Chapter Four

"Doctor Hatch, if you're not gone - and I mean gone - in thirty seconds, I am calling the NSB, the FBI and the State Police," Jaime bluffed with a lot more courage and firmness than she actually felt.

"So they can shoot you on sight? I highly doubt it. Believe it or not, I've been looking for you for nearly 24 hours straight, and I'm here to help you, Child."

"You're right; I don't believe you. Leave now, or I'll destroy you myself. You saw me in that safe, and you know what I can do."

"Miss Sommers, I'm truly sorry for what they've done to you -"

"They? You did this, Hatch! Because of you, I got put in The Hole, and so help me, I'll put you in a hole in the ground if you don't -"

"I need your help," Hatch said flatly, "and I know you need mine."

"I wouldn't trust you to help me if I was dying of thirst and you had the last canteen on Earth."

"I believe the papers you need to clear your name still exist, and I'd like to help you find them." Hatch could see she was beyond skeptical. "Think about it: the only way I could get out of that safe alive was by giving you the file you needed. With less than a minute left, do you really think I'd give you the wrong file on purpose?"

"If you didn't do this, who did?" Jaime demanded.

"Naud. And I know how and why. I'll tell you all of it, and help you any way I can, but I'd rather not talk on the front stoop."

Jaime sighed. "I'll have my sanity checked when I get back, but I think I believe you," she told him, very reluctantly holding the door open. She flopped into what had become 'her' chair, frowning at Hatch, with her arms crossed stubbornly in front of her. "I'm listening."

"When I began testing my completed decoder, about six months ago, it did everything it was supposed to do. Through an entire month's worth of testing, no problems whatsoever. One morning, I went in and found I suddenly had a cold, dead lump of nothing. Strangest part of that was that for weeks, Naud was so scarce I almost hired a new man, but that morning, he was right there, at my shoulder, following my every move and asking questions every second."

"Meaning...what?" Jaime asked.

"Naud learned when I did that the decoder was junk. He suggested the courier plan - for which I can't apologize enough to you - as a way to dispose of the supposed mistake. It took that file I gave you being a load of crap for me to realize Naud knew all along that we would find a useless metal lump, because he put it there." Hatch shook his head in anger at Naud and at his own gullibility. "He stole the real decoder, sold it for nearly twice that much, kept all the money himself, then substituted a piece of phony junk and profited from that, as well. Then he put gibberish into the file that had held the proof of my earlier success and took those papers, as well as any that incriminated him, and kept them."

"Interesting theory," Jaime allowed. "Why should I believe it?"

"Because he admitted it to me yesterday morning, right after they took you away."

Jaime was stunned. "He - what?"

"He disappeared from the lab before I could talk to him - probably knew I'd figure it out eventually. His mistake was to call me later; I believe to fish around and see what I might know."

"What happened?"

"I confronted him with it - all of it - including the fact that he'd had Ted and Milly killed. He became furious, screaming into the phone, telling me I shouldn't have been so nosy, should've just let it be, taken my share and gone away."

"You said you needed my help?" Jaime reminded him. "You need protection from Naud, am I right?"

"No." Doctor Hatch was sad but resolute. "Miss Sommers, there's no escaping the fact that I'm a dead man. Even if I succeeded in putting him away, he'll have me killed. It's only a matter of when. What I want, before that happens, is to make amends for what happened to you. When I leave here, I'm going to meet with Naud, at his request - supposedly to 'talk' - but we both know that's not what he wants."

"He'll...kill you."

"Yes, I know that. The way I see it, I'll be getting it over with. Won't have to be always waiting and wondering when the bullet is coming. At least this way some good can come out of it."

"I don't understand -"

"While Naud is distracted by having to deal with me in the lab," Hatch explained, "you'll have entered his office, from the outside window. I'm assuming you can make it up three stories?"

"Yes."

"His center desk drawer has a false bottom. It's triple-locked, but I doubt that'll be a problem for you, either. I'd bet my life that's where he put that file."

"You are betting your life," Jaime pointed out. "I don't think you -"

"Either way, whether you're with me or not, I'll be seeing him as soon as I leave here. If you'd like to clear your name, here's your chance, Child."

Jaime nodded. Of course, she'd go with him. Then another thought crossed her mind that turned her blood ice-cold and nearly stopped her heart. Steve.

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