Red Planet Blues by Sawyer Robert J

Author:Sawyer, Robert J. [Sawyer, Robert J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-03-26T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

Idecided it was prudent to not go where it would be too easy for Mac to find me, just in case Lakshmi did call in the break-and-enter. He wouldn’t look for long, but he’d certainly try my office and apartment, so I went by Gully’s Gym, had a sonic cleaning there, and changed into the blue track pants and black muscle shirt I kept in my locker. I checked the mirror to make sure I was kempt and sheveled, then headed over to Pickover’s place.

When I got there he was doing precisely what I’d suggested he do: cleaning a fossil. “Goodness!” he said, looking at me. “What happened to you?”

“What?”

He pointed at my forehead. “That’s a hell of a goose egg.”

I probed the area he’d indicated. “Oh. Yeah. I took a fall.”

He might not have been a detective, but he was a scientist. “Falling in this gravity doesn’t cause injuries like that.”

“True. I went flying onto a piece of alloquartz.”

“My God.”

“Anyway,” I said, “the good news for that conscience of yours is that Lakshmi Chatterjee is alive.”

“And kicking, apparently,” he replied—but he did look relieved. “How’d she get back here?”

“I have no idea. But I got the diary from her.”

He held out his hand, and I gave it to him. “Sorry about the back cover,” I added.

Pickover flipped it open to the first page and began reading. After a few moments, he looked up. “That’s O’Reilly’s voice, all right—his tone.”

“I’m going to have to work my way through it,” I said.

“I want to read it, too,” Pickover replied. We considered for a moment. I couldn’t recall the last time the fact that I wanted to read something prevented somebody else from simultaneously reading it, too. I suppose somewhere in New Klondike there might be a paper scanner, but I had no idea where.

“All right,” I said. “It’ll probably make more sense to you than me, anyway—you go first. Just, for God’s sake, keep your door locked, and don’t let Lakshmi Chatterjee anywhere near it.”

“She drove stakes into my heart like I was a vampire,” Pickover said. “She’s the last person I’d allow in here.”

“Good. Start reading. How long do you think it’ll take you?”

He riffled the pages, gauging the density of content. “Two or three hours, I suppose.”

“Did you get yourself checked for tracking chips?”

“Yes. I’m clean. I’m sure Fernandez wanted to put one in, but I didn’t give him an opportunity.”

“Okay. I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get some dinner. You may not have to eat, Rory, but I do.”

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