The Einstein Pursuit

27

Dial took a moment to digest the new information. A pile of cremated animals that were in perfect health before their deaths. A bunch of dead scientists who had the ability to clone. Microscopic machines that could hurt or heal at the whim of their designer.

What the hell was going on at this lab?

With several crazy theories running through his mind, he decided to shift the focus to something different. If the property owner was as famous as Toulon had claimed, then someone in the room would have heard of him. ‘Tell me about Tomas Berglund.’

In a flash, the room grew still.

No movement. No sound. No breathing.

As if the air had been sucked from the lecture hall.

Dial and Eklund exchanged glances. With decades of experience between them, they instantly knew when a question resonated with an expert or witness.

This was one of those times.

Dial repeated the name. ‘Dr Tomas Berglund … Does the name ring a bell?’

Miles, the balding microbiologist, was the first to speak. ‘What would you like to know?’

‘Let’s start with the basics. Have you heard of him?’

‘Of course we’ve heard of him.’

‘And?’

‘Berglund is brilliant. A man ahead of his time.’

‘In what way?’

Miles sat up in his chair, as if slouching while talking about Berglund would be a mortal sin. ‘There are scientists in several fields who stumbled into greatness, men and women who made incredible breakthroughs without any forethought. Fortuitous accidents, if you will.’

‘You mean like penicillin,’ Eklund said.

He was referring to the unplanned discovery of Penicillium notatum, which was made when Dr Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory after an extended absence and noticed that a culture of staphylococcus bacteria had been overrun by a strange mold. Upon closer examination, he noticed circular areas around the mold where the bacteria would not grow. He concluded that something in the mold was inhibiting, or possibly even destroying, the staphylococcus. Further studies showed that the mold was effective against bacteria while at the same time non-toxic to the host organism.

Eventually, the Penicillium notatum mold was purified and approved for medical use. The resulting drug — penicillin — had been used to treat bacterial infections since the mid 1940s.

It was the most popular antibiotic in the history of the world.

It was impossible to determine how many lives it had saved.

And it was discovered because someone forgot to put the lid on a Petri dish.

Miles approved of the reference. ‘That is the perfect example. Penicillin wasn’t a mistake, but it certainly wasn’t planned. Accidents like that happen all the time. You set out to prove one thing, and you end up making a discovery that is totally unrelated.’

‘And that’s what happened with Berglund?’

‘Not at all. In fact, that is the exact opposite of Berglund. He looks for the solutions before anyone has even identified the problems.’

‘I don’t follow,’ Eklund said.

Miles paused in thought. ‘Let’s pretend that we, as a collective group, manage to invent a revolutionary form of glass. Something that never smudges, just for the sake of argument. Well, Berglund is the type of guy who would go to his desk and pull out a notebook from a decade ago that would be filled with applicable uses for our new glass and theories about its limitations.’

Hedman chimed in with further explanation. ‘For instance, someone asks if the glass can be used in space. Well, we don’t know. We’ve never even thought about space. We were just trying to make a piece of glass that wouldn’t smudge. But Berglund — not only has he thought about space, he’s determined the issues with our new glass in sub-zero, non-atmospheric conditions, and he’s already established a treatment to correct these flaws.’

‘And he did that ten years before we even met,’ Miles stressed.

Dial nodded in understanding. ‘He’s a visionary.’

‘Yes,’ Hedman said, ‘and Picasso was just a painter.’

Dial smiled. It was a funny line. ‘What field does he work in?’

‘All of them. He’s dabbled in a variety of sciences,’ Hedman replied. ‘He has made unparalleled contributions in biology, chemistry, physics, you name it.’

Olsen rejoined the conversation. ‘Why do you want to know about Tomas?’

Hedman turned to face his host. ‘Isn’t it obvious? This was Berglund’s lab.’

Once again the air was sucked from the room.

Miles, who was clearly smitten with Berglund’s accomplishments, seemed particularly stung by the revelation. He stared at Dial and Eklund, hoping that one of them would refute Hedman’s claim, but neither did. In fact, after several awkward seconds, Eklund did the opposite.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘According to property records, Berglund owned the facility.’

Miles was visibly crushed. The others — even Hedman, who had put forth the theory in the first place — remained speechless. No one knew quite what to make of the news.

Hanna eventually broke the silence, abandoning her native Swedish and speaking in thickly accented English. ‘Is he dead?’

‘Sorry. We’re not at liberty to discuss it.’

The answer did not sit well with the matriarch of the group. She showed her anger by smacking her cane on the ground in front of her. The sound echoed through the hall. ‘Without us, where would you be? We have given you every explanation. We have walked you through the science. We have answered all of your questions. Surely you can answer one of ours.’

Eklund shook his head. ‘With all due respect, Dr Norling, you’re asking about an open, ongoing investigation. I can understand your interest, but unfortunately, I’m not in a position to provide any more details at this time.’

‘With all due respect, Special Agent Eklund, you’re not in a position to keep all the details at this time. You asked for our help, and we obliged. If Dr Berglund or any of our colleagues have been murdered in our city, we have a right to know. Otherwise, you may find yourself without the assistance of the Swedish scientific community.’

Hanna’s threat was clear. Olsen had gathered the best minds that the institute had to offer, and their continuing support was vital to the investigation. If the experts decided to withhold their participation, Eklund was certain that something would get overlooked.

He glanced at Dial, who subtly nodded his head.

Sometimes rules were meant to be broken.

Eklund cleared his throat. ‘In appreciation of your help and guidance, I can confirm that Dr Berglund has not been found at the scene.’ There was a collective sigh in the room. Miles’s face brightened with hope. ‘That does not mean he is out of danger. The building was large, and the damage was extensive. There is always a chance that we will find more bodies as we continue our examination. However, for the time being, we remain hopeful.’

‘Thank you,’ Hanna said in a warmer tone. ‘And what of the others?’

Eklund frowned. ‘I’m afraid they weren’t as fortunate.’

He opened his notebook and read two lists of names: the presumed dead and the confirmed dead. As Eklund spoke, Dial studied the reactions of the gathered scientists. What he saw was a mix of recognition, shock and horrified speculation.

Eventually Hedman said what the others were thinking. ‘Whatever they were doing, I assure you it was way bigger than you realize.’

‘What makes you say that?’ Dial asked.

‘Those names. Most of them should be running their own labs. To find them working side by side is remarkable. It would take something extraordinary to bring them all together.’

Olsen added more. ‘They represent the top percentages of their respective disciplines. Take everyone in this room and convince them all to put aside their own research and come together. Set them to work on a common goal. Your lab in Stockholm represents a similar endeavor.’

The implications of Olsen’s statement were not lost on the group. If someone had murdered such a collection of scientists — scientists who, like them, represented diverse areas of interest and, like them, were well known in their fields — what was to stop him from hunting them down next? Suddenly, their presence in the same room took on an ominous feel.

But Dial wasn’t concerned. ‘Tell me, could Berglund have brought them all together? Did he have that kind of pull?’

‘Almost certainly,’ Hedman replied. ‘Year after year he’s on the shortlist to win a Nobel Prize — the only question is the field in which he will be honored. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?’

Eklund grabbed a chair from against the wall and slid it to the front of the lecture hall. ‘Everyone get comfortable. It looks like we’re going to be here for a while.’

The group looked at him quizzically.

‘I want to know everything you can tell me about Dr Berglund. Every discovery he’s made. Every theory he’s put forth. Every rumor anyone’s ever heard about him. If someone wanted him dead, I want to know why. The same goes for any of the scientists on those lists. If you know anything that can help my case, I need to know now.’

Dial fought the urge to smile. He continued to be impressed by Eklund. It was the exact move he would have made had he been leading the investigation. He too wanted to hear more about Berglund and the other scientists.

He took a chair for himself and was about to carry it over to Eklund when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He put the chair down and glanced at the screen.

He grunted when he saw the name. It wasn’t Toulon, or anyone else from his department. Instead, it was a friend of his who rarely called to chat. In fact, their conversations almost always led to something interesting. Or life-threatening. Or both.

Dial looked at his phone again, just to make sure.

But the name hadn’t changed.