Trent: “Exactly. The guys at the top are ready to pull their hair out. Whatever Rigel was, it’s plausible that someone out there is gathering up the people who could restart it. That’s pretty much where it stands right now.”

One of the two men exhaled. Even in the rough recording, Sam could hear a shudder in the breath.

Trent: “If there’s anything you know about Pierce or Coleman, any rumor, anything at all, I need to hear it now.”

A long silence drew out. Sam waited for the recording to cut off; there must be some point at which the machine would have stopped itself, if it weren’t picking up any sound.

But then came another sigh, this one quick and sharp.

Dani’s father: “I can’t think of a thing.”

Trent: “Alright. If you do hear something—”

Dani’s father: “I’ll come straight to see you.”

Trent: “Good enough.”

The chair scraped again. Footsteps scuffed on tile. A door opened and shut.

A much longer silence set in, and after ten seconds Sam heard a click: that portion of the recording had come to its end.

The tape continued to turn, apparently playing whatever the machine had happened to record later on—the next thing that had triggered it to start taping.

It didn’t sound like anything important. Just someone tapping away at a keyboard—an electric typewriter or a computer.

Sam glanced up from the recorder and saw Dani standing at her dresser. She was staring idly at the framed pictures—especially the third one showing herself and Lauren.

“I already listened to the rest of the tape,” Dani said. “It’s just ten minutes of random office noises, off and on all day. Most of the tapes come out like that.”

She finally turned from the dresser and met Sam’s eyes.

“Can you describe what you just heard?” she said. “I just want to hear someone else say it. So I know I’m not going crazy.”

Sam nodded. He went back over it for a moment, in his head, and then began:

“Somebody else is missing,” he said. “Someone named Coleman. It sounds like he just disappeared in the past few days. He had a connection to Pierce: an old project called Rigel … and Rigel sounds scary as hell. The government shut it down, because Pierce asked them to, and now … people in charge around here are worried someone is trying to start it up again. Someone who could have kidnapped Pierce and Coleman to find out what they know.”

He tried to think of anything more, but finally just shook his head. “That’s it.”

Dani nodded. “That’s what I heard, too,” she said, and all at once her voice cracked. She didn’t cry, but she was on the brink. Her eyes looked a little redder than they had a moment before.