Lancelot's Lady (55 page)

"
Call me Del. Everyone does.
"

"
Ok, Del. It could take a few minutes for the computer to scan all the files. Why don
'
t we head for the lounge, grab a coffee?
"

They swiveled in their chairs simultaneously, their knees knocking together.

Jake gave her a rueful look.
"
Sorry. Ladies first.
"

She stood, then followed him.

"
Did you know my dad?
"

"
Yeah, he was a great guy. We worked on a few projects together. You
'
re a lot like him.
"

"
Is that a good thing?
"

He flashed her a wicked smile.
"
Uh-huh.
Very
good.
"

Embarrassed, she looked away.

"
So, are you going to tell me why you
'
re here, Del?
"

She thought of Schroeder
'
s warning.
No police.
Well, Jake wasn
'
t the police, but could she trust him? She had already let it slip to Moran that she thought her father was still alive. That could prove to be a huge mistake.

Thankfully, the lounge was empty. The pastel beige walls of the room were bare, except for a set of brightly colored prints that someone had hung in an attempt to make the room cozier. Coffee-stained laminate counters held a variety of small appliances, including an ancient microwave—maybe the first ever built. In the corner, an old refrigerator rumbled and coughed, probably on its last legs too.

So much for advanced technology.

"
You need a visit from the
While You Were Out
gang.
"

"
Hey!
"
Jake scowled.
"
I decorated this room myself.
"

"
Don
'
t give up your day job.
"

"
Ha, ha,
"
he said wryly.
"
Has anyone ever told you you
'
re like Samson
'
s Delila? Chop off a man
'
s hair or chop him off at his ego, it
'
s all the same.
"

She laughed at his wounded expression.
"
So what are the pictures of?
"

"
Nanomachines.
"

She stared at him blankly.

"
Extremely minuscule electromechanical devices. Computers. Programmed with different functions, like repairing molecular anomalies or malfunctions. They
'
re manufactured on the nanoscopic scale, so they
'
re invisible to the naked eye.
"

"
It
'
s hard to imagine a computer that small.
"

"
Your father was working on a few projects involving Nanotechnology. But he was especially interested in genetic diseases. I was very sad to hear about his death. We all were.
"

She flinched.

But he
'
s still alive!

"
Were you here when the lab was broken into?
"
she asked.

"
Yeah, but I was working in another part of the building. It was late, probably close to eleven o
'
clock. I still don
'
t understand how anyone could have gotten past security. All the doors are locked and coded at night.
"

"
So the only people who can get in are those with the codes?
"

"
Or an ID pass.
"

Jake held up a small card identical to the one Moran had used.

"
Didn
'
t security spot anything?
"

"
Yeah, a ghost.
"

Her head shot up in shock.

"
Just kidding,
"
he said.
"
There was a glitch in the computer system. It showed that Neil Parnitski had logged in.
"

"
Parnitski? But that
'
s not possible. They found his body when my dad went missing.
"

"
Someone could have taken his pass card…if he had it on him at the time. Although, there are no markings on our cards. They don
'
t even say Bio-Tec. A stranger in the woods wouldn
'
t have a clue what the pass card unlocked.
"

Del bit her lip.

But someone traveling with Parnitski would.

The thought troubled her. If her father was alive, why would he break into the lab and steal his own files? And why would he go back to the Nahanni, put his life in danger? Nothing made sense.

"
The computer should be done,
"
Jake said quietly.
"
Let
'
s see what it has to say.
"

Following him to the lab, Del read the message on the screen.

No such files exist!

She wanted to cry. The empty folder with her father
'
s name on it was the only sign that he had even worked at Bio-Tec. It was almost as if he had been…erased.

Jake
'
s mouth tightened.
"
Sorry, Del.
"

"
I was so sure that there was something here. Arnold Schroeder said there was.
"

"
What exactly did he tell you?
"

"
He was rambling on about Bio-Tec. About…I don
'
t know.
"

Frustrated, she reached for her handbag and pulled out the notepad. She flipped the pages until she came to the note on Schroeder
'
s call. She showed it to Jake.

"
You need…care…Bio-Tec,
"
he read.
"
Go back. Take care again.
"

Del slapped her forehead.

Of course, you idiot! Take Kerrigan!

Her head snapped in Jake
'
s direction. He had a bewildered expression on his finely chiseled face.

"
Jake, Schroeder says my dad is alive, somewhere on the Nahanni River.
"

"
After all this time?
"

"
I know it seems impossible but I believe him. Didn
'
t Schroeder say anything to you when you went to see him in the hospital?
"

"
Not a word, Del. By the time I finished reading his
files and made it to his room, he had already coded. And when I left, he was unconscious. I
'
ve been running his blood work from here.
"

"
How close were you to my dad? I mean, there must be some reason why Schroeder thinks I should take you.
"

His eyes flickered nervously.
"
Take me where?
"

"
To the Nahanni River. To find my dad. Schroeder thinks you should go with me. Probably because my dad trusted you.
"

She paused for a moment.

Maybe she was wrong.

"
He did trust you, didn
'
t he?
"

Jake
'
s jaw dropped.
"
You can
'
t be serious, Del! How the hell do you expect to find him after all these years? If he
'
s really alive.
"

"
I know he
'
s alive! I can
'
t explain how, but I know it. I
'
ve always known it. When my mother and I buried him, I knew the coffin was empty for a reason. Not because they hadn
'
t found his body, but because I knew there
was
no body. At least not a dead one.
"

"
Wait! I don
'
t understand why you need me. I don
'
t know anything about your father
'
s disappearance.
"

"
Maybe not, but you knew my dad, how he thinks.
"

Tension invaded the air, sucking out the oxygen as Del waited for his answer.

"
I
'
m sorry,
"
he said quietly.
"
I can
'
t possibly leave right now. Especially to go on some wild goose chase up north. I
'
m in the middle of a huge research project and—
"

"
Forget it!
"

Snatching the notepad from his hand, she hurried to the exit.

As the doors parted, she threw him a withering look.
"
The professor was in perfect health before he went to the Nahanni.
"

When he said nothing, she huffed in exasperation.
"
Doesn
'
t it make you the least bit curious about how he could
'
ve developed Progeria?
"

She stalked out of the lab.

Bastard!

You can read the rest of THE RIVER at
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Visit Cheryl Kaye Tardif
'
s site:
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Read the international bestselling novel that has changed lives...

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WHALE SONG

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WHALE SONG: SCHOOL EDITION

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prologue

I once feared death.

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