Firebird by Jack McDevitt Read Free Book Online Page B

happens to so many of us, people are beginning to forget his contributions. And yours, since without you, he could not have been so effective.”
    Those dark eyes reflected a touch of amusement. “You do speak well, Mr. Benedict. What did you want to know?”
    “We'd like to know whether you have any idea at all what happened to him?”
    She studied Alex momentarily, then looked my way. “May I sit down?”
    Usually, an avatar provides its own chair if it wishes to sit. “Of course,” said Alex, indicating that she was welcome to use any of the available chairs or the other end of the sofa that he was using.
    Elizabeth smiled pleasantly and picked the sofa. “I have no idea what happened to him. It is a question that has always haunted me. I just don't know. I wish I did.”
    “Do you know of anyone who might have had a motive—?”
    “There were people who didn't like him. Some who were jealous. But I don't think anyone would ever have gone so far.” She shook her head. “I just don't know. Obviously, someone had a reason.”
    “Is it possible he might have taken off on his own?”
    “I've wondered about that, too. Years ago, I would have been shocked at the question. But I've gotten used to it. Every time I was introduced to someone, they always found a way to ask that.”
    “I'm sorry.”
    “We were happy, Mr. Benedict. I loved him.” She was staring past us, looking at some distant place. “And he was in love with me.”
    Alex signaled me to take over. “What actually happened that night, Elizabeth?”
    “I don't know. I'd been down at the church. They were having a social. When I got home, I went to bed. Apparently, Eliot brought Chris home shortly before midnight. I never heard the skimmer.
    “Whatever happened after that —” She shook her head. “He never came inside; I'm sure of that. I woke up during the night because of the earthquake. We didn't take any damage, but we got some tremors. It's a scary thing when the ground shakes under you. I never realized they'd been there until I heard, two days later, that Eliot had died in the quake. I couldn't understand that because he was supposed to be out with Chris. But it left me fearful that Chris had been stranded somewhere. That Eliot was supposed to go back and pick him up.” Her voice shook. “It's all very confusing, Ms. Kolpath.”
    “Call me 'Chase,'“ I said. “Do you know where they'd gone? Your husband and Eliot?”
    “No. It was always orbital stuff, and I just wasn't very interested. I guess I should have been.”
    “Were you expecting him home that evening?”
    “Not really. He'd said he expected to be gone about a week. By then he'd been gone three or four days, so no, I wasn't looking for him.”
    “Did he usually let you know when he'd be back?”
    “He sometimes came back early. When he did, he'd usually call from Skydeck. But not always.”
    Alex got up and walked over to his desk. “So he did this often?” he asked. “Traveling off-world?”
    “Yes. He did it all the time.”
    “Did you ever go with him?”
    “Three or four times. I don't particularly enjoy it. I used to get dizzy just going up to Skydeck.”
    “You deleted everything in the house AI. Why?”
    “Too many memories. He was there. In the system. I could have spent endless evenings talking with him. Enjoying him. Pretending he was really in the house. Really alive. I knew if I did that, I'd never survive.”
    “It would have been hard,” Alex said. There've been cases of people who needed treatment when they refused to let go of loved ones who'd died. “How did you find out Cermak had been to the house? Was it neighbors?”
    “We didn't really have anyone living close enough to qualify as a neighbor.” She smiled ruefully. “I loved the house, but I didn't like the solitude. We were all alone out on the Point. That was Chris's idea. I went along with it.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “There were a couple of people out for a walk.