Infinity Beach - Jack McDevitt [16]
“He never served as a ship’s captain again? After the Hunter mission?”
“Not that I can find.”
It was odd. Three people disappear. And the fourth gives up his career.
Nothing remained of Severin Village except a few buildings jutting out of the lake that had formed when they took down the dam. The lake itself, appropriately named Remorse, was quite large, more than twenty kilometers across at its widest point, and lined with forest. In some places there were piles of uprooted trees.
“Shepard,” she said, “take me there.”
The living room dissolved to lakeshore.
“Weather conditions?”
“Springlike. April. Maybe throw in a shower.”
Kim’s chair was at the water’s edge. The wind rose and a small boat with two fishermen was making for land. A sheet of rain was moving across the lake, coming her way. Near shore, brick walls and chimneys broke the surface.
She sat for a long time at the water’s edge. Since she was not dressed for stimulation, the storm would have no effect on her and the illusion would be ruined. So Shepard kept the rain out to the north.
There were no artificial lights anywhere, save for a lantern in the fishing boat. “Nearest town, Shep?” she asked.
“Eagle Point. Population about seventeen thousand. Approximate distance thirty-three kilometers.”
Eagle Point. They had some of Kane’s sketches there, at the Gould Art Gallery.
She hesitated. Then: “Shep, let me talk to Emily.”
The AI’s electronics murmured. “Kim, are you sure?” It had been years.
“Do it, Shep.”
Lights brightened and dimmed again. Kim was still on the beach at Remorse. But she was no longer alone.
“Hello, Kimberly.” Emily wore the same leisure outfit, loose white top and baggy pants, that Kim was wearing. Both were barefoot. It had never been quite like this before when Kim had called up her lost sister. Then she’d been an adolescent talking with a grown woman. Now they were on equal terms.
“Hello, Emily. It’s good to see you again.” The years had not assuaged the grief of loss. Maybe it had to do with the fact that there’d never been a body. Kim had never really given up hope that her sister, her other self, would come back.
“You see me in every mirror. How’ve you been doing?”
“Pretty good. I’m working at the Seabright Institute.”
“Wonderful. What do you do?”
“Public relations. Fund-raising.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s not exactly what I wanted. But I’m good at it. And the pay’s not bad.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She lowered herself onto a log. “I’m surprised to be here. Has something happened?”
“No. Yes. Do you remember Yoshi Amara?”
“Of course. She was the fourth crewmember on the last flight”
“An old teacher of mine called me. It turns out he was related to Yoshi.”
“Really? What did he want?”
“He wants me to look into her disappearance.”
“Oh.”
“What happened to you, Emily? Where on earth did you go that night?”
“I wish I knew. I really do.” She used her heel to draw a line through the sand. “What does he think you can do that hasn’t already been done?”
“You know the stories about Mount Hope.”
“I know that Markis would never try to steal a fuel cell. Or at least I know that if he did, he’d succeed and wouldn’t blow everybody up.”
Kim leaned forward in her chair. She would have liked to embrace Emily, to hold onto her, to prevent her inevitable retreat into the shades. “Sheyel says there’s something strange about the valley. He’s implying you brought something back with you. And it got loose.”
She sighed. “What can I say to that? Your former teacher shouldn’t be allowed out by himself.”
Kim looked past her, out onto the lake. “Emily, did you ever have any reason to distrust either of them? Kane or Tripley?”
“No,” she said. “Kile was a little erratic. But I’d have trusted him with my life. In a heartbeat.”
“And Kane?”
“Markis was a man you meet once in a lifetime. I hope one day you’re as fortunate, Kim.”
“How about Yoshi?”
“Yoshi. I can’t really answer that because I barely knew her prior to the last mission.