or what Dallas Baxter was protecting.
‘Dallas?’ A woman in a dark maroon suit approached, high heels clicking on the vinyl floor.
‘Pauline,’ said Dallas, clearly relieved by the interruption. ‘Pauline Lamb, this is Dr Jack McCain who’s going to take a first look inside the lab.’
We shook hands, but Pauline, despite her polite smile, was preoccupied. ‘Yvonne Abernathy on the line for you,’ she said. ‘And no, she won’t tell me what it’s about. She insists on speaking to you. Now.’
‘Yvonne?’ Dallas looked at me, the worry lines on his face deepening. ‘What does she want?’
Yvonne was the wife of George Abernathy, head of the school of chemistry at the university.
‘Tell her I’ll call back,’ said Dallas, shooting an embarrassed glance at me. ‘She must have heard about Claire.’
‘Heard what about Claire?’ I asked. ‘You told me you’d kept this under wraps.’
Dallas blinked. ‘I simply meant the fact that her car’s been here all night,’ he stuttered.
We both knew straightaway that his answer didn’t make sense.
‘She wants to talk to you , ’ said Pauline. ‘Personally. I’ve been running round all over the place trying to find you.’
‘I want to know what Yvonne could have heard about Claire,’ I persisted. I was also interested in why she’d be ringing Dallas Baxter.
Dallas frowned. ‘Peter might have said something to someone.’
‘But he’s not here. You just said so yourself.’ I looked from one to the other.
‘I called his parents in Sydney, Dallas, just in case he’d made a quick visit,’ said Pauline. ‘No one seems to know where he is.’
‘Tell me about Peter Yu,’ I said, notebook at the ready.
‘Peter is a very bright, up-and-coming researcher,’ said Dallas. ‘University medallist. Got his doctorate three years ago and he’s been working with Claire for about two years now.’
‘Girlfriend?’ I asked.
Dallas shrugged. ‘I believe there’s a girlfriend somewhere.’
‘There’s always a girlfriend,’ said Pauline with a tolerant smile. ‘Dr Yu has the reputation of being a bit of a heartbreaker,’ she said, then suddenly turned around and wrinkled up her nose. ‘Can you smell something off in here?’
I shuffled my feet. Surely it couldn’t be that goddamn shoe again.
‘It’s probably something from one of the pens,’ she concluded.
‘What’s this nonsense about being a heartbreaker?’ Dallas said, his face becoming pinker.
‘You must have noticed, Dallas,’ Pauline insisted.
One of the most common motives for crime—sex—was already becoming a possibility. The crime scene I’d visited earlier came back vividly. Tianna Richardson had almost certainly died because of sex.
I refocused my attention on the present situation.
‘Were there rumours of something going on between Claire Dimitriou and Peter Yu?’ I asked again, looking from one to the other.
Pauline looked at Dallas. Secretaries generally knew everything going on in a department. She gave me an arch look and shrugged again. ‘It’s quite possible,’ she said. ‘This place is a hotbed of intrigue.’
‘Don’t exaggerate!’ Dallas scolded.
Pauline rolled her eyes. ‘What’s to exaggerate?’
I made a mental note to get Pauline aside for a chat.
‘What were Claire and Peter Yu working on?’ I asked.
Instead of answering, Pauline tapped her boss on the sleeve. ‘Are you going to take that call?’ she insisted.
‘Tell Yvonne I’m in the middle of something,’ said Dallas, looking irritated. ‘Can’t you see I’m tied up here?’
Pauline looked at Dallas uncertainly and then turned and walked away in her clicking heels.
Sometimes government scientists, sworn to secrecy under the Official Secrets Act, undertake work for the Department of Defence. I wanted to know as much as I could about what had been going on in the sealed-up laboratory before I went in.
‘You’re sure they weren’t involved in some sort of
‘Dallas?’ A woman in a dark maroon suit approached, high heels clicking on the vinyl floor.
‘Pauline,’ said Dallas, clearly relieved by the interruption. ‘Pauline Lamb, this is Dr Jack McCain who’s going to take a first look inside the lab.’
We shook hands, but Pauline, despite her polite smile, was preoccupied. ‘Yvonne Abernathy on the line for you,’ she said. ‘And no, she won’t tell me what it’s about. She insists on speaking to you. Now.’
‘Yvonne?’ Dallas looked at me, the worry lines on his face deepening. ‘What does she want?’
Yvonne was the wife of George Abernathy, head of the school of chemistry at the university.
‘Tell her I’ll call back,’ said Dallas, shooting an embarrassed glance at me. ‘She must have heard about Claire.’
‘Heard what about Claire?’ I asked. ‘You told me you’d kept this under wraps.’
Dallas blinked. ‘I simply meant the fact that her car’s been here all night,’ he stuttered.
We both knew straightaway that his answer didn’t make sense.
‘She wants to talk to you , ’ said Pauline. ‘Personally. I’ve been running round all over the place trying to find you.’
‘I want to know what Yvonne could have heard about Claire,’ I persisted. I was also interested in why she’d be ringing Dallas Baxter.
Dallas frowned. ‘Peter might have said something to someone.’
‘But he’s not here. You just said so yourself.’ I looked from one to the other.
‘I called his parents in Sydney, Dallas, just in case he’d made a quick visit,’ said Pauline. ‘No one seems to know where he is.’
‘Tell me about Peter Yu,’ I said, notebook at the ready.
‘Peter is a very bright, up-and-coming researcher,’ said Dallas. ‘University medallist. Got his doctorate three years ago and he’s been working with Claire for about two years now.’
‘Girlfriend?’ I asked.
Dallas shrugged. ‘I believe there’s a girlfriend somewhere.’
‘There’s always a girlfriend,’ said Pauline with a tolerant smile. ‘Dr Yu has the reputation of being a bit of a heartbreaker,’ she said, then suddenly turned around and wrinkled up her nose. ‘Can you smell something off in here?’
I shuffled my feet. Surely it couldn’t be that goddamn shoe again.
‘It’s probably something from one of the pens,’ she concluded.
‘What’s this nonsense about being a heartbreaker?’ Dallas said, his face becoming pinker.
‘You must have noticed, Dallas,’ Pauline insisted.
One of the most common motives for crime—sex—was already becoming a possibility. The crime scene I’d visited earlier came back vividly. Tianna Richardson had almost certainly died because of sex.
I refocused my attention on the present situation.
‘Were there rumours of something going on between Claire Dimitriou and Peter Yu?’ I asked again, looking from one to the other.
Pauline looked at Dallas. Secretaries generally knew everything going on in a department. She gave me an arch look and shrugged again. ‘It’s quite possible,’ she said. ‘This place is a hotbed of intrigue.’
‘Don’t exaggerate!’ Dallas scolded.
Pauline rolled her eyes. ‘What’s to exaggerate?’
I made a mental note to get Pauline aside for a chat.
‘What were Claire and Peter Yu working on?’ I asked.
Instead of answering, Pauline tapped her boss on the sleeve. ‘Are you going to take that call?’ she insisted.
‘Tell Yvonne I’m in the middle of something,’ said Dallas, looking irritated. ‘Can’t you see I’m tied up here?’
Pauline looked at Dallas uncertainly and then turned and walked away in her clicking heels.
Sometimes government scientists, sworn to secrecy under the Official Secrets Act, undertake work for the Department of Defence. I wanted to know as much as I could about what had been going on in the sealed-up laboratory before I went in.
‘You’re sure they weren’t involved in some sort of
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