“Almost.” He innocently turned back to the laptop screen, where he watched the loading progress bar below the three-dimensional image of the office. “Eighty-three percent, eighty-four percent . . .”
She moved closer toward the laptop screen to see for herself. Ninety-one percent. Ninety-two. She was stunned. “Oh my God.”
He knew that phrase meant shock, surprise, or dismay, but he couldn’t tell which. “Are you okay, Skylar?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He made his BUZZER sound, but never looked away from the laptop screen. Ninety-five percent. Ninety-six percent. Eddie seemed much more calm than he had previously. Like he knew this time was different.
He seemed to know he’d done it.
Skylar glanced around the room, checking for sharp objects, then toward the door, hoping that Nurse Gloria was in the immediate vicinity when things didn’t go as planned.
When the counter read one hundred percent, he looked up at Skylar with a spectacular smile, which he’d been practicing for years. For the very first time in his life, Eddie seemed to be expressing himself emotionally. But, given the circumstances, neither he nor Skylar paid much attention. “What would you like to hear, Skylar?”
She remained calm, as well as dubious. “Eddie, I think you should choose.”
He thought about it for a moment. “It would probably be a good idea to start with a recent date. There will be considerably less distortion and white noise to filter out.”
“Okay.” She prepared for the upcoming tantrum.
Eddie studied the recent Timeline of Wave History for Dr. Fenton’s office. He moved a designator from the end of the timeline (the present) to yesterday (Friday), then pinpointed the most clearly identifiable sound waves. He looked up to Skylar. “Are you ready to hear something that no one has ever heard before?”
She inched closer to Eddie. The more he built up the moment, the more she prepared herself to spring into action. “I think so.” She immediately began to doubt whether she could restrain him by herself. She envisioned him thrashing about, hurting her as well as himself, and, worse, damaging the echo box. She dreaded the thought of having to explain the incident to Fenton. Skylar considered trying to stop Eddie from proceeding, but didn’t act quickly enough.
“These are the first sound waves ever re-created.” He hit “Play.”
CHAPTER 31
Harmony House, Woodbury, New Jersey, May 27, 10:10 a.m.
At first, all that could be heard was low-decibel HISSING and WARBLE. Skylar immediately grew concerned, expecting Eddie to explode.
But, surprisingly, he didn’t. “Now that I’ve been able to rebuild the waves, I should be able to clean up most of this harmonic distortion by running it through a series of filters.”
She nodded, pretending to understand, when she suddenly froze. The impossible became possible as Fenton’s voice was heard through the laptop’s speakers: “Stephen, I don’t remember who my ten thirty is with. God, I really am getting old.”
Skylar’s eyes bugged out with disbelief. She forgot to breathe. “Holy shit.”
“That expression confuses me,” Eddie replied.
Fenton’s voice continued after a brief pause. “Reschedule it. Next week, or, better yet, the week after.”
Skylar recovered quickly. “Sounded like he was on the phone with his assistant.”
Through the laptop, Skylar and Eddie heard the sound of a phone hanging up.
“Give the lady a booby prize.” He tried to sound like Jerome had in the cafeteria. Eddie worked his laptop, running the reconstructed sound waves through several more filters.
When he played Fenton’s phone conversation with his assistant again, it sounded considerably crisper. The dialogue was distinct.
Skylar wanted another demonstration before she was really going to believe what she was hearing. “Can you find a conversation he had with someone in person?”
“Yes.” Eddie moved the time designator to the day before yesterday (Thursday), but the waves were only single sets, which meant they were one-sided phone conversations, like the one they’d just heard.
Eddie was looking for two sets of overlapping waves, which meant a conversation between two people in the same space. He slid the designator to Wednesday, where he found what he was looking for. “This was a conversation Dr. Fenton was having with someone else in this office. It was approximately the time we took our walk in the yard to nowhere in particular, which I still think was a strange destination.” He hit “Play.”
Through the laptop, they heard a light knock. Fenton said, “Come in.” The door opened and closed. The sound reproduction was a bit garbled but still distinct enough. Someone had entered the office, but Eddie couldn’t make out the footsteps.
Fenton asked his visitor, “Mr. Barnes, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Barnes answered, “Your new doctor’s boyfriend has been looking into Eddie.”
Skylar’s face dropped. She didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but realized Barnes must be the head of Harmony House security. She couldn’t believe he was talking about Jacob.
Eddie turned to her. “I don’t recognize who Dr. Fenton is talking to. Do you?”
She shook her head no. Her mind was already reeling.
Eddie said, “I think he must be the mystery man, because he’s the only one who works here whose voice I have never heard.”
“Shh.” Skylar listened intently.
Dr. Fenton’s was the next voice heard: “What have you got?” The sound of documents being reviewed was clear. Evidence was being examined.
BARNES: Either she’s got loose lips or he’s been sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.
Goose bumps became visible on Skylar’s arms. She was barely breathing.
BARNES: Could be nothing, but I thought you should be made aware.
There was a momentary pause.
FENTON: I don’t like it.
His voice was cold. Emotionless.
BARNES: My real concern is that there is at least one op being run out of NYU, and possibly several. I haven’t confirmed it, but I’m pretty damn sure. If I’m right, the professor may not even know what he’s done.
There was another pause, this time even longer. Fenton was clearly thinking through his options.
FENTON: We can’t afford a breach. Not now. Not even the possibility of one.
This was the kind of conversation where the most important things were the ones not said. But there was no misunderstanding. Barnes seemed to know exactly what Fenton meant.
BARNES: You sure about this?
FENTON: Yes, I’m sure. Skylar is too valuable. She’s already made more progress with Eddie in days than the others made in years.
A pause. Presumably Barnes was deciding on a course of action.
BARNES: Will you want to know the details?
FENTON: Nothing in his residence. Make it look like an accident.
BARNES: He takes the subway.
Skylar blurted out, “Oh my God.” Her hands were trembling.
Eddie pressed “Stop.” The playback halted. “That’s the second time you’ve said ‘Oh my God,’ Skylar.”
Tears started streaming down her face. She was shaking.
“You’re crying.” He said it descriptively, not compassionately. He wasn’t sure how to respond.
Skylar nodded.
“Are you crying in a good way?” He thought of how people had explained that his mother’s voice had brought them to tears.
“No, Eddie. I’m upset.”
“Why are you upset?”
“Because of what I just heard.”
“I thought it would make you happy. Why did it make you upset?”
“I can’t tell you that right now.”
“Because it involves the mystery man and he is none of my concern?”
She nodded.
Eddie looked around the room, imagining all the sound waves bouncing all around them. “Would you like to hear something else?”
“Not . . . now.” She had trouble getting the words out. Skylar had lost control of her breathing.
“Okay.”
She got up and started pacing around the room. Her head was spinning. She had no idea what she was going to do. Think, Skylar. Think! Do something! The only thing she was certain of was that her world was collapsing around her.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
“Do you know what I want to hear?” he asked innocently.
“No, Eddie.” She continued to pace. Should I go to the police? The FBI? The CIA?