“Back in his office at the R&D ... he had a shelf with die-cast model cars. And ... a rocket. And ... an orbiter, I mean a space shuttle.” Her knees grew weak. “This is it. We’re onto something.”
He frowned.
She sagged. “You aren’t tracking with me, are you?”
“I mean ... you could be right, and I hope you are. It’s almost time for our appointment at the archives, so let’s head that way,” he said.
“Cole,” she said. “His repair shop was the R&D. What does that mean to you?”
He hitched a half grin. “Okay. I’ll give you that. R&D means research and development.”
“Exactly. Going through the museum like this helped just like I thought it would.” Jo was finally getting it. “It helped me to see things about Pop. Little things here and there. Now I can attach a deeper meaning to them, and they fit well into this aerospace backdrop.”
As she followed Cole to the archive entrance, she couldhardly believe any of this. She teetered between feeling excited and betrayed. Cole gave their name to the woman at the reception area, and she reviewed the appointments on her computer screen.
Sanders sidled up to them. “I told you I would give you privacy in the archives. I’m going to stand guard. I’ll remain here at the entrance.” Sanders leaned closer to Cole. “I’m getting a feeling and one that I don’t much like.”
Cole shared a concerned look with him. “Okay. We’ll be in the archives room.”
Well, that wasn’t much comfort. Was she really in danger here? Then again, if coming here meant they were close to learning the truth someone did not want them to discover, then she was glad for Cole’s presence and the added protection from Detective Sanders.
Inside the archives, they met with the librarian, Cindy Jaynes, a woman in her fifties with auburn hair. After Jo and Cole explained the era they were interested in researching, Cindy searched, then retrieved the microfiche. She showed them how to use the machines and offered her assistance if they needed anything more.
“We’re working hard to get the files digitized, but it’s painstaking and time-consuming. We’ll get there one day.” She smiled. “Well, I’ll let you work. I’m helping other patrons today as well. Just find me if you need me.” Cindy left them to it.
Jo sat at one microfiche machine and reviewed the aerospace information from thirty years ago. She requested a span of five years on either side of the thirty-year mark. Jo took the first few years, and Cole took the last. This was going to be exhausting.
Skimming, skimming, skimming.
Skimming while not entirely sure what she was looking for besides anything that might lead her to her father’s workin aerospace. Mason Hyde’s work, and he’d worked with Gemini. That information could be in here as well. They searched for photographs or any information regarding either of her parents. Names. Activities. Events.
It’s a start.
And could take hours or days, for which they’d need to get special permission. At the possibility of learning the truth, she was gripped by both excitement and terror.
Who were you,really,Mom?
And whoare you,Pop?
If only either of them had told her the truth. Her heart pounded, and she pressed her hand against her chest.
Just calm down.
She hadn’t found anything.
Yet.
Jo skimmed through the images of employees at an aerospace company called Resonant Solutions, responsible for rocket boosters, until her eyes grew tired and nearly crossed. An ache grew between her brows.
And ...there.
Finally. A black-and-white photograph of a man she recognized standing next to a desk, smiling for the camera. The image was part of an article on rocket engineering. What she’d been searching for.
Oh my ...“Cole.” Her whisper might have been too loud.
Cole rolled his chair back from the privacy booth next to her. She waved him over. The booths were spaced far enough apart to give privacy so that he had to roll in his chair over to her booth, then he peered closely.
“It’s him. It’s Pop,” she said. “Ransom Driscoll, just like Allison said.”
