“Ahh yes, you wanted answers about your old boss being arrested, didn’t you?”
“Did I tell you about that?”
“Frankie did.” Noah picked a leaf off a nearby plant and twirled it in his fingers. “What sort of work were you doing with him, anyway?”
“We were… it’s complicated.”
Noah frowned. “I’m not stupid. Try me.”
“No, it’s not that, it’s—” Zeke broke off. Becca was beelining towards them.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything, keeping the rest of them out of trouble,” said Noah, nodding at Becca as he slipped past her.
Zeke jumped up to greet Becca. Although she was only a decade older than him, she seemed to have aged dramatically in the last few months—deep frown lines had etched themselves into her forehead.
“Zeke. I’m sorry about not picking up a few weeks ago. I didn’t know who would be listening.” Her eyes glanced down at his wristband. She pointed at it and cocked her head to one side.
“I don’t think it records audio unless I’m on a call,” he said, but powered it down regardless.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. How have you been? Are they treating you okay?” Becca reached across the table to touch his arm.
“It’s been… an experience. Let’s just say I was a lot more useful at Oakfield.”
Becca’s expression turned sympathetic. “I miss Oakfield too. I was going to apply for other lab jobs, but Ben has gone back to work now while I’m on toddler duty. Speaking of, I only have ten minutes or so with you. Ben is in the car with Poppy. It’s way past her bedtime now.”
Disappointment shot through him like a knife. He hadn’t known how much he needed to see someone from his old life until this moment. “Okay, let’s jump straight to it, then. What the fuck happened, Becca?”
He thought back to the day two weeks before the military carted him away in the middle of the night. He’d arrived at Oakfield to find the gate locked, with Becca, Oliver and a handful of other staff standing in the rain, shivering. Eventually, when Doctor Harding—or any of the admin team—failed to pick up any of their calls, they all headed home.
“You know the police arrested him, right?”
“Yes, but whatfor?” His impatience spilled out of him; he’d asked himself this question every day for the last two months.
“The charges against him…” Becca began, then trailed off. “I’m not supposed to know this yet, because they’re still building the case. The police came to talk to you that first night he disappeared, right?”
He nodded. “They didn’t tell me he’d been arrested though. I only found that out the night I was conscripted. That first night, they just asked loads of random questions. I couldn’t answer most of them.”
“They came to me, too. But then, a month ago, I was called back in—probably because I was a senior supervisor—and they asked a bunch more questions. They had some serious concerns about things going on behind closed doors.”
“What do you mean? Just say it!”
“They arrested him for experimenting on children.”
He stared at her. There was no way that was true. He hadn’t seen Doctor Harding with any children in all the years he’d been there.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. At Becca’s emotionless expression, he let out a nervous laugh. “That’s great though—they’ll find out that he’s innocent and release him, right? We can go back there.”
Becca switched on the voice she often used when she wanted him to listen to her carefully. “I know this is difficult to hear, Zeke. You and Oliver always looked up to him. We all did. And that’s why I need to ask you something. It’ll stay just between us.”
“What is it?”
He shivered, but not because of the chilly breeze. Somewhere, buried deep within his mind, he knew what she was about to say.
“Did Doctor Harding ever use you as a participant?”
He pursed his lips, looking past her at the skyline view.
“Zeke?”
