Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey

Author:Jamie Grey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

I was so focused on my calculations that week that I didn’t notice the gossip until Thursday. Dad had asked me to meet him in his lab after school, and at five o’clock, I packed up my stuff and headed to Division Six. Luckily, I wasn’t in a hurry. The traffic jam of scientists all trying to leave the building had turned the hallway into a parking lot. I crept along behind two senior researchers, their heads bent close together as they gossiped loudly.

“Did you hear Dr. Avery’s been missing since Tuesday?” The woman reminded me of my math teacher back at Columbus High, with her short hair streaked blonde and the glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

Her partner shook her head. “No, but that’s not unusual, is it? He’s done this before. Especially when a pretty woman is involved.”

The first researcher’s lips thinned. “But never in the middle of an important project.”

The two of them spotted me walking behind them and immediately clammed up. “Not in front of the student,” one of them whispered, and they sped off down another wing.

I rolled my eyes. Avery’s creepiness wasn’t news to anyone around QT. I’d taken to wearing turtlenecks on the days I knew I was going to meet with him.

But the conversation came back in a rush when Dad and I arrived the next morning. The place hummed with news as scientists whispered and gossiped in small groups and people sprinted back and forth like they were on serious missions, their faces pale and shaken.

“What’s going on, Sam?” Dad asked as the guard scanned our thumbs.

The man shook his head. “Bad news. They found Dr. Avery early this morning. In Division Three.”

Dad looked confused. “What was he doing there?”

“No idea. He was in one of the cryo freezers. The door had been locked from the outside,” Sam said in a hushed voice.

“He’s dead?” The words were barely a whisper from Dad’s mouth, and he steadied himself against the desk. I’d never seen him so pale.

The guard nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

“Oh my god.” Dad’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Come on, Lexie. I need to find Carla and see what I can do.”

Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who’d had the same thought. When we got to Dr. Danvers’ office, Dr. Rosen, Asher, and three other senior scientists were already waiting in the hall.

“What’s the news?” Dad asked, slipping into professional scientist mode like he slipped on his lab coat. “Do we know what happened?”

Dr. Rosen shook his head, glancing at Dr. Danvers’ closed office door. “They found Avery’s body this morning when staff arrived. Carla is meeting with security right now.”

“What was he doing in Division Three? He doesn’t have projects down there.”

“I wish we knew. They’re hinting it wasn’t an accident,” Rosen said.

I glanced over at Asher leaning against the wall. Despite his lounging pose, his hands were shoved into the pockets of his khakis, and he shifted from foot to foot. I wasn’t sure why they were letting us stay here.

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