about your interpretation of what happened last night."
*~*~*~*
Chapter 9
The temperature had dropped again in the last hour. Even the snow, draped over the mountains and cascading down into the city streets, was not visible through the heavy, black clouds engulfing La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
The door to 91 Rue du Commerce opened with an unimpressed groan. A heavily dressed, slender young woman scampered out into the frozen street, kicking a pile of snow from the doorstep. Her woollen beanie, almost hidden by the thick fur hood of her jacket, was pulled down over her ears. In a accentuated movement, she pulled the heavy apartment door closed, with a positive bang, jiggling the handle with her gloved hands in a forceful gesture and making sure it had locked securely.
As she ran down the sidewalk, past the five storey alpine buildings, she was careful not to slip on the treacherous roadway. Her destination: the heated work shed just behind her apartment. Cautiously, she picked her way across Rue du Chemin-de-Fer. Clouds of humidity streamed from her mouth as she pulled in new, crisp air into her lungs and exhaled as if she were chain smoking. She found the access way between Rue du Chemin-de-Fer and Rue du Commerce and grabbed hold of the handrail with her gloved hands, to prevent a slippery descent down the icy stairs. She fought to pull her gloved hand from the railing, as the icy metal bar stuck to it.
"That's right, don't touch anything metallic," she reprimanded herself.
She moved slowly, steadying her feet on the slippery surface, stepped down the concrete steps of the access way and pushed open the door into the heated entry of the work shed. The temperature outside had plummeted to minus 16 Celsius and it looked like more snow was on the way, whereas inside the shed, it was a warm 20 degrees Celsius. Above the door, in English, a sign proudly declared, Jentec Switzerland Sub Sea Imaging. The only downside of her modern workplace was that it backed onto the railway line and shook when a train rumbled past.
Removing her coat and hat in the entryway, she hung them on a hook by the door. Neatly tied into a pony tail, her long, rich auburn hair fell down to the middle of her back and over her heavy, grey woollen jumper. Striking green eyes, emphasised by her clear complexion, high cheek bones and finely featured face, reflected her natural beauty, while the cold gave her cheeks a rosy red magnificence, adding a mysterious dimension.
"Bonjour, Madame Jennings," came the soft voice of her petite secretary from behind the reception counter.
"Bonjour, Carissa," Elishia replied.
Back in her native Australia, it was summer and she was not accustomed to the extreme cold. By this time of year, she was normally on the other side of the world, long before the first snow started to fall in La Chaux-de-Fonds, but this year an important development had delayed her plans.
It seemed like a strange place to develop an underwater imaging device, in the mountains of Switzerland, and many miles from the coast. But most of what she was developing here was experimental, to intensify the ability of the device to see at greater water depths. The Swiss government had paid a tidy sum for her invention and were also paying her to develop it further. Elishia found the French-speaking Swiss a delight to work with, and they were always intriguing her with their new ways of looking at problems and solving them.
"Bonjour, Simon."
"Bonjour, Madame Elishia."
Simon was a tall, fair haired young graduate from Switzerland's finest technology institution, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Lausanne. He had come highly recommended, although Elishia had been dubious about taking on someone so young. She soon learned the value of his keen intellect and fine, sharp mind.
"How is it progressing?" Elishia enquired.
"Well...!" Simon replied, in heavily accented English.
Because Elishia was the boss and unaccustomed to speaking French, both Carissa and Simon did their best to speak English. Elishia just raised her hands whenever they forgot themselves and excitedly began speaking in French.
"Show me what you have discovered," Elishia said to Simon, leaning toward his computer screen.
On Simon's computer screen, a familiar scene appeared. It was the shadowy image of a wooden wreck, lying in one and a half miles of water off the coast of America.
"You know that the photons lose locality, at ten to the power of minus thirty five and become connected to every other photon, in a soup of photons...?"
Simon eyed Elishia's face. Elishia was patiently waiting for some new information.
"Of course you do. Sorry!"
Simon continued hurriedly, as Elishia's body language said, ‘Moving along, Simon.’
He produced an image of high magnification on his screen. In the middle of the image, a solid brown colour was clearly visible and the pixels on the outer edge were disjointed and blurred. He pointed to the solid brown patch in the middle of the image.
"This is the image of the wreck, lying in one and a half miles of water. These pixels are solid and easily seen. Because of the depth of the water and the distance from the transponder, the pixels on the outer edge lose locality again and look blurred. So, by simply adding more power to the transponder beam…" Simon clicked another image onto his computer screen and a sharp, clear scene appeared, clearly divulging all aspects of the ancient wreck, "…this is what we end up with."
Elishia was amazed and hugged Simon, dancing around the room and forgetting the protocol for hugging in Switzerland.
"You're a genius, Simon!" Elishia exclaimed.
Carissa hurriedly entered the work area, thinking something was wrong at the sudden disturbance. Simon's glasses were tilted at an angle on the end of his nose, from Elishia's hug and Elishia was dancing around the work area.
"What's happening?" she asked, bewildered.
"Simon has just earned himself a big fat pay rise," Elishia responded excitedly.
*~*~*~*
Jamie's plane touched down in Geneva International Airport. He hadn't seen Elishia for a month now and he was missing her badly. Jamie loved Switzerland and spent a lot of time here whenever his schedule allowed. Pressing business matters in Queensland, Australia, had kept him away and now he was looking forward to some vacation time with Elishia in the stunning mountains.
Elishia would have normally gone back to Australia for the northern winter, but this year, she was working on some new experiment which couldn't wait and continued working into the Swiss winter. He wasn't too sure how he would cope with the cold, but he was looking forward to his first white Christmas.
Elishia had offered to drive down to Geneva to pick him up, but he thought it would be too hazardous on the winter roads and he didn't want to drag her away from her work. Besides, it was an excuse to lap up the beautiful scenery and just relax for once. The demands of a chief executive officer role in a busy, growing Australian company, kept him stretched and now he had a window of opportunity for rest and revitalisation.
After collecting his luggage and finding his way to the train, he settled back to enjoy the comfortable ride through some exquisite and picturesque mountain country, but most of all he was looking forward to seeing Elishia again.
An hour and a half later, the train pulled into La Chaux-de-Fonds. He soon recognised the unmistakable figure standing freezing on the platform, stiffly moving and rubbing her hands together, while stamping her feet in a bid to keep warm against the biting winter cold.
As each train passed by the platform, she eagerly peered into the carriage windows, searching for his familiar face. Suddenly, she recognised him and broke into a huge smile and waved excitedly.
Bags in hand, he stepped off the train and into the wild embrace of the woman he would follow anywhere. He dropped his luggage on the platform and picked Elishia up and twirled her in an exuberant embrace, kissing her frozen lips and melting the cold away with his passion.
"Hello, Mrs Davis."
> His steamy breath wrapped around the words.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 10
Carissa fumbled with the key in the lock to the large, wooden door. Her gloves made it difficult to grasp the key, but she was adamant she was not taking off her gloves, even if the temperature had risen to minus one Celsius. She wrestled the door open and a welcome burst of warm air teased her face. She quickly entered, closed the door behind her and carefully removed her fur lined coat, gloves and hat and hung them up on the hook by the door. She turned on the lights, booted her computer and turned on the coffee pot.
She was ready to start her Friday.
The door opened again and Simon walked in. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle," he almost sang, hanging up his coat.
"Bonjour, Monsieur," she replied. "You are in a good mood this morning."
"Ah, I am to meet my two best friends this afternoon. They are travelling from my home town of Montreux and I will meet their train at the station at 4 pm, if Madame Elishia will give me time off."
"I suspect Madame Elishia will give you anything you ask, judging from her reaction when you discovered how to improve her invention."
"Your opinion is most kind, Mademoiselle," Simon bowed. "I must get to work."
Carissa always felt warm speaking to Simon and she pondered what his two friends might be like, whether they were as intelligent as he. She sighed, watching Simon walk away and turned to go about her work.
It was mid morning, by the time Elishia showed up with Jamie in tow.
"Bonjour, Madame Jennings and Monsieur Davis."
"Bonjour, Carissa," Elishia’s happy greeting reflected the presence of her husband, after such a long separation.
"Bonjour, Carissa," Jamie’s cheery greeting reflected Elishia’s.
"Please don't think me insolent, but if you are married, why don't you take your husband's name?"
Elishia laughed. "I keep my maiden name for business purposes. I am officially Madame Elishia Jennings-Davis. Does that answer your question, Carissa?"
"I am very glad to make your acquaintance, Madame Elishia Jennings-Davis," Carissa replied enthusiastically.
"Are you also Monsieur Jennings-Davis?" Carissa enquired innocently of Jamie.
Jamie and Elishia laughed together. Carissa joined in on their laughter, a little puzzled at their answer.
"We will not be in for the rest of the day," Elishia explained. "We are going to Geneva, to do some shopping. Can you lock up before you leave? If you need to contact me, I have my mobile phone."
"Yes, Madame Elishia, it will be as you say."
Elishia and Jamie turned to walk out, when Carissa remembered Simon.
"Madame Elishia?"
"Yes, Carissa?" Elishia turned back from the door to face her secretary.
"Simon wishes to leave at 4 pm and he wanted to ask you. I just remembered."
"That's fine. You may also leave at 4 pm if you wish."
"You are most kind, Madame. Thank you."
Carissa's big brown eyes watched Elishia and Jamie disappear out of the work shed and down the path. Through the back window, overlooking the train station, she watched them board the hourly train to Neuchâtel and then, on to Geneva. She wandered out into the work area to tell Simon the good news. Simon was engrossed, peering at something through the electron microscope and didn't hear Carissa arrive.
"Madame Eli..."
Simon jumped, sending bits and pieces tumbling from his workbench onto the floor, with a loud clatter.
"Beg your pardon, Monsieur. I did not mean to frighten you," Carissa explained apologetically.
Simon recovered from his fright and put Carissa at her ease, as they both bent to pick up the mess from the floor. As they worked together, Simon noticed for the first time, Carissa's big brown eyes; her black, shoulder length hair; and her fine featured face. Carissa caught his gaze and coyly smiled, looking away shyly.
"I..It was all my fault, Mademoiselle," Simon explained.
Carissa turned to walk away and remembered why she had come out in the first place.
"Monsieur?"
"Yes, Mademoiselle?" Simon asked enthusiastically.
"Madame Elishia has granted your leave this afternoon. She will not be in for the rest of the day."
Simon bowed. "Thank you for making the enquiry for me."
"You are welcome," Carissa responded, as she reluctantly turned and walked back to her work.
Carissa found it hard to concentrate on her tasks. She had seen Simon's unmistakable stare and her heart fluttered each time she thought about it. She was still daydreaming, when the phone frightened her back into reality.
"Bonjour, Carissa Berjene, Jentec Switzerland Sub Sea Imaging." After a slight pause, she added, "Que puis-je pour vous?"
"Do you speak English?" the voice on the other end of the phone enquired.
"Yes, Monsieur. How may I help you?"
"I would like to speak to Elishia Jennings if she is available, please," the voice requested.
"I am sorry, Monsieur. Madame Jennings is out for the day," Carissa informed the enquirer.
"This is Brendon Woods of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. It is imperative I speak to Miss Jennings. Is she contactable?"
"I have her mobile number. She has that with her, if you need to talk to her, Monsieur."
"Yes, let me have it, please."
Carissa settled back into typing a document, when the phone rang again. This time, it was Elishia.
"Bonjour, Carissa. This is Madame Elishia. I need you to listen carefully and write down these things, then I need you to chase them up for me. First of all, do you have a current passport?"
"Yes, Madame, but why?"
"I will explain in a minute. Okay, are you ready for a list of things to do?"
Elishia assigned a long list of things for Carissa to do. It all had to be ready to go by Monday morning. Carissa wrote them all down, then read the list back to Elishia.
"All four of us are going on a business trip: first to Hawaii and then onto a ship, which will take us 100 miles west of Hawaii."
Silence.
Elishia asked if Carissa was still there.
"Yes, Madame, but this is all so sudden."
"Jamie and I are on our way back from Geneva and we should be arriving within half an hour, which will make it around quarter to four. I will help you with the list when I get back."
"Yes, Madame. See you soon."
*~*~*~*
Elishia and Jamie arrived back at the work shed to find Carissa had already ticked off a large part of the list. Simon had been informed of their plans and affirmed that he had a current passport. Elishia explained to Carissa and Simon what was needed for their trip. She arranged for them to meet at her apartment with their luggage, ready to take a train to Geneva, then catch a flight from Geneva on Monday night.
The two women, working feverishly organising the necessities for the trip, were momentarily interrupted as Simon excused himself at 4 pm and headed for the train station. Carissa's eyes followed him out of the door and Jamie, out of Carissa's view, raised his eyebrows.
Carissa kept glancing out the back window as she worked, hoping to get a peek at Simon's friends. As the train pulled away, Simon had his arms around a tall, dark haired beauty and standing next to her, stood another beautiful, blonde woman. Carissa dropped a file on the floor, as she stared in disbelief.
"Carissa, are you alright?" Elishia enquired.
"Arr…y-yes, Madame," she apologised, reaching down to pick up the file.
A few minutes later, Simon pushed the door to the work shed open and in walked the two beautiful women with him. Carissa just stared as Simon elatedly introduced Laetitia and Fiona. After the introductions, the three happy people disappeared out of the work shed, chattering excitedly and heading for Simon's apartment. Carissa kept gazing after them, hoping her feelings weren't showing on her face.
*~*~*~*
Later that night, back at their apartme
nt, Jamie was amused at Elishia's excitement about the trip.
"If I had known you were going to be so excited about going to Hawaii, I would have taken you there ages ago."
"It's not the trip, dear husband," she said, as she cuddled into him on the lounge. "It's the opportunity to test Simon's new refinements to the imager."
A smile teased Jamie's face and he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Elishia prodded.
"Did you see the look on Carissa's face, when Simon brought his two lady friends in to meet us?"
"N-o-o-o! She isn't interested in Simon."
"Dear wife, you must walk around with your eyes closed."
Elishia punched him playfully. "Do you really think she has feelings for Simon?"
"She watched him walk out the door to the train station and then nearly tripped over her bottom lip when she saw the two beauties on Simon's arm."
"You’ve got me intrigued now, mister. I will have to open my eyes and watch her more carefully now."
*~*~*~*
Chapter 11
The train trip from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Geneva had been quiet. Jamie and Elishia sat across the aisle from Carissa and Simon. Carissa just stared out the window the whole time, answering Simon's attempts at conversation with yes-no answers, never attempting to make eye contact with him. Jamie and Elishia chatted every now and then, breaking the icy silence.
Jamie whispered in Elishia's ear, "Still think Carissa has no feelings for Simon?"
"She may be just upset about having to come on this trip," she whispered back.
"Then why doesn't she speak to Simon? She won't even look at him."
"Do you think I should ask her?" Elishia whispered.
"And say what…? Are you jealous of Simon's lady friends? She wouldn't tell you, even if she was upset at Simon."
"Why do you always make so much good sense, husband?"