Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ASAKO ALWAYS HATED the smell of the Henderson Building. It had a faint air of industrial cleaner, the sharp scent hitting Asako’s nose as she stepped through the glass doors. The sleek sterile interior did not match the gothic exterior.
She slowly ambled down the halls, her snow boots clacking on the linoleum floor. She found the door with a handsome brass plaque, Bellamy’s Neurocognition Lab, knocking her entered.
A frazzled graduate student looked up from a stack of papers, her dark-rimmed glasses slipped down her nose, “Can I help you?”
Asako’s eyes searched, workstations with computer terminals were positioned throughout the space. There were bulletin boards with posters presented at research conferences stapled up. In the back were filing cabinets and a door with a darkened frosted glass window, Bellamy’s name etched on it was closed.
“Yes, hi,” Asako said, flashing a smile. “I’m with the Lion’s Ledger, the campus newspaper. I was hoping to—”
“We aren’t allowed to talk to the press. We signed NDAs, besides Bellamy’s shutting the lab down, so there’s nothing to say.”
Asako looked surprised, “I’m sorry what?”
The graduate student's eyes searched the space as if looking for any potential eavesdroppers, “Bellamy’s research funding was frozen. We are all out of a job. He’s closing down the lab. There was a huge hearing. All the graduate students were interviewed.”
A new lead. A new story. Asako had to stop herself, she could not get distracted by this new story fresh for the grabbing. No. She had to focus on Naomi Halston.
“Everyone is out of a job?” She replied. “What about Jason Havelock and Ethan Hernandez?
The graduate student sighed and adjusted her glasses, “Yeah, them too. The undergraduates, the graduate assistants, the teaching assistants. It was all grant-funded. I guess I’ll have to take out loans to live next semester.”
“Is Jason or Ethan in today?” Asako asked, crossing her fingers.
The graduate student shook her head, “No. They’ve both been out a lot lately. You could probably catch them at their apartment. They live on campus.”
Asako perked up, pen poised, “And where would that be?”
The student blinked, realizing she might have overstepped, “Uh sorry, I don’t know their exact address.” She quickly changed the subject, “But they’re great guys. Super cute together. They met here, actually. They were recruited as research participants. Most of us were. We jokingly call ourselves “Bellamy’s Brain Bunch” because we participated in one of his research projects. The joke goes he scans our brain and likes what he sees and then we get a job offer.”
Asako’s eyes narrowed as she wrote, “Interesting.”
“I probably shouldn’t have said anything,” The graduate student looked nervous again, she swallowed hard. “But, doesn’t matter now…since he’s closing down the lab, right?
Asako gave a disarming smile. “Of course, we will keep that all off record. Thank you for your time.”
The graduate student looked relieved and waved tentatively.
Back outside, Asako tightened her coat against the crisp air. The mention of Jason and Ethan’s absences, Bellamy’s funding freeze, research subject to research assistant pipeline — all deepened her curiosity. She glanced at her watch. It was too late for a house call tonight, but tomorrow morning, she’d pay Jason and Ethan a visit. So many things that seem related, but she just needed to find the golden thread. It was right in front of her if she could just pull it together.
“Just a matter of time,” she murmured, setting down the icy steps, towards the Ledger office.