“What the hell!” Laurie complained. She slammed the insulated door. And just to be sure there wasn’t some stupid logistic error, she opened up all the neighboring compartments one after the other. In those which contained bodies, she checked the names and accession numbers. But it soon became obvious: Carlo Franconi was not among them.

“I don’t believe this,” Laurie said with angry frustration. “The damn body is gone!”

A smile had appeared on Jack’s face from the moment compartment one eleven had proved to be empty. Now, facing Laurie’s exasperated frown, he couldn’t help himself. He laughed heartily. Unfortunately his laughter further piqued Laurie.

“I’m sorry,” Jack managed. “My intuition told me this case was going to give you a bureaucratic headache. I was wrong. It’s going to give the bureaucracy a headache.”

CHAPTER 2

March 4, 1997

1:30 P.M.

Cogo, Equatorial Guinea

Kevin Marshall put down his pencil and looked out the window above his desk. In contrast to his inner turmoil, the weather outside was rather pleasant with the first patches of blue sky that Kevin had seen for months. The dry season had finally begun. Of course it wasn’t dry; it just didn’t rain nearly as much as during the wet season. The downside was that the more consistent sun made the temperature soar to ovenlike levels. At the moment it hovered at one hundred and fifteen degrees in the shade.

Kevin had not worked well that morning nor had he slept during the night. The anxiety he’d felt the previous day at the commencement of the surgery had not abated. In fact, it had gotten worse, especially after the unexpected call from the GenSys CEO, Taylor Cabot. Kevin had only spoken with the man on one previous occasion. Most people in the company equated the experience with talking with God.

Adding to Kevin’s unease was seeing another wisp of smoke snaking its way up into the sky from Isla Francesca. He’d noticed it when he’d first arrived at the lab that morning. As near as he could tell it was coming from the same location as the day before: the sheer side of the limestone escarpment. The fact that the smoke was no longer apparent failed to comfort him.

Giving up on any attempt at further work, Kevin peeled off his white lab coat and draped it over his chair. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he knew his housekeeper, Esmeralda, would have made lunch, so he felt obliged to make an appearance.

Kevin descended the three flights of stairs in a preoccupied daze. Several co-workers passed him and said hello, but it was as if Kevin did not see them. He was too preoccupied. In the last twenty-four hours he’d come to realize that he would have to take action. The problem wasn’t going to pass as he’d hoped it would a week previously when he’d first glimpsed the smoke.

Unfortunately, he had no idea what to do. He knew he was no hero; in fact, over the years he’d come to think of himself as a coward of sorts. He hated confrontation and avoided it. As a boy, he had even shunned competition except for chess. He’d grown up pretty much a loner.