Ground Zero (The X-Files) by Kevin Anderson, Chris Carter (Creator) Page A

office that some of his reports and papers had been taken away from the death scene. Disturbing the evidence at a crime scene is a serious offense. You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?”
    49
    THE X-FILES
    Bear Dooley emptied the last items out of a cardboard box, then upended it on the floor and took great pleasure in stomping the cardboard flat. “All of our project reports are controlled documents, Agent Mulder—numbered and assigned to a specific user. Some of Dr. Gregory’s reports were one-of-a-kind. Maybe it was something we needed for our work. Our project takes precedence.”
    “Over a murder investigation? Who told you that?”
    “Ask the Department of Energy. They might not tell you much about the project, but they will tell you that much.”
    “You sound pretty confident,” Mulder said.
    “As my old girlfriend used to say, self-confidence isn’t one of my weak points,” Dooley said.
    Mulder pressed the issue. “Could I get a list of the documents that you took from Dr. Gregory’s office?”
    “No,” Dooley answered. “The titles are classified.”
    Mulder kept his cool. He reached into his pocket and removed one of his cards. “This is the main office of the Bureau. You can reach me through the federal telephone system here on your lab phone, or call me on my cellular if you think of anything else you can tell me.”
    “Sure.” Dooley took the card and offhandedly opened up the center desk drawer already cluttered with pens and rulers, push pins, paper clips, and other debris. He tossed the card inside, where he would probably never be able to find it again, even if he wanted to.
    Mulder didn’t get the impression Bear Dooley would want to.
    “Thank you for your time, Dr. Dooley,” he said.
    “That’s Mister Dooley,” the engineer said, then lowered his voice. “Never finished my Ph.D. Been too busy working to worry about things like that.”
    50
    GROUND ZERO
    “I’ll let you get back to your project then,” Mulder said, and slipped out into the hall, where the construction workers continued to rip out sheets of asbestos-containing material behind thin curtains of plastic.
    51
    SEVEN
    Gregory Residence, Pleasanton, California Wednesday, 10:28 A.M.
    The key fit the lock, but Mulder knocked loudly anyway, pushing the door open a crack before poking his head inside.
    “Ding, dong—Avon calling,” he said.
    Emil Gregory’s home greeted him with only a shadowy silence.
    Beside him, Scully pursed her lips. “There shouldn’t be anyone here, Mulder. Dr. Gregory lived alone.” She opened the folder that she had been holding against her dark blue jacket. “It says in this report that his wife died six years ago. Leukemia.”
    Mulder shook his head, frowning. He thought of the terminal cancer Scully had found while doing the autopsy on Gregory’s body the previous afternoon. “Doesn’t anyone die peacefully in their sleep of old age anymore?”
    The two of them hesitated outside the cool, dusty house that sat alone at the end of a cul-de-sac. 52
    GROUND ZERO
    The architecture of Gregory’s home seemed out of place compared to the neighboring houses, its rounded corners and curving arches reminiscent of a Southwestern adobe mansion. Colorful enameled tiles lined the front doorway, and grapevines coiled around an arbor that shaded the porch area.
    After waiting a few extra seconds, Mulder pushed the door all the way open. In the foyer, they walked across large, cool terra-cotta tiles and took two steps down to the main living level.
    Though Gregory had died only a day and a half before, the place already had an abandoned feel to it, like a haunted house. “Amazing how fast that oppressive atmosphere can settle in,” Mulder commented.
    “It’s obvious he was a bachelor,” Scully said. Mulder looked around and saw no particular untidiness to the house. In fact, it reminded him of the condition of his own apartment much of the time. He wondered if she was somehow