Suddenly, Pete's cell rang. He handed the Farnsworth to Myka before walking out of the picture, putting the phone to his ear as he did so.
"So, what are we going to do about this, interrogate him?" Asked Myka.
"I'm not sure. We need to handle this with caution, that's for sure. We aren't sure how involved he is, or why," replied Artie.
Then Pete raced back into view on the screen shouting "Myka, quick, we need to get back to the lab!"
Myka was quick to respond with a "Pete, what's wrong?" While Artie said a similar "what's the matter?"
"That was Preston on the phone, he said that he just arrived at the lab to supervise over the tests, and the artifact was gone!"
"What!" Yelled Artie. "Get over there now! Call me with updates!" He switched off the communications device, and leaned back in his chair. "This case seems to be blowing up in our faces, we need to get on the ball." He sighed, and yelled for Claudia, who came clattering into the room.
"What's up, Artie?"
I need you to jump on the computer and pull up the security videos for the police forensics lab in Bellevue, Washington."
"Sure thing, Geezer. What am I looking for?"
"Any entrance to the lab today. Look for suspicious activity around the cube, see if you can find when it disappeared, and who was near it."
"It disappeared?"
"Yeah, just recently. Get to work."

Pete and Myka raced back to the lab, and skidded to a stop. They jumped out of the car and ran over to the doors. When they got in, they saw Preston talking to Terrence, his back to them. When he heard the doors, he turned. "Ah, agents. This is quite a setback."
"It is. Mind if we ask you a couple questions?"
"Sure thing. Terrence, I'll talk to you in a few minutes." He then led Pete and Myka out of the room, and into another with some chairs. They sat down around the table, and Myka started out the conversation with; "What time did you realize it was missing?"
He responded, "right before I called, why would I wait?"
"Are you who you say you are?" Interjected Pete.
Preston looked surprised, and said; "of course I am. Look, agents, I know you are assigned to this case, but you cannot make assumptions. Right before I went in, I saw Terrence enter, then exit just a moment later. There was no reason for him to be in the lab at that time. Maybe you should question him."
Terrence had seemed a bit suspicious at first, Pete thought, so questioning him might be worthwhile. "He's right. Myka, lets go talk to our friend Terrence." Pete and Myka got up, and walked out of the room. Preston smirked to himself as he watched them leave.

Walking down the hall towards the lobby area, Myka said; "Pete, why check out Terrence? We already know that Preston was in on the case before."
"I thought he was suspicious. Why would he bring the cube in for testing? As far as they knew, it was nothing special. The victim could have been holding a pen when he died."
"Interesting point. I see where you are going with this. You think that he knows something that he isn't saying."
"Correct. Lets see if we can validate it."

Once they arrived in the lobby, they saw Terrence sitting on one of the couches in the corner. He seemed... depressed, Myka thought. Odd, if he was the thief.
"Terrence, would we be able to talk to you real fast?" Asked Pete. Terrence, responding with an affirmation, motioned for them to sit down. "Thanks. First off, we wanted to know why, specifically, you brought the cube in for testing. As far as we can tell, to you it is only some random object the victim was holding in his hand at the time of death."
"Well, yes. In a way, it is just some random object. However, I had, have, a theory."
"And that theory is..?"
"Well, I think that this cube is one of the mysterious objects that have been disappearing. I wanted to find out what, if any, properties it had."
Silence.
Pete and Myka were thinking the same thing; 'is our operation really that obvious?'
Opening her mouth, Myka said; "Did you find anything?"
"Well, yes. I was testing for chemicals by burning some of the outer layer off, when the cube started to steam. It did not burn at all, but let off this steam for quite a few minutes. When I took away the burner, it began to slowly lessen in the amount it was expelling."
"It sounds almost as if it was coming to a boil..."
"Yes, that was my thought as well. It was odd, because there did not seem to be a source, or any means of storage, unless it is somehow compressing it into the middle."
"Could it have drawn it in from the surrounding air?"
"Doubtful. The room has a dry atmosphere, and there was no liquid in the sink there."
"That is interesting, but do you know who or what caused the disappearance?"
"I think the only possibility was Preston, because just as I was leaving the lab earlier, I passed him entering. He was the last one I saw enter before the cube was reported missing."
"You said you were leaving," Pete responded. "Is it possible that you were not in a position to see someone entering?"
"Well... Yes. I left to get some coffee and go to the bathroom, so I was away from the lab long enough to miss another person going in after Preston."
"Do you know if there was anyone else working on the cube?" Myka asked.
"Besides lab assistants, no," Terrence answered.
"There is a card scanner that is used to gain access to the lab, correct?" Pete asked.
"Yes. You might be able to check that. It should have a log of who entered and exited the lab, as well as times for both. You'll have to get permission from the department to access those files though."
"Alright. That shouldn't be a problem. Thanks Terrence." Pete and Myka stood up, gathering their things. They left the room, heading toward the front desk area. Terrence smirked to himself as they left.

So... another chapter. Hope it wasn't to terrible. Took me long enough though, huh? I am (obviously) a slow writer. Don't expect any chapters in the immediate future, I am going to be pretty busy for the next few weeks. I'll write if I can find the time. Thanks for your understanding.
R&R please, it is very much appreciated.