The Doomsday Key (Sigma Force 6)

That’s where they were to meet Dr. Henry Malloy. “Ready?” Monk asked and checked his watch. They were five minutes late. “Ready for what?”

“The interview.”

“I thought you’d conduct the debriefing of the professor.”

“Nope. It’s all you, Doogie.”

Creed sighed heavily through his nose. “Fine.”

They entered the building and crossed into the atrium. A curving two-story wall of glass faced the park’s lawn. Forty-foot-tall louvers sectioned the windows and were timed to move with the sun. They cast shadows deep into the atrium, dappling across chairs and tables. Spatters of students sat and chatted, their hands permanently glued to coffee cups.

Monk searched and spotted where he was supposed to meet Dr. Malloy. It was hard to miss. “This way,” he said and led his companion across the atrium.

Off by a set of stairs rose a one-story sculpture. It looked like a half-melted conch shell. Even if not informed about it, Monk would have recognized the architectural design as Frank Gehry. The conch shell sheltered a small meeting place within its folds. A few people were already seated at a square conference table.

Monk crossed to join them. As he approached, he realized they were all too young. In his briefcase, Monk had a photograph of Dr. Malloy. The man was definitely not here.

Maybe the professor had come and gone already.

Monk stepped out of the conch and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the man’s office number. It rang and rang, then went to voice mail.

If he’s already left, and I came all this way for nothing…

Monk dialed a second number. It was for the doctor’s assistant.

A woman answered. Monk quickly explained about Dr. Malloy’s absence.

“He’s not there?” his assistant asked.

“No one here but a lot of kids who look like junior high students.”

“I know,” the woman said with a laugh. “Students just keep getting younger, don’t they? And I’m sorry, but Dr. Malloy must still be in his lab. That’s where I last saw him, and he never hears his cell phone. He can get so focused on what he’s doing that he’ll work right through a scheduled lecture. I feared as much today, so stuck around. He’s very excited about what he’s discovered.”

Monk perked up with her last words. Had the professor figured something out, something that might help the case?

“Listen,” the woman continued, “I’m just across the street in my office, finishing some work with my lab partner. There’s an underground walkway that connects my building to yours. Ask one of the students. I’ll borrow a keycard from the administrator and meet you down there. Dr. Malloy’s lab is on the basement level. I imagine he’ll want to show you the DNA assay himself.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you there.” Monk pocketed his phone and waved his briefcase at Creed. “C’mon. We’re heading directly to the guy’s lab.”

After getting directions from a coed in a very tight sweater, Monk led the way down to the basement level. The underground passageway was easy enough to find.

As they approached the tunnel entrance, a middle-aged woman waved to them from the other side. Monk waved back. She hurried over, out of breath, holding out her hand.

“Andrea Solderitch,” she introduced herself.

After the introductions, she led them down a neighboring hallway. She talked almost nonstop, plainly nervous.

“There are only a few labs down here. So it’s easy to get lost. Most everything else is storage rooms, mechanical spaces…oh, and the building’s vivarium, where they house the lab animals. The genomics department keeps its microarray facility down here to keep it ozone free. It’s right over here.”

She lifted the keycard in her hand and approached a closed door.

“The department administrator tried calling the lab,” she explained. “No answer. I’ll just pop a look inside. I’m sure he wouldn’t have left the campus.”

She waved the card and pulled the handle. As the door whooshed open, Monk immediately smelled smoke, electrical from the tang to it—and beneath it, a stench, like burned hair. He grabbed for Andrea, but he was too slow. She saw what was inside. Her face dissolved into confusion, then horror. A hand rose to cover her mouth.

Monk pulled her to the side and passed her to Creed. “Keep her here.”

He dropped his briefcase and reached to the shoulder holster inside his suit jacket. He pulled out his service pistol, a Heckler & Koch .45. The woman’s eyes widened. She turned away, pushing her face into Creed’s shoulder.

“Do you have a weapon?” Monk asked him.

“No…I thought this was just an interview.”

Monk shook his head. “Let me guess, Doogie. You were never a Boy Scout.”

Not waiting for an answer, Monk entered the lab, sweeping the blind spots. He was sure whoever had been here had come and gone, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Dr. Henry Malloy was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. His head hung to his chest. Blood pooled under the chair.

A computer station behind him was a charred ruin.

Monk glanced around. They’d disabled the smoke detectors .

He crossed to the man and checked for a pulse. Nothing. But the body was still warm. The murderers hadn’t been gone long. Monk noted the doctor’s broken fingers. He’d been tortured. Most likely for information.

The killing blow had been a knife to the chest, one strike, expertly done. From the swift death, Malloy must have talked.

Monk sniffed. The burning stench was stronger by the body. He recognized the smell of charred flesh. With a finger, he gently lifted the man’s chin. The head lolled back, revealing the source of the smell. In the center of the man’s forehead, a raw burn, still blistering at the edges, marked his flesh, all the way down to the bone.

A circle and a cross.

A ringing chime drew his attention back to the doorway. It came from a cell phone. Not wanting to contaminate the scene any further, Monk retreated to the hall.

Andrea had her cell phone to her ear. Her eyes were damp, her nose running. She sniffed as she listened. “What?” she asked, less a question than an expression of shock. “No! Why?”

She fell against the wall and slumped to the floor. The phone tumbled from her fingers. Monk dropped to a knee beside her.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Someone…” She pointed at the phone. “That was my neighbor. She heard my dogs barking, saw someone leaving my house. She went over. Door was open. They…they killed my dogs.” She covered her face with her hands. “Why didn’t I go straight home like I told Dr. Malloy?”