I got back to my office just before midnight. I emptied my pockets onto my desk and sat down. Something rolled off and hit my shoes. It was my pills. I picked up the bottle, rolled it in my hands and let the rattling distract me from all the questions I had.
At 028 hours, the doorbell chimed. I hushed the signal and pretended I wasn’t there.
The computer warned be it was subject to attempted hacking. Some unfortunate technician in India was about to have his lunch interrupted.
My computer said, “Mr. Czujinko, she knows you’re here and she’s reasonably certain you’re awake.”
I decided to answer the door. It was Ada.
**
I was surprised at how lifelike it was up close. Normally I’d be pleased to see a pretty, young woman at my door. I was creeped out.
“Please pardon my rudeness, Mr. Czujinko,” it said. “Why were you there tonight?”
“I was hoping to learn something about where you were. Now I’ve found you.”
“Why were you looking for me?”
I answered in a few words. It said, “I will confirm this.”
It prowled around the office as if looking for something. It spiraled in toward me, it manner softening by degrees.
“Thank you for assisting the Watanabe estate, Hero,” it said, bowing. “I am concerned that you appear not to have taken your medication for many days.”
“Don’t call me that and mind your own business.”
It bowed again. “Please excuse my forwardness. I was programmed to assist Dr. Kevin with things related to his health.”
I figured it was my turn to ask some questions. “Why were you there tonight?”
“I was recovering what was really stolen.” Ada held up the tablet she had snatched from Nate. “Let me show you. Over the last few years, Dr. Kevin was studying echolocation. He developed sonar equipment and software for his studies.”
“I saw something like that on O’Shaw’s boat.”
Ada nodded. “The ocean is a noisy place for creatures not designed to listen in it. Dr. Kevin became curious about echolocation and listening underwater. As he researched the literature, he found speculation that some megafauna may use echolocation. Also, some researchers noted that megafauna sightings were often associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and great storms. They conjectured that the sounds or vibrations produced by these events might attract the creatures.
“Dr. Kevin worked out a way to reproduce some of these vibrations. He hoped that megafauna could be attracted to locations where they could be studied with relative safety.”
“So he built a monster call.”
Ada shook her head. “He designed one. While cataloguing his projects after his death, I discovered that an unauthorized copy of his notes and plans had been made two months ago. My search for the responsible person eventually led me to O’Shaw.
“Mr. O’Shaw has built the call. Recent sightings in the eastern Pacific indicate that he has attracted the attention of the megatutestudines. The information on this computer indicates he may be near acquiring his aim.”
“So what?”
“Sir, you help people recover stolen property. Help me recover Dr. Kevin’s stolen legacy.”
“If O’Shaw has this turtle on the line, where does he plan to reel it in?”
“O’Shaw Bay.”
**
Ada bowed and said, “Hello, Dr. Honey.” I cast a questioning look at Dr. Garland.
“That is what my ‘H’ stands for. I started using my middle name as a teen to sound more mature. A mature name doesn’t hurt when you’re up for tenure, either. When Kevin learned my first name, he insisted on using it. Ada picked it up from him. I’m glad you recovered it.”
Keaton had said the same thing. The Nippon Pacific Insurance legal team was busily parsing what Ada had discovered about the information theft.
“What are you doing here?” asked Garland.
“We know where the big turtle is headed,” I said.
Ada explained. Garland looked shocked at first, but soon she was smiling and bright-eyed in spite of herself. The poured over maps and spoke in jargon-filled shorthand. They looked like gossiping sisters. They gossiped about satellite images, trajectories and acoustics.
I braved the basilisk stare of the receptionist to get some coffee. When I got back to Garland’s office, she and Ada had a teleconference going.
“What’s up?” I asked.
The professors smiled on me like sunshine. “We’re going fishing.”
**