Brave New Girls by Mary Fan

Author:Mary Fan [Fan, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brave New Girls
Published: 2017-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

“Both of my samples are the same, wouldn’t you agree?” Olivia peered into the eyepieces of Professor Eleanor Lister’s achromatic microscope and studied a slide containing a bit of the dirt she had recovered from Amelia Hatfield’s boot sole, which exactly resembled the dirt she had collected from the floor of S&H’s warehouse. “They both appear to be alluvial loam. That indicates silt, does it not? Particulates affected by the erosive effects of water.”

“Yes, generally speaking.” Professor Lister ruffled the white hair pinned haplessly atop her head. She readjusted her spectacles and squinted at Olivia. “Sediments from a river, perhaps.”

“Such as the Thames.”

Lister nodded, and strands of her thin hair fluttered like antennae. “Yes. I’d say that’s most likely where it came from.”

The professor shuffled across her laboratory and stopped before a tall piece of furniture that looked like a chest of drawers. Then she slid out one panel and peered at its contents before selecting a small, wooden box about half the size of a cigarette case. Lister removed three more boxes identical to the first and presented them to Olivia. “These are all samples from the banks of the Thames. They come from various points throughout London.”

Olivia’s breath caught. Her blood hummed in her ears. “Is there much difference between them?”

“Subtle ones, yes.” Lister closed her drawer, shambled to Olivia’s side, and set her boxes on the counter beside the microscope. “Small contaminations affect the samples according to their location—runoff from industry, local geological formations, and so forth.”

“So if I compared my two samples”—Olivia motioned to the microscope—“to one from your catalogue, I might be able to tell more precisely the area of the Thames from which my samples came?”

Professor Lister blinked at Olivia as though she had asked an idiotic question. Her spectacles, like the lens of the microscope, magnified her eyes until they resembled something insectile. Olivia choked back a snigger as she imagined the professor sprouting moth wings and a proboscis. “Within the radius of a few miles,” Lister said. “It’s quite possible.”

Olivia glanced at the labels on Lister’s sample boxes and pointed to one in particular. “If I could, Professor, I’d like to start with that one.”

Lister held the box up and read the label. “Thames River sample. West India Docks, Isle of Dogs.” The professor passed the box to Olivia, who removed a thin glass slide and slid it beneath the viewer on her microscope.

Olivia fussed with levers and controls until she had arranged its parts and pieces to her preference. She peered into the eyepieces, and then she motioned for Professor Lister to take a turn. “I would say this sample from your collection is nearly an exact match to mine,” Olivia said. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Lister removed her spectacles and peered into the microscope. “I do agree with your assessment, Miss Treadburn. The samples are all nearly identical. The place from which your specimens originated was very likely the same location as this one. It seems you have your uncle’s uncanny way with scientific investigations.

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