Knockout Mouse by James Calder Page A

help me get a look at it?”
    “I’ll see what I can do,” I said noncommittally. “I have a question for you, Marion. Did you go inside Sheila’s apartment?”
    Another silence. “I did. You have to believe me, I’m trying to protect Sheila. These are complicated scientific matters that, really, are internal to our company.”
    “Complicated and scientific, huh? If I’m not bright enough to understand them, then I’m not going to be much help, am I?”
    “Honestly Bill, I wish I could say more. The last thing I want to see right now is a smear on her name. If you help me, I’ll do everything I can to prevent that.”
    “We can get together and compare notes,” I allowed.
    We left it at that, neither of us quite forthcoming or satisfied. I did ask her if there was to be a funeral, and she said it would be Wednesday, in Colma. Apparently Sheila’s mother was from the area.
    I related the conversation to Jenny, but she’d turned her brain off for the evening. She just wanted to watch her movie. I was restless. I got up and went into the living room to call Wes. After chiding him for giving away the existence of the diary, I asked what he thought of Marion.
    “Marion’s a gas. Kept me up most of the night, and drank me under the table besides. First thing in the morning she was back in action. I’m not sure she’s a carbon-based life form.”
    “Sounds like you’ve found your soul mate, Wes.”
    “Are you kidding? I can’t go on like this for more than a week.”
    “A week is a long time. Did she say anything about Sheila? Trouble she was in at work?”
    “Yeah, something about Sheila putting her nose where it shouldn’t have been. That’s all I know.”
    “Wes, do you think I can trust Marion?”
    He snorted. “Trust her? Sure, as long as she’s in short sleeves and you can see both her hands.”
    “Do me a favor, then. Don’t pass any more information to her unless I ask you to.”
    I called Rita next. I was going to be out for the funeral on Wednesday, I said, and might miss some more days after that if the Sheila business continued.
    Rita was not happy. She’d have to bring a new director of photography up to speed on the project. Plus, the look of the filmwould change from day to day, depending on who was shooting. “I might have to drop you, Bill, if you’re not sure what days you’ll be there. Maybe I should just go with the new DP the rest of the way.”
    “I understand. You know I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t absolutely, totally, completely necessary.”
    She let out a loud sigh. “I do, Billy. That’s the problem. Now I can’t even be mad at you. Wait a minute.” She paused, as if checking. “It turns out I can be mad, after all. This sucks.”
    “I’m really sorry, Rita. Will you forgive me someday?”
    “What a stupid question.”
    “You’re the best.”
    Next I called the hotel and confirmed that the diary had been given to Mr. Harros. Yes, the clerk was sure.
    That left just one more call to make. Dugan. I punched in the number he’d left. I was and wasn’t looking forward to this.
    He recognized my voice before I finished introducing myself. “I hope you’ve got good news for me.”
    I made myself take a slow breath. “Yes, as a matter of fact. Sheila’s diary is in the proper hands. Her parents have it.”
    “It’s not a diary. It’s a notebook. If you’ve stolen our work product, we’ll prosecute.”
    “This was not a company email account. It was a private diary. Her family owns it. If it was so important, why didn’t you take it while you were removing her hard drive?”
    A slight delay let me know I’d gotten him. “I hope you have a very good lawyer,” he said.
    “You, too. You’ve got a couple of felonies to deal with. One, when your agents stole my personal property in the parking lot. Two, when they broke into my house.”
    There was another hesitation. His answer had some pleasure in it, and I wasn’t sure why. “I’d like to see