Page 127 of The Bone Code

“Ella was nine or ten. An absolutely precious little girl. The baby was just a toddler.”

“The baby’s name?”

“Oh, my. I only met the little ones a couple of times. But Mélanie talked about them a lot, so I should remember.”

I was actually holding my breath.

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“It’s OK. Do you know who the father was?”

“Mélanie never said. But I think he was American.”

“Why?”

“Because Mélanie was American. And Dr. Murray knows that.” The last added with a vehement finger jab to the table.

“Is that why you say he lied?”

“That’s part of it.” Eisenberg seemed to draw inward, perhaps returning to another time in her mind.

“Go on,” I urged gently.

“Oh, dear. I hope this won’t get back. I just can’t lose my job. Most companies want young people with lots of tech skills these days.”

“We won’t let that happen.” An impossible promise?

“Dr. Murray really rode Mélanie hard. Not at first but later.”

“How?”

“He was always harassing her. Not sexually. Don’t take me wrong.”Again, the pale cheeks flamed. “Just saying mean things, criticizing her. Being finicky, you know.”

“More so than with the other techs?”

“Seemed that way to us.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe because she spoke French and he couldn’t. She studied it in college, you know. Maybe because Dr. Murray is a maniac when it comes to work.”

I floated a brow.

“I’ve never been in the building when he wasn’t there. Well, practically never. And talk about micromanaging. He’s everywhere. The R-and-D labs. The manufacturing line. The business office. The shipping dock. And I’m talking all hours of the day and night.”

“He works long hours?”

“When the company first moved to Laval, I had to put in a lot of overtime migrating data from the old system to the new one. I frequently stayed very late. Dr. Murray was often there. After Mélanie left, he wasalwaysthere.”

“Do you think Mélanie was fired for not working enthusiastically enough? Maybe refusing to put in overtime?”

“Mélanie was a really hard worker. And shewasn’tfired. Well, I suppose technically she was. Eventually.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She just stopped showing up.”

“When?”