location.”
Sarah took the laptop and gave Jarrod an affectionate hug. “Thank you so much, for all your help. Please keep in touch. Let me know the minute you hear anything,” she said, her voice quavering.
Ryan and Sarah left Jarrod’s house just before the first police car pulled up. The responding officer coordinated medical attention for the injured PI then took Jarrod’s preliminary statement. Jarrod asked that Lieutenant David Morris be contacted because he had conducted the previous investigation at the Quantum Building, which seemed very likely connected to this latest crime. Lieutenant Morris arrived shortly thereafter.
“Good evening, Dr. Conrad,” Lieutenant Morris said, extending his hand to Jarrod as he stepped onto the porch. “I’m sorry to see you so soon after the break-in at your lab.”
“I can’t say that I’m thrilled to see you either, Lieutenant,” Jarrod replied, motioning that Morris follow him into the house. “Had you predicted this when we first met, I’d have thought you’d taken leave of your senses.”
“I hear you’ve had more trouble with another family member. When it rains, it pours, eh,” Morris said sympathetically. “The responding officer’s given me your preliminary statement. What else can you tell me about what happened?”
“Recent events suggest a much more sinister plan than I was at first willing to accept,” Jarrod started. “I no longer believe my cousin could be involved in the previous theft…or his son’s kidnapping this evening.”
Jarrod spent the next few minutes recreating the events of the past few hours for Lieutenant Morris. His statement started with catching Ryan in his house and ended with Jer’s stunning abduction. He theorized that someone acquainted with the gravity technology was most likely behind the plot, and ventured that the same person orchestrated both the break-in at his office and the vandalized crane in Taos. The revival of the longstanding feud with his cousin was merely a subterfuge to hide the identity of the real perpetrator.
“Okay, tell me a little bit about this antigravity machine, Dr. Conrad,” Morris said, sitting on the couch while making notes on a small pad he took from his inside coat pocket. “The last time we spoke I gathered that your device needs a source of uranium or plutonium to operate…is that correct?” he asked with an inscrutable look on his face, staring intently at his notepad.
“You’re correct. In simple terms, the machine works much like an electric generator. But what does that matter?” he asked looking suspiciously at Lieutenant Morris.
“Well, Professor, just hours ago there was a break-in at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. Several guards were killed and there was a great deal of damage. Those responsible made off with a substantial amount of nuclear material. The lab estimates there could be as much as twenty pounds missing,” he said casually, looking up from his notepad to get Jarrod’s reaction. “What would a twenty-pound core do in your contraption?”
“Judas Priest! Tw…twenty pounds…are you kidding me?” Jarrod stammered, dazed by what he was hearing. “I mean, it’s all still theoretical, of course…we’ve done preliminary tests. But if the machine works like the tests we’ve run, you could lift a frigging building with a twenty-pound core!”
Forgetting all about the investigation, he began pacing about the room, lost in the possibility of that amount of nuclear fuel in the antigravity machine.
“Well, let’s be clear,” Morris replied, shifting his body so he was now sitting on the edge of the sofa. “So far, there’s no direct connection to the thefts at the Livermore Lab or the Quantum Building. There seem to be similarities in the modus operandi, but nothing concrete at the moment. I’ve been conferring with Special Agent Jason Henry from the Defense Department since the theft at your office. He shares my concern. Henry’s been questioning your partner, Dr. Penburton, since the break-in at your lab. It seems suspicious that we first have the theft of your gravity machine, which requires uranium, and now the theft of a massive amount of the very stuff it needs to operate. Doesn’t that strike you as more than a little coincidental?”
“Welcome to the game, Lieutenant,” Jarrod said triumphantly, raising his hands over his head like a referee signaling a touchdown. “That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you. This whole business is a complex, closely guarded conspiracy. I don’t know who’s behind it…but they have the resources, personnel, and inside information to pull it off. The Livermore information proves my suspicion of a mastermind manipulating every move. My cousin and I are just pawns,” he said, confident that the lieutenant was slowly realizing the truth in what he was saying.
“Don’t get too far ahead, Dr. Conrad,” Morris cautioned. “Coincidences are sometimes just that. We’re looking at all the facts surrounding both incidents, and it may turn out they have nothing in common. A local terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the Livermore incident but the State Department hasn’t yet received any demands. Agent Henry thinks your partner knows more than he’s letting on. We may need to get you together with Dr. Penburton. Do you have a problem with that, Professor?”
“Not at all, Lieutenant. I’ll meet with whomever, whenever, to figure out who set up Ryan and me. But I’ll tell you this…” he said, pausing momentarily to let Morris catch up with his note taking, “at some point whoever’s behind this will need my help getting the device working. I’m certain that’s why they took Jeremiah. When they call, they’ll use him as leverage to force my cooperation in operating the machine. I’m the only one that knows the firing sequence; it wasn’t in any of the information they took. Someone’s really pissed off just about now.”
“Wait a second…you’re telling me they didn’t get everything to make the machine work?” Morris looked perturbed that Jarrod had withheld this information during questioning of the Quantum break-in.
“They took all the data to configure the machine, Lieutenant,” Jarrod haughtily replied, sensing that Morris hadn’t distinguished between the subtle differences in what he had earlier told the police. “The formula to properly sequence the flow of electricity through the nuclear core is on a completely different system. The device is useless without the operating system and I’m still the only one who has it.”
“Well, now, it seems the old axiom about not keeping all one’s eggs in a basket has been to your benefit, Dr. Conrad. Is there anything else you withheld during the first investigation?”
“Now, now…don’t take it personally, Lieutenant,” Jarrod responded, trying to defuse Morris’s umbrage. “I didn’t purposely withhold anything. The fact that the perpetrators didn’t get everything to make it work was, in my mind, irrelevant. They stole my research and I was pissed. Still am…”
“Okay, okay, let’s focus on the present situation, then,” Morris said.
“If it’s true that the same people who took my data also stole twenty pounds of enriched nuclear fuel, you’re coming close to a perfect storm here, Lieutenant.”
“How so?”
“We’ve only built small prototypes of the device, but the theoretical application is essentially limitless. With enough money, a person could produce an application either amazingly artful or incredibly destructive, depending on their intention.”
“What’s your point, Professor?”
Jarrod looked impatient. “Don’t you see? It’s why Agent Henry’s so interested in my research. The DOD wants to make sure the machine isn’t weaponized by anyone other than the United States. The seriousness of the situation can’t be overstated.”
“Well, I’ll talk to Agent Henry about that. Just now, that’s all for this evening, Professor,” Morris said standing up from the couch. “We didn’t talk much about your cousin, but I presume you’ll only tell me he’s still on the lam. He seems pretty hardheaded that way.”
“You said a mouthful there,” Jarrod smirked.
“Keep in touch, Doctor Conrad. The minute you hear anything new, I want to know about it-that includes your cousin.” Turning at the door, Morris added, “I’ll have one of our tech boys tap your phone…I hope you don’t mind.”
“No problem, Lieutenant. You’ll be the first to hear about any contact. Goodnight,” he said, closing the door.
Jarrod was standing alone in his house for the first time since he discovered Ryan in the hallway, and it wasn’t ten minutes after Lieutenant Morris left that his cell phone began vibrating. He looked at the LED screen, which displayed Private Call instead of a name or number. He glanced at the clock on the DVD, noting it was almost 3:00 a.m. Here we go, he thought.
“Jarrod Conrad,” he said. “Who’s calling?”
“Listen closely, Dr. Conrad. I’ll only say this once,” instructed the muffled voice. “If you ever want to see Sela Coscarelli again, you’ll follow my instructions to the letter. You are under surveillance. Do not contact the police. Some men will be at your front door as soon as PAPD clears the area. You are to accompany them without difficulty or Dr. Coscarelli will suffer the consequences of your resistance.”
