Chasing The Dawn (Luke Temple - Book 2) (Luke Temple Series) Read Free Page A

objectives; he occupied his mind only with achieving them. Group 9 and the European community were so interested in this disappearance because OPERA was a joint-funded project; it had investment from several areas including European governments, overseas corporate interests, universities and CERN.
    The smallest flicker of a memory played across his mind, an echo from a past life. The involuntary spasms of memory were like a stutter he had learnt to control. The Group 9 psychological therapists were not interested in helping him embrace the memories, they wanted him to push them deeper. Luke felt the same, he didn’t want them there, they belonged to someone else. He checked the electronic car clock, it was 10.02 a.m.

4.
    Beltrano sipped his coffee; it was piping hot and filled the room with a rich aroma. He was happy enough with the office space that had been allocated to him within the police station. At first the chief officer had tried to fob him off with a desk in the open-plan section of the building but Beltrano had made it crystal clear that he needed privacy. The office was basic, it contained one desk, two plastic chairs, a whiteboard that had seen better days and the obligatory small coffee machine. The space was small and stuffy, it had a window but for some inexplicable reason it had been bolted shut, and the winter heating was now stifling.
    “They have stuck us in here on purpose, we should call Rome.”
    Beltrano nodded slowly, not really listening to his subordinate. Officer Delvechi was thirty years his junior, a mountain of a man and fresh out of training.
    “Why are we even here? Hardly seems important enough to involve us, some boffin takes off, big deal.” Delvechi paced up and down.
    “Seeing as we are here, let’s see what’s going on, shall we?” Beltrano said drily.
    He flicked through some enlarged pictures of Ernesto Vittorio, not an extraordinary-looking man. His skin was a dark tanned colour, his bushy eyebrows almost met in the middle of his nose. Average height, average build. However, inside the average-looking face was a brain that was extraordinary.
    Delvechi took the spare seat opposite Beltrano, the plastic creaked under the strain. “So what have we got?”
    “I am not sure yet,” Beltrano had put down the personal photos of Vittorio and was now skimming through shots of the crime scene, a mixture of the office they had been stood in earlier and a large industrial-looking hall with metallic yellow beams and curious-looking instruments.
    “Well, I will tell you what I think, I think the old professor wasn’t making enough money from his theories and little experiments; he had reached the point in life where he realised he had spent a life in science but for what? So he stages a false break-in, steals some priceless equipment, then disappears to enjoy the profits.”
    Beltrano listened, unsure whether to laugh or contact Hollywood. “You think a man like Professor Ernesto Vittorio dedicates his whole life to scientific research because he values money?”
    Delvechi didn’t answer.
    “And please enlighten me as to what these fantastically priceless pieces of equipment are? Seeing as nothing has been reported missing.”
    Delvechi shifted awkwardly in his seat. “So you think what exactly?”
    “That we need to properly investigate.”
    Delvechi scoffed. “Some crackpot goes missing …”
    Beltrano sipped his coffee. “Have you ever heard of the so-called modern masters of the universe?”
    “Sure, they use it in reference to the large global investment banks; they have been plastered over the news for years. Apparently they are the reason the world is in so much shit financially, why?”
    “Because …” Beltrano paused for effect, “the real masters of the universe are people like him.” He threw a close-up shot of Vittorio across the desk.
    Delvechi picked up the photo and sighed. “So what do you want to do? Head back to the lab and find out exactly what he was