by Neal Jones
Everything was just as it was three days earlier when she had first searched the house.
Prill appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "I haven't found anything new down here."
"Nothing up there either," Varis sighed, passing him on her way to the kitchen. She opened the door to the cellar and swept her palm over everything, descending in the same manner she had ascended the other staircase. The floor was concrete and the walls composed of the same material as the walls in the rest of the house.
Prill watched patiently while J'Soran inspected every inch of the tiny room. Along one wall was a row of tall cabinets, part of them refrigerated. They were as empty as the room.
"Damn," Varis muttered as she returned to the kitchen.
"What is it that you think he hid?"
"I don't know. Research scientists are typically paranoid about losing their work and always keep a backup somewhere – usually a data disc or an interweb portal."
"Which I checked five years ago. He had two accounts, and both were closed by him the morning of his disappearance. That's one of the things that led me to believe he had disappeared of his own free will. Nor were my techs able to recover anything from either of the hard drives."
"And that's what doesn't make sense," Varis frowned. "This disappearance wasn't like the one fifty years ago. When he left Lykenshy, he said goodbye to his colleagues, closed the rent on his apartment, closed his bank account, and packed up his belongings. This time, he didn't bother closing his bank account, he didn't make arrangements to sell his house, and he didn't even take his compad with him. Yet he did take the time to wipe the memory on both his pad and his home computer, and then he went to the trouble of altering his ID chip and buying at least one – but probably two – false IDs. He was terrified of something, Vasik." She reached into her pocket and then scowled. "Damn!"
"What?"
"I left my compad at the hotel." She checked her palm readout. "And I forgot to update my 'net file. What time is it?"
Vasik checked his wristlink. "Almost nine-mark."
"Good. M'Harri should be done at the lab soon." She headed for the front hall. "When I interviewed Doctor Reldun, it sounded like he and Korik had formed a close friendship. I find it hard to believe that, after ten years, the same didn't happen between Korik and Swyn."
"I don't know, J'Soran. I interviewed her twice five years ago, and she didn't act like she had something to hide. Nor was there any other evidence to suggest that she was involved with his disappearance in some way."
"That could mean she's just a good liar. My impression of her is that she became close to Moru, possibly a romantic relationship, or maybe something akin to a father-daughter bond. Why else would she bother keeping up the house and the lawn?"
"Yes, J'Soran, all of that occurred to me as well. She told me that Korik had left her a spare key code to the house in case of an emergency. She said herself that she had become close friends with him, although he kept to himself when he was off work. That's why she was the first suspect on my list when I began this investigation five years ago."
"And I think you ruled her out too quickly," Varis replied. "There was nothing in your case file about her except a criminal background check and a verification of her ID profile. Did you know that she studied computer science for two years at Trocha's College before switching her focus of study to biogenetics?"
"No, I didn't. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You said your technicians weren't able to recover anything from the hard drives of Moru's personal computer and compad, right?" They were now at the train stop, and Varis linked her bio-net to the com terminal. Her palm readout flashed the arrival time of the next train. "That means that whoever did it knew what they were doing. Most people use commercial software to clean their hard drives, but only someone with a background in technical engineering knows how to go beyond what those commercial programs use. Beyond the point of recovery, I mean."
"You think that she wiped his hard drives?"
"I think she knows more than what she's telling us."
The com terminal at the foot of the steps began beeping, signaling the eminent arrival of the shuttle train. "If she knew why Moru was leaving, why would she have hid that from us? She's the one who filed the missing persons report in the first place."
Varis shrugged as she ascended the steps. "I'm not sure that she does know that. I was thinking more along the lines of the possibility that she was instructed by him to keep up the house in case of his return. I didn't tell her yesterday that he was dead. All I said was that I was investigating the cold case for any new information."
Frowning, Prill followed her into the car, and they took their seats in the back where they could continue their conversation in relative privacy. Only a handful of passengers were scattered among the other seats.
"Don't take it personally, Vasik. You were quite thorough in your investigation. Like you said, there was no evidence that Moru had been kidnapped. He left of his own will, so there was no reason for you to investigate his employment history or do anything more with his assistant other than a criminal background check."
"All the evidence suggested he left of his own will," Prill corrected her. "There's always the possibility that someone – or several people – orchestrated his disappearance and made it look like he left of his own will. If that's the case, and if M'Harri was involved somehow, then she's guilty of obstructing an official investigation. The same holds true even if she wasn't directly involved but knows something about his disappearance that may lead to the ones who were behind it."
"Okay," Varis admitted. "But when he arrived on Exxar-One he was under a false name and ID. The evidence that Navarr and I gathered suggests that he was on the run from someone. If he had been kidnapped five years ago and was somehow able escape, why wouldn't he have come back here? Even if he was only able to escape a few months or a few weeks ago, why obtain a false ID and remain in hiding? It doesn't make sense."
"Good point," he agreed. They rode in silence for a minute or two, and then he said, "What about the project that Reldun and Moru were working on for the military back in the twenties? Reldun assumed that Korik had been hired by the government to continue working on more projects like that, and it would explain why he was absent from the private sector for eleven years."
Varis nodded. "You're going to have to let me investigate that on my own. I have a couple ideas in mind, but –"
"– that's all that you can tell me. Yeah, I know. I looked up your service record, remember? You're just a brantar with only a standard level security clearance. How exactly are you going to investigate something like that on your own?"
She smiled. "I have certain...connections."
"Oh, of course. How silly of me."
"This is our stop."
"How do you want to do this?" Prill asked after they were back on the street. "I can wait for you outside while you talk to her."
"No, I think it should be both of us, but let me start the conversation. Depending on what she tells us, you may need to bring her back to your station for further questioning."
( 4 )
"Doctor M'Harri?
Swyn had just locked the door to the main research lab, and, when she turned to face Varis and Prill, her expression hardened. "What now? I've answered all your questions, I've told you everything I know about Doctor Moru's disappearance – even to that EarthCorps officer who screened me last week. How many times do you people need to hear the same answers to the same questions??"
"I'm sorry, Swyn," Varis interrupted, "I have just a few more questions for you."
"That's what you said yesterday, and I told you the same thing I told him" – she stabbed a finger at Vasik – "five years ago. I don't know anything about why Korik left, and I have not had any contact with him since the day before he disappeared. I gave a written statement five years ago, and I have nothing else to say. Please leave me alone." She turned and began walking away.<
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"Did Commander Navarr tell you that Doctor Moru's body was found on starbase Exxar-One eleven days ago?" Varis called after her. "That's the reason she screened you."
Swyn stopped and turned back. "He's dead?"
"That's right. I'm the strategic operations officer on Exxar-One. I'm here investigating his death."
"Why didn't you tell me that yesterday?"
"I didn't think it was necessary to reveal that information to you. I wanted to be sure that your statement to me matched what you had given to Anteri Prill five years ago."
"And it did. It's also the same statement I gave to Commander Navarr." M'Harri shook her head, exasperated. "I should think by now it's obvious that I'm telling the truth."
"Yes. You're not a suspect in his disappearance, Swyn. But I believe that you know something about it that you've been keeping to yourself since then. Did he give you something before he left? A file? A disc? The key code to a personal bank drawer?"
"No. Nothing like that, as I said five years ago. I'm sorry, brantar." She paused, swallowing, and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry that he's dead, but I don't know anything more about this."
"All right," Varis nodded. "That's all I needed to know. One more thing, though. You said you hired a gardener for Doctor Moru's landscaping. Is that the same person who's been cleaning his house?"
Swyn shook her head. "I've been cleaning the house. I go every two weeks."
"Okay. Thank you. Have a good night."
They watched M'Harri leave the corridor, and then Varis turned to go back the way they had come.
Prill fell into step beside her. "Are you satisfied? She's not hiding anything, J'Soran."
"It was that question about whether or not he'd given her something," Varis replied. "I just have to figure out how to get her to admit it."
"J'Soran, stop!" Prill faced her, irritated. "I asked her five years ago – twice – if Moru had given her something before he left. I conducted a thermal scan of her with my bio-net while I questioned her. She wasn't lying. I searched his house, his office here, and the lab. He had no contact with M'Harri after he disappeared, and he didn't give her anything that would be a clue to his disappearance. It's all there in the damn case file!"
"Yes, Vasik, I know."
"Then why did you insist on questioning her again? You do realize she now has justification for filing a harassment complaint against us if she wants to."
"You saw her reaction to my news about his death." J'Soran held up her palm so he could see the results of the thermal readout. "I did my own thermal scan just now. I'm telling you, Vasik, that she's hiding something! You can see it right there. As soon as I told her he was dead, it caught her off guard. I don't know exactly what she's hiding, but now I've gotten through to her, and I think she'll be ready to talk soon." She brushed past him. "Pick me up something to go after you're done with dinner. Nothing spicy. I'll see you back at the hotel at eleven."
( 5 )
Swyn entered her front hall and shut the door quickly behind her. She shrugged off her coat and left it in a heap near the entrance to the kitchen. She started to make herself tea, but then her gaze fell upon a holoframe on a shelf above the sink. The photos rotating through the frame were of family, friends, and co-workers. Doctor Moru was in several of them, smiling somewhat uncomfortably. He had never liked having his picture taken, and Swyn was suddenly so overcome with grief that she nearly dropped her glass. She closed her eyes, weeping silently, not bothering to wipe away her tears. After several minutes she found the strength to make it up the stairs to the washroom. She splashed some water on her face, and then sat on the closed toilet seat, her face buried in her hands. She didn't want it to be true. She had harbored such a deep, secret hope that he would come back to her someday that she had never really prepared herself for this news. It seemed unreal to her, as if all of this was happening to someone else, in some other parallel reality. The brantar was lying. It was all a ploy to get her to admit to something that she knew nothing about.
Yes, Swyn thought, rising to wash her face once more, he's still alive. There's some other reason that they're investigating this now, and I told them truth five years ago. There's nothing more for me to say to them.
As she was descending the stairs, the door chime rang, its bell tone echoing loudly in the stillness of the house. She hesitated, suddenly frightened, but then remembered that she had nothing to fear. It was probably the anteri again, and she decided that if he didn't leave immediately she would file a complaint with his supervisor. This was starting to become harassment.
But it was the other one – the brantar – who stood on the threshold.
"Yes?" M'Harri barked. "I thought that I answered all your questions!"
"May I come in?" J'Soran asked, nonplussed.
"No! This is harassment, and I will file a complaint! Please leave! Now!"
"Swyn, I only need a few minutes –"
"No! I have answered all your questions. I've told you the truth. What more do you want from me??"
"Swyn," Varis continued calmly, "we both know that you lied to me earlier. Anteri Prill isn't with me. You're not going to be arrested. All I need to know is what Moru gave you five years ago to keep safe for him."
The doctor continued to block the doorway. "I didn't lie!" she insisted, but her tone wavered.
"I know what you're thinking. You're wondering if you can trust me, and you're afraid. Korik was afraid too, wasn't he? He was afraid for his life. That's why he went into hiding. Am I right so far?"
Swyn hesitated, her resolve weakening.
"Please let me in. We need to talk about this, but not out here. You can trust me. I realize I have no way to prove that to you, but I thought you might feel more comfortable talking about this in your home instead of the lab. That's why Anteri Prill isn't with me. I promise that whatever you tell me will stay between us. You're not going to be in any kind of trouble for this."
M'Harri sighed and then backed away from the door so Varis could step inside. "Just tell me one thing. Is he really dead? You weren't just saying that to try to get me to confess?"
Varis shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He died of heart failure. It happened shortly after he arrived on the station."
Swyn wiped her eyes and gave a weary nod. She motioned to the kitchen. "I was about to make tea. Would you like some?"
"Sure."
"You were close to him?" Varis asked as she sat at the small table.
"Yes. It wasn't romantic. I'll admit I was attracted to him when we first met, even though there was almost forty years age difference between us. The more I got to know him, though, the more he became like a father to me."
Varis nodded, understanding. "But you never socialized with him outside the lab?"
"Only a couple times. I insisted on taking him out to dinner for his birthday once, and then he cooked dinner for me on my birthday one year." She paused, frowning. "It's hard to explain, but he was...well, almost a recluse I guess. He never talked much about his past, and he had no family that I knew of. But he wasn't eccentric like some researchers I've worked with. He had a great sense of humor, and he was very well read. We both had a passion for history, and he was always recommending books to me." She handed a steaming mug to Varis and then sat, cupping her hands around her own mug. "I think if the years between us hadn't been so great, I probably would have fallen in love with him."
"So he never mentioned anything about other projects that he had worked on at the other universities – Lykenshy or Athdan's?"
"No. He'd mentioned a few times that those were where he used to work, but whenever I asked him about what projects he'd been involved with, he'd always give some broad answer or change the subject. I finally just accepted that that's the way he was, and I quit asking."
"Tell me about your research at Bri'Nai. What were you and Moru working on when he disappeared?"
"He was in charge of all the research projects for his department. We always have at least
four or five going at any one time. For the last few years we've been focusing on genetically inherited diseases, specifically neurological ones. Some of it's fairly standard, some of it's cutting edge. Bri'Nai is one of the most prestigious research facilities in the confederacy. We have access to many resources that others don't."
"Such as?"
"Technology, equipment, certain species of animals – that type of thing."
"Do any of those projects involve further enhancements of bio-net applications? Nanotechnology? Anything like that?"
"Not the ones we're currently working on. Korik did tell me once that he had been involved with certain projects that used biotechnology. When I asked him to tell me more he changed the subject."
"So there was nothing that you know of that suddenly made him desperate to leave? He didn't say anything to you at all in the days before his disappearance? He didn't behave any differently?"
"No. I told all of this to Anteri Prill when I first filed the missing persons report. The night before, we had both stayed late to catch up on work. Korik left right before I did. It was around fourteen-mark, I think. I was usually the one to close up the lab anyway, so I stayed behind to clean up. The next morning he was gone. He never showed up for work. At lunch time I went to his house. It was empty. I couldn't file the missing persons report until the next morning."
Varis nodded. "That's in your statement in Prill's case file. Now tell me what you didn't put in there. What did Moru leave for you at his house?"
"It wasn't at his house. The night before he disappeared, the night that we stayed late working, I found a small package on my doorstep when I came home. There was no name on it, no postage, no writing of any kind. Just a plain, brown envelope. Inside was a data disc with a single file on it. A list of names." Swyn activated her bio-net and held out her palm.
