The Delta Chain (36 page)

‘You approve and you turn
a blind eye, same as me, because you
are
me-
’

‘Bullshit.
I
’
m
nothing
like you. I turn a blind
eye but only because that
’
s the whole
structure, the whole damn culture you
’
ve
created. Our staff don
’
t know any more
than they need to, just their little part of the project, and those
of us who do know pretend it isn
’
t really
happening down there. We leave it to your henchmen to do the dirty
work.
’

‘There
’
s been a lot of crap these past few weeks and
you
’
re stressed out, Stephen. And yes
you
’
re under a lot of pressure to make
the breakthrough. But try to stay focused. Don
’
t forget how much you
’
ve
contributed, or the position it will put you in.
The achievement
, Stephen, the extraordinary achievement. Yours and
mine.
’

Westmeyer paused, allowing
his words to sink in. The two men stared at each other through
tired, obsessed eyes.
‘
Remember,
you
’
ve come all this way, solid as a
rock, without dropping the ball. Don
’
t
stress out now. Just…stay…focused.
’

Hunter
didn
’
t acknowledge having heard a
word.
‘
And what the hell is Donnelly
doing snooping around here every hour or so anyway.
I
’
m not the one he
’
s supposed to be keeping his eyes on. I
’
m hampered by slow feedback from his precious sub-level but
he
’
s constantly up here, hovering,
glowering, snooping. I know he
’
s your
pathetic odd job man but we had an agreement when you lured me into
all this, that your morons would stay clear of me and my
labs.
’

Westmeyer strained to keep
his composure. Hunter was infuriating when his arrogance spun out
of control.
‘
Don
’
t worry about Donnelly right now. Just…put some trust in
me, Stephen. We
’
re almost there. I can
promise you won
’
t have any of these
annoyances again, after we
’
re done here.
The breakthrough with Delta Chain is equally yours.
It
’
s going to put us into orbit with
Nexus, and ultimately with the scientific community. The world will
be your oyster, Stephen…unlimited funds, your own projects, your
own research centres.
’

Hunter sighed deeply,
letting his fatigue sink deeper into his sunken features.
He
’
d succumbed to
Westmeyer
’
s pep talks more times than he
could remember.
‘
Just keep Donnelly and
his goons away from me. They
’
re
neanderthals, they
’
ve no place in the
world of science.
’

‘A necessary
evil.
’

‘It sickens
me.
’

‘You
’
re forgetting what I told you when you came on board.
Don
’
t think about what
’
s happening on the sub-level. Focus on your work in here.
There
’
s an underbelly to everything in
life, and that underbelly will advance this project to be of
enormous benefit to the world. Focus on that. Leave the underbelly
to the ones who were made for it.
’

from
Daniel
’
s
journal

If there is one thing
I
’
d like to tell my brothers and sisters
at The Com, it
’
s that
I
’
ve tonight seen television
–
the great, mysterious, much talked about
evil
–
for the first time. Of course,
we
’
d always known of its existence, and
that of rock music and film, but we
’
d
never been exposed to them. The media of the outside world has
always been banned, as instruments of the devil.

When I was younger I was
scared of the outside world. But in recent years
I
’
ve been not so much scared as
curious.

I
’
ve been out here a few days now. I
’
ve survived. In the homeless persons refuge,
I
’
ve seen people sit and eat, talking
quietly, watching the screen in the background. I watched and
listened as a man told us the news, showing the picture of a
drowned girl whose face I recognised.

A girl
who
’
d been sent away from The Com, years
ago.

It looks odd, all those pictures
moving in that little box. The news they report can be disturbing.
But I wonder: is this any more evil than the beatings and the
loneliness and the horror of The Darkness, which are just part of
our lives at The Com.

Close to midnight and Adam
hadn
’
t been back in his apartment for
long. After dropping Harrison off, he
’
d
spoken again on his cell with O
’
Malley.
The puzzle of what lay within the Institute sub-level was like a
giant shadow looming. Coffee would only add to the buzz in his head
so he poured orange juice.

The doorbell rang and he knew it
would be Kate.

She breezed in and melted
into his arms. She held him tight and he responded, squeezing her
closer, ruffling her blonde hair.
‘
I
think they must be right,
’
she
said,
‘
absence does make the heart grow
fonder.
’

‘In this case,
yes.
’
He pulled back, appraising her, and
steered her to the lounge.
‘
You must be
exhausted.
’

She allowed a dramatic
slump of her shoulders.
‘
Well, now that
you mention it.
’

‘I
’
ll get you a drink.
’

‘Something cold and sweet.
A Coke?
’

She sank onto the sofa and
he returned with the drink. Glad to have her back, but feeling a
reserve, a black spot he wished wasn
’
t
there. He wondered if she sensed it.
‘
I
’
ve been going crazy.
’
He was still standing.
‘
Why on earth didn
’
t you tell me
what you were up to?
’

‘It was a nutty, spur of
the moment thing. I…just did it, practically without
thinking.
’

‘You
couldn
’
t have phoned me?
’

‘Like I said, it
was
so
spur of the moment, no thinking.
’
She gave him one of her daffy, impetuous
expressions.

‘But Kate, you flew all
the way to the Territory from Sydney, found this Coolawirra guy,
organised for digital tracking equipment to be delivered…
’
His voice trailed off.

She waited.

‘…
and you couldn’
t
be bothered, or couldn
’
t spare two
minutes, to phone me?
’
His frustration
grew deeper as he confronted her. This wasn
’
t the way he wanted to feel but the emotion had taken on a
life of its own.

‘You know, Adam, I was
really busting to get back here and see you, even though
it
’
s the middle of the night, even though
I
’
m totally whacked. I thought
you
’
d be pleased, impressed even, that
I
’
d tracked down the bastards who killed
my brother-
’

‘I am-
’

‘And maybe I was wrong,
maybe I should
’
ve called, but
I
’
ve already explained my head was all
over the place. For God
’
s sake
I
’
d just buried Greg and my Mum and Dad
are devastated and I just…
reacted
, had this idea, and one
thing led to another…
’
her voice
rose,
‘…but all you care about is your male pride. Why
weren’
t
you
told, why
weren
’
t
you
consulted…
’
She slammed her glass down on the low set coffee
table, spilling Coke, jumping to her feet.
‘
I guess I trod on those great big policeman toes but bugger
me, bugger what I
’
ve been going
through-
’

‘Okay, Kate-
’

She was heading for the
door.
‘
No, not okay, Kate. Stuff you,
Adam Bennett-
’

‘Kate-
’

‘Fuck off!
’
The door slammed behind her.

Adam hesitated. Had he
been wrong to show his anger? He decided to go after her. This
wasn
’
t how he
’
d
wanted things to go. What the hell was wrong with him? Out the
door, down the stairs. By the time he reached the street her car
had pulled out from the curb.

His cell phone rang. Now what…?
He was exhausted, needed sleep. He answered the call and instantly
he was wide awake, his mind snapping to alert as the police
dispatcher gave him the news.

‘Of the thousands of crime
scenes I
’
ve been called to, I swear nine
out of ten have been in the middle of the night,
’
Brian Markham reflected.

‘Stop
exaggerating.
’
It was a joke between old
friends but neither Adam nor Markham smiled.

Stephen Hunter was on the
couch, head in hands, visibly shaking. Harrison,
who
’
d been called back on duty almost as
soon as Adam had dropped him off, was with him.
‘
Dr. Hunter
’
s been putting in long
hours at the Institute this week,
’
Markham said in quiet tones,
‘
and
he
’
d come directly here from his lab. He
said Miss Cail was expecting him for a late supper. He found the
bodies.'

Adam inspected the
corpses. The police photographs had already been taken by
Harrison.
‘
It would appear,
’
Markham said,
‘
that
for whatever reason, Collosimo
’
s been in
the apartment to see Melanie Cail and I expect
they
’
ve argued. Cail has lunged at
Collosimo with a kitchen knife and he
’
s
pulled out his weapon and fired just as the
knife
’
s lodged in his chest.
’

There were no signs of
struggle and no forced entry, supporting Markham
’
s comments. So why did Adam have the unmistakable
impression it was all
too
obvious?

‘What do you really make
of it?
’
Adam asked the coroner, reading
between the lines.

‘You really do think you
can read me like a book, don
’
t
you?
’

‘You
’
ve wearing your something-isn
’
t-right face.
’

‘I have this odd feeling
it
’
s all a little staged.
’

‘Same here.
’

Adam approached
Hunter.
‘
I know this has come as a
terrible shock, and I'm not going to disturb you further tonight.
But I will need to interview you tomorrow.
’

‘I understand.
’

‘Will I find you at
home?
’

‘I
’
ll be at the Institute. Couldn
’
t
just sit at home, detective, I
’
d need to
keep busy.
’
Hunter stared back at him
through red eyes.
‘
I was in love with
her.
’

Adam, Harrison and Markham
re-iterated their condolences. Adam was aware, from his talks with
Kate, of Hunter's womanising past. He didn't necessarily believe
anything the young scientist said about being in love, but
didn
’
t consider him a prime suspect
either.

He did wonder, however, how much
Hunter really knew.

Hunter had been with Westmeyer
for several years, both here and in Florida.

With the drownings, the
boy from The Com and the crocodile hunting all linked to the
Institute, the question of just
how much
Hunter knew, and whether
or not he was personally involved, was going to be
paramount.

The girl woke with a
start. She was alone and it was still quiet beyond the thick cell
door. They weren
’
t coming for her
yet.

She was surprised
she
’
d fallen asleep, despite her dreadful
fatigue, but she certainly didn
’
t feel
rested: she was covered in a cold sweat from recurring nightmares.
It clung to her skin like the clammy touch of something dead. The
nightmares weren
’
t the stuff of some
black fantasy; they were simply re-enactments of her reality, of
the horror her life and impending death had become.