Mina was babbling, and she knew it. Two or three months ago she would just have confided in Judith; now, as acting head of Forensics, things were more complicated. However, if anyone would understand, Judith would.
‘So …’ Judith prompted.
Mina made a judgement call. Judith would keep her mouth closed. ‘It’s nothing too weird. And it’s something I want to keep between us. OK?’ Judith nodded. ‘I spoke to Sarah about it, but didn’t have anything concrete.’
‘And now?’
‘Things are beginning to set.’ Mina arched her back on the lab stool and stretched. ‘I’ve been paying a lot of attention to some of our profile databases and various other sources, and a couple of names have rung bells. You know the sort of names. Ones that in a list of two hundred punters jump out at you. Unusual spellings or names that remind you of people you once knew, or famous people, or just plain weird names.’
‘I know what you mean. We had a David Beckham in a case recently.’
‘Right. Well, I was looking through the Negatives the other day. Just because we’ve been a bit remiss about deleting things, and for various other reasons I won’t go into now. And when I cross-checked with the daily crime update, a couple of names jumped out at me, like I say.’
‘I’m not sure I quite follow.’
‘That’s not the main thing.’ Mina closed her eyes for a second. She should have got her anxieties straight before unloading them on Judith. ‘You know where the Negatives is housed?’
Judith nodded solemnly.
‘When I was looking into this, I discovered it had changed location.’
‘Like on a different server?’
‘No. The whole thing had been clicked and dragged into a new directory. IT informed me that the database had indeed shifted location, but were unable to say why. I mean, does that strike you as odd? One of our databases just upping itself and moving?’
Judith was quiet for a second. ‘Nothing in the world of computers surprises me,’ she said finally. ‘And nothing in this place, either.’
‘But seriously.’
‘I mean it. It’s an easy enough mistake to make, isn’t it? Accidentally changing the location of computer files?’
‘Ah. That’s what I thought, until I tried to do it myself.’
‘Are you sure you should be doing that?’ Judith paused, remembering Mina’s recent promotion. Basically, she could do anything she wanted. ‘I mean, what happened?’
‘Couldn’t do it. I was advised that senior clearance was needed.’
‘But you’ve got that?’
‘Not yet. I’ve been slow sorting it out. Anyway, I haven’t needed it until now.’
‘So you’re saying names from the Negatives are coming up in recent crime reports, and the Negatives themselves have moved?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Well, how many profiles have we got in the Negatives?’
‘Thirty-six thousand, give or take.’
‘Really? So what you’re also saying is that of thirty-six thousand people we’ve tested for exclusion from major crimes over the years, a small number have recently been associated with various offences?’
‘Yes.’
‘And is that any real surprise? Just because they were innocent of specific murders, rapes and kidnappings doesn’t mean they’re saints. People break the law. It’s what they do.’
Mina sighed. When you put it like that … She was a great believer in the power of saying things out loud. Silent thoughts and suspicions could fester and seem more important than they actually were. But listening to your words out loud, sensing another person’s reaction, that was the acid test. Like giving an oral presentation to an audience of scientists. That quickly made you realize what was true and what was not. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘It’s a couple of coincidences that just feel wrong, that’s all. And as scientists, of course, we aren’t supposed to feel anything.’
Judith raised her eyebrows. ‘I don’t know,’ she answered . ‘Sometimes that’s all there is to go
‘So …’ Judith prompted.
Mina made a judgement call. Judith would keep her mouth closed. ‘It’s nothing too weird. And it’s something I want to keep between us. OK?’ Judith nodded. ‘I spoke to Sarah about it, but didn’t have anything concrete.’
‘And now?’
‘Things are beginning to set.’ Mina arched her back on the lab stool and stretched. ‘I’ve been paying a lot of attention to some of our profile databases and various other sources, and a couple of names have rung bells. You know the sort of names. Ones that in a list of two hundred punters jump out at you. Unusual spellings or names that remind you of people you once knew, or famous people, or just plain weird names.’
‘I know what you mean. We had a David Beckham in a case recently.’
‘Right. Well, I was looking through the Negatives the other day. Just because we’ve been a bit remiss about deleting things, and for various other reasons I won’t go into now. And when I cross-checked with the daily crime update, a couple of names jumped out at me, like I say.’
‘I’m not sure I quite follow.’
‘That’s not the main thing.’ Mina closed her eyes for a second. She should have got her anxieties straight before unloading them on Judith. ‘You know where the Negatives is housed?’
Judith nodded solemnly.
‘When I was looking into this, I discovered it had changed location.’
‘Like on a different server?’
‘No. The whole thing had been clicked and dragged into a new directory. IT informed me that the database had indeed shifted location, but were unable to say why. I mean, does that strike you as odd? One of our databases just upping itself and moving?’
Judith was quiet for a second. ‘Nothing in the world of computers surprises me,’ she said finally. ‘And nothing in this place, either.’
‘But seriously.’
‘I mean it. It’s an easy enough mistake to make, isn’t it? Accidentally changing the location of computer files?’
‘Ah. That’s what I thought, until I tried to do it myself.’
‘Are you sure you should be doing that?’ Judith paused, remembering Mina’s recent promotion. Basically, she could do anything she wanted. ‘I mean, what happened?’
‘Couldn’t do it. I was advised that senior clearance was needed.’
‘But you’ve got that?’
‘Not yet. I’ve been slow sorting it out. Anyway, I haven’t needed it until now.’
‘So you’re saying names from the Negatives are coming up in recent crime reports, and the Negatives themselves have moved?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Well, how many profiles have we got in the Negatives?’
‘Thirty-six thousand, give or take.’
‘Really? So what you’re also saying is that of thirty-six thousand people we’ve tested for exclusion from major crimes over the years, a small number have recently been associated with various offences?’
‘Yes.’
‘And is that any real surprise? Just because they were innocent of specific murders, rapes and kidnappings doesn’t mean they’re saints. People break the law. It’s what they do.’
Mina sighed. When you put it like that … She was a great believer in the power of saying things out loud. Silent thoughts and suspicions could fester and seem more important than they actually were. But listening to your words out loud, sensing another person’s reaction, that was the acid test. Like giving an oral presentation to an audience of scientists. That quickly made you realize what was true and what was not. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘It’s a couple of coincidences that just feel wrong, that’s all. And as scientists, of course, we aren’t supposed to feel anything.’
Judith raised her eyebrows. ‘I don’t know,’ she answered . ‘Sometimes that’s all there is to go
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