Робин Кук - Genesis

“I truly believe that if I didn’t know Kera was seeing someone, no one did. Finding him is not going to be easy, but I think I know how to do it. Are you interested?”

“Very,” Aria said. “Where do you suggest we meet?”

“Have you ever been to Nobu Fifty Seven? It’s more or less on our way at Forty West Fifty-Seventh, and it’s got a good bar and great bar food if you like sushi. Are you game?”

“I’m game,” Aria said. “See you there.” She ended the call with a smile before leaning forward in her seat. “Driver, I want to change my destination.” Settling back in her seat, she found herself wondering exactly what this great idea could be that Madison had in mind.

May 8th

10:10 P.M.

Aria’s first impression of Nobu Fifty Seven was that it was the antithesis of Cipriani Downtown. Instead of noisy, crowded, claustrophobic, and brightly illuminated chaos, she was presently standing in an expansive and subdued, subtly lit barroom with a soaring ceiling some thirty feet above. Over the bar was a huge display of thirty large sake barrels. Although Aria imagined the bar had been busy earlier, it was now a calm refuge from the day with only a bit more than a half dozen customers. Behind the bar were two attentive bartenders dressed in black. It seemed unreal to her that on the same night she was visiting two trendy establishments that she never imagined she might patronize. She’d been in New York City for almost four years and had never had the urge to set foot in either one.

Finding a section of the bar with five empty seats, she took the middle one. The bar itself was an enormous slab of wood, three or four inches thick, and finished with glossy epoxy making the surface absolutely smooth. As soon as she was seated, one of the bartenders came over and placed a cocktail napkin in front of her. He then stuck out his hand and said, “Welcome to Nobu. My name is Alex. And yours?”

Aria looked at the proffered hand and then back up at the bartender’s smiling face. He was a man of medium height with a dark complexion, dark hair and eyes, and a short half-beard, giving him a mild but interesting Mephistophelian aura. Despite finding him intellectually attractive, she had no intention of shaking the hand of a stranger with whom she had no common interest other than being in the same place at the same time. “I want to eat something,” she said. “What do you recommend?”

Without a moment’s hesitation or evidence of chagrin, Alex retracted his hand and reeled off a bewildering number of possibilities. He ended his spiel with the question of whether Aria had any food allergies or strong dislikes.

“I like pretty much everything except entrails,” she said.

“Then I recommend the salmon and avocado roll and white fish with dried miso, provided you’re okay with sushi and sashimi.”

“Fine,” Aria said.

“Something to drink? Wine? Cocktail?”

“I’ll have a glass of prosecco,” Aria said. “What time do you close?”

“Midnight,” Alex said.

While she waited, she looked to either side. Everyone else at the bar was a couple. She looked back up at the ceiling. It seemed impossibly high since the room was higher than it was wide.

Her drink came first, and she took a sip. It was a good prosecco. She knew because she’d had bad prosecco. Glancing back at the entrance, Aria wondered how long she would have to wait for Madison’s arrival. She wasn’t happy being there, but she was still intrigued by Madison’s offer of providing a way to find Kera’s missing lover. She was the first to admit that she had absolutely no idea of what Madison was going to suggest. The only thing that had come to her mind was perhaps there was something significant that Madison had failed to tell her at Cipriani.

Madison arrived before the food. Aria saw her the moment she came into the restaurant. Their eyes met, and Madison came quickly over to where she was sitting.

“I appreciate your willingness to meet with me,” Madison said right off the bat. “Thank you for taking the time.”

Aria stayed silent as Madison took off a light jean jacket, draped it over a neighboring empty barstool, and sat down. Attentive as ever, Alex came over immediately to place a cocktail napkin in front of Madison. He repeated the introduction he’d given Aria, including extending his hand. In contrast to Aria, Madison shook the hand and gave her name in return. After a brief conversation, it was decided Madison was not hungry but would have a drink.

“I’ll have the same as she,” Madison said, nodding toward Aria’s glass.

“It’s prosecco,” Aria said, surprised someone would order something when she didn’t know what it was. She wondered if it meant Madison had already had enough to drink during the evening.

“Whatever,” Madison said. “I like prosecco well enough.”

“What is your suggestion about finding Kera Jacobsen’s secret lover?” Aria asked, eager to turn the conversation to business. It was at that moment when Alex brought Aria’s food. With it he provided chopsticks, a cloth napkin, several small dishes, and a small kettle-like container of teriyaki sauce. Although Madison said she wasn’t going to eat, he brought chopsticks and a napkin for her, too.

Aria tried a piece of the sushi and a piece of the sashimi, then pushed both dishes closer to Madison. “Not bad,” Aria said. “I’m starved. Try it! The sashimi is particularly good.”

Madison followed Aria’s lead. “Yum,” she said, then got down to business. “To explain what I have in mind, I have to ask you a question. Do you remember the arrest of the Golden State Killer in 2018?”

“I think so.”

“Do you remember how he was found?”

“As I recall, he was found by someone matching his DNA through one of the ancestry websites?”

“Exactly,” Madison said, becoming excited about the subject.

“Is this what you have in mind for finding Kera’s boyfriend?” Aria asked. She was immediately disappointed. She had expected at a minimum to get names of people who might have known Kera’s secrets.

“That’s exactly what I have in mind,” Madison said.

“Well, I can tell you right off, it’s not going to work,” Aria said, not trying to camouflage her disappointment. “Finding the Golden State Killer was a completely different set of circumstances. They had the man’s DNA from his semen. We don’t have our perpetrator’s semen or his DNA.” Aria put down her chopsticks. She was so disappointed that she was tempted to just leave.

“That’s true, but there is a good chance we can construct his DNA.”

“Oh, please,” Aria scoffed. “What the hell do you mean, construct his DNA?”

“About a year ago my mother gave me a present of having my DNA analyzed by one of the major DNA genealogical companies. At this point I can’t even remember which one it was. I think it was Ancestry dot com, which has the largest database. But it doesn’t matter because I’ve gotten into a genealogical obsession, and I’ve had just about all the commercial DNA companies analyze me. I tell you, once you start, it becomes addictive. And it works. I’ve found ancestors going back to the eighteen hundreds who were slaves.”

“I’m happy for you,” Aria said. She checked the time on her phone. It was nearing eleven, which explained why she was suddenly feeling like she wanted to be in bed. Normally she was in bed by ten or ten thirty to read.

“The point I’m trying to make is that I have become reasonably knowledgeable about the ins and outs of genealogical DNA. It’s complicated stuff, but if you are persistent, like I am, you can figure most of it out.”