Page 4 of Last Seen
“Hey, jellybean. Am I speaking to the new director of the NISL lab?”
“Oh. Well. No.”
“You didn’t get the promotion?”
Oh boy, this is going to be fun. If your idea of fun is total humiliation.“Not exactly. What’s going on?”
He is thankfully easily diverted. “Oh, you know, it’s a funny story.” His voice sounds strange, thick and syrupy. She hears a beep, then another.
“Dad? What is that noise? It sounds like a heart monitor.”
“You, my darling jellybean, are too smart for your own good. Here’s a little monkey wrench for you. I took a tumble down the front stairs of Old East and broke my femur.”
“You didwhat? Oh my God, Dad. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Well, as fine as I can be while still being embarrassed as heck. It’s a beautiful day, the quad was full. Everyone saw. And the ambulance ...” He clicks his tongue. “Anyway, I’m here at the hospital, and I’m a little stoned, they put something in my IV. The not-great news is it’s a compound fracture, so they have to put a rod in to stabilize it. I’m going into surgery within the hour.”
That explains the weird note in his voice. She’s already turning around and heading back into the depths of the apartment. Theuniverse has quite a sense of humor. “I’m on my way.” She looks at her watch. Marchburg is a three-hour drive, give or take the traffic. “I’ll be there by dinner.”
“Honey, you don’t have to come home. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Dad, you’re going to need help, and I’m free for a few days. Good job waiting until finals were over. I commend your impeccable timing.”
“But finals aren’t over,” he laments, and she laughs.
“The school will figure it out. You are responsible for feeling better, stat. I’ll see you tonight. I’d say break a leg about the surgery, but ...”
He gives a hyena giggle that she suspects means whatever pain meds they’ve given him are kicking in.
“Seriously, behave for the doctors, and I’ll be there when you wake up. I love you.”
“I love you more, jellybean. Drive carefully.”
Chapter Two
Having something to do energizes her. She texts her friends to let them know she is heading home for a few days. She debates calling Theo now to warn him to cancel their appointment at the lawyer’s office, decides she’ll do it from the road, then packs her Jeep full of everything she’s brought from the house in McLean. It all fits in one suitcase and an overnight bag. She is a scientist, not a fashion plate. She wears the same thing almost every day, utilizing a few nice pieces instead of a hundred low-cost ones. It certainly makes packing simpler.
She feels a deep pang for Charlie, who certainly doesn’t understand why she’s not there for walkies in the morning and evening, but this path involves sacrifice from them all.
Crossing Key Bridge, she glances to her left at the marble monuments, the bridges, the Kennedy Center, all the parts of the city she’s grown to love in her years here. DC feels like home now. She did undergrad and grad school at George Washington, got her PhD here, married here, lived here happily for several years before things went south. She supposes a trip back to her childhood hometown is appropriate as she’s being forced to make huge life decisions. But the sense of loss she feels leaving the city is palpable. That this is not how things are supposed to go. That everything is changing. That you can’t unring a bell, and no matter what, nothing is going to be the same again.
Her phone rings as she gets on the GW Parkway toward 66 West. Theo.
“Is it true?”
Uh-oh. “Is what true?”
“Halley. They sent out a press release.”
“What? Oh my God.”
She pulls over on the shoulder. They wouldn’t. But apparently, they would. She opens her browser and enters the NISL website. The front page has a PR alert.
NISL Statement Regarding the Confirmed Cyberattack in January
Following a lengthy investigation into the cybersecurity event earlier this year, the National Investigative Sciences Laboratory is pleased to announce that all of our systems are back online, with zero impact on our customers. Investigations revealed the attack came through an email phishing link and was contained almost immediately. No personal data was accessed. More importantly, the integrity of our myriad ongoing cases was not compromised. Our goal from the beginning was to coordinate with all of our partners to make sure they, too, were not compromised, and we have succeeded.
In less auspicious news, Dr. Halley James has left the company. We are sad to see her go and wish her all the best in her new endeavors. Dr. Felip Ayers will be taking over as lab director. Dr. Ayers—
