Chapter 16
I tzak had things handled, so I clocked out a half-hour early, took Harry home, then went to the Botany Department to find Sarah Fenchurch. My excuse was on the flimsy side, but I didn’t care. I just needed to get face to face with her and engage her in conversation.
My wristband got me into the department, but it didn’t get me into the lab, which was through a sterilization airlock and another set of doors. I hadn’t realized the botany lab was such a sterile environment.
Maybe they were worried about outside contamination affecting their outcomes? I mean, obviously, they were, but why? Germs wouldn’t upset the plants, would they? Or was it more that visitors from other planets might bring in biological particles that could modify the lab’s experiments?
I had no idea, but it was curious.
I could see Sarah and a few other scientists through the glass walls. The lab’s sterile white interior was broken up by a lot of green.
Plants grew in racks that lined the side and back walls. Rows and rows of them were stacked under special grow lights.
I knocked on the glass wall, which caused everyone inside to look up at me. I smiled and waved, then pointed to Sarah, hoping my cheerful demeanor would present as nonthreatening. I really needed to ask her some questions.
Her face displayed her uncertainty, but I kept smiling. After a second, she said something to her colleagues, then, still looking very unsure, put down the tablet she was holding.
She came through the airlock and into the foyer. She looked at my name patch. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Ellis McFadden. I’m the head librarian aboard the Athos . I don’t think we’ve met before.” I stuck my hand out.
She held hers up to show they were gloved. “No, I don’t think we have.”
“Sorry.” I laughed, working hard at keeping things light. “Don’t worry about shaking hands. That’s an amazing setup you have in there. Must be very rewarding to work around all of that growth and life. To be part of it.”
She blinked as if taking a moment to think, then nodded. “Yes, it is. I enjoy my job very much.”
“I know the feeling. I stopped by because, first of all, I wanted to extend my condolences concerning Andrew Woolsey.”
Sarah’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Thank you.”
“I really only knew him through the Morning News Report and the library. He came in a lot. He loved his books. I also know he was well-respected.”
Her mouth tightened, causing lines to bracket her hard expression. Her face held an interesting mix of anger and grief. Grief I could understand, but where was the anger coming from? “He was a very ambitious man. He was breaking new ground.”
Was that anger because his work had been left unfinished? Or something else? “That sounds very exciting. Plants fascinate me. The only thing I miss being on board is my garden. What was he working on?”
She continued staring at the floor. “I—I can’t really speak about his project. It’s still very developmental, and without his input, I don’t know if it’ll ever reach the conclusion he’d hoped for.” She sighed deeply and wrapped one arm around her torso. An attempt to comfort herself? “His absence changes everything.”
My plan had been to ask about her overdue book, but I suddenly decided to go a different way. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I hate to bring this up, but it seems relevant. The book that he’d requested from me, The Nine Climes of Practical Plant Alchemy , do you know why he wanted it? It didn’t seem very … scientific. Not that I had a real look at it. It was written in Latin.”
That got her attention. She looked at me, eyes filled with curiosity. “ The Nine Climes of Practical Plant Alchemy? ”
I nodded. “That’s right. Do you know it?”
“No. When did he ask for that?”
“The day he was … found deceased. He came into the library that morning and requested it be printed for him. He wanted it right away. He told me to deliver it the moment it was ready.”
“And did you?”
“Yes. I took it to his quarters that evening.”
Her eyes rounded slightly. and when she spoke, she seemed almost breathless. “You saw him that night?”
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t realize he was home. He’d been adamant about getting the book, so I used my code, went in, put the book on his couch, and left.” Had she really not seen me that night? We’d walked right by each other in the corridor. Although she had seemed distracted. I decided not to mention passing her in the corridor.
“You went in?”
“I did. I was there for probably a minute or less.” Maybe not quite accurate, but I didn’t want her to think I’d been hanging out in there. I toyed with telling her I’d seen her at his door, just to see her reaction, then chose not to. That felt like something to hold on to. For later. “So you didn’t know he’d requested that book?”
“No. Could I borrow it? I’d love to have a look at it. It might give me the information I need to keep going with his work.” She glanced through the lab. “We can’t find his notes anywhere.”
“Don’t you keep them on the computers in there?” I pointed toward the lab. “And store them in a bubble?”
“We do, but he had notes beyond those. His more … theoretical ideas, I suppose.” She pushed her safety glasses onto the top of her head as though she’d just realized she was still wearing them. “So can I get the book?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have it. I assume it’s with the security team in charge of the investigation into his death. I don’t think they’ll release it until everything is wrapped up.”
“Oh.” She frowned, tugging at her lab coat. “That could take a while. Is there another copy?”
“No, there isn’t. It’s a very old book, and while they’re available to print, most books like that, that one included, were never digitized.”
She only seemed to hear part of what I’d said. “So you could print a copy? For me, I mean? His work is at a critical stage, and any help I could get would be greatly appreciated.”
I’d never printed a book for Sarah, so she was certainly a candidate for one, but to print the same book that I’d already printed once before? A book that existed, even if it was currently the property of the ASF. Under any other circumstances, that would be an automatic no.
But a new idea had come to me. One that required a physical book. “You know it’s all in Latin?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I can read some Latin. Is there any way to have it translated?”
She’d asked exactly what I’d needed her to ask. “There is. But it will take a little longer.”
“So you’ll do it?”
I really hated using one of the valuable printing allocations for this, but I was desperate to know more about what had happened to Andrew. “I can’t say yes just yet. Let me see what’s required, and I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as I can. Tomorrow, hopefully.” I could have said yes right then, and I knew I’d say yes tomorrow, but I wanted a reason to speak to her again. Mostly, I wanted to find out if she had been involved with Andrew.
She nodded. “All right.” She held out her wrist with her band toward me.
I tapped my band to hers so we could exchange contact information. “One more thing before I go—was there anyone who didn’t like Andrew? Anyone who was jealous of his success? Who would have caused him harm?”
She shook her head. “The ASF asked me the same questions. I couldn’t think of anyone. No one who had it in them to hurt him like that. It’s possible someone was jealous of him. He was successful, after all. And, yes, he could be difficult at times, but it was only because he was so focused on this project. Not everyone understood what it meant to him, but he was a good man.”
So the ASF had spoken to her. Apparently, they hadn’t mentioned me in that conversation the way they had with Scotty. “You seem like you knew him well. Were you friends outside of the lab as well?”
Sarah took a breath and lifted her chin. The look in her eyes said they had been more than friends. “We were. Or at least, I thought we were. I cared for him. It’s hard not to feel that way about someone you work with so closely.”
“I’m sure. Did he have a lot of friends?”
She thought for a moment. “No, but that wasn’t because of— He just worked a lot. I think it’s one of the reasons we got on so well. We talked about work even when we weren’t in the lab.”
To me, that sounded like they spent a good deal of time together outside of the lab. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I’ll be in touch tomorrow about the book. Oh, it would help if you could return any overdue books you might have.” I couldn’t help myself. Overdue books were uncalled for.
“I’ll take care of that. Thank you.” She went back into the lab.
I looked through the windows again, looking at the other scientists. What were their relationships with Andrew like? Sarah had mentioned jealousy. Was one of them jealous of him? Of whatever he was working on? Enough to act on it? Botany didn’t feel like a super competitive field, but maybe it was.
Especially if he was on the verge of a breakthrough. Something that could bring him a lot of attention and accolades. He would have loved that. Attention and accolades seemed to be very important to him. The walls of his foyer and office were proof.
I went back to the library.
Itzak had patrons at the desk, but he looked over at me and smiled. “Hey, boss. Forget something?”
I nodded, smiling back. “I need to start a book printing. I’ll just be a second.”
It went against everything in me to print a second copy of a book that no one, outside of myself and maybe Sarah Fenchurch, was ever going to have a use for. But if it could lead me closer to figuring out what had happened to Andrew, I felt compelled to do it.
There was one final thing I had to check before I hit Print. I closed my office door. “Computer, call ASF Officer Chan Lu.”
“Calling ASF Officer Chan Lu now.”
Three soft beeps came over the line before he answered. “Officer Lu.”
“Hello, Officer Lu. This is Ellis McFadden from the library.”
“Hello, Mrs. McFadden. What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to check the status of the book you have in evidence. The one you took from Andrew Woolsey’s quarters. The Nine Climes of Practical Plant Alchemy .”
“What about the book did you want to know?”
“If I’m able to come pick it up and return it to circulation.”
I heard the soft clicking of keys before he spoke again. “Not yet, I’m afraid. That book won’t be released until the investigation is closed.”
“When do you think that might be?”
“I can’t really say.”
“Do you have cause of death yet?” I had him on the line. Why not ask?
“Ma’am, I can’t discuss that or any other details of an ongoing investigation.”
I rolled my eyes. “You realize it’s only a matter of time before that information gets out. Nothing stays secret on this ship for long.”
He chuckled. “Be that as it may, I can’t answer that question.”
I briefly considered throwing Hazel’s name around, but I genuinely didn’t like to do that. “Can you at least tell me if I’m still a suspect?”
“No, ma’am, I cannot answer that, either.”
“Well, you’ve been a tremendous amount of help, Officer Lu.” I hung up, frustrated as all get-out.
But it was a good reminder that the best help I was going to get was the help I could provide to myself.
I moved back to my screen and hit Print.