The Abbey (Ash Rashid Book 1) by Chris Culver

Author:Chris Culver [Culver, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2013-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

My front door was still nailed shut when I got home, which meant I wouldn’t be sharing the house with the local wildlife or neighborhood kids. It was midafternoon. I doubted Karen and Azrael would try anything during the day, so I felt safe for the moment. I unlocked the side door to my kitchen and stepped into a mess that even my rumbling, empty stomach couldn’t ignore. I grabbed fistfuls of silverware and utensils from the floor and dumped them into the dishwasher. The place looked a little more serviceable after that. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about stabbing myself with a fork when I walked across the room.

Since I hadn’t eaten lunch, I made myself a turkey sandwich and finished off a carton of potato salad in our fridge before going to my office. My computer was still running, so it only took me a few minutes to check my e-mail and print off the document Mack had sent me. Karen Rea’s curriculum vitae was more impressive than it had sounded on the phone. While Mack had mentioned her research grants, he hadn’t mentioned her publications or professional presentations. That list went on for two pages.

I scanned it as I ate my sandwich. I may not have understood the first thing about Karen’s research, but I did notice a pattern. She had cowritten three articles with someone named Dr. Doug Wexler, her supervisor during a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford. More telling than that, they had published two of those articles before her break from academia and the third afterward. The two of them probably kept in touch, so he might know where she had been . That could be helpful.

I wolfed down the remains of my sandwich, wiped my hands on my pants, and Googled Doug Wexler. The first page that popped up was a faculty listing at Stanford University. Wexler’s CV wasn’t as long as Karen’s, but like her, he had a PhD in genetics and several dozen publications. I read until I found his office phone number. I doubted he’d be in, but I needed to try anyway.

I called the number on my cell and waited through two rings for someone to answer.

“Microbiology, how may I help you?”

Must have been his secretary.

“Yeah, hello. My name is Mike Bowers, and I’m calling from West Labs in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was wondering if I could talk to Dr. Wexler about a former colleague, Dr. Karen Rea.”

“Oh, Karen. We haven’t heard from her in a while. How is she?”

I leaned forward. “I presume she’s doing well. She applied for a job in my department and used Dr. Wexler as a reference. Did you know her?”

I opened a word processor on my computer.

“Not well, but she was a very nice woman. Always had a smile and always had nice things to say to people. Dr. Wexler doesn’t usually take calls, but I think he’ll want to speak to you. I’ll patch you through to his lab.”

I was listening to elevator music before I could respond, which gave me a moment to make a few notes.

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