Free Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) by Gary Starta Page A

creations were not alien in origin.
She respected her father for telling her this over the years. She was proud not
to buy into superstition. Her peers at school fell for these so-called
conspiracy theories at will. She didn’t believe her phone or computer was the
invention of aliens who were unfortunate enough to crash in Roswell, New
Mexico.
    “Ooh. It’s the latest model.” Iris held the iPhone up for
her dad’s inspection. “Okay, you sure this baby’s safe to use?” She couldn’t
resist the opportunity to mock her father one more time. It was the closest
form of bonding she would ever have with him, and if this were the case, she
wasn’t going to squander a moment.
    “Yes, but you didn’t hear that from a government
employee.”
    “And if I did,” Iris said, “it would be off-the-record of
course.”
    “Now, I’ve got to ask you one favor. I need your old flip
phone back, so I can have the store copy your contacts. I’ll also need the new
phone back of course, but just for a few hours. You can live without a
phone for a few hours, can you?”
    “I don’t know. Could you have lived without your cassette
Walkman back in the day?” Iris felt her pulse rate increase. Her father wasn’t
baited. His expression reminded her of when he fought with stepmom Doris. She
folded her arms across her chest in preparation for some bad news.
    “Seriously, Iris, I don’t want to pry. It’s just that I
swung by last night and saw a van parked in front of the house. I didn’t want
to intrude if you had company, so that’s why I waited to come to see you today.
I did notice your company’s license plate. I just hope you’re not involved with
some kind of alien investigation.”
    “Well, I did meet someone. And maybe it’s not about
investigating but more about having some kind of personal life.” Iris retained
her stance, arms folded.
    “I’m so sorry. I would love for you to meet someone.
That’s great news.”
    “I just wish the same for DJ. She’s lived like a hermit
for the past few months. She used to feed off public speaking and dreamed of
continuing school. But now she might as well be a cave dweller. She works a
dead end job that doesn’t encourage her skills. She only lives to be angry at
the world it seems.”
    “She just needs time to get over losing her mother, Iris.
And maybe this anger is healing her. She’ll eventually come around and get over
it. You’ll see.”
    “That’s just it. She wants to get over it. But
Doris Jean won’t let her. She won’t crossover. And because of this, DJ tries to
block her gift. She’s quit our ghost hunting team. I really don’t care that she
did. It’s just that she seems to be quitting everything lately, and that’s not
healthy.”
    “Oh, of course it isn’t.” Dan scratched his chin.
    Iris waited for some revelation, but it didn’t come. She
wished she could tell her dad about the strange device. He would probably know
what it was or what to do with it. But she recalled Mitchell’s paranoia. It
wouldn’t be in the best interests of the public. And from her father’s sudden
silence, it pained her once again to realize how much she would never know about
this man. If she would never come to know everything about him, she could never
trust him. Yet in her heart, for some foolish reason, Iris believed she could
still love him, regardless.
    “We’ll work this all out. I think a Smartphone for a
smart girl is definitely justified.”
    She smiled and waved a hand toward the floor as if she
wanted to dismiss her previous rant. “Sounds good.” If she could only have part
of one parent, she would rather have that than nothing.
    “I’ll see you soon.” Dan started to maneuver out the
door, but stopped. “And Iris, good luck with this new man but just remember,
there are no little green men.”
    Iris nodded and waited for him to shut the door. Then she
mumbled to no one in particular. “And if that’s the case, then the only thing I
would