Perish by L. C. Barlow

Author:L. C. Barlow [Barlow, L.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Published: 2020-10-02T19:59:17+00:00

CHAPTER 19:

SLIP

I needed to reach Roth. I needed tell him everything. This sudden and inexplicable block sent a rush of adrenaline surging through me.

I possessed no other number for him. Back inside apartment, I dialed again and listened to two rings. Mid-ring the third time, a strange sound, some sort of blip, preceded the same automated monotone voice. It was a prerecorded message, an intercept, telling me the line had been disconnected. Undeterred, I hung up and called yet again. I frowned when I got the same message.

“We’re sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error...”

I hit End Call and stared at the bright screen. Yeah. Right. I cocked my head and considered that his group could likely turn the numbers they used on and off at will; I wondered why they might do so. It seemed strange. But the discovery of another box at Lucient Laboratories made me nearly panic. I had to contact Roth.

I texted Jasper several times with a simple question mark. The texts wouldn’t go through. I drew my arm back to heave the phone across the living room. Then I sighed and dropped my arm.

If I had to wait for Roth, what could I do in the meantime? I leaned back on my couch, running my fingers across the microsuede fabric, thinking. It occurred to me that it would be important to know exactly where, on a map, Building 1C was located. I left the couch and walked to my desk. I pulled the leather rolling chair out and sat. I opened the web browser on my laptop and moved the mouse to hover above the search bar in the upper right. I clicked, and my eyes swept down to the keyboard, but something made me pause.

My browser sat open on the main page of my e-mail, just as it always did. But my eyes had swept across Roth’s face. I swallowed.

Impossible.

I looked again. The list of top news stories had shifted, moved on to the next one. A picture of a child standing with a dog just as tall as him replaced the picture I had seen before.

I moved my cursor down and pressed the button that took me to the previous article. As I leaned back in my chair, the world dropped away.

There he was, suit and all, his dark hair swooping down and framing his forehead, deep-cut lines in his face. He veered away from the camera, looking just to the right. The headline read Jonathon Roth Arrested for McFadden Death. In shock, I stared at the words, wide-eyed. My hand moved automatically.

My fingers positioned the cursor over the picture. I clicked the mouse to open the article and skimmed the lines, absorbing as much information as possible on the first read through. After wrapping my mind around the immensity of the information, I read the article more closely.

Roth had been arrested. That was clear.

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