Coming of Age by Timothy Zahn Page A

pointed past Ramsden.
    â€œTonio?” Tirrell said, and the book slid out and flew into the detective’s hands. The picture was on the front inside cover, and he studied it for a long moment in silence. It could be Oliver’s face, he decided; but, then again, the description they had was so limited that nothing conclusive could be drawn from it.
    â€œCam? Louden? Anyone home?” a voice said from outside in one of the labs.
    â€œIn here, Dr. Somerset,” Cam called.
    A bluff, friendly looking face peered around the door jamb. “Whoops. Didn’t realize you were having a party here. I just brought in the latest prostaglandin test results. He stepped in and leaned past Tirrell and Ramsden to hand Cam a piece of paper. As she took it, his head twisted sideways, and he gestured to the photo still lying on the desk in front of her. “Where’d that come from?”
    Tirrell had caught the head movement and was already picking up the photo and turning it right side up. “Do you recognize this woman, Doctor?” he asked.
    â€œSure—Matt was going out with her a few years ago.” He focused on Tirrell’s face. “Why do you ask, Mr.—?”
    â€œTirrell, Detective First Tirrell of Ridge Harbor.” Tirrell’s heart was doing rapid flip-flops in the center of his chest. “Do you remember how long ago this was?”
    â€œUh …” Somerset hesitated, looking questioningly at Ramsden.
    â€œTell him anything you can, Kelby,” the other affirmed. “This concerns a very serious matter, and I’ve promised the departments full cooperation. Detective, that must be why she looked familiar to me—I must have seen her in the building with Matt.”
    Somerset still looked uncertain. “Is Matt in some kind of trouble?” he asked.
    Tirrell hesitated a split second, decided to give the most favorable interpretation that wasn’t an outright lie. “At the moment, we’re just trying to locate this woman or find out as much about her as we can.”
    â€œWell, I doubt that Matt would be much help with that,” Somerset said, still sounding reluctant. “I haven’t seen her around for at least … oh, at least five years; probably closer to six.”
    â€œI see. I understand Dr. Jarvis is on vacation at the moment. Do you know where he is?”
    â€œSure—he’s out at his cabin.”
    â€œWhere’s that?”
    Somerset shrugged. “I don’t know. Out in the woods somewhere. Cam, do you know?”
    The woman shook her head. “I was thinking it was somewhere due north of here, east of Banat perhaps. He’s got a radiophone up there, though.”
    Somerset nodded. “Yes, I’ve called him a couple of times since he left.”
    â€œYou what? ” Ramsden snapped. “Blast it, Kelby, he’s supposed to be on vacation out there.”
    â€œFunny, that’s what he said,” Somerset said blandly. He looked back at Tirrell. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind coming back for a few hours to talk to you, Detective. I can get a radiophone link from the phone here, if you’d like.”
    â€œNo, that’s all right,” Tirrell said, his mind racing. “There’s no need yet to interrupt his vacation. It’s possible we can get all the information we need from other sources, especially if Dr. Jarvis hasn’t seen Ms. Oriana in several years. I would, however, like to ask you and Ms. Mbar some questions about Dr. Jarvis’s recent work, if I may.”
    â€œWhat sort of questions?” Ramsden asked guardedly. “I don’t mean to be rude, Detective, but you’ll understand that some of the work here has important commercial applications, and we can’t afford premature disclosure of sensitive details.”
    â€œI don’t expect to need any sensitive details, and any I do will stay with me,” Tirrell told him.