Death of a Nightingale

CHAPTER 31: VISITORS - LUKE

The mood is somber. After the whale shark tank had been cleaned, management proceeded to call in each employee individually and ask them a series of accusatory questions. The culprit has yet to be found. No one knows who threw blood into the aquarium's crown jewel and caused the feeding frenzy. But all agreed that it was more than just a prank. It must have taken a considerable amount of strength and coordination to lift the feeding lid and dump a large enough volume of gore into it to make seeing the fish impossible from the viewing deck.

No one saw anything and the security footage came back empty. George and his team, a tight-knit, experienced security company, got very worried that they missed something and would be let go. But there was nothing to miss.

Management asked me too, the moment I got in. We went over every inch of my laboratory, every employee, and every entry protocol.

That's when we started double-checking the entryways. George remembered that two years ago, some delivery drivers tried and failed to break in and steal a dolphin. He told us that because of budget cuts they didn't add a camera, but simply angled the one from the trash door close by. He added that the trainers sometimes still sneak out there and make good use of that fact, by taking more than their allotted smoking breaks and leaving the door unlocked.

Management immediately sought to remedy the situation and now, I'm standing next to a very concerned George, who shows me the latest security footage of a break-in.

I can hardly believe my eyes. I'm looking at my own girlfriend. I watch as he presses the playback button one more time. Hood drawn too tightly around her face, Ness checks left and right before sneaking in between the two large trash compactors in the loading dock. Then, with a surprising lack of subtlety, she looks straight into the lens of the security camera above the door, likely thinking it's still turned the other way. With a satisfied grin, she removes the paper propping open the door and slips inside.

Both George and I know that Ness would never mess with the whale shark tank. She's also physically not capable of dropping tons of bloody feed in. But why is she breaking into the aquarium? Why didn't she call me? I'm glad I stayed longer than my schedule dictates, so I can fix this. I just don't understand it. She knows I shouldn't be here right now. So why come in?

George shows me her whereabouts on the camera. She's in my lab. I'm stupefied for a moment watching her watch Socrates, my test subject and then rummage through my papers. I'm just stunned. Ness has little interest in my research. She sometimes pokes fun at it, but she would never sabotage me. What is she doing? This doesn't seem like her at all.

I can't even move into action, I'm so beside myself with shock.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" George asks me with the gentleness of someone knowing this won't end well.

I shake my head slowly. This is not who my girlfriend, my future fiancé, is.

"I'm sure something serious happened. She would never..." But even George trails off, lacking explanations.

Something has been happening. Ness changed. The last few days have been very different. I felt it last night too. Making love to her was like begging for her attention and her heart. Both things she usually gives so willingly and with playful love. I hardly recognize the person on the screen. Frantic and disheveled. Desperate and with deep shadows beneath her eyes. She looks like she hasn't slept for a week.

"I'll take care of it." I tell George, but my voice sounds heavy with sadness.

I turn to him but he already winks at me with a crooked smile.

"I won't tell management." I nod my thanks. I know it wasn't her with the blood in the tank, but this doesn't look good for her or me. She's risking my position without a second thought. That selfishness is something I've never seen in her. My heart races, anxiety and shock still battling within. I'm not sure which one will win out. I'm so incredibly disappointed. What could Ness possibly want with my research?

I speed through the halls of the aquarium and not even the deep blue calms me down. Everything feels claustrophobic and heavy.

The elevator is stuck. On top of everything. So I take the stairs. Metal and loud with each step down. I reach the lab door and watch for a moment through the glass. She's just reading.

A distant crash sounds somewhere and it would take my full attention, except Ness' eyes land on my own and I enter.