Serena was already there, sitting on a small table by the window picking at a tuna Niçoise salad. She saw him as soon as he came in and waved him over.
‘Going somewhere?’ Serena asked, motioning to the bag over Tom’s shoulder.
‘Long story,’ Tom replied taking the seat opposite her. ‘My apartment was broken into and this,’ he indicated to the flight bag, ‘is the sum total of all my worldly possessions.’
‘Oh my God! Did they take much?’
‘I don’t think so, but they trashed the place and my clothes with it. Apart from what I’m wearing and the few essential items I managed to recover, everything else was either ripped to shreds or smashed.’
‘Who would do such a thing?’
‘I’m not sure, but the police seem to think they were looking for something.’
Serena automatically reached for the tan-coloured briefcase in front of her. ‘You don’t think they were after this, do you?’
Tom looked bemused. ‘What, your briefcase?’
‘No, dummy. Morantz’s file.’ She tried to say the words without moving her lips, but would have failed spectacularly to get a job as a ventriloquist.
Tom was a little taken aback by the insult, but warmed to the way familiarity had crept into their relationship.
Up to that point, it hadn’t crossed his mind that the file could have been what they were looking for.
‘But nobody knew I had it…’ Then he remembered the voice message he had left earlier that morning. ‘Except, of course, Frederick.’
‘What would Frederick want with the file?’
‘I don’t know, but I’m seeing him this afternoon. Why don’t I just ask him?’
‘Do you think that’s wise? After all, somebody did break into your apartment and he was the only person who knew you had it.’
‘Frederick’s not the breaking and entering type.’
‘Who else could it be?’
Tom thought for a moment. That was the second time in one day that his character judgement had been brought into question. ‘Alright, perhaps I won’t ask him directly,’ he replied. ‘But I should be able to determine how desperate or not he is to get his hands on the file, by his reaction when I show it to him. Did you manage to confirm the figures, by the way?’
‘Yes and they stack up. The earthquakes all happened when the Collider was producing its maximum electromagnetic output.’
‘And the one in Istanbul?’
‘The timings match, but I haven’t been able to extrapolate all the figures yet.’
Tom studied the half-eaten meal in front of Serena.
‘Aren’t you going to get anything to eat?’ she said, noticing him eyeing her plate.
‘No, I seem to have lost my appetite.’
‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Serena offered.
Tom knew the chivalrous thing to do would be to exclude Serena in case he had totally misinterpreted Frederick’s intentions. ‘Do you mind?’ he said. ‘I think it would help if you were there to verify the figures.’
CHAPTER 18
Tom had arranged to meet Frederick in his office, which was in a different part of the complex to the main building. At the time, he decided it would be a more discreet location than his own office, which was swarming with police. As he sat next to Serena in the golf buggy, he was wishing he could have reversed that decision.
‘Did you manage to make a copy of the data?’ he asked, pulling into a parking spot in front of a two-storey, anonymous grey building.
‘Yes, why? Do you think he’s going to steal it from us at gunpoint?’ Serena joked.
Tom didn’t know what to think or say, so he remained silent. He was feeling a little apprehensive as he made his way into the building.
‘We have an appointment with Frederick Volker,’ he told the receptionist. Serena was by his side; she reached out and gave his hand a quick squeeze, out of sight of the woman behind the counter. She had heard the nervousness in his voice.
‘I’ll just let him know you’re here. Can I have your names, please?’
‘It’s Professor Halligan and Serena Mayer.’
The receptionist punched Frederick’s extension number into the computerised switchboard. When he answered, she informed him that his visitors had arrived.
‘He said he’ll be right down. If you’d like to take a seat,’ she said pointing to the row of black plastic chairs behind them.
They sat in the two furthest away from the reception counter.
‘I feel like I’m waiting to see the dentist,’ whispered Tom, leaning conspiratorially towards Serena.
‘I quite liked my dentist, actually. He once asked me out on a date,’ she replied chattily.
‘Is that allowed? Doctor-patient relationships, I mean?’
‘Well, strictly speaking, he wasn’t a doctor,’ Serena replied. ‘So I suppose so. But I turned him down, anyway.’
‘Why?’
‘I didn’t want to have to find a new dentist if it didn’t work out. Where I grew up, good dentists were hard to find. Boyfriends, on the other hand, were plentiful.’ She chuckled at her own witticism.
‘I bet they were,’ he retorted, with a hint of jealousy.
Just then, Frederick burst through the door with all the ardour of a teenager.
‘Tom! Welcome to my lair. And I see you’ve brought the delectable Miss Mayer with you. What a pleasure!’ His enthusiastic welcome dispelled any doubts that Tom had about Frederick’s disposition. ‘Come! Come! Let me show you to my office.’ He put his arm around Tom’s shoulder and shepherded him through the door, holding it open for Serena to follow. ‘Up the stairs, first on the left,’ he shouted after them.
They reached the landing and stood back to let Frederick lead them in.
His office was much bigger than Tom’s but, despite its size, it felt more homely, more lived in. Photos of family and friends adorned the walls. Tom recognised Ajay in a few of them and wondered, again, if Frederick had been told of his disappearance. The ubiquitous florescent strip lights were turned off and, instead, a softer illumination was provided by a tall standard lamp in one corner.
Thick, dark green curtains dressed a large window that overlooked the car park Tom had used earlier. A mahogany bookcase stretched the full length of one wall and was stocked with rows and rows of ancient books bound in vellum, the aroma of which filled the office with a sweet, camphorous scent.
His work station was an antique leather-topped pedestal desk and a matching green, high-backed chesterfield chair. Two plain green leather chairs occupied the other side of the desk. Pot plants filled corners and niches. It reminded Tom more of a gentleman’s study than a place of work.
‘As you can see, I do like my home comforts,’ Frederick commented, closing the door behind him and taking up position behind his desk.
Tom left Serena to join Frederick and wandered over to the bookcase. He scanned the books’ bindings for titles or authors he would recognise, the musty smell of the parchment almost overpowering him. He was familiar with the names of a few of the authors — Galilei, Kepler, Copernicus, Pflaum — but he was embarrassed to admit that, apart from Einstein and Newton, he hadn’t read any of their works.
‘Are all these originals?’ he asked, tilting his head to read the vertical writing of one book spine.
‘I’m afraid so,’ replied Frederick. ‘It’s more of a compulsion of mine rather than a hobby. If my wife were to discover how much I’d spent on my cosmic collection, I can guarantee you I’d be a single man the very next day.’
‘Are they all about astronomy?’ Serena asked, studying the titles.
‘Astronomy, science, physics, they’re all linked together, really.’
‘Do you have a favourite?’ She could tell by the light shining in his eyes that he was bursting with pride.