labelled with codes I didn’t understand. In the freezer compartment, I found a foot-long tube of ice wrapped in a plastic bag with a reference number scrawled on it in black marker.
I supposed the lab would have to be cleared out, ready for the next occupant. At least it was something to do. I found some boxes and started to lay them out on the floor.
‘This is bullshit.’
I jumped; I hadn’t heard her come in. Greta shut the door behind her, though there was hardly room for both of us with the boxes. She looked furious.
‘I thought … if anyone should do it, it should be me,’ I said weakly.
‘Quam wants to cover it up,’ she announced.
‘Cover what up?’
‘Martin’s death.’
I didn’t understand. ‘How could he do that?’
‘Because he’s scared. He’s base commander, it’s his responsibility. Hagger should have had a buddy with him.’
It seemed tough to blame Quam because Annabel and Hagger had broken the rules. ‘Hagger’s an internationally renowned scientist,’ I said. ‘Quam can’t pretend it didn’t happen.’
‘He’ll say it was an accident.’
‘It
was
an accident.’
Greta gave me one of her impenetrable looks. ‘Now you sound like Quam.’
I sat down on Hagger’s stool. I was still short on sleep; my head hurt. ‘Can you … explain?’
‘Martin didn’t walk into that crevasse by accident. He knew it was there. He’d rigged the ropes.’
‘He could have tripped.’
‘He was lying on his back.’
‘Maybe the ice broke.’
‘And where was his gun?’
I shook my head. ‘I didn’t see it.’
‘At the bottom of the hole. Not slung on his back. He must have been holding it when he fell.’
Suddenly, everything fell into place. ‘A polar bear. That’s why he had the gun out. The bear advanced, Martin stepped back – and fell into the crevasse.’
Greta’s face hardened. ‘That’s Quam’s theory.’
‘What’s wrong with it?’
‘There was no bear.’
‘How do you know?’
‘No tracks.’
‘Are you sure? They’d be easy to miss.’ I picked up a glass pipette from the counter and turned it over in my fingers. ‘Everything was such a panic.’ Not, I had to admit, that she’d been panicking.
‘The first thing you look for on Utgard is bear tracks. Every time you go out, every time you stop. There were no tracks.’
‘So what do you think happened?’
She looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
‘Someone pushed him.’
Eight
Anderson
The pipette snapped in my hand. Broken glass scattered on the floor. Blood welled out of the cut that had opened on my finger.
‘
Shit
.’
I grabbed a wad of paper from the roll near the sink and pressed it to the cut. Blood soaked it almost at once.
‘You should see Doc,’ said Greta.
I threw the paper away and got a fresh piece. ‘It’s … insane. There’s no evidence.’
Greta’s look made me forget about the cut for a moment.
‘You’re the scientist,’ she said as she walked out the door.
‘Wait,’ I said. But she didn’t.
I climbed down from the stool and tried to sweep up the broken glass one-handed. I couldn’t find a dustpan: I had to use a piece of cardboard, trying not to step on the tiny fragments in my socks.
I paused to rearrange the tissue on my finger, and a bead of blood spattered on the floor. I stared at the Rorschach blot it made, wondering what it meant.
I didn’t know anything about Greta. She seemed pretty hard-headed, but that didn’t make her infallible. She’d taken a set of facts, from a confused and horrible situation, and made a leap that couldn’t possibly stand up. In the jargon, she’d confused correlation with causality. Probably because she hated Quam.
Though I didn’t have a better explanation. I didn’t even know why Hagger had brought me there. I glanced over at the counter where his notebooks had stood. They hadn’t come back.
The door opened. To my surprise, it was Greta again.
‘I’m going to get the
I supposed the lab would have to be cleared out, ready for the next occupant. At least it was something to do. I found some boxes and started to lay them out on the floor.
‘This is bullshit.’
I jumped; I hadn’t heard her come in. Greta shut the door behind her, though there was hardly room for both of us with the boxes. She looked furious.
‘I thought … if anyone should do it, it should be me,’ I said weakly.
‘Quam wants to cover it up,’ she announced.
‘Cover what up?’
‘Martin’s death.’
I didn’t understand. ‘How could he do that?’
‘Because he’s scared. He’s base commander, it’s his responsibility. Hagger should have had a buddy with him.’
It seemed tough to blame Quam because Annabel and Hagger had broken the rules. ‘Hagger’s an internationally renowned scientist,’ I said. ‘Quam can’t pretend it didn’t happen.’
‘He’ll say it was an accident.’
‘It
was
an accident.’
Greta gave me one of her impenetrable looks. ‘Now you sound like Quam.’
I sat down on Hagger’s stool. I was still short on sleep; my head hurt. ‘Can you … explain?’
‘Martin didn’t walk into that crevasse by accident. He knew it was there. He’d rigged the ropes.’
‘He could have tripped.’
‘He was lying on his back.’
‘Maybe the ice broke.’
‘And where was his gun?’
I shook my head. ‘I didn’t see it.’
‘At the bottom of the hole. Not slung on his back. He must have been holding it when he fell.’
Suddenly, everything fell into place. ‘A polar bear. That’s why he had the gun out. The bear advanced, Martin stepped back – and fell into the crevasse.’
Greta’s face hardened. ‘That’s Quam’s theory.’
‘What’s wrong with it?’
‘There was no bear.’
‘How do you know?’
‘No tracks.’
‘Are you sure? They’d be easy to miss.’ I picked up a glass pipette from the counter and turned it over in my fingers. ‘Everything was such a panic.’ Not, I had to admit, that she’d been panicking.
‘The first thing you look for on Utgard is bear tracks. Every time you go out, every time you stop. There were no tracks.’
‘So what do you think happened?’
She looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
‘Someone pushed him.’
Eight
Anderson
The pipette snapped in my hand. Broken glass scattered on the floor. Blood welled out of the cut that had opened on my finger.
‘
Shit
.’
I grabbed a wad of paper from the roll near the sink and pressed it to the cut. Blood soaked it almost at once.
‘You should see Doc,’ said Greta.
I threw the paper away and got a fresh piece. ‘It’s … insane. There’s no evidence.’
Greta’s look made me forget about the cut for a moment.
‘You’re the scientist,’ she said as she walked out the door.
‘Wait,’ I said. But she didn’t.
I climbed down from the stool and tried to sweep up the broken glass one-handed. I couldn’t find a dustpan: I had to use a piece of cardboard, trying not to step on the tiny fragments in my socks.
I paused to rearrange the tissue on my finger, and a bead of blood spattered on the floor. I stared at the Rorschach blot it made, wondering what it meant.
I didn’t know anything about Greta. She seemed pretty hard-headed, but that didn’t make her infallible. She’d taken a set of facts, from a confused and horrible situation, and made a leap that couldn’t possibly stand up. In the jargon, she’d confused correlation with causality. Probably because she hated Quam.
Though I didn’t have a better explanation. I didn’t even know why Hagger had brought me there. I glanced over at the counter where his notebooks had stood. They hadn’t come back.
The door opened. To my surprise, it was Greta again.
‘I’m going to get the
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