Rebirth

  **********

  Back on Earth, Formby had at last received a reply from Pendleton, Oregon. They had searched all of their records but could only find pictures of Mary Clayton, regarding Greg Clayton, he had never lived at the Pendleton address, and both of the Claytons only used it now as a convenience address. The house owned by the pair in Pendleton was rented out to a couple who worked at the local school. They had spoken to the couple and their neighbours, but no one could remember much about either of them. The house had been in Mary`s family for decades, and had been left to her when her mother had died some fifteen years ago. The pictures of Mary Clayton were taken when she had graduated from her school, when she was eighteen years old, they had sent them to him and should be in his inbox now, and they were, three of them.

  Formby opened the package and looked at the pictures before him, immediately he saw that they were younger versions of the pictures he found in the Church`s records. If both of the Claytons were genuine, then he should therefore consult a doctor to check whether he had an ulcer, either that or the pictures had been expertly altered. If they had been altered, then by whom, Tirana? Formby wondered. The Aldebran spy was certainly good at his job, he had only missed one important detail, which is that Percival Wallace would get a hold of, and secrete away in the loft of his apartment building, a message that Tirana received from his home world, Aldebra. Where else could he, Special Agent Formby, scourge of the underworld, find pictures of the Claytons, on Mars maybe, or had Tirana already been there and altered any pictures of the Claytons that were to be found there?

  "Jones," Formby called out to his junior. "Get on to the authorities on Mars and request their help in finding any pictures of the Claytons. Oh, and also tell them they may have a hacker up there altering said records." Formby added this last bit as an afterthought."

  Formby then called out to Crosby who had just entered the large outer office.

  "Crosby, get on to whatever universities our two geologists went to and check to see if they have any pictures of the Claytons, then track down all their friends at these universities and do the same." There is no way that Tirana could have had the time or inclination to hack into all of these sites, Formby thought.