Chapter 9: Tori

Within 30 minutes, I’d learned the new passwords and gained access to the archive room, and had the necessary files spread out on a desk in front of me beside a fresh cup of coffee. All the files were stored in electronic format as well, but I couldn’t stand reading on screen for very long, and it would likely take all day to get through the paperwork. Now, more than ever, I was motivated to read each and every page of those files. Since parting with Alex, I’d been emotional and distracted, unable to get much done at work. I’d never really looked into the break-in – at least, not that I remembered – and I still didn’t entirely understand what had happened between Alex and me. Perhaps something in the files would explain the events of the last six months and prove a connection between the break-in and my break-up. That must be why TruPaul had sent me to G.M.

But as I flipped through page after page, I grew frustrated, and then bored. Is it possible to fall asleep in a dream? I suppose so, since I just did it the night before. Everything seemed to be business as usual. There was an ongoing series of experiments on male mice, some new drugs to be tested, and an ever-growing list of things that hadn’t quite worked—nothing I couldn’t hear about in a short-and-sweet staff report. I toyed with the idea of cutting out early, doing a bit of shopping and heading to bed before 9 p.m. The strange events of the past day (Two days? Months? Who knew?) were wearing on me. I’d made up my mind to work for 15 more minutes and leave when I noticed something strange.

I’d been working through the files backwards, and when I reached mid-June, I came across a gap. The files from January, February and March were in place, but between April and June, there were weeks of reports that simply were not there…from right around the time of the break-in. After double and triple checking, I scooped what remained of the spring and summer files into my bag and hurried through the building to my office. My secretary looked up with a smile, but frowned as I swept past to my desk without acknowledging her. A few keystrokes and I was into the electronic archives. Surely the back-up files could show me what was missing. But I quickly discovered that they, too, were missing. Something was most definitely wrong.

I picked up my desk phone. “Could you call Tom from Lab 1 up here please?”

“Certainly, Miss Devereux,” the secretary replied.

“Tell him it’s urgent.”

“Yes, Miss Devereux.”

When Tom arrived a few minutes later, I could tell instantly that he was impatient and angry that I’d interrupted his work. Instead of sitting down, he stood in the doorway, and spoke before I had the chance to ask about the files.

“If this is about the meeting, it’s all taken care of. Everyone will be in conference room down the hall at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to…”

“It’s not about the meeting. It’s about these files.” I pulled them out of the bag and handed them over to Tom, who flipped through them nonchalantly before looking back up at me. “Yes?”

“Tom, there’s weeks of paperwork missing, all right around the time of the break-in! They aren’t in the electronic database, either.” Was he dense? “Do you know anything about this?”

Tom stared at me, opened his mouth as if to respond, paused, and finally spoke. “Look, Stella, I’m not sure what you’re getting at here, if you’re trying to test me or what, but you’re wasting valuable time. We destroyed all those files, just like you asked, back in June. “

Now it was my turn to stare, at a loss for words. “But I…I didn’t order those files to be destroyed.”

Tom sighed. “Yes, I know the drill. I don’t know anything about the missing files. Can I please get back to the lab now?”

“Wait, Tom. Who else knows about this?”

“You don’t have to worry, it’s just a few of us. Alex brought your order to my department, James and I read it and took care of things.” I tensed when I heard Alex’s name, grabbing tightly to the arms of my chair. What was going on? Why did Alex want those files destroyed?

Tom seemed to notice my bewilderment, because he reached down and patted my hand. “Stella, can I talk to you as a friend for a minute? I know you’ve had a rough year. Maybe you should just take a break. You’ve got that monastery to redesign, right? We’ve got things under control here. And I’ve got a friend I could set you up with if you’re interested…”

I shook my head. “No thanks, Tom. You can go.” He squeezed my hand heading towards the door. Hand on the door knob, he turned back to me.

“It’s okay, Stella. No one’s going to find out.” And with that, he was gone.