Simple Genius by David Baldacci
57
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING Michelle went on a walk with Viggie, eventually straying down by the river where they sat on the boathouse dock and put their feet in the water. She attempted several times to lead the conversation around to codes and blood, but Viggie just as cagily danced around those attempts.
“Can we go out on the kayak again?” Viggie asked.
“Sure, would you like to go now?”
“No, just asking.” She pointed across the river. “I don’t like that place.”
“Camp Peary? How come? Because of what happened to Monk there?”
“Not just that,” she said casually.
“What then?”
“Monk was gone a lot,” she said, suddenly changing the subject. “He left me for a long time.”
“When? You mean when he left the country?” Viggie nodded. Michelle couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought to ask the girl about this before. “Do you know why he left the country? Why he visited the places overseas that he did?”
“He talked a lot about Alan Turing when he got back. It wasn’t the first time he went there. He liked Alan Turing a lot, even though he’s dead.”
“When was the first time he went there?”
“Before we came here. When we were living at the other place.”
“What other place was that?”
“In New York City. I didn’t like it there. We lived in an apartment building. Everybody there was old. I didn’t like them because they smelled funny. All except one person. An old man. I liked him. Monk liked him too. They talked a lot. He talked funny though. It was hard to understand him.”
“Do you remember what they talked about?” Michelle had little reason to believe this was important, but she wanted to keep Viggie engaged.
“Not really. They talked about old stuff from a long time ago.”
“I see.”
“I’d just play my piano really loud when they did that.”
“But you said you liked the old man.”
“I did. He was nice, but he only talked about old stuff and it was hard to understand him.”
“Well, sometimes that’s what elderly people like to do, remember their past. And apparently Monk found it interesting.”
“The old man knew a lot about math and science. And he showed Monk some old maps and I saw him once writing all these letters down on a piece of paper and seeing if my dad could understand them.”
“So like a code?”
“I guess.”
“You said letters. I thought Monk was just into numbers?”
“Monk said history was full of numbers, important ones. Alan Turing used numbers a long time ago to help end a big war. Monk used to tell me about that. But they used alphabet letters too.”
“Is that what he and the old man talked about? Alan Turing and what he did during the Second World War?”
“Sometimes.”
Michelle, impatient by nature, was finding it difficult not to start screaming, “Just cut the bullshit games and tell me the truth, you little twerp!” Instead she said, as calmly as she could, “So what did they usually talk about?”
Viggie stood. “I’ll race you home.” She turned and sped off. Within five steps Michelle had caught her, but then fell back as though tiring.
Faking being out of breath she said, “I tell you what, Viggie, if I beat you back to the house, you have to tell me about codes and blood. If you beat me back I promise to never ask you another question about it. Deal?”
“Deal!” As soon as she said this Viggie kicked it into another gear and flew down the path toward Alicia’s cottage, leaving Michelle behind.
She rounded the last bend and there sat the cottage dead ahead. She squealed with delight and increased her speed. Ten feet from the front steps she watched in disbelief as Michelle, who’d been purposefully hanging back, blew by her, raced up the steps and sat down on the top step.
Viggie stopped short and stared in amazement at her. “You cheated,” she said.
“Exactly how did I do that? You ran. I ran. I won. Now pay up.”
“I like you, Michelle.”
“Okay, Viggie,” Michelle said warily. “But what about our deal?”
Viggie ran past her and into the house. Michelle quickly followed. By the time she got there Viggie was seated at the piano. She started playing frantically, beating the keys with her fingertips. The pace became so frenetic that Michelle couldn’t even follow the music.
“Viggie, please, stop. Stop! VIGGIE!”
The next instant Viggie stopped, jumped up and raced to the stairs. She paused, turned to Michelle and yelled, “Codes and blood!” Then she shot up the steps. A moment later her bedroom door slammed.
A few seconds later a half-dressed Alicia Chadwick came rushing down the stairs. “My God, what is going on?” she cried out.
Michelle uncovered her ears and turned to her. “Hell if I know. She just went nuts on the piano.”
“She doesn’t usually do that unless something or someone has upset her,” Alicia said in an accusing tone.
“Well, this time she did it all on her own.”
Michelle tapped Alicia on the shoulder. “Tag, you’re it. I need a break from the kid.” She stalked out the door, slamming it behind her.
Michelle reported to Sean later that for now Viggie was a dead end.
“That makes getting into Camp Peary all the more important,” he said. “The equipment I ordered will arrive tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ll check in with you later,” Michelle said.
“Where are you off to?”
“I struck out with Viggie. I’m going to see if I have better luck with Champ. But I’m going to change first into something, you know.”
“Michelle, I’m impressed at the depths you’ll go to get to the truth.”
“You’ll be even more impressed when I put my foot through your mouth.”
“And while you’re seducing the world’s greatest mind, I’m going to start canvassing Babbage Town and see if anyone saw anything at Rivest’s place the night he was murdered. And then I’m going to take a look around for that secret room.”
“I told you I already did that.”
“Never hurts to have a fresh pair of eyes on it.”
Two hours later Sean had finished his canvassing. No one reported seeing anyone suspicious, no one who shouldn’t have been there. Puzzled, Sean walked over to the mansion for lunch in the dining room. He saw Viggie eating with some of the other children as Alicia sat alone at the other end of the room while waiters scurried around serving all the hungry geniuses.
He joined Alicia, ordered his food and said, “Factor any good numbers lately?”
Alicia frowned. “I’m glad to see how easily you amuse yourself. Where’s your sidekick? She left Viggie in shambles this morning. That wasn’t exactly my intention when I hired you.”
He leaned forward. “See, the thing is, Alicia, you didn’t hire us. We work for a firm retained by the owners of Babbage Town, whoever the hell they might be, to find out who killed Monk Turing.”
“A task at which so far you’ve failed utterly.”
“People who kill other people usually go to great lengths to make sure they’re not caught.”
“That’s so very reassuring.”
“I understand the session with Viggie and Horatio went well.”
“Yes, if you call Viggie walking out in the middle of the session going well.”
“What about codes and blood? That’s what Viggie said, right?”
Alicia nervously fingered her cup of tea. “I’d never heard her use that phrase before. It was frightening the way she said it actually.”
“And you have no idea what she could have meant by it?”
“No. I told Barnes the same thing.”
“Come on, Alicia, you have an analytical mind, use it.”
She sighed deeply. “There are lots of codes. Did Monk teach Viggie how to make a code? Maybe. Did they communicat
“What about the term blood?”
“Bloody enough the way Monk died.”
“Right, but presumably Monk wasn’t dead when he talked to her about it.”
“Viggie is a very unstable, emotional young girl given to severe mood swings and hyperbole. If you’re basing your whole case on something she said, well, I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“If you can think of anything else, I’m listening.”
“I have a job to do here too, you know.”
“Does Champ know who owns Babbage Town?”
“I don’t know. I do know that he goes away once a month for a few days. Maybe he’s meeting with them then.”
“That’s interesting. Does he drive or fly?”
“He flies his own plane.”
“Really? Where does he keep it?”
“A private air terminal about five miles from here. I’ve been up with him once.”
“Pretty nice to be able to afford your own plane.”
“Well, I don’t know if it actually belongs to him.”
Sean fell silent. As he watched a waitress in uniform go by with a tray of food it finally struck him. He’d been asking the wrong damn question. He jumped up and raced out, leaving Alicia staring after him.
CHAPTER
58
WHAT MICHELLE CHOSE was a pair of tight black jeans, open-toed sandals and a loose white blouse with the top two buttons undone. She didn’t own a miniskirt and high heels were out of the question. She found Champ in his office, and the man almost fell out of his chair when she walked in, unannounced. At her request he gave her a tour of Hut Number Two and she made appreciative comments and noises about the “important” work he was doing. As he was showing her the Turing machine model, she leaned over to look more closely and placed a hand on his back, ostensibly to steady herself. She could feel the electricity rip through the poor guy’s frame. She inwardly groaned. Men were so incredibly easy. And stupid. Even the geniuses.
They ate lunch in a small, private dining room in the mansion that was apparently reserved for the head of Babbage Town.
Michelle said, “This is quite an operation you have here. So how’d you end up running it?”
“I doubt you’d be interested in that,” he said, glancing at her.
“If I weren’t I wouldn’t have asked.”
“I had done some cutting-edge work in the field, first at Stanford and then later at MIT, that resulted in the issuance of numerous patents. And my doctoral thesis was on quantum mechanics and was considered groundbreaking. I think that cinched my appointment.”
“Sean told me that the ownership of Babbage Town is a closely held secret.”
“Very closely held. And they pay well for that confidentiality.”
“Generosity is a great way to build loyalty.”
“They have been more than generous. They even gave me my own plane to fly.”
“Really? I’m not a pilot but I’ve certainly flown a lot. I love it.”
“I could take you up sometime. Wonderful views of the area.”
“That’d be great. So long as you avoid the airspace over Camp Peary, I suppose.”
“Don’t worry. Those parameters are programmed into my flight computer.” He paused. “You seem to be showing me a lot of attention.”
“You’re an interesting person.”
“And a possible suspect.”
“I understand you have an alibi for the time Len Rivest died.”
“I was working, yes.”
“And how is it all coming?”
“With luck we’ll have a rudimentary prototype ready early next year.”
“And then the world ends, at least that’s what Sean said he was told.”
“Hardly. No, that computer will only be able to do very basic calculations. We’re still several years away from really shocking the world.”
“That’s a long time to wait.”
“In the world of physics that’s actually pretty fast.” He finished his wine. “And so how are things coming with Viggie?”
“She’s a good kid. I like her. And I feel for her situation too. It can’t be easy.”
“Monk wasn’t an easy fellow to read. As the Brits say he kept himself very much to himself.”
“Speaking of the Brits, I understand he traveled to England recently.”
“Right. He said he needed to attend to some family matters.”
“Did he say anything to you when he got back? About what other countries he might have visited?”
“Not really. I guess if you have his passport that will tell you where he traveled.” Champ snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute. I can’t believe I didn’t remember it before. He brought me a present. It was smart of him because his leaving at that point wasn’t convenient.”
“Present. From where? England?”
“No, it was a beer stein from Germany.”
“Germany? You’re sure?”
“I have it back at my cottage if you want to see for yourself.”
Champ’s cottage wasn’t as sloppy as his office, but it wasn’t exactly in the class of a Sean King operation either. She found herself giving the physicist high marks for his untidiness.
He led her into a small book-lined study. On one shelf sat a large elaborately decorated blue beer stein. He handed it to her.
“This is it. Pretty nice, although I’m not really a beer drinker.”
Michelle examined the stein closely. It had a hinged pewter top with famous venues from major German cities painted on the side in raised relief. She turned it over and looked at the bottom. “It doesn’t say where it’s from. Just that it was made in Germany.”
“Right. I guess it could have come from anywhere.”
“Can I hold on to this?” she asked.
“Be my guest, if it’ll get us closer to the truth. I wish I could help somehow.”
“There is something you can do,” she said. He looked expectant. “You can let Horatio Barnes stay at Babbage Town.”
Champ looked taken aback by this and Michelle added quickly, “Just room and board. It would mean a lot to me.”
“Well, I guess it can’t hurt,” he said slowly.
“Thanks, Champ, I appreciate it. By the way I saw the martial arts outfit on the door of your office. Which one are you into?”
“Tae Kwon Do. Black belt. You?”
“No,” she lied.
As they walked outside into the sunshine, Champ said, “I can pick you up day after tomorrow around nine if the weather holds.” He adjusted his glasses. “Uh, on the way back I know a nice little restaurant that actually has a pretty decent menu.”
Michelle eyed the man’s tall, lanky frame. He would certainly have had the physical strength to kill Rivest by using a plunger to hold the drunken man underwater until he drowned. But as Sean had said, Champ had an alibi for the time of the murder.
Or did he?