Chapter 3
ANDREW
Andrew hadn’t told anyone about Dalton yet, though he might have to now, considering he was walking into Avalon to investigate a theft.
On behalf of Dalton Wellesley—Dalton Ford, in a way, which was insane but somehow made perfect sense.
It was the eyes that gave them away as father and son, so blue and intense.
They'd caught Andrew off guard the first time he met both men, though under very different circumstances.
Dalton in the library at college when Andrew started tutoring him.
Ford the first time he came in for questioning on one of his many unproven thefts.
Andrew had hoped to learn something useful when he followed Ford the other day, maybe recoup a few losses. He hadn’t thought it would lead to another amorous encounter, or that the next day he'd discover an old friend was his nemesis's son.
He chuckled at the thought as he moved through the R it just came naturally. “Not with this one. I know him.”
“Hn.” He grunted again, making Andrew feel about twelve years old, never living up to big brother’s expectations. “Since he asked for you, you’re welcome to consult, but you’re here for security only, not police work. Don’t overstep.”
“I’ll do my job,” Andrew bristled.
“Speaking of… I know things have been tough,” Steven’s voice hushed, his eyes taking on a familiar look of pity. “That’s why I threw you that bone about the briefing. Can’t be easy losing so much business to Ford. I never bought that crook’s 180.”
Even only days ago, Andrew would have agreed, but now he felt a stir of indignation.
“This case is a big one, being Avalon. I’m glad you have a friend who trusts you enough to bring you in, but there’s always a place for you back on the force.”
“Steve—”
“I’ve already talked to the captain. He’s willing to—”
“You what?” Andrew’s voice raised before he could censor it, and several people turned their direction.
“I’m just looking out for you,” Steven hissed. “If you want something more stable, the chance to start fresh—”
“I am starting fresh.” Andrew stepped closer to drop his voice. “This was my fresh start, and I’m not giving it up. It’s been tough, yes, but I’m making it work.”
“How? By losing jobs to a conman?”
Outrage boiled in Andrew’s gut, and his fists clenched. He was so sick of having this argument, but it incensed him more to have Ford dragged into it. “Better his shadow than yours.”
“What’s that supposed to—”
“Andrew!” Dalton called, waving as he approached them.
Andrew and Steven stood by the only area with broken glass and toppled equipment, where Dalton joined them with swift strides. He dressed so differently from Ford’s simplistic black, more preppy and colorful, just like he had in college, with a collared shirt and quarter-zip sweater.
Relieved at the interruption, Andrew reached for Dalton’s hand with a matching smile, a strong collision and squeeze rather than a shake.
“Not exactly how I hoped to see you again,” Dalton said, “but glad it got us together sooner.”
“Steve, this is Dalton Wellesley,” Andrew introduced them, making it clear with the dart of his eyes that he had no intention of continuing their conversation. “We went to the U together.”
“Well, I was a Freshman to Andrew’s early-release Senior.”
“You graduated early too.”
“Yeah, but you graduating early meant our movie marathons had to come to an end.”
“Hate to tell you this,” Andrew tipped forward with a conspiratorial whisper, “but I replaced you and finished the Star Trek movies with someone else.”
Dalton gasped dramatically and slapped a hand to his chest. “Betrayer. And here I thought our time together was special.”
They shared a laugh, falling in step like they’d never been apart.
“Do you two need a moment?” Steven asked wryly.
“Sorry,” Andrew said. “We ran into each other the other day, and it’s been nice catching up.”
“Don’t worry, Detective,” Dalton added. “I know we need to take this seriously. That’s why I’m glad to have Andrew here.
My research was at the turning point of some very important discoveries on absolute zero.
Not only does this set me back months,” he gestured at the material carnage around what was obviously his workspace, with a taller table for equipment, and a separate smaller desk for his computer, “but what was stolen could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“Sounds like only your area was ransacked,” Steven said. “No one else reported anything missing. Which means the perp knew what they were looking for and where to find it.”
“I know you’ll have to check for an inside job, Detective, me as a suspect included, but I’ve worked with everyone here for months. There’s just no way that’s what happened.”
“Sometimes you think you know someone, and they surprise you.”
Andrew felt his lip curl but didn’t comment.
“But I’ll take that into account,” Steven continued. “And you’re not a suspect, Mr. Wellesley. Not yet.”
“Call me Dalton. Please.” His bright expression countered Steven’s cold impassiveness, so open and honest—nothing like Ford.
Andrew needed to stop comparing them or thinking about Ford in general, but it was difficult when he kept looking at Dalton’s dazzling blue eyes that matched his father’s.
Attentive to every detail, Dalton went on to explain what was missing from his research station, including files from his computer that had been copied.
“Was your computer locked?” Andrew asked.
“Always. Automatic if I’m idle for more than five minutes. Someone hacked the system, which is not an easy feat here, but even though they had access to pretty much everything, they only took a few files.”
“And all related to your research on absolute zero?”
“Exclusively, but they didn’t get everything.
If I had to guess, I’d say they only had an idea of what to take, but they don’t know the tech that well themselves.
The last thing they stole was my cyclotron, but that's what I’ve been experimenting with, so some of the crucial components were in another lab.
The thief didn’t notice, and those pieces are still here. ”
Andrew startled at the mention of that final piece of equipment, not that it was surprising given the sort of funds available at Avalon. “You’re using a cyclotron?”
“Which is what?” Steven glanced between them.
“It’s basically a mini particle accelerator,” Andrew said. He'd dabbled in physics and chemistry in college but couldn't get into the coursework. “Well, they can be all sizes, but I assume mini?”
Dalton formed a shape with his arms small enough to carry but larger than a house cat.
Andrew nodded. “They use them for nuclear medicine and—”
“Nuclear?” Steven broke in. “Does this perp have a bomb out there?”
Pausing to consider the specs, Andrew shared a calculating look with Dalton.
“Not in its current state,” Dalton said, “but they could make one.”
“Some hacker thief none of the cameras caught any footage of has a potential bomb in the city they don’t know how to control?”
“The cameras didn’t catch anything?” Andrew asked in surprise. “Is this the same—”
Steven turned to him sharply. The mystery thief wasn’t meant to be common knowledge.
“Do you think it’s related to any other cases?” Andrew corrected.
“Maybe. I’ll get a closer look of the footage back at the station, but it’s not promising.
Listen,” he pointed between them with an authoritative finger wave, “I’ll handle the investigation.
You two worry about telling me the second you learn anything useful.
Got it?” His final command was directed at Andrew.
“Of course,” he said, holding a thin smile until his brother nodded and walked away.
“Is he upset about something?” Dalton asked.
Yeah, me. “He’s just like that.” Andrew turned to Dalton with a rallied smile. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on. After I’m finished looking over things here, maybe you can join me for lunch on my way back to the office.”
“That’d be great! I have a few other things I wanted to talk about, actually.” He glanced over Andrew’s shoulder as if to be sure Steven was out of earshot. “Like my dad.”