Gravity Rising (The Parallel Multiverse Book 2)

by Ward Wagher

  He then flipped back to the data collection program and began charting the power use curve of the Osiris Cell. There were anomalies in this area as well. He examined at the data for a while and then began searching the Global Net for records of this kind of research. Surely other scientists had recognized the problem. Once again it seemed to him that Clenèt’s math described something entirely different than the gravitic fusion reactor. The paucity of information stopped him. He was learning a lot, but each puzzle brought forth new mysteries.

  He looked over in surprise to see Maggie standing next to him. He had not heard her come into the lab. Her pale countenance was consistent with her shocked look.

  “What is it, Mags?”

  “Come out in the hall for a minute, Larry.”

  He slipped off his lab stool and followed her to the door of the lab. She seemed to almost stumble as she walked. He pulled the door to the lab closed and turned to her.

  “Whatever is the matter?”

  She shook her head. “Let’s go to your office. It’s closer.”

  She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway. He, once again, wrestled with his key in the lock. The office doors were nearly as bad as the lock on his flat. Once he got the door open, she walked in first and pulled him in. She closed the door and turned to face him.

  “Philip Guidard is dead!” she hissed.

  “What?” he yelled.

  She reached up and put her hand over his mouth. “Shush. I brought you down here because I didn’t want the whole school to hear it. Somebody discovered his body and called the Constabulary.”

  A lot of the pieces fell into place for him. “They found him in Seb’s car, didn’t they?”

  She stopped and shook herself. “You’re right. It suddenly makes sense. That’s why the cops were all around his car this morning.”

  “And the two heading up the stairs were going to Seb’s flat. How did you find out about it?”

  “Here’s the strange thing,” she said softly. “Mrs. Willow came into my office just a few minutes ago and told me about it.”

  “Mrs. Willow?” Larry tried to fit that into the puzzle and didn’t succeed. “What was she doing over here?”

  “She said that we needed to know about this.”

  “I should hope to think so,” Larry said. “Okay, nobody knows Philip was associated with us.”

  “Except Mrs. Willow.”

  “Except Mrs. Willow,” he repeated. “I need to get back to the lab and send a message to Arthur. We need to know what to do, now. And I left my computer sitting wide open on the bench.”

  “Get back there, Larry,” she said.

  Larry sprang from his office and ran down the hallway towards the lab. When he burst into the lab, Fluffy Pournelle stood looking at Larry’s computer. He quickly turned.

  “Ah, Lawrence. I thought you had left for the day and wondered why you left your equipment running.”

  “Uh, Maggie had something she needed to show me. Is anything wrong?”

  “No, no,” he said quickly. “I simply grew concerned that you left things in such disorder.”

  Considering Fluffy’s penchant for orderliness, Larry supposed it was natural for the professor to be concerned. But, it worried him.

  “Actually, I was just getting ready to leave,” Larry said. “But, I’ll be sure to put things away properly.”

  “See that you do. I like the lab to be ship-shape. It’s easy enough to have accidents here when things are out of place.”

  “I understand, Sir. I apologize if I upset you.”

  Fluffy waved a hand. “No matter. No harm, no foul.” And he walked away.

  Larry stared after him for a few moments, then concentrated on shutting down the apparatus for the night. He had some ideas he wanted to try with the Osiris Cells, but it would require two cells, at least, to achieve the effect he was looking for. He slid his computer into the backpack and then pulled his coat on again. He glanced out the window and saw a clear blue sky deepening into the indigo of twilight. Nice weather, but with the clear skies he assumed it would be very cold that night. Then his mind swung back again to Philip Guidard.

  As he walked out of the lab and down the hall, he wondered whatever happened to cause the little man’s death. Guidard always seemed so careful, and always knew what was going on around him. But, somebody had obviously surprised him. He was not likely to simply crawl into Seb Sylvester’s car and go to sleep and freeze to death.

  Maggie waited in front of his office. “I thought I’d wait to make sure you locked up your office,” she said.

  “Oh. Right.” He fished his keys out of his pocket and wrestled the lock into position.

  “Do you think these old locks would stop anybody?” she asked.

  “There’s the old saying that locks keep out honest people. I’d say it was true in this case.”

  She giggled and threaded her arm in his. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Sure.”

  He enjoyed her closeness, but when they swung around to leave, he saw Fluffy Pournelle standing at the end of the hallway, hands on his hips, staring at them. Turning their backs on him, they walked the other way down the hallway, under the dome, and then to the exit.

  “That man is beginning to bother me,” Larry muttered, as they strolled.

  “Who? Fluffy?”

  “One and the same. He was looking at my computer when I got back to the lab. He seemed startled when I walked in.”

  “What might he have done?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I think I will look at the system logs tonight. I used to like him, but now I don’t think he is our friend any longer.”

  “Do you suppose he had something to do with Philip?”

  He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, Mags. Disliking someone is a long way from suspecting them of murder.”

  “Or maybe Mrs. Willow?”

  Larry laughed. “Mrs. Willow is a scary old bag. But, I don’t think she would do something like that.”

  “I still think she did something to the locks that night you got stuck out in the snow,” Maggie insisted.

  They came to the door, and Larry opened it for Maggie. It had been cold when they arrived that morning, and it was colder still at this time. They both gasped.

  “I don’t know, Mags. In her funny way, I think Mrs. Willow looks out for us.”

  “She has a funny way of showing it, sometimes.”

  “And she also has a mean streak about two feet wide,” Larry continued.

  “If that is not the truth, Larry, it is very close.”

  The skinny, little, red-haired, girl-geek had continued with her arm in his as they walked back to Maseeh Hall, and Lawrence Berthold was almost content.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Sebastian Sylvester sat on his bed, leaning against the wall. He wrapped his arms around his pillow, and he had pulled his feet up in front of him. He looked terrified.

  “I just can’t imagine how a dead body can end up in my car,” Seb said. “I don’t even want to drive the thing anymore.”

  “Do the cops think you did it?” Larry asked.

  “Well, it is my car. I told them I had locked the car when I parked it. What do you suppose they thought?”

  “This is just crazy,” Maggie said. “How did he die?”

  “They wouldn’t tell me,” Seb said. “Just that he had been murdered.”

  She looked around the room where Sylvester lived. It was identical to most of the other flats in the building. This one was painfully neat, compared to Larry’s, she thought. Everyone had their compulsions, and Seb apparently liked everything in its place.

  “At least you are not in the jail,” Larry said.

  “I was positive they were going to cart me away.” Seb hugged his pillow and seemed to scrunch closer in on himself. “I don’t care what people say, having the law show up at your door just drains the strength out of you.”

  “So, they decided you didn’t do it?�
� Larry asked.

  “Not exactly. They told me not to leave town for a while. I told them I was scheduled to travel to Indianapolis next week, and they said I needed to postpone it.”

  “At least they didn’t tell you to cancel it,” Larry said. “That means you’re not the prime suspect.”

  Sylvester shook his head. “I don’t like this, Larry! I don’t like this at all. All I can think of is the weird things that have been happening to you and Maggie. That’s one reason I was so happy about the invitation to visit Indianapolis. If I wasn’t almost done with my work, I think I would go ahead and move out there just to get away from all of this.”

  Maggie slipped over and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got your friends here, Seb. It looks like we’re all in this together. We’ll stand with you.”

  Seb closed his eyes tightly and began shaking. Larry wondered if he was having a seizure. A few tears leaked around the corners of his eyes. He was crying.

  “I don’t deserve friends like you,” he choked out.

  Maggie slipped onto the bed next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Hey, that’s what we are here for, Seb. It’ll be all right.”

  Larry looked around him, not sure of what to do. He backed up and sat down on the easy chair. He looked out the window, at the endless winter, where a few flakes of snow drifted and batted against the glass. Maggie looked at him sadly and shook her head. After a while their friend was silent. And, they heard a soft knock at the door.

  Maggie quirked an eyebrow, and Larry stood up. He walked over and eased the door open.

  “Is this Sebastian Sylvester’s apartment?”

  Larry looked at the thin, balding, middle-aged man in a navy pinstriped suit, who was holding a heavy woolen overcoat of his arms. Behind him stood a thin woman, who was shorter and looked five years younger.

  “Yes,” Larry said softly. “Sebastian has had a bad day. Can I tell him who is here?”

  Seb leaned out to see who was at the door. “Daddy? Mama? What are you doing here?”

  He slipped off the bed and padded across the room. Larry look back at him, then at the couple in the door. He stepped to one side and pulled the door wide so that Seb’s parents could come in.

  The older man faced Larry and stuck out his hand. “I’m Jefferson Sylvester, and this is my wife Myfanwy.”

  “Larry Berthold and this is Maggie Bosstic.” Larry shook his hand and the woman gave him a short, sharp nod. They turned to Seb.

  “What has happened, Son?” the woman asked. “We received a call from the Constabulary about a murder and that somehow you were involved.”

  Seb seemed to have regained his composure. “I am not sure what is going on, Mama. The Constables found a body in my car this morning. No one knows how it got there. First thing I knew about it was when they came knocking at the door. I was just leaving for the school. Needless to say, I didn’t get there today.”

  “Who on Earth was it?” Jefferson asked.

  “No one seems to know,” Seb said. “I don’t even know who found the body.”

  Larry glanced at Maggie but said nothing.

  “You poor dear,” Myfanwe said. “Things like that simply do not happen in Cambridge. I just don’t understand it. After the constable called, I insisted that your father drive me over here immediately.”

  “You didn’t need to come out, tonight,” Seb said. “It’s kind of dangerous out there.”

  “Oh, nonsense,” Jefferson said. “My car will go through anything, and besides, I am carrying my weapon. But, you really do not know what happened?”

  “The constables wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  “I will have a word with our barrister tomorrow,” Jefferson said. “They simply cannot leave us in the dark like this.”

  “We should all sit down and talk this through,” Seb’s mother said.

  “We were just leaving,” Maggie said. “I think you probably want to have a family conversation.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Dear,” Myfanwe said.

  Maggie looked at Larry and they both walked to the door. “See you tomorrow, Seb,” she said.

  “I don’t think I like them,” Maggie said, as they worked their way down the stairs to the fourth floor.

  “You barely met them.”

  “I know, but sometimes you need to trust me, Larry.”

  Larry couldn’t think of an answer to that, so he was silent. They moved out of the stairwell into the fourth-floor hallway to see two men in heavy overcoats waiting at Larry’s door.

  “Now what?” Larry muttered. “It just never seems to end.”

  “That’s Arthur,” Maggie said.

  Larry took a closer look and then recognized Arthur Winkleman. The old man said nothing, but pointed the door with an index finger, the hand gloved in calf-skin. Larry nervously slid the key into the lock, and for once the door cooperated and he was able to get it open. Winkleman waved them in and followed. The other man picked up a large suitcase and swung it into the flat. Winkleman closed the door and turned to face them.

  “I have not a lot of time,” he said. “I am not officially here, and it would be better if no one in Boston was aware of my presence.”

  “What are you doing here, Arthur?” Maggie asked.

  “What happened to Philip?” he responded. “I received your email, and decided it required some personal attention.”

  “I don’t know,” Maggie said. “The constables said his body was in Seb Sylvester’s car. We just came from his flat. He is pretty shook up.”

  “So, he had nothing to do with it?”

  Larry shrugged. “I wouldn’t think so. Philip visited with us a couple of times. I got the impression he was watching us, along with whatever else. The man is… was a ghost. I mean I would turn around and he would be sitting on the sofa, there, and I never heard him come in.”

  Winkleman smiled sadly. “That was our Philip. I am frankly amazed he encountered something he could not handle. He was sending me daily reports. They were revealing, but he gave no indication of a threat.”

  “It’s like everything else that’s gone on around here. He told us that the Montreal council had a letter from me, resigning my stipend. Then all those weird things going on.”

  Maggie gulped audibly. “Arthur, I am really getting frightened.”

  “I have a car downstairs,” Winkleman said. “If you so desire, we can pull you out of here tonight. You can fly back to Indianapolis with me. My plane is at the airport. But, you must decide quickly.”

  Larry looked over at Maggie. “Maggie, I don’t want you getting caught in whatever is going on.”

  “No!” she said.

  “What?”

  “Larry, we need to finish this. I refuse to let anyone get in my way. I want my doctorate, and I want you to have yours. You are starting to make progress.”

  Larry shook his head. “I really don’t think I am.”

  “You are.” she insisted.

  “So, you want to stay?” Winkleman asked softly.

  They both looked at him. It got very quiet in the room. Finally, Larry spoke. “I guess if Maggie is staying, then I have to.”

  Winkleman sighed. “Very well. I am proud of your determination. But, if things get bad, get word to me. I will get you out, somehow.”

  He turned to the other man, a tall stocky blond, who apparently concealed a lot of musculature under the overcoat. “Very well, Jer, we should be getting back.”

  The other man nodded and turned to pull open the door.

  “Wait,” Larry said. “You forgot the suitcase.”

  “That is for your work,” Winkleman said. “Now, please keep me posted on your progress.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Winkleman leaned down and kissed Maggie on the cheek. “You two will follow my instructions to be very careful. The Palatinate needs you.”

  And they both walked out of the room, the door pulled shut behind them.

  “All right, Mister,
” Maggie said, “show me what’s in the suitcase.”

  Larry chuckled. “I guess I’m as curious as you are.”

  He picked up the suitcase and wrestled it on to the table. He snapped the catches and raised the lid. He stared inside and managed a long, low whistle.

  “What?” she asked as she crowded next to him to look inside.

  Nestled in foam cutouts were four Osiris Cells.

  “Wow!” Maggie said. “Arthur delivered.”

  Larry eased one of the cells out of its nest and studied it.

  “These are brand new, Mags,” he said. “We’re looking at a quarter-million francs here.”

  “What’s in the envelope?”

  He carefully slid the cell back into the hole in the foam and picked up the envelope. He tore it open and slide out the small sheet of paper. The crabbed script had been written in a shaky hand.

  Lawrence,

  These cells represent our investment in your education. Use them wisely. When you have completed your work, you are instructed to donate them to MIT.

  Best,

  Arthur

  “Arthur is not a piker,” Larry said. He laughed nervously. “He really is bankrolling us, Mags.”

  She looked again at the note, and then back at him. “Then, we’d better not disappoint him.”

  “Fluffy will extrude a brick when he sees this!”

  She cuffed him on the back of the head. “Mind your language.”

  Larry dropped the lid and snapped the catches. He then carried the suitcase over to the far corner of the room, next to the window.

  “I supposed I should get back to my writing,” Maggie said.

  “And I have a lot of reading to get through tonight,” Larry replied.

  “See you in the morning then.”

  “’Night, Mags.”

  “Don’t forget to lock your door,” she said as she walked out of the flat.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  The other four students looked up as Larry lugged the suitcase into the lab. He set the case down and opened it. After carefully removing the four Osiris Cells and setting them on the bench, he closed the lid and stood the suitcase alongside the leg of the bench.