CHAPTER 5
Astrid
Mimi’s not surprised when I show up back at the house. But then again, Mimi is never surprised at anything. She just knows things. She doesn’t bat an eye when I faceplant on the sofa, groaning into a pillow.
“Not driving up to Boston, I presume?” Mimi jests, a mischievous glimmer in her eye.
“I simply cannot fail at another thing today.” My voice is muffled, so I’m not sure how much Mimi hears, but she tousles my hair anyway. “No more big life decisions, no more big mysteries, no more nothing.”
“Mysteries?” She lowers herself onto the floor next to my head. “Bad book?”
“No.” I flop onto the floor next to her. “I... What can you tell me about Synergy Labs?”
“Astrid.” Mimi sits up, all levity vanished. “You are not to be snooping around Synergy Labs.”
“I’m not!” I say defensively. Oops. That was a lie. I’ve been telling too many of those recently. “I think I know someone who was related to a victim of the explosion.”
“I thought you were cutting the cord with Anise?” Mimi questions.
“I am, but it’s just bothering me.” I pick at my cuticles. “Like she never talks about her mom, so something serious must have happened there. But… wait. How did you know it was Anise?”
“Honey, you were distraught over the girl just a few hours ago.” She tuts her tongue. “It’s not a huge logical jump to think you’re still hung up on her.”
“What happened at the labs, Mimi?” I pose the question again. She sighs.
“I don’t know more than anybody else, which is to say, I know nothing.
” Mimi shakes her head. “Those folks were secretive. I did play bingo with one of the scientists over in Danver Hills. He said they were going to save the world. Full of excitement and hope. It’s quite the shame he was one of the casualties. ” She takes a moment to reminisce.
“All that aside, you know I’m skilled at speaking with the spirits,” she continues.
“In times of great tragedy, I try to help them cross over. I’ll sit at the site and commune with the deceased.
The spirits at Synergy Labs were unsettled.
They felt betrayed and vengeful. A terrible act led to the explosion, and I want you nowhere near this. ”
“Did you ever speak to a Holly Jennings?” I ask, fully pushing my luck at this point.
“Yes.” Mimi gestures for me to help her stand, and I do so. “Now, scurry along back to Boston. You know I love your visits, but your parents will be home soon. If you don’t leave now, you won’t be back to your cafe until Easter.”
“But Holly―”
“Astrid Larson.” Mimi gives me a pointed look. “Holly is okay. Leave her and her companions to rest in peace.”
“Yes, Mimi.”
I know that Mimi said to stay away, but I just can’t shake the feeling that something is deeper here.
Something that connects me to Holly, something that connects my powers to the horrible accident.
I can’t just drop it. My divination is nowhere near as good as Mimi’s, and I’m not bold enough to engage with upset spirits.
With the way my luck is going today, I’ll just end up possessed.
But you know what I can do? I can read through these notebooks and physics textbooks, slowly trying to piece together what they were working on.
I flip a few pages back in the textbook, loosely matching some symbols to the notebook.
“K + U = constant.” “K 1 + U 1 = K 2 + U 2 .” Huh.
Did I just say I can do this? Yeah, I got nothing.
I set my mug down and lean back. After three cups of coffee, I have nothing but papers and textbooks scattered over my rug.
Oh, and insomnia. Whether it’s the coffee or the swirling letters in front of my eyes, sleep is not a remote possibility.
The same thought loops on my brain. It’s unhelpful and irksome, and I’m growing more frustrated each time it shoves its way front and center of my consciousness. You know who would be able to read this? Anise! She was always so great at science.
Quite frankly, that’s a stupid thought. Anise didn’t finish high school. There’s no way she would be able to read formulas designed by professional scientists. I’ve probably made it farther than she would. What do you mean? You haven’t made any progress.
Grr! I shut the textbook harder than I probably should given its old age.
I pace around my living room, biting at my shredded cuticles.
Maybe I could attend a physics lecture! Maybe I’d luck out and I can find one covering Ks and Us…
whatever those are. Ugh, this is pathetic. There’s just one more place I can try.
I glance at the For Lottie journal, set carefully on my entryway table. I gently flip to a random page. The penmanship is delicate, letters filled with love and care for a mystery loved one. Maybe Holly talked about her work. Maybe…
No. I shut the journal. Holly and Lottie deserve privacy, even in death. It wouldn’t be right to intrude. Unless, maybe Holly left clues as to who Lottie was. It’s not prying if I’m trying to return the journal, right? No. Well…
I open the journal and the pages fall to the last entry.
Dear Lottie,
I just got the news that I will be missing your birthday tomorrow, and I don’t know how to tell you.
Any other year, nothing would pull me away, but I want you to know that I’ll be thinking of you every moment.
I promise that this weekend, I will make it up to you.
I’ll make your favorite dinner, and we’ll eat birthday cake and ice cream until our stomachs ache.
We are so close to finishing our project. I know you don’t understand it now, but the work I do, I do it for you. You inspire me to want to change the world. When this discovery is revealed, so many things will change, all for the better.
Leadership is getting restless. We’re not getting the profits they want.
It turns out, scientific research is quite a shoddy investment.
I feel like I could have told them that.
It is now a race for us to complete our research before they pull the plug on spending.
Once we have concrete proof that our theory has merit, we’re publishing the research.
It’s against our contract, proprietary information and all that, but this knowledge is too important, too valuable to be privatized.
But don’t you worry. All will be well, I’ll make sure of it. Happy Birthday, my dearest Lottie.
Holly ends the letter with a swoopy signature. It’s dated the day before the explosion. Lottie never got her birthday celebration.
The question now posed is, what caused the explosion? Did their theory not pan out, or did something happen? And who is this leadership? I pull out the staff binder and flip through the pages, looking for important sounding titles. Nothing really catches my eye.
I gather my materials off the floor and reshelve it all back in the box. I’m back at square zero, stumped by taking college psychology instead of physics. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.
Or you could have Anise take a look. The unhelpful voice in my head butts back in.
No. I’m not dragging my ex into nearly a decade old drama. She would barely speak to me about Synergy Labs while we were together. Now that we’re separated? Forget it.
Besides, what would she even do if she saw me again? I don’t deserve to be welcomed with open arms. I briefly saw her the other day and I couldn’t think straight. Being in the same room with her? I doubt I’d be of much use.
You aren’t of much use now.
Regardless, this is my own mystery to solve. I won’t get her involved.