Prediction by Tony Batton

Author:Tony Batton [Batton, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Thrillers
Published: 2019-08-30T22:00:00+00:00

Fifty-Seven

Michael found it hard to get to sleep. At 4:30am he gave up entirely.

He needed to know more so he got in his car and drove. At just after 6:30am he was knocking loudly on a familiar front door. Nina pulled it open, clad in an old dressing gown.

"Michael? Whatever is the matter?"

"Can we talk?"

She opened the door wide. "I'll make coffee."

He followed her into the kitchen. Nina tipped ground coffee into a plunger, then after adding boiling water, forced it home with intent. She poured two mugs and placed them on the kitchen bench.

"What is so important," she asked, "that you drove out here without warning? And shouldn’t you be at work in a few hours?"

Michael looked at the surface of his coffee. At first glance it was just black, featureless. But as he looked closer he saw whirls and eddies moving constantly in the hot liquid. "Did Dad ever talk to you about his work? I want to know about a project he was working on. A new computer system."

Nina shrugged. "When he wasn’t programming, he was often working on some pie-in-the-sky scheme. He was a dreamer."

"And he worked at the weapons manufacturer, ZAT?"

"He worked for himself. He may have done a project for them. Why?"

"You never mentioned it."

Nina spread her hands. "Your father worked for a number of different companies. Nothing particularly exciting." She shook her head. "Least of all ZAT."

"So you do remember him working for them."

"Whatever he did for them, it didn’t pan out. They terminated his contract with no notice. Gregory Jenson himself called to do it. Your father might have been an expert in computers, but he was rubbish at business. People will only throw money at a pipe-dream for so long. I’m sorry. It… upsets me to talk about him. After what he did."

"Yet you took fifteen years to throw out his stuff."

Nina sighed. "Love is complicated. At least it was when it involved your father."

"But what if his death wasn’t what it appeared to be? What if that explosion in his workshop hid the truth?"

Nina looked at him. "Oh Michael. Your father’s note was very clear."

Michael closed his eyes. "I’m not here to discuss that. I just think ZAT might have conned him… and conned you. This computer project, the one they cancelled – I think they developed it anyway. There might be something in Dad’s old files. A forensic expert could compare it against what ZAT went on to develop."

"Most of your father’s work was destroyed in the explosion. And the few things still in his study I threw away when I had the clear out."

"If his invention was made to work it would have been worth millions and you’ve never received a penny."

Nina reached over and placed her hand on his. "You’re seeing connections where there are none. Even if there were any money in it, I wouldn't want a penny." She stood up. "I don’t know why you’re suddenly being like this. You’re going to have to accept that there’s no big secret to uncover, just an awful set of events that make no real sense.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.