The Lost Libraries Archive (The Erik Midgard Case Files Volume 2)

Chapter 13

XIII

"Really, Doctor. I feel fine," said Megan.

"I don't care how you feel," said Ra. "We're going downstairs right now and one of the medical robots is checking you over. Detective?"

"Yes, go ahead," I said.

I hardly cared what any of the murder suspects were doing right now, because they had been here the whole time. The intruders who had stolen my cloning tube had literally been standing in front of me for most of the last three hours. I'd seen all their faces, heard their names and listened to their voices. And I'd still managed to let them get away. I just wanted to bang my fists - and my head - against the nearest wall, assuming I could find one that wasn't covered in laser burns or ruined books.

"How are you doing?" said Mirabi, who'd been checking no one else had been hurt.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Oh, dear."

"That isn't funny," I said.

"Yes, but don't beat yourself up too badly," said Mirabi. "You're not the only one who didn't guess. I should have recognised their heights. Don't worry. We'll find them."

She meant to be comforting, but it really wasn't. We both knew exactly how hard it would be - like getting blood from a stone - to get the fiercely independent and nationalistic Free Mars police to investigate Anubis and his men, let alone extradite them. Assuming they made it safely back to Free Mars - and the teleporter certainly had that range - they'd probably gotten clean away.

"We don't need to," I said. "They don't matter anymore."

"I wouldn't recommend telling the boss that," said Mirabi.

"They were hired," I said. "Someone paid them to steal it. By the sound of it, they didn't even know what it was."

"But someone else does," said Mirabi. She touched my shoulder. "We'll find them and get it back. Stop worrying and get your head back in the game. We've still got a murder to solve. We need to find out who killed the only father figure Megan had. Quit scuba diving in the lake of self-pity and let's get back to work."

I sighed, but she was right and in more ways than she knew. Megan was affecting me. I couldn't pretend she wasn't. And whatever was going on with my own problems - whatever whoever was behind this whole thing was doing with my cloning tube - I was not going to leave this murder unsolved. She'd helped me when I needed it and I was going to give her as much justice as I could.

"Fine," I said. "How?"

"Huh? What in the..."

We turned around to see that Baldr, still handcuffed to the chair, had just woken up and was looking around in astonishment at the gunfire-wrecked main room.

"What in Darwin's name happened?" he said.

_ _ _ _ _

"So I take it you didn't send Anubis to raid ChronOps?" I said.

"I have no idea what the hax you're talking about!" said Baldr. Helmcom polygraph gave him 94%+

"Raid ChronOps?" said Isabel Chernobog.

"I'll explain later," I said, before Mirabi could tell her to mind her own business. That would just make her more suspicious.

"No, I didn't," said Baldr. "What in Newton's name could you small-minded, glorified temporal traffic wardens possible have that I'd want?"

"But you did send them to Io," said Mirabi. "You hired them to provide security for the Library Project and then offered them extra money if they'd steal the prototype for you."