She wondered if this could be tied into what Søren was investigating. So many little pieces, none seeming connected-it was enough to drive a logical person nuts.
“No problem. You’re lucky you caught me.” She input the commands and printed a list of times. “Is there some reason you didn’t put this request through channels?”
“I didn’t want it documented.”
Mia went to the printer and pulled the document. “You think something weird’s going on.”
“Are you kidding? Look around.”
She held up a hand. “We really shouldn’t talk here.”
The other woman’s face reflected startlement, and then she nodded slowly. “Maybe you’d like to come over for dinner tonight.”
“That would be better.”
Two hours later, Mia followed Kelly out to her house. Maybe she was being paranoid; maybe she’d seen too many TV shows where corruption and conspiracy had some corporation acting like Big Brother. So it was surely better to be smart and safe. Mia parked her car in the drive and admired Kelly’s house. The stately Victorian nestled amid the trees, so pretty it could’ve been featured on a postcard. Mia took in the gingerbread trim, painted robin’s egg blue, and she had to smile. Based on what she knew of Kelly-little enough, admittedly-she wouldn’t have guessed the other woman had such a romantic streak. It was clear she’d put down roots in this little Virginia town, enough to buy this property and start restoring it.
Inside, everything was polished and elegant, burnished wood and handcarved moldings. Mia could tell the other woman had taken a lot of time and care picking out antiques to complement her restored home. They sat down to a dinner of salad and homemade quiche before resuming the prior conversation. Mia ate a little, wanting to seem social before she got right down to it. But she read tension in the other woman, despite the small talk.
Soon, asking the question became unavoidable. “So what were you trying to say before?”
Kelly put down her fork with a frown. “There’s no reason for this stuff to be classified. They’ve got me working on the effects of sugar on chimpanzees. When I branched off, researching viable sweetening alternatives, something they could use to make money, first my supervisor tells me to abandon what I’m doing and then my work gets sabotaged? Tell me that doesn’t stink.”
“You’re not supposed to be telling me this,” Mia guessed.
“No shit. But if they’ve got us doing busywork-”
“Then the real research must take place somewhere else.”
“You catch on quick. First I’m going to find out who’s been fucking with me, and then I’m going to bury this place. I have a goddamned degree in Biochemistry. I signed on believing I’d get to do real work here, not babysit monkeys.”
Mia had to warn her. “You might not want to do that.” “Why? Will I go missing like Noreen?”
“Who’s Noreen?”
“Nobody talks about her much, but from what I can gather, she had my job. One day, she just didn’t come to work. She hasn’t been seen in months.”
“Was she asking awkward questions, too?”
“I’m afraid to inquire,” Kelly said quietly.
“Do you have any idea who’s compromising your work?”
“Honestly, I think it’s my boss. I can’t stand the guy. He doesn’t seem to grasp that I get bored doing nothing all day.”
“Me, too,” Mia muttered, thinking of Greg. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“You seem… disproportionately worried. Do you seriously think these assholes had something to do with Noreen’s vanishing act?”
Mia thought of the woman in the morgue. “You never know.”
“I promise,” Kelly said. “I’ll play it cool.”
That was really all she could do. She couldn’t tell Kelly more without revealing Søren’s secrets, and anyway, she had no proof. Mia knew that without evidence, the claim against Micor became just another unsubstantiated X-File. For her, there had been no lasting friendships since Kyra, but she recognized a budding friendship. It would suck if Kelly decided she was crazy.
“Do me a favor,” Mia said. “When we get back to work, don’t let anyone else run your log-in lists.”
Kelly nodded. “I wasn’t planning on it. But you’re seriously creeping me out.”
“Good. You’ll be safer that way.”
Darker topics exhausted for the moment, they chatted a bit about other things. She reasoned it would be rude to swallow her food whole and rush off, as if she couldn’t wait to get away. Mia learned Kelly was the youngest of five kids, and she had been the only one to go to college.
“My brothers think I’m nuts,” she confided, taking a bite of her quiche. “Two of them went into the military, one became a cop, and the other one is a mechanic.”
Mia tried to imagine what it would be like to have that many siblings. “Big family. So did they protect you or kick your ass?”
Kelly grinned. “A little of both, I guess. I swear they didn’t let me date until I left for college. And once, my brother Vince showed up at my dorm to see if I was behaving.”
“Which one is he?”
“Second oldest, the mechanic.”
Intrigued, Mia asked, “And the rest of them?”
“Well, I’m twenty-seven, the youngest, as I said. Brant comes next. He’s army. Then Jay… he’s the cop. Next is Vince, the mechanic. Lyle is the oldest, and he’s in the air force.”
“Ages?”
Kelly quirked a brow. “Are you taking a census?”
“No. I’m just… fascinated.” That was the right word. “I’m an only child, so I’m trying to form a mental picture of what it was like for you.”
“Chaotic. But okay: Brant, twenty-nine, Jay thirty-one, Vince thirty-four, Lyle, thirty-six.”
“Do they all live here in Virginia?”
Kelly laughed as she stood to clear the table. Dessert replaced the quiche and salad.
“Are you kidding? We’re spread out all over. Mom says it’s safer that way. But we get together at the holidays-Thanksgiving usually. Vince likes to ski over Christmas, so he’s usually in Vail.”
“It sounds like fun.” Belatedly, Mia realized she sounded a touch wistful.
The other woman paused in unwrapping a chocolate cup-cake. “What about you?”
“My dad’s dead. I don’t see my mom very much.” Read: ever.
“And you said you’re an only. Damn, I hope you have some good friends.”
“I do.”
“Well, you know what they say-friends are the family of your heart.”
Mia smirked. “You should put that on a greeting card.”
“Maybe I will, smartass.” Kelly shook her head, then nodded at the plate between them. “And to think I was going to offer you one of these.”
“But not now? You’re a hard woman.”
She crammed half of the pastry into her mouth, speaking through the crumbs. “You said it, sister. My brothers learned fast not to get on the wrong side of me.”
“I bet.”
“This was fun,” Kelly said, as if surprised. “Maybe we could hang out again sometime?”
“Sure. We could watch movies or something. I make great popcorn.” She didn’t have the effortless ability to form connections with people. For Mia, it always felt awkward, as if she were emulating behavior she saw in other people. But with Kyra gone, she could use a friend more than ever.
They wrapped up the evening with some tentative plans. Mia went home to the cat and did not think about Søren at all. But she couldn’t control her dreams.
The next day, near quitting time, Søren presented himself in IT. He acted as if they knew each other only casually. “I’d like to talk with you in my office, if you have a moment.”
Equally casual, she followed him into the hall. She remembered how cold he’d been the night they went to the morgue. All her instincts screamed for her to back away before she got in too deep.