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“You might have a point there. It’s as good a place to start as any,” you muse, “I’ll go and have a word with Malone, see if he’s able to tell us anything. His office was just off the main square, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s it. I’d show you the way, but my shift is almost starting soon,” Spaeny confirms with an apologetic smile, “You can’t miss it anyway. I’m awful with directions, and even I can find it!”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” you tell her, rising from the table with a nod of appreciation. The engineers bid farewell as you leave, then immediately go back to talking amongst themselves – gossiping, by the looks of them. Even without hearing anything they say, you know the look on their faces. Leaving the cafeteria, you spot Galt leaning back against the wall. He jerks his head up suddenly when you call his name, hurrying over to join you.
“We’re heading out to visit Doctor Malone,” you explain, “He might know something about all this.”
“I hope so,” Galt mutters, rubbing his reddened eyes, “We don’t have many leads at the moment.”
You barely have any leads at the moment. So far, you’re operating almost entirely on instinct.
-
After recovering from the surprise of seeing such a large group of people so early in the morning, Doctor Malone shows you through to a comfortable room on the second floor of his clinic. You sit, taking a moment to study the physician. He was strong once, you suspect, and probably still is, with a body like gnarled wood and a bristly beard the colour of old iron. His eyes light up with curiosity, then unease as you introduce yourselves, and it takes him a moment to speak.
“May I ask what this is all about?” he begins, nodding over to Galt, “I recognise your name, young man. Master Barbeau mentioned you.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Galt explains, “Master Barbeau has gone missing, and we’re trying to find him.”
“Missing?” Malone blinks in surprise, “I… see. I didn’t realise. Perhaps Miss Fox might be able to-”
“We’ve spoken with Miss Fox already,” you interrupt, holding up a hand to silence the doctor, “It’s difficult to explain, Doctor Malone, but I think there’s a bigger problem here. Barbeau’s disappearance is just the culmination of something far greater. If we can’t get to the root of the problem, we may never be able to bring him back. So. We came here to ask you if you know of any reason why this might be happening.”
Malone tugs at his beard as he thinks. Except, he’s not actually thinking – he’s stalling for time. “There may be something,” he offers at last, though the words come with great reluctance, “Master Barbeau and his wife had been trying for a child for a number of years. Eventually, they were granted their wish. Only…”
He lapses into a pained silence, all the light and warmth seeming to drain from the room.
[1]
