Of Broken Things

Chapter 3 - scene 1.

Aiden decided to start on the top of the list and called the psychologist, Jerry McDermott, first. Nobody picked up at his private number, so Aiden had to leave a message explaining that he needed to talk to him. He tried his practice next, and a bored-looking receptionist told him that Dr. McDermott had taken some time off for personal reasons. She wasn't at liberty to say when he was going to be back, but if Aiden needed a consultation, Dr. Pletcher was temporarily taking care of all of Dr. McDermott's patients. She wasn't very forthcoming and flat out refused to tell him when McDermott had started his leave of absence. Sensing that he wouldn't learn anything else, Aiden admitted defeat and hung up.

He looked absentmindedly at the holovision screen that was broadcasting Chairman Gideon Oloro's visit to Luna 1, the Space Corp home base on the Moon, and pondered about the conversation. At first glance, there was nothing suspicious in the fact that the professor had decided to take some time off. Maybe he was long overdue for a vacation and had finally decided to take it, or maybe he had had a family emergency. Things like that happen all the time. But something about McDermott's absence bothered Aiden.

On the screen, Chairman Oloro smiled and waved, standing in front of a brand new Needle-class scouting ship. Aiden sighed and dialed the next person on his list.

He had no luck with Professor Dietrich's private number either, but instead of going to voicemail like McDermott's, it was simply disconnected. Calling his office at Appalachian University was a bit more productive.

The professor's colleagues told him that Dietrich had taken a year-long sabbatical. When Aiden asked if he had left an address or contact number where he could be reached, none of them seemed be able to agree on his whereabouts. His secretary was convinced he went to his lake house to work on a new research paper, while his assistant remembered him mentioning something about a trip to Hawaii. One of his fellow professors even said that John had planned to travel to several of the Asteroid Belt colonies to study the effects of cryo-sleep in deep space. What all of them agreed upon, was the fact that John Dietrich had taken his leave about seven months ago.

The cold lump in the pit of his stomach was getting bigger by the minute. One professor taking a sudden leave of absence could be a coincidence, but two of them disappearing at the same time was a pattern. And Dietrich had left seven months ago, right when the extra payments and all communications about the Nest had stopped. Something had happened seven months ago, and Aiden had a sinking feeling that all the people on his list were caught in the aftermath.

On the holo, Oloro had been replaced by the coverage of the riots on the penitentiary asteroid Hades 3. The journalist was debating on whether it would be morally acceptable to create a breach in the cell block and let all the air escape.

With a growing sense of dread, Aiden picked up his transmitter and called Andrew Howie, the specialist in genetic mutations.

The number rang for what seemed like an eternity, and the person who picked up didn't look anything like an esteemed university professor. The boy was in his mid to late teens and didn't seem happy about the call.

"What do you want?" he sneered at Aiden.

"Erm... I'm trying to reach Andrew Howie. This is his number, right?" Aiden was taken aback by the boy's immediate aggressiveness.

"Yeah."

"Could I speak to him?"

"He's dead."

Aiden's stomach filled with acid.

"What? How?"

"You people just don't give up, do you? You just keep calling, wanting all the gory details!" the boy almost spat out the words. "We said it once already, we don't give interviews! You want to know what happened to dad? It was all over the news: Hunter mauled by a bear - call it poetic justice. Call here again, and I will file a complaint with the authorities."

Aiden sat staring at the blank screen in stunned silence.

When he tried to dial the last number on his list, his hands were shaking. This whole case was getting more and more rotten. Something had happened seven months ago, something to do with that Nest, and now people tied to it were dead or missing. Aiden looked at Garcia's number almost with loathing. Somehow he doubted that calling it would bring him better news than his three previous attempts. On the other hand, he couldn't afford to leave any leads unexplored. He had to know. So he took a long swing of coffee and dialed Garcia's number with now steady fingers.

Nobody picked up, and Aiden had to leave a message asking Mr. Garcia to contact him as soon as possible, but after he hung up, he couldn't shake the feeling that a call wasn't enough. He looked up Juan Garcia's address and was surprised to see that, like Fortworth, the geneticist was also local. In fact, he lived just two towns away from Aiden.

So he dumped the rest of his now cold coffee in the sink, put on his jacket and grabbed his gravicar keys. Garcia was his last lead, so he had to make the trip and try to talk to him in person.