Beneath the Cracks (38 page)

This time it was an unabashed grin. 
"You did fine, ma'am – for a first time."

"What's your name, officer?"

"Kendrick, Jeff."

"How much longer until I can get to that
lab?"

"They're clearing the buildings now,
Eriksson.  Unusual amount of force from security at a dairy
farm, wouldn't you say?"  He squatted down by the open car
door and peered up at me.  "You're covered in glass."

"I feel lucky to be breathing."

"Yes ma'am.  EMS is en route to check
out the three of you.  By then, tactical should have a green
light for the execution of your warrant.  Commander Darnell
said he'd appreciate a call as soon as you're up to making it."

"I'm surprised he didn't arrive on the
helicopter."

"Not enough time, Eriksson, otherwise I'm
sure he would've been."

My left temple stung.  I lifted my
fingertips.  Warm liquid smeared against them.  "Glass
must've cut me at some point.  How are the detectives that
were with me?"

"Arguing about getting further into the
compound, ma'am."  He paused, "They're uninjured."

"Have they tried talking to the men who
attacked us?"

Kendrick nodded.  "They've asked for
lawyers.  'Course, by the time we get them processed and
hauled back to headquarters, they might feel inclined to revoke
their right to counsel."

"Don't bet on it.  It's a problem
though.  If their lawyers get word to whoever is running this
operation, he could be long gone before we figure out who exactly
that person is."

Kendrick grinned.  "Well, it's like I
said.  Processing these arrests is gonna take as long as you
need it to, Eriksson."

More sirens, more lights – the ambulance
arrived, and I was strongly encouraged to let the paramedics
evaluate any injuries.  "I thought you said I was the scene
commander," I grumbled at Kendrick.

"Just as soon as you're treated for your
injuries, I'll take you in to the main building."

"I'm going to the lab facility," I
insisted.  "That's where my murder victim worked.  You've
got to make sure that they're checking that building for more armed
guards, and they should probably look for booby traps."

One of the paramedics steered me into the
back of the ambulance while I continued giving orders to Kendrick,
including calling Chris Darnell and asking that someone locate
Jean-Claude Dupree immediately.

"I've already got it covered,
Eriksson.  Your detective pals from Downey are at the lab
right now."  He clipped his radio back to his belt. 
"They asked that I give you a message.  They're not touching a
damned thing until you get there."

"What does that mean?"

"I believe the one called Briscoe was
telling our tactical officer that it was more confusing than the
whole case has been so far."

I groaned, but sat still while my cuts were
cleaned with stinging antiseptic. 

"You're lucky, Detective Eriksson. 
Steri-strips should do the job on this gash on your temple.  I
don't think you'll need stitches."

"Fantastic.  Can I get to my evidence
now?"

He nodded to Kendrick and I had a flashback
of one of my many impressions of the men from Darkwater Bay. 
Maybe it was the whole damned state.  I was not some fragile
thing that needed to be protected – even if I did freak out just a
little bit while criminals tried to kill me with automatic weapons.
It'd be completely different if they'd opted for hand to hand
combat.

"Kendrick, I assumed that the guard in the
security check point station was on the phone with other security
guards.  It just occurred to me that he might've called more
than one person.  Is there any way you can start working on
the phone records out of this place tonight?"

"Just as soon as I get you to the
laboratory, ma'am."

I hesitated.  "How much do you know
about how OSI functions?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're
asking, ma'am."

The vehicle jostled over the grass. 
Kendrick decided to take the direct route to the lab instead of
following the winding road.

"I guess I meant to ask if you know the man
with OSI who has been working undercover specifically on this
case."

"Why, do you know who he is?"  The
frown penetrated the darkness.

These were obviously Darnell's elite force
with the state police.  Surely he knew about Orion, was just
protecting his cover.  "I've been working pretty closely with
him on this case.  In fact, I've known about his true position
with OSI since my first week in the city, Kendrick."

"Obviously you have a high security
clearance."

Nice non-answer.  He's good; I'll
give him that. 
"It's just that I've been trying to
contact him without much success.  He needs to know what
happened here tonight."

"Commander Darnell will determine who is
contacted, ma'am."  He paused.  "He'll do the right
thing, Eriksson.  I expect we'll be joined by the party in
question shortly."

Briscoe was pacing the lobby.  Conall
leaned against the wall with his legs crossed at the ankles. 
Half a dozen state police with the tactical division stood guard –
both outside the lab and inside the lobby.  They all looked
just like Jeff Kendrick – same garb, same weaponry, same military
bearing.

I looked to Tony first.  "What have you
got?"

His hand reached for my face, aborted midair
and dropped to his side.  "You okay, Eriksson?"

"I'm fine, thank you.  Have you been
inside the lab yet?"

"Oh yeah," Briscoe breathed those two words
out with great force.  "I think this guy was nuts,
Eriksson.  We took one look at what he's got in there and
realized that this was a job for you to analyze first."

"Me?"

"You're the profiler."

"Ma'am, we've got the state crime lab
personnel en route to process evidence.  Commander Darnell
dispatched them as soon as we informed him that the scene is
secured."

I nodded at an unknown man, probably the
tactical commander to whom Kendrick had referred earlier. 
"And they'll share whatever evidence is collected with my crime lab
in Darkwater Bay, correct?  My murder victim died in a holding
cell at Downey Division and I have every reason to believe that the
poison he ingested was grown here."

"Yes ma'am.  Full cooperation with
Darkwater.  Are you ready to go inside?  All we've done
is make sure there are no booby traps or additional security
personnel lurking around.  I'd advise caution all the
same."

"Is Darnell on his way out here yet?"

"I – uh... believe that is still being
discussed."

"I have to do something before I go
inside.  In private," I said.  "Excuse me gentlemen."

Around a corner and down the hallway from
the fray of police and guns and concern for what was found inside
Denton's lab, I made another attempt to reach Johnny.

The call rolled into voicemail again,
without a single ring.

"Johnny, it's Helen.  We tried to serve
the warrant at the Dupree Farm and were met by a firefight. 
We're fine, a little cut up from flying glass, but Chris sent OSI's
tactical team in to assist."  I paused and bit my lower
lip.  "Where are you?  Johnny, I really need you
here.  Will you please call me as soon as you get this
message?  If something happened since we talked earlier…or if
you're upset because I ended that other call so abruptly, will you
at least call Chris?  He's starting to get concerned. 
And so am I.  Wherever you are, please be careful.  Hurry
back."  The words that would send him running home rested on
the tip of my tongue.

Question was, did I really believe
them? 
Do I love him too?

I opted for something far safer.  "I
mean it when I say this, Orion.  We need you."

Chapter 34

"I want these plants removed in the troughs
Denton used to cultivate them.  Is that clear?  The
entire shrub must be delivered to the crime lab intact."

"Dr. Eriksson, I don't understand why we
can't simply remove a few of them and –"

"Because harvesting them begins a process
that will give us only a few hours before they are useless as
evidence unless some kind of preserving mechanism is in
place.  We don't have time to take the roots all the way back
to Downey and have them analyzed.  Do you understand
now?  I'm not asking you to remove the entire greenhouse and
haul it away.  Not yet anyway, but it's important that this
evidence be examined as soon as possible."

Crevan and Tony stood a few feet away,
shaking their heads and trying to absorb the massive greenhouse
Denton had constructed within the research facility.  Rows and
rows of cassava plants in various stages of growth stretched what
had to be the length of the massive building.

"Ideally, we'd collect samples from each
stage of his experiments, but for now, I'd like you to focus on
this section here," I pointed to the plants that showed evidence of
recent harvest.  Large holes had been dug where full plants
were extracted."

"If we did that," one of OSI's evidence
techs said, "we could take a lot more plants, Dr. Eriksson. 
Somebody obviously removed whole plants instead of merely
harvesting the roots."

"Fine, whatever, but if we aren't able to
examine the tubers because they've deteriorated from improper
handling, guess who's coming back to collect more?"

I advanced on Briscoe and Conall.  "Are
they finished searching the rest of the building?"

"This place is huge, Helen.  They could
be at it for two days," Crevan said.  "They cleared his office
space.  We thought maybe you'd like to take a look at his
computer files."

"As paranoid as Denton was, he probably
encrypted everything.  Guess I won't know until we try to have
a look.  Are you coming or do you plan to follow tactical
around the building?"

"We've been told to stand down until they
clear the place, thanks to your suggestion of booby traps,
Eriksson," Tony grumbled and stomped away from us.

"He's frustrated, doesn't like sitting on
the sidelines, Helen.  Let's go check out the office."

"Tony shouldn't be upset because I suggested
there's danger in this place."  I waved one hand across the
expanse of the narrow, but long greenhouse.  "There is enough
cyanide growing in this room to kill half the population in
Darkwater Bay, provided someone was ambitious enough to taint the
food supply."

"Is that what you think he wanted to
do?"

I shook my head.  "I have no clue, and
probably won't until they start examining the characteristics of
the fruits of his labor.  What baffles me the most is how any
of this could've gone on under Dupree's nose without him being
aware of it."

"Zahar told me that they found Dupree on
Hennessey Island."

"Gambling?"

"You were right about his youth
obsession.  He spends every weekend in the spa getting soaked
in mud and wrapped in seaweed.  I think Denton claimed to be
working on this telomere research thing as a front to the boss, a
way to give him the space he wanted for this other thing. 
What do you suppose makes a guy sideline a career that has
legitimate promise with something so lethal?  Not to mention
crazy."

Even though I was raised by a father who did
something very similar, I had no answer for Crevan's
question.  Instead, I hooked my arm through his.  "Let's
go to work in the office.  You look tired.  Are you
hanging in?"

"I'm fine.  It has been one hell of a
long week.  You've got to be as exhausted as we are,
Helen.  I should be asking how you're holding up.  Have
you been spending a lot of time with Maya at the hospital this week
on top of this investigation?"

"Not as much time as I should've," I
said. 

We walked to Denton's cluttered office
space.  "Where to begin," I muttered.  "I doubt my
assessment of his mental state was far off the mark.  He
probably resisted treatment because the mania made him energetic
enough to work nearly around the clock like Dupree claimed. 
Unfortunately, his organizational skills probably won't make much
sense to people able to think rationally."

Crevan pulled out the chair in front of the
computer and woke the screen.  "Yeah, he's got this thing
password protected.  I'd suggest that we haul it to evidence
and let the techs work on cracking it, Helen.  If he was as
paranoid as we think he was, there's no telling what kind of
safeguards he's installed to prevent people from seeing his
work.  Remember when he said it was proprietary and he
couldn't share the details with us?"

I nodded.  "The last thing we need is
to inadvertently wipe a hard drive because we're over-eager. 
There's a ton of paperwork in here.  We can start going
through that for the time being.  Would you let one of the
techs know that we need the computer taken right away?"

 Before we could begin making sense of
Denton's files, the mess had to be organized into something more
cogent.  I started looking at the stacks of papers for trends
in the topics.  No rhyme or reason followed where Denton
tossed his files.  We uncovered everything from scientific
papers he reviewed on legitimate research into telomeres to news
stories printed out from sites like CNN and MSNBC with highlighted
portions and scribbles in the margins.

"Look at this one," Crevan passed one such
item to me.  "It's about the controversy over stem cell
research.  He highlighted the senator's quote about scientists
playing God.  I can't quite make out what he wrote in the
margin."

I stared at the almost hieroglyphic writing
until my eyes blurred.  "I think it says,
he's attacking my
work.  They…
something I can't read, and then,
stop
them
."