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rang four times, an answering machine kicked on and a pleasant female voice said, "You have reached the office of Mars Investigative Services. Mr. Mars and his associates are out of the office at the moment, but if you have a message, you may leave it at the sound of the beep." |
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Jack put the phone back and returned. He put the gun into his pocket and reached down to help Mars to his feet. "I'm sorry about this." |
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The man got up, brushing himself off. "I understand. In fact, you're wise to be cautious." |
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Jack still felt uneasy, even though he now believed Mars, partly because he so much needed to. It was lonely out in the cold. During the next several minutes he listened as Mars rattled off details about the Black Flag project that, to his knowledge, remained classified information. He mentioned things that only those intimate with the project could have known or passed on to him. "The missing piece is what it all has to do with Matthew Hazzard." |
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"Mr. Mars, I don't know Matthew Hazzard, at least not personally." |
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"But you know who he is." |
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He could hear that small voice telling him not to let on so much, but it was fading. "Yes." |
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Jerry Mars nodded emphatically. "Good." And then as if to reassure Jack, Mars went on, "His father is an English professor and his mother is a housewife, so professionally they don't appear to have been linked with BiOmega. In fact, they seem to be innocents in all this, wouldn't you say?" |
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"Then we're back to the question of connection. Can you help us?" |
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Jack wanted to get it out, but a gnawing instinct still held him back. |
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Jerry Mars, sensing his conflict, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a newspaper clipping that he handed to Jack. It was a photo from the Middlesex Ledger of the year's Devil Dogs Little League team. Jerry pointed to Matthew in the lineup. "He plays second base and I hear he's very good." |
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Jack looked at the picture. "I think he's been infected with the |
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