Chapter 8
"Itold you, I stand in the back and watch every show," Hunter said.
"Well, I was thinking about it, and I remembered that Nate got up during the show.
He stepped out of the dining hall. I thought he was going to take a leak or maybe sneak onto one of the side decks and smoke a cigarette.
You know, people come and go throughout the entire show.
Not unusual. It's not like we’re in a theater where you can hear a pin drop.
The audience is involved. Anyway, I didn't think much of it.
But with everything that's happened, maybe he had time to swap out the bullets.
I don't know. If that was my wife running around, I sure as hell would give it some serious thought.”
“So, he left the dining hall prior to the shooting?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“Positive.”
I thanked him for the information and told him to get in touch if he remembered anything else.
It didn't prove anything, but I sure would like to have a few words with Nate.
My phone buzzed with another call when we got back to Diver Down.
"I have some information you might find interesting," Isabella said.
"You know, I always find our conversations interesting," I said with a smile.
"By the frequency of calls and texts between Jonathan and Melissa, as well as their location history, I’m certain something was going on.
Let's just say they spent a lot of time at the Seven Seas as well as a few bars on Oyster Avenue.
He also has a lot of phone calls to another phone that is registered to Tiffany Wells. "
"That would be his other mistress," I said.
“Now here's where it gets interesting. He recently retired from Forward Dynamic Technologies. I’d never heard of that company before, so I did some digging. They have only been around a couple of years. Not publicly traded. It’s owned by another company, Research Support Synergies, registered in the Cayman Islands.
I'm tracking down the ownership of that company. I’ve got my hands full right now, so this might take a little time.
But there's something off about this. Maybe it's just a coincidence. But you and I both feel the same way about coincidences.” After a pause, she said, "Jonathan was apparently a smart guy. He had an advanced degree from the Institute of Emerging Technology, worked at NASA for a time, then bounced around Silicon Valley with a few different tech startups. He did stints with various defense contractors before getting hired by Forward Dynamic Technologies.”
"Why am I starting to feel like there's a bigger picture here?" I said dryly.
"There could be. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but there's no doubt his death is suspicious. Just like the death of Jacob Miller, Senior researcher at Momentum Propulsion Partners. MPP is also owned by RSS.”
That hung there for a moment.
"How did Jacob die?"
"Had a heart attack," Isabella said.
"That's not terribly unusual.”
“He was 39, fit, and otherwise healthy. There is also another woman, Michelle Morgan.
She was a graduate of the Science and Technology Institute, then worked for Raygun Systems. Did a stint at Horizon Aerospace, then was hired on by Quantum Research Group in Stillwater, New Mexico.
I can't say for sure what she was doing there, but she was a plasma scientist.”
"Let me guess, QRG is owned by RSS.”
"You catch on quick.”
"How did she die?"
"She went missing," Isabella said. "No one has seen or heard from her in months. Lived with her mother. Went out for a jog, never returned. Her body has not been discovered.” Isabella paused.
“It doesn't stop there. General Charles McGinnis, who was formerly at the National Aerospace Research Lab, was shot in his home during a burglary. According to reports, his wife said nothing was stolen. He also worked for QRG. Brooke Larson is a metamaterials processing expert at Meridian Aerospace. Exotic alloys. That kind of thing. Missing. Adam Baxtor, machine learning, quantum computing. Also at Meridian. Also missing.”
"All with a connection back to RSS?”
"Yep.”
“How did you put all this together?”
“You know me, once I start digging, I can’t stop.”
“You have an addiction,” I said.
“And aren’t you lucky.”
"Find out who owns and controls RSS.”
"I'm on it. In the meantime, you might want to talk to Michelle Morgan’s mother. I tried to get something out of her over the phone, but she wouldn’t talk to me. It’s a little out of your jurisdiction, but perhaps you’ll have more luck.”
"I think we might be able to swing a quick trip to New Mexico."
"I’ll arrange transportation," she said with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Isabella was as curious as I was. We shared that same tenacity. Once we started down a path, there was no stopping. Isabella wanted to know everything. It was her business. She wanted all the answers, and that gave her leverage. Information is power.
"I'll let you know what we find," I said before ending the call.
I caught JD up to speed, and we packed a bag.