The Electrician's Code (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

S
ophia arrived at the campus and searched around for the lecture theater. She found it with twenty minutes to spare but when she pulled the door open, the room was dark. This didn’t bode well for the evening. She couldn’t even remember if she had posted her lecture on the board. Oh well, she could always set it up for another night. She was exhausted anyway.

She moved her hand up and down against the wall, searching for the light switch and when she finally found it, the room was flooded with light. The theater wasn’t too big but daunting enough when, as she saw it, only a handful of students would arrive to hear her. It wasn’t nerves, for years of ballet had conquered her fear of the stage, but Sophia didn’t want to waste her time. One thing she could have done with the evening was catch up on some much needed rest. She had spent the day searching a computer that contained no information because it had been erased, most likely remotely. She couldn’t get out of her mind the look of shock on Elaine’s face.

Heading to the front row, Sophia pushed down one of the theater seats and sat down. She had to set up her computer for the presentation but decided to wait until the first student arrived. Above her, she could hear the hum of the lights and behind her, one of the fluorescent bulbs flickered.

Someone knocked on the door. A petite woman, dressed in an old, gray trouser suit stood in the doorway.

“Ms. Evans? Hello, my name is Lucy. I meant to ring you, but I got busy this afternoon. We moved your lecture to another room upstairs. Follow me.”

“A smaller room I hope.”

“It’s a bit smaller but I think it will do.”

Sophia followed her up two flights of stairs to a room at the end of the hall. The lights were on in that room and she could hear the din of people talking. When the woman opened the door for her, Sophia counted about twenty students milling about the stage.

“Everyone, our speaker is here.” Lucy turned to Sophia. “I hope this suits you.”

Sophia looked around. Much better. It was almost a classroom instead of a theater and more personal. The students looked so young. She didn’t recognize any in the group. Well, at least young people were still interested in math. She turned toward a young man close to the podium and asked, “Would you be able to help me set up the cables?” She pulled her laptop and various devices from her bag.

Five minutes after the time she was supposed to start, she finally pressed the button and a white screen came down from the ceiling. She looked up and was about to start when the door to the classroom opened and about five more students trickled in. She waited until they settled into their desks.

“Today, we’re going to be discussing the Huffman Compression Function and Linguistic Stenography—Its Use in the Real World. If you didn’t understand what I just said, you’re probably in the wrong lecture room.”

A few students laughed. The door opened again and a few more entered and took their seats.

Page by page, Sophia discussed the topic she had been preparing for over a year. She had meant to give the speech months ago but with all her cases, she kept pushing back the date. For a time, she was worried she would have to change the title from Real World to Ancient World.

When she received blank stares, she would ask if anyone had questions. That was when she saw Liam, hiding in the back.

Why was he here? She knew he wouldn’t understand anything she said. In fact, he was reading a car magazine. Sometimes he made her so angry.

When the lecture had finally ended and the students had asked their questions, she breathed a sigh of relief. Students approached her, shook her hand, and on occasion asked her an unrelated question or two. She hoped her facts were correct on a variety of theories. It had been ages since she looked into some of them and she knew some were being expanded and revised.

“What are you doing here?” she asked Liam when he finally approached her.

“I have always found math fascinating.”

“Hardy-har. How about being a dear and helping me pack up all my things?”

He helped her tidy her papers as she unhooked her computer and cables.

“So why are you really here and not in some cubby hole staring at a steel box filled with wonderful weaponry? Isn’t that your idea of a perfect evening?”

“Yes, well, I have to visit the watchers in about two hours but in the meantime—”

“In the meantime you spend the evening listening to a boring lecture instead of sleeping? I don’t buy it. You’re here to check up on me. To make sure I don’t bring home any crazy fans.”

“I’m an asshole but you, my dear, have too high an opinion of yourself.” He tapped her on the cheek with his hand. “You know what you need?”

“Sleep?”

“No. You need a nice chocolate brownie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.”

“Oh, I don’t want that.”

“Do you want another assignment?”

“No, not that either.”

“Well, you choose. Delectable dessert with me now, or watcher duty tonight?”

“If I go with you, will you promise never to put me on assignment ever again?”

“I can’t make that promise.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re an asshole.”

Sophia followed Liam into the coffee shop. She didn’t know what she was doing there. What was she thinking? Sometimes he could be so nice and the next minute, he completely changed into an insensitive luddite. She didn’t understand him at all.

The coffee shop was busy even at ten at night. Couples filled all the tables and for a few minutes, while she stood in line, she considered telling Liam they should call it off on account of the lack of seating. However, Liam looked around the room nervously and the reason behind it intrigued her.

“You’ll love the coffee. I put a dash of cinnamon in mine. And, if you’d prefer, the lemon tart is also worth trying.”

“I think coffee will be fine, Liam.”

“Are you watching your weight?”

“I’m just not that hungry, all right?”

He threw up his hands as if to surrender. “Well, thanks for coming with me anyway.” When they approached the counter, Liam ordered a mushroom soup and two coffees.

“I really can’t imagine you come here. You seem like a pub man.”

“Yeah, I am, but you don’t seem like a pub girl.”

A couple stood up from a small table in the corner and Liam rushed to grab it. An elderly woman, holding a coffee, stomped off in protest.

“I think she had been waiting for this table,” Sophia said when she sat down.

“Nonsense. She was nowhere close to it.”

“The job has marred your conscience, I think.”

“You’re saying that because I wouldn’t let her sit here? That’s a bit insane.”

“You’re calling me insane?” This was such a mistake.

“Look, if it will make you happy, we’ll give up our seat. Is that what you want?”

Sophia looked around for the woman but she had found another seat on the opposite side of the shop. “Forget about it.”

A young girl wearing an apron approached the table with their order.

“Look, Evans,” Liam said, placing his hand on her arm briefly, “I don’t want to fight. Let’s just drink our coffees and you can go home.”

She poured a drop of milk in her coffee and took a sip. Liam didn’t look at her, instead he fished around his soup for pieces of potato and mushroom.

“How long have you been seeing . . . whoever it was in your flat? Is it that Daintry woman that works on the second level?

“Daintry?” He gave her a blank stare.

“Really, you don’t ever know her name?”

“Ah, Sarah.” He looked back down at his soup.

“Oh, Liam. If she is who I think she is, she’s been into you for weeks. She even asked me if it was all right if she asked you for a drink. I guess she thought we had some sort of relationship. I assured her it was perfectly all right.”

Liam still didn’t look up from his soup.

“Do you fancy her even a bit?” she continued. “Because if you don’t, you should tell her straight away; she’ll be less hurt. Another girl in the office—Anita—though you probably won’t know who she is either, gave Sarah the advice to be forward with you. God, why can’t people stay out of each other’s business?”

“I don’t want to sleep with you.”

“What?”

“If that’s what you’re implying, I don’t want to sleep with you.”

“I’m not implying that. I just don’t want you to get the wrong reputation in the office.”

“What do you care what my reputation is?” He dropped his spoon and it landed with a crash against the bowl.

“I bloody care because we work close together on cases. I don’t want everyone to assume you sleep with all the girls you work with.”

“Oh, I don’t give you a bad reputation. You proved to everyone that you’ll open your legs to whoever you work with when you carried on with Masters.”

Sophia raised her hands to slap him but he was too quick and grabbed her arm.

“Don’t you dare assume you know me at all,” continued Liam. “You think it’s up to me who I put on cases? You think I like having analysts following high target criminals or go undercover, having to worry that they’ll think with their bloody heart and get team members killed that I have known and served with for years? I’m trying to be nice to you, I’m trying to build your confidence in me and vice versa so we can work together in the future. I’m sick and tired of you treating me with disrespect.”

With that he pushed her arm away and walked out.

She sat there stunned, starring at the wall, too embarrassed to acknowledge the faces that must be staring at her. What the hell just happened? How could she have completely misread him? Could he really hate her as much as he appeared to? She tightened her coat around her and walked out of the cafe.

He said he was trying to make it easier for them to work together but she didn’t know how they could work together from now on. Not after this. She walked toward her Fiat and when she got in, sat watching the couples walking along the pavement. One couple laughed and held hands. Why couldn’t she live a life like that? Why the hell did she ever agree to work for the government?

I just had a fight with Liam
, she texted Crystal.

What about?

I have no idea.

What are you going to do about it?

I’m going to go home and calm down. I need to think.

Don’t do anything rash. Text me before you do anything.

Good night, Crystal.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

T
heo spent a lot of mornings staring at his ceiling, debating whether to spend another day in a world where his wife didn’t recognize him, where he no longer received his kiss of affection before work. Today was no different—especially today. It was his anniversary.

He had spent the night hoping to get a lead on the case but it never came. She never came. Theo had waited outside Sophia’s flat for three hours. He had watched people come and go and cars enter the car park. Where the hell had she gone? Part of him wished he’d never rang her in the first place. He used her as a crutch. And why would she be eager to work on his case? Her job was exciting.

How many times had he rang Sophia’s mobile last night? Perhaps she was avoiding him. Perhaps she played polite but found him annoying.

Only a stalker would sit around her flat for so long. Was he that desperate? He was thankful she never returned home. What would she have said to him?

From the kitchen came the smell of strong coffee, eggs, and his mother’s intermittent laughter. For the past week, he didn’t remind anyone in his family about his anniversary and so far, no one had mentioned it. For that he was thankful. Conversations about his wife were always awkward.

An hour later, he finally made it to the kitchen. Somehow the whole family managed to make it to the table before him. If there was going to be somewhere the family gathered, it would be the kitchen table. He wasn’t sure they met anywhere else in the house unless it was game day and then the men sat in front of the telly. He took a seat across from his father. His father acknowledged him with a nod. His mother laid a coffee in front of him.

His brother-in-law, Tim, was still talking about the hamburgers he grilled the night before.

“I haven’t had a juicier burger in my life,” he said. “You may soon ask me to cook all the meals in the house.”

His mother didn’t say anything, but the way she slowly lowered the spatula on the worktop was enough to silence Tim.

When Agneta started to laugh, Theo picked up his coffee, went out the back patio door and into the garden. She might have reasons to laugh but he didn’t and to see it only rubbed salt into the wound. Outside, he pulled a plastic chair closer to the house. The air was nippy and bit at his ears. He could still smell the remnants of smoke and fried meat from the night before. Instead, he gulped down his coffee and blew out a visible breath.

On occasions like this, he often considered divorce. He had never done it because he worried it would break her heart, but why would she care? It didn’t take him long to change his mind, of course. He couldn’t do it, no matter how bad things became. She was happy and he must be satisfied with that. The family loved her, she would listen to all the old stories again and find them interesting because to her, they were new.

But what if he did divorce her? What would he do? He’d have to leave the comfort of his home. He couldn’t ask her to leave, not when the house was all she knew. And then where would he be? He’d end up like Maddock Tipring, sad and alone, perhaps victim of a murder where no one had a motive to kill him because no one really cared he existed.

Theo had an autopsy to attend soon and although he hoped for any enlightenment on the case, he knew it was unlikely. The solution would most likely come from the secret world of
MI5
and the only person who could reveal those secrets forgot she made an appointment for the night before.

The patio door slid open behind him and his mother stepped outside. She came and stood by her son, only placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I get chair and I sit with you,” she said, in English. She so rarely spoke her second language.

“No, that’s all right. I’ll get you one.” He rose and brought her one. Her company brought him comfort.

“She doesn’t remember what day it is, does she?”

“No. Did you really expect her to?” she replied in Greek.

“I suppose not.” He pulled a box from his pocket and opened the lid. Inside sat a pair of ruby earrings. “I had an idea, from a case I was working on, to buy her these.”

“They are beautiful. Why don’t you give them to her?”

“What would be the point?”

“The point is, my son, they’re a nice gift and sadly, she hasn’t received a gift in a very long time.”

His mother was right. She didn’t care about him but he would do anything to make her happy.