Mystery : Cozy Mystery: Murder on Board the Macedonia (mystery, thriller, cozy, shocking, short stories) (short reads, detective, murder, suspense) (6 page)

“You were already too drunk about an hour ago. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of stopping you that early. Oh, and I have already called a cab for you. I could have personally driven you home but from the look of things, the night is still young, and I don’t want to have problems with my boss.”

Dr. Greene wasn’t that much of a heavy drinker. And so it explained the main reason as to why he kept off from the bar and even if he had to go, then he always regulated his drinking. But after what he had seen that day, Dr. Greene knew that he needed that drink.

*** 

The hangover was finally gone, and Dr. Greene embarked on his experiment, the one that he had been trying too darn hard to avoid. From the look of things, it had seemed as though Tori had managed to bring him back on track.

But even so, it seemed as though he was still too darn scared of the outcome of every single thing. The rodent was still as scary as hell, and the good doctor didn’t know the kind of new adjustments that the rodent might have undergone. For all he cared, the thing could have developed some neurotoxic abilities as suggested by the fangs as well as the scales it had around the mouth and feet.

But what was a scientific mystery as far as this one was concerned was the fact that it was surviving what seemed to be an entirely new atmosphere which meant that there was a possibility that the rodent might have teleported all the way to some different time. But why did it still have claws and all of the other properties that it still had? It was just too darn confusing in the end.

And that was why Dr. Greene decided to make sure that all of the necessary precautions had been taken care of first before any damn thing could be done. He made sure that he had the protective lab coat as well as thick, impenetrable gloves to make sure that Dr. Greene was safe from all of the dangers that the creature might have and that he didn’t get to know all about it.

He made sure that he also was going to examine the rodent in a safe box, a box that he invented where only his hands could go into it. And in the event of any retaliation, all he needed to do was pull his hands out and press the red button. It would most definitely end up in flash burning the creature almost immediately. There was no taking any chances at all, and if that were to be the case, then he was most definitely prepared for it.

Dr. Greene took another look at the animal, and he was surprised by the fact that it was still glancing at him, not moving or eating anything and that was just too darn strange. Whatever the heck happened to that rat? Well, he was the scientist, and it was his job to find out. And so without wasting any more time, Dr. Greene closed his eyes, chanted a short, incoherent prayer right before going straight to work.

Firstly, he tried poking the little animal a little with a spatula, hoping that it was going to retaliate. But nothing came to happen, and this prompted him to prod him once more, then again. The rodent opened its eyes for a moment and then shut it. And whatever he saw made him jerk backward for a time being. The cute black eyes that the rodent once had were now shifted to green and very scary.

And that just brought Dr. Greene back to where he had been in the first place – what the heck happened to that rodent?

He then took the safe box into the scanner and made sure that the animal was all comfortable even in its sleepy state. And then he made a point of turning the scanner on, making sure that the entire body of the rat was being reflected in the huge screen right in front of him. And once it was all set, the first thing that the good doctor had to check was none other than the brain activity of the rodent.

And just like that, Dr. Greene realized that the rodent was indeed in some deep sleep, which had been happening for a while now. That was very odd since rats never had to sleep that long. And it was at that moment that Dr. Greene realized that the rat wasn’t asleep, it was just hibernating, which was odd indeed.

What could cause the rat to hibernate when it's not one of its common habitual characteristics? Dr. Greene kept on asking himself, trying as much as possible not to cage himself in a box. He wanted to embrace the impossible since it was the only way that he could get to understand that freak of nature that popped out of his time machine. He knew that there must be a very valid explanation for it and even though it was just speculation, it was worth looking into at the time.

He then checked out the time and place that he had sent the rodent; it was a decade back and in his place. Then if the rat had traveled through time and gotten back, why did it have the characteristics that it, wait a damn minute!!!

And just like that, it seemed as though a very brilliant idea had popped into his head and the good doctor couldn’t help but smile.

“Limbo.” He said with a smile on his face.

The rodent might have been injected with a lot more serum that the good doctor had anticipated. And as a result of that, the rat might have disintegrated and got lost in time. That explained virtually everything!!

Chapter 3:

-The unusual materials-

After taking sick leave for almost a week, Dr. Greene was back at work. And from the look of things, it seemed as though nobody had missed him. But either way, that was one thing that didn’t seem to bother him at all. If anything, the only thing that would seem to matter at the time was nothing other than his invention.

The kind of progress that he was making was tremendous, and it had gotten to a point where he just didn’t care whether the people liked him or not, all that matter was his time machine. Even though it hadn’t gotten to the point where he could have human trials, the most important thing was that teleportation wasn’t a myth any longer. And it went without saying that he was at the center of the whole discovery.

Another thing that the good doctor found to be amusing was the fact that this time round, he was most definitely going to be given the right recognition for something that he had done. And that said, he just couldn’t get that evil smirk wiped off his face. It was something that was out of this world.

Richardson, his boss, seemed to be in the conference room with the other scientists listening to some of the young scientists doing their presentations. Dr. Greene didn’t understand why he wasn’t bothered that Richardson didn’t bother telling him that there was going to be a presentation. Usually, Dr. Greene always took pride in being on of the top scientists in the company. But at the moment, titles, as well as favors, didn’t matter to him no matter how hard he tried.

If anything, the only thing that would have made some sense at the time would have been just to ensure that he was in a position to get some material from the company and get to steal them, taking them back to his home.

One thing about Richardson’s company was that it had billions worth of government funding and so they had virtually everything that they needed. And to put his conscious at ease, it wasn’t as though Dr. Greene was the only scientist who stole raw materials from the company. Heck, the stealing was so bad to the point that the company gave circulars, telling the scientists that the management was aware that they were stealing, but they weren’t mad at all.

What Dr. Greene was in need of was the material that was used to make the serum. It was that very rare, carefully processed mercury which only needed his calibration and a couple of additions to ensure that everything was going to work out rather perfectly at the end of the day. 

At the end of the day, what seemed as the most important thing at the time was for the good doctor to walk around the place, pretending as though he didn’t want any damn thing. Having worked in the company for years and years, Dr. Green had managed to master all of the spots where the surveillance cameras had been placed. And that said, he knew just when to duck and avoid and evade.

So he waited until the doctor who was in charge of the chemicals had gone for a short call and Dr. Greene seized his opportunity, making sure that he was doing everything as fast as possible. He quickly dashed in, dodged the surveillance camera and got into the huge fridge, got all the stabilized mercury that he wanted and then got out.

Dr. Greene just realized that he in another life, he would have made such an excellent pirate since he knew just how best to maneuver his way through traps and people and coming out without being seen.

The stabilized mercury that he had managed to steal from his company was going to last him almost five months of experiments and that said, the only thing that was left was for him just to kick back and make sure that virtually every single thing was getting to work out rather perfectly in the end.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, I came to see you. You know, it's been a while before I saw you, so I just popped in to say hey. So, hey!”

Dr. Howard took a close look at Dr. Greene, noticing that he was trying way too hard not to look tense. There was a stare down for a little while as if both of them were trying very hard to make sure that they weren’t having an awkward moment at the end of the day.

“That’s strange; you never care about coming here. But if its out of genuine concern, then thank you very much. I am doing fine sir.”

“Well, great. That’s just too great. So I will be on my way.”

That was a close shave that left Dr. Greene out of breath. But the good news was that he hadn’t been busted. The last thing he wanted was to be on the wrong side of Richardson, his boss.

*** 

“Ah, I see you brought yourself back. Tell me, how is everything fairing? Oh, don’t tell me. Let me guess; I think you have had a breakthrough. Am I correct?”

“Yes, you are. And just how did you get to know all about that huh?”

“Oh, it’s simple. You see, I know you. And I had the opportunity to check you out when you stepped through the door. I saw that you looked a little bit jovial than the last time. It’s a good thing that you keep on taking my advice. I am very much impressed, so you know!”

Dr. Greene didn’t want to talk that much since he figured that maybe he might just end up ruining the whole celebratory aura that was starting to form all over the place. Indeed, it had been an incredible victory. And that said, the only thing that would have made some amazing sense at the time would have been just to kick back and ensure that he had a splendid time. And so without further ado, Dr. Greene decided to change the topic, diverting it from his research.

“So, where the heck is my bottle? I think I have earned it already.”

Tori smiled right before reaching down on the bottom cabinet and pulled the bottle out. She had stuck to her promise which she had promised that she wasn’t going to consume a drop and that just made the right doctor smile.

From the look of things, it seemed as though Tori just made him happy. And sometimes, Dr. Greene didn’t have to talk to her to feel as though his spirits were getting lifted. All that he needed to do was to think about her, and a smile appears from nowhere. He even started thinking that maybe he was starting to fall in love but didn’t know any damn thing about it. And that thought scared him very much.

Yes, of course, everyone wanted to fall in love and end up in a happily ever after kind of situation. But from the look of things, it also seemed as though scientists were sworn to working round the clock and nothing good could ever have come out of them trying to have some relationship. It would have just ended up in some problem at the end of it all, something that no one wanted to be associated with at any given moment.

***  

Dr. Greene didn’t want to leave that bar. It seemed as though the kind of connection that he had made between himself and Tori was getting to a point where it was just out of this world. But that said, the most important thing that would have happened would be to make sure that he was not losing focus as far as the experiment was concerned.

And that said, he proceeded with checking the mercury. He still had to make sure that every single thing was working out rather perfectly. He knew that the same concentration that he used with the rodent wasn’t going to be the same that he was going to use when it came to a much bigger subject.

And it was at that moment, that the good doctor realized that he had to be looking for a much larger subject if at all he wanted to make some incredible progress while he was at it. In the end, what seemed to matter the most was the fact that he should be in a position to get the subject to travel to a different realm and then right back.