Infinity Beach - Jack McDevitt [170]
“Thank you.” Her voice was unsteady.
“I hope I’ve been of assistance. Good day, Doctor.” And Kim disconnected.
She left the booth but used her commlink to call home and tie in with her monitoring system. The tag on the flyer would alert her if Tora went anywhere, just as the tap on the roof would listen in on any calls.
She wandered through the mall. Only a couple of the shops had opened. One carried sporting gear and she was looking at swimsuits when her alert sounded.
“Yes, Shep?” she said into her link.
“She’s calling the Mighty Third. The museum. Do you wish to listen?”
“Please.”
She heard the far-away ringing. Then an automated voice answered. “Good morning. Mighty Third Memorial Museum.”
“May I speak with Mikel Alaam, please?”
“Who may I say is calling?”
“Tora Kane.”
“One moment. I’ll see if he’s in.”
While she waited, Kim recalled Markis’s tenure as head of The Scarlet Sleeve. And Veronica King.
Hide in Plain Sight.
The Purloined Letter.
An observer would have seen a smile appear at the corners of her lips. I’ll be damned, she told herself.
“Hello, Tora. Nice to hear from you. How are you doing?” Kim recognized Mikel’s polite tenor.
“Pretty good, thanks, Mikel.” She paused. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has.” He was embarrassed, Kim thought. This was probably the first time he’d spoken with her since her father’s display came down. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you were planning on being in the museum later this morning.”
“Yes. I’ll be here. I have a conference at ten-thirty. Are you coming over?”
“Yes. I thought I’d drop by if it’s convenient.”
“Tora, I’m sorry about the problem.”
“I understand, Mikel. It’s not your fault.” Her tone suggested otherwise. “When will you be free?”
“The meeting won’t last more than an hour. After that I’m at your disposal.” Kim detected a reluctance in his voice. He thinks she’s coming to plead her father’s case.
“Can we manage lunch?” It seemed as much a directive as an invitation.
“Yes. I’d like that. Very much.”
There was some small talk, it’ll be good to see you again, I’ve been meaning to call but we’ve been so busy. Then they agreed how much they were looking forward to seeing each other again and broke the connection.
Good. What to do next?
Hide in Plain Sight.
She’d hoped to follow Tora Kane to the Hunter logs. The risk was that she would destroy the records immediately upon recovery. Kim had hoped she would prove to be too much of a scientist to do that, but one could never be certain. In any case, she’d gotten lucky. She didn’t even need to follow the tag, as she’d expected to do. Instead, Kim had been given an opportunity to get there first. To arrange things so that Gabriel Martin’s dark warning looked valid.
But time was short.
She called Shepard.
“What can I do for you, Kim?”
“Shep, I want you to bring up a piece of correspondence from the Mighty Third. Duplicate their stationery and give me a letter from them agreeing to see one Jay Braddock today about the Pacifica War assignment. The letter should assure Braddock the run of the place.”
“What’s the Pacifica War assignment, Kim?”
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t exist.”
“You want me to sign it too?”
“Lift Mikel Alaam’s signature. He’s the director.”
“Kim, that’s forgery.”
“I don’t know any other way to put his name on the document.”
Shep’s electronics were making funny noises. “You know,” he said, “you’ve become a professional bandit.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“Where are you going now?”
“Clothes,” she said. “I need a change of clothes.”
Kim arrived at the museum at ten-forty, again dressed in male attire and sporting her mustache. She wore a tight undergarment to contain her breasts and a loose-fitting embroidered blouse to hide what she couldn’t suppress. Her hair was now bright red. Her flesh tones had been slightly altered, and she wore dark lenses. Mikel himself, she was certain, would not recognize her. She also had two data disks, carefully labeled, in her pocket.
She flashed a congenial smile at a young woman in the administrative offices,