The unexpected chime of the doorbell set my heart pounding—the reaction it’s always caused since the day my life fell apart.
I froze. Had I truly heard the sound, or had another nightmare of that fateful day’s events yanked me awake?
The chime rang again.
Tipping back the last swig from a fifth of Jack and pushing myself off the couch, I stumbled to the door as my hands trembled from the surge of adrenaline.
Swaying slightly, I managed to align my eye with the peephole. Standing in the breezeway was a tall, lean guy wearing immaculate khakis with a striped button-down shirt and a digital Rolex worth more than my aging Ford Distancia.
“Bethany, activate hall comm system,” I said.
“Activated,” she replied.
I learned towards the wall’s mini-mike. “What do you want?”
“My name is Carter Vaughn. I’d like to talk with you.”
I thought the guy looked familiar. “The Carter Vaughn—as in the owner of Legacy Media?”
The corner of the man’s mouth curved upward. “That’s me. Can I come in?”
I swung open the door, letting the heat and humidity of the spring day roll into my apartment.
Vaughn didn’t move. Instead, he eyed my rumpled clothes and three-day beard. “My apologies. I think I have the wrong unit. I’m looking for Finnegan Cooper.”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
He raised an eyebrow, then tapped a faint scar on his temple. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard. I tried connecting to your Pearl, but I seem to be having a problem.”
“There’s no problem,” I said, moving aside so he could enter. “I don’t have one.” Actually, I did have one, but it had been damaged in the blast that had killed Wendy.
Leading Vaughn to the couch where I’d been sleeping, I hoped he couldn’t detect the stench rising from the pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. I grabbed the empty whiskey bottle off the closest cushion and chucked it in the trash. “Have a seat.”
Vaughn cast a suspicious eye on the grubby surface before lowering himself onto my threadbare couch.
I pulled up a folding chair and sat across from him. “What brings you here, Mr. Vaughn? I assume you didn’t come to conduct one of your famous interviews.”
“I need the help of an investigator.”
“You have the wrong guy.”
“You said you’re Finnegan Cooper, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m told you were the up-and-coming star of Washington’s elite violent crimes unit, one of their best investigators.”
“Past tense. I don’t do that anymore.” I leaned back in my aluminum chair. “If you need help, go to the police.”
“I did. They said there’s no evidence of a crime—that if I wanted to pursue this issue, I should hire a private detective. I asked Josh Reed for a recommendation, and he gave me your name.”
I shook my head. Of all people, Chief Reed should’ve known better than to mention me for this kind of work. He was my boss on the day the bomb detonated, the day I quit the force.
“Look,” said Vaughn, “my wife is devastated. At least hear me out before you say no.”
I hesitated.
“I could make it worth your time,” he pressed.
I wouldn’t have listened to the guy, but my bank account was feeling pretty lonely. Sending in some new friends might cheer it up. And truth be told, there are only so many months—hell, years— you can drink yourself to sleep before you need some variety in your life. “I’m listening.”
The perfect baby is only an appointment away…
It’s the year 2053, when wealthy couples visit designer-baby companies to create the perfect child. Ex-cop Finnegan Cooper is hired to investigate the unexplained failure of one couple’s embryos at Melgen, the world’s premier designer-baby consultancy. When his client dies the next day in a suspicious car accident, Finn fears the client’s widow will be the next target.
Determined to save her, Finn plunges into the shadowy world of genetic engineering, digging into an activist group opposed to genetic modification, an aggressive rival firm in China, and a shadowy presence inside Melgen itself. With danger closing in, he must race to unravel the deadly and complicated web of deceit before unknown assailants succeed in their attempts to end his investigation through deadly force.
Hinterspace: Episode 11