Cliff

Chapter 6 -- Tom and Sally Search Bob's Office

It was quiet as usual on Sunday morning in the coffee house. The place is barely open that day, and then just for coffee and rolls.

"The condolence notes are written, Tom, thanks awfully for the help composing them", Sally spoke sarcasticly.

"Sorry about that. I'm not a social creature. I write poems, sometimes stories which no one reads. I don't write notes to strangers explaining the unexplainable sudden death of their friend and possibly their relative."

Sally passed the latest handwritten one over to Tom. .BLOCKQUOTE "We regret very much to inform you of the untimely death of Bob Smith. He died on Thursday, September 10, apparently as the result of an accidental fall from a cliff overlooking the sea onto the rocks below.

He was my good friend, and I will miss him very much. If you wish more information, please get in touch with me and I will be pleased to send you all the information we have.

Again, my heartfelt condolences on your loss of a loved one in such a sudden, tragic way.

(Signed) Sally McDougal " .BLOCKQUOTE END "All it says is that he fell off a cliff. It sounds totally inadequate, but I haven't got any experience in these matters either. I made a list of all the names I found in Bob's stuff. Do you have any to add?"

"I didn't know any of Bob's friends. I never met him until we came here, and never knew any of his friends from the main campus or his undergraduate days."

"Funny thing, Tom, I went through every scrap of paper I could find in Bob's place looking for this list of names, and never saw anything about his research, except for some scraps in an old notebook. What was he doing for a theses?"

"Something about fish. I don't know. I'm a poet, not a scientist. I couldn't have even pronounced his topic, much less remember it. It was surely about fish, maybe. But he was working on something, I know that."

"Thanks, maybe. Where is it all? There's nothing that looks remotely like research. There are some class notes, but nothing recent. Nothing for any classes taken here, for instance. They are all dated last year, before he came to the research station.

Wait a minute. Bob must have had an office. We all do, of sorts. As for me, I don't go there much--working out of my apartment is easier for me. But maybe Bob did. Tom, we need to go to his office."

"OK, I'm sorry, Tom, again. It isn't your fault. I just wish and wish that none of this was happening. It just seems so impossible, unreal. He ought to walk up and sit down with us any second."

"I know how you feel. I guess it'll just take some more time. Do you still want to go to his office now?"

"Yeah, lets go. I need you to help me make up a good story if we get caught doing it."

"We're not doing anything wrong. It only feels that way. Bob isn't going to ask us why we're there without his permission."

Tom was right, and there wasn't anything else to say, so we went silent- ly across the campus to the graduate student offices. Bob shared an office with a Japanese student. They weren't friends, but seemed to get along all right. The office was empty when they arrived. Sally opened the door with her own office key.

"They found that while the Japanese scientist-to-be used his office, Bob hadn't. His side was empty. Nothing in the desk, nothing on the shelf, nothing on the walls, nothing personal, and nothing professional. They weren't alone for long. A taller than average oriental was standing in the doorway when they looked up."

"My name is Iku", he said, "short for a completely unpronounceable name that I use only in Japan." He seemed curious, but friendly.

"I'm Sally and this is Tom." Sally said, "We're friends of Bob Smith, the grad student who died in accident."

"Yes, very sad. You are here to clean out his papers for his family?"

"Sort of, but someone else got here first, it seems."

"Yes. Bob had some books there on the shelf, from the library. He also had some notebooks and some things on his desk. They were here on Friday."

"Perhaps the dean has already cleaned out his office."

"He could have waited for the body to cool off first. Office space is tight, but this is ridiculous."

"I, also, think that it was done very soon, and without, perhaps, proper notice," the Japanese said carefully.

Tom put in, "Wonder where the stuff went? His relations, I suppose."

"I'm sure going to make an appointment to ask his royal dean-ness what he did with the stuff starting tomorrow morning when his secretary arrives," Sally said with some irritation.

They left. There was absolutely nothing more to see in the office.