Dad had asked me to meet him in his lab after school, and at five o’clock, I packed up my stuff and headed to Division Six. Luckily, I wasn’t in a hurry. The traffic jam of scientists all trying to leave the building had turned the hallway into a parking lot. I crept along behind two senior researchers, their heads bent close together as they gossiped loudly. “Did you hear Dr. Avery’s been missing since Tuesday?” The woman reminded me of my math teacher back at Columbus High, with her short hair streaked blonde and the glasses perched on the tip of her nose. Her partner shook her head. “No, but that’s not unusual, is it? He’s done this before. Especially when a pretty woman is involved.” The first researcher’s lips thinned. “But never in the middle of an important project.” The two of them spotted me walking behind them and immediately clammed up. “Not in front of the student,”
