Read Online Resonance by Chris Dolley - Free Book Online Page B

right!" She looked around for somewhere to rest her cup and found the sideboard. Graham fought the impulse to rush over with a coaster.
    "It was a long one, can't remember it all but it went something like, Census logs checked. Can't see link but agree there must be one. Cross-reference Crime and . . ." She paused, tapping her forehead. "Medical. That was it. Crime and Medical logs. Someone wants Graham Smith dead. Possibly same person behind Resonance project closures. Graham Smith under surveillance. Wealdstone Lane house searched, nothing found. Message out. 015 blah blah blah."
    "They searched my house?"
    "Everyone's searched your house. Good guys, bad guys and dead guys. Did you see how many different types of listening devices you uncovered? Bet they weren't all planted by the same people."
    He shook his head in disbelief. "Why would the good guys want to bug my house?"
    "To find out what you know. You're the key to this big mystery of theirs. This resonance thingy. Way I see it, they're all working on these Resonance projects—some secret offshoot from ParaDim—but someone doesn't want them to succeed."
    "Who?"
    "That's what these guys are trying to find out. They don't know either. All they know is that it's gotta be someone high up in ParaDim or someone with real heavy connections. As soon as anyone gets close to an answer about this resonance wave—zap—the project gets closed down. So, lobster guy sneaks a peak at their logs and finds you. You're like the last entry in all these dead guys' diaries."
    "They're dead?"
    Annalise shrugged. "No one's said. But if they're not, why doesn't lobster guy just ask them. Way I see it, they're either dead or locked up somewhere."
    Graham felt the need to sit down. His head was swimming. How could his be the last name in the diaries of people he'd never met?
    He settled back on the arm of the sofa. Annalise scooped up her cup and bounced down into the armchair opposite.
    "But why me?" asked Graham. "I don't know anything about resonance waves or ParaDim. I've never met any scientists."
    "The dead guy thinks it must be something you know. He reckons you gotta be the key. Why else were all these people interested in you, why did it get them closed down and why's someone trying to kill you?"
    Why did it always come back to that? People want you dead. Wasn't there an Annalise with some good news?
    "And the more these guys uncover, the worse it looks for you. I've been channelling messages back and forth for three weeks now. But instead of protecting you, they're way more interested in studying you. Crazy, ain't it?"
    He couldn't disagree with that.
    Annalise set her cup down on the hearth and bounced forward onto the edge of the seat. "Which is where I come in. Lobster guy flew me over here—he works in London now and needed me close. I am the house medium, after all." She smiled. "Naturally a girl can't help being curious. I was in London, you were in London. You were like key guy and all alone.
    "So, I tracked you down. They said you lived in Wealdstone Lane. I bought an A to Z street guide. There was only one Wealdstone Lane, so how many Graham Smiths could there be? Swung by early one morning and asked the mailman. Pointed me right to you. Then it was just a matter of keeping tabs. Believe me," she smiled, "you are way easy to follow. You have a routine you could set a clock by."
    She slid back in the armchair and brought her legs up beneath her. "Then I called in the girls. They're not all here yet. But they're coming. You're gonna be the safest guy on the planet."
    Two hundred Annalises. He tried to remember how many he'd already met. And then froze. How could he have met them? They were all dead. Unless . . .
    "Are any of your Annalises from Boston?"
    "Let me see." She put her head on one side and screwed up her eyes. "Two of them are. Why?"
    "Any of them ever live at . . ." He couldn't remember the address. "Fairburn or Fairchild Street?"
    "Not as far as I know. Though