“That’s fine love, but you’ll need to turn it on. It’s in the spare room.”
Aaron picked up his glass and headed towards the spare room. He sensed Dad’s presence. Aaron swallowed hard. He had many regrets about his relationship with his dad. Over the last few years, he’d started seeing and thinking of Dad as a person and not a parent, but for most of that time Aaron had been away. Maybe that enabled the transition to take place in his mind. Now Dad was gone, and gone forever. Aaron swallowed hard again. If any misadventure was the cause of his dad’s death, Aaron planned on finding out.
He found the computer and turned it on. He stared at the lemon in the glass, as he waited for the computer to load up. Once loaded, he googled the Internet for news items on the building fire.
A hi-tech company used the building. It was reported that an explosion had occurred in a secure room and seemed to be limited to that room. A security guard patrolling the premises raised the fire alarm. A photo of the guard—with well-maintained goatee and moustache—came with the news item. Apparently, he heard an explosion as he drove in to the parking lot. As there were no cars in the parking lot, he didn’t realise that people were in the building. The two workers either caught public transport or rode bikes to work.
Aaron still pondered why Dad was in the vicinity. How did he loose a finger? Would this security guard know anything?
<°)))><
It was early on Sunday morning, and a clear sunny day. Mum had decided not to go to church today. She told Aaron that she wanted to spend some grieving time at home, alone with God. She was happy for Aaron to borrow the car and meet with one of the police officers.
Aaron sat on the bonnet of the Holden Cruze as he waited, watching a flock of parrots come up from the trees below the technology car park and fly over him. He followed their flight path and caught a glimpse of a plane in the sky. It reminded him that he needed to book his flight back to the base. His compassionate leave expired in a few days.
He was fortunate enough to be able to meet with the officer in charge of the investigation. The officer said he didn’t normally work on the Sabbath but had no choice at the moment with his workload. But he was happy to catch up with Aaron. They agreed to meet at the incident site as the officer was glad to be able to get away from the paperwork that he was engulfed in.
A car pulled up.
Aaron turned to look at the car. It was not the investigating officer, but the people who’d visited yesterday. Aaron watched them get out of the car and start walking towards the crosses. The old man saw Aaron and hurried back to his car. He got something out of the car and brought it over to Aaron. It was a manila folder.
“You know man that died over there?” he said pointing to where Aaron’s dad’s body had laid.
Aaron nodded.
“Please take. It is writing my son had in his bedroom. I cannot read. Please you read.” He looked behind Aaron. “Please hide. Police I do not trust.”
Aaron turned to see a car coming towards them. He wondered how the man knew the unmarked car belonged to a police officer. Aaron nodded to the man, realising the man’s distrust of the police was probably a cultural thing. Aaron placed the folder on the floor and tucked it up under the seat. He closed the door and watched the man walk down to his wife. Aaron looked over to the unmarked police car.
It was parked in a shady spot, and the officer was heading towards Aaron. He was dressed more casually today, in jeans and a red and blue polo top.
“Hello, Aaron.”
“Hello, Officer Olsen.”
They shook hands, and the officer once again offered his condolences. They walked over to the scene of the incident. “This is where your father’s body was found.” He turned towards the building. “You can see a couple of CCTV cameras on the roof of the building.”
Aaron nodded.
“We’ve reviewed the footage of the relevant camera and, I’m sorry to say, it hasn’t helped us. Your dad’s incident happened right on the edge of the camera range. It was like your father fell into the camera range, so we could not ascertain what caused the fall.”
“I assume there were no witnesses?”
“None have come forward. Do you have any idea what your father was doing here? Our background checks indicate he wouldn’t normally visit this business park. We also checked his phone and there weren’t any calls regarding meetings or anything.”
“I agree. It’s not the type of place I would expect to see my dad, unless he had some business with whatever goes on in that building.”
“That’s a Department of Urban Movement research facility. We have checked with them, and they have no record of any dealings with your father.”
Aaron looked over at the building and noticed a sign outside the main entrance. He might take a closer look at that later.
“I noticed you were talking to one of the parents who lost their sons?”
“I was. I met them the other day.”
“You are aware there was a fire incident a couple of days after your father’s accident? They believe the fire wasn’t an accident. But they’re unable to substantiate their claims—they have given us no evidence to why they think it was not an accident. We’re going to wait for the Fire Investigation Unit’s report and then take it from there. Can you see any connection between your father’s death and the fire?”
Aaron shook his head. “Not really. Is it just a coincidence? I have no idea.”
“The autopsy report indicates your father had a finger missing yet your mother indicates that wasn’t so. We’ve double-checked with the coroner and that’s definitely the case. Are you able to confirm this?”
“Well, a missing finger would be obvious if you have been married to someone for close to thirty years. And it’s something I would have noticed growing up in the same household.”
“Yes, I agree. Sorry, but I do need to ask these things. You mentioned when we met the other day that you’re in the army. Where are you based?”
“Townsville.”
A car started up, and the two men turned to see the grieving parents slowly drive off.
“Give me the best number to contact you on and I’ll let you know if something crops up. At this stage though, the fire could just be a coincidence and maybe we are just looking at a tragic accident but my job is to confirm that. Here’s my card if you need to contact me.”
Aaron took the card. “I understand, and thank you for meeting with me, Officer Olsen.”
Aaron stood next to his mum’s car and watched him drive off. He appreciated what they did. He opened the door and reached under the seat and grabbed the folder. Opening it, he found a piece of paper and a printed picture. The picture looked like a shot from a black–and-white zombie movie. He put the picture to one side to look at later, and started reading the notes in the hope they would make things clearer.
We have seen evil things. Things not of this world. Yet we continue to progress this technology.
Who was writing this? What were they talking about?
