Project Moses - A Mystery Thriller (Enzo Lee Mystery-Thriller Series) (24 page)

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Listen,” she ordered.

Lee and Sendaki abruptly stopped their conversation and watched Sarah who was staring at the radio on the counter next to the refrigerator as the announcer continued the news story:

“…the AgriGenics chief executive officer said Sendaki had been despondent and was being treated for episodes of psychotic hallucinations. He said that in recent weeks Sendaki had threatened many of his coworkers, including Graylock himself. Police said that Sendaki poses a danger to others as well as himself.”

“My god. What is the meaning of that?” said Sendaki. “Do they just put anything on the air?”

“I would say it means AgriGenics is protecting itself against a couple of things that might happen,” said Lee. “One is that you’re found dead. The story is that you’ve either committed suicide or you went berserk and someone, say an AgriGenics security guard, had to blow you away.

“The second possibility,” continued Lee, “is that you call a press conference to announce that AgriGenics has been helping to build biological weapons. How many television stations are going to run that after being warned that you’re under treatment for hallucinations?”

“But, won’t the truth eventually come out?” said Sarah. “We can get our own psychiatrists to match theirs. The proof will be in the pudding once we get someone to investigate who has some clout.”

“And I have influential friends who will attest to my mental capacity,” said Sendaki.

“That’s assuming we’re free and alive long enough to make that happen,” said Lee. “Remember. I’m a federal fugitive. God knows what they’ve got cooked up for you, Sarah. Felony gun moll? You’re probably considered at least an accessory. And Arthur…any ideas about what will happen to you? My guess is that the feds whisk you away, too. Agent Spreckel will personally look after your safety.”

“So we never get a chance to present our case,” said Sarah.

“Right. Arthur could spend a long time in a hospital surrounded by FBI-approved experts who will say he’s getting more insane by the hour.”

“I could retain legal counsel in anticipation of their maneuvers,” said Sendaki. “Money is not a problem.”

“Yeah. Maybe you could hire a big-time attorney ahead of time to try to get you out,” said Lee. “But, my guess is they’ll find you one morning dangling from a light fixture before that happens. The story they’re putting out shows what they’re willing to do.”

“And remember,” said Sarah. “They’ve killed already.”

“Okay. You’ve got me worried,” said Sendaki. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“We need evidence to back you up,” said Sarah.

“Right,” said Lee. “Some type of proof we can throw out that they can’t cover up. Something that will make it obvious right off the bat that we’re telling the truth.”

“That could be a problem,” said Sendaki. “This was a rather cloak-and-dagger relationship. The government made it very clear it was to be undocumented. I certainly don’t have any written confirmation of the government’s role in this. I doubt that AgriGenics has anything like that.”

“They would probably try to discredit any documents, anyway,” said Lee. “If I’m a drug pusher, I might as well be a forger, too. I think the best hope might be to convince some people at AgriGenics to corroborate your story. There must be somebody who would.”

“Well, there are others who have suffered at the hand of Brian Graylock,” said Sendaki. “I don’t know how many will talk for the record. I heard that he recently gave notice to the company’s comptroller. It may be productive having a conversation with him.

“I also personally hired many members of the research staff,” continued Sendaki. “They’re the ones who have first hand knowledge of what has been produced for the government and what, exactly, those products have been designed to do. But, we’d be asking them to give up their jobs.”

“If we get enough of them to come along with us, there may be safety in numbers,” said Lee. “Besides, we’ve got to start somewhere. Even if they won’t go public, they’re on the inside. They may be able to get some other evidence that will be the next best thing.”

They waited until after dark and then made the drive back to the Milbrae Parkway Motel without incident. When they reached the motel, Lee and Sarah paid for another night and checked Sendaki, a.k.a. Ronald Johnson, into the room next door.

Lee and Sarah left Sendaki in his room to call the AgriGenics comptroller. Ten minutes later he knocked on their door.

“We are in luck,” he said. “Sam Schwartz has agreed to see us tomorrow evening. And, he had one bit of interesting news. Sam said most of the secret work has been moved offsite.”

“To where?” said Sarah.

“Sam wasn’t sure. Sam still reports to the office each day, but his duties are minimal and Graylock has walled him off from information. Anyway, Sam believes it is somewhere like Arizona or Nevada, but he isn’t sure where. It is apparently a very deep and dark secret.”

“Hmmm. When they made that move, they must have taken all their equipment,” said Lee.

“Right,” said Sendaki.

“But, they’d have to keep getting certain supplies,” said Lee. “You know, glassware, chemicals, things like that.”

“Yes. I’m sure they would have one or two laboratory supply companies sending things to them,” said Sendaki.

“Is there anything else they would need?” asked Lee. “Anything special that you couldn’t buy at the local mall?”

“Well, the plants and animals.”

“Animals?”

“If they are still working on diseases that affect animals or humans they have to test them,” said Sendaki. “They would need a supply of test animals for that.”

•   •   •

BARROWS RESEARCH WAS located at a small industrial park in Sunnyvale, outside of San Jose. Somehow the company was allowed to operate there despite the stench emanating from the 84 green monkeys housed in four-foot cages stacked in threes and the angry screeching that continued 24 hours a day.

It’s proprietor, Mitch Barrows, was a 42-year-old high school dropout who had transitioned into the monkey supply business at the advice of his brother, Charlie, who worked at the San Francisco Zoo. Charlie had told him about the chronically short supply of primate test subjects needed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Barrows Research was now one of the largest suppliers of primates for research purposes on the West Coast. Sendaki had recalled that the company was AgriGenics’ source for test monkeys.

Lee called Barrows Research and explained that the founder of AgriGenics had asked him to verify the particulars of the most recent order for primate test subjects. Mitch Barrows had been eager to please one of his largest customers. He provided extremely detailed information, including the exact address in rural Arizona where the 15 green monkeys had been delivered.

Chapter 30

THE TEMPERATURE STILL was in the 90s when Lee’s Southwest Air flight touched down at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix in the early evening. He had left Sarah and Sendaki behind in California to meet with AgriGenics’ comptroller while he learned what he could about the company’s Arizona operation.

Lee hailed a cab that took him to a local car rental outfit called Junkers. After a few minutes of haggling, he convinced the manager at Junkers to forego the credit card requirement and accept an $800 cash deposit on a red 1988 Ford Tempo.

After an hour, Lee reached Casa Grande and then turned off and headed east. Although Lee had to use the headlights now, he drove quickly down the arrow-straight roads.

Lee drove with one hand and tapped the steering wheel with the fingers of the other hand as he felt his own impatience growing. Partly, it was the feeling of being exposed and vulnerable, riding alone in the openness of the desert. Lee also felt a new sense of urgency, a feeling that events were accelerating and if they didn’t stay ahead of them he and Sarah would soon be overtaken and crushed. With Sendaki’s escape from his AgriGenics ‘protectors’ and the resultant media attention, Lee could sense their pursuers’ panic. He knew that along with the effort to discredit Sendaki, the attempts to find them would intensify now. The AgriGenics founder was a powerful new variable added to the equation.

He was headed for Cartwright, Arizona. By happenstance, Lee had sat next to someone on the flight who was familiar with Cartwright. It was a town that had 129 residents, a single stop light, one cafe and two gas stations. A Circle K convenience store had opened four years ago. Its opening had been the biggest event for the city and surrounding environs since former Arizona senator Barry Goldwater’s run for the presidency in 1964.

Two miles outside of Cartwright’s so-called commercial district sat the now-abandoned Cartwright Airport. It had originally been built in the 1950s when uranium mining had literally put Cartwright on the map. When the uranium petered out, the airport had been shut down.

When he finally reached the airport the sun was down but Lee could see by the lingering sunset that the landing strip was laced with huge cracks. Big clumps of grass had eaten through the concrete. But the apron around the old hangar had recently been repaved. Lee noticed the recent renovations to the building, but it looked completely deserted now. He drove around the hangar twice but he saw no sign of activity.

He got out of the Tempo and walked to the front door. He tried it but it wouldn’t budge. Then, Lee moved around to the far side of the hangar. There was a loading dock with a garage door operated by a chain that hung down and was secured to a heavy metal ring with a padlock.

Lee returned to the car, got a tire iron from the trunk. It took him five minutes to maneuver the tire iron so he had the leverage to break the padlock. Then he slid the door open and went inside.

His penlight showed that the area around the loading dock was empty except for some cardboard cartons. He looked them over with his flashlight but found no labels or addresses on the outside. He decided to save them for later and to continue looking through the hangar.

Lee made his way carefully out of the loading area and down a corridor that led further into the building. He felt like a rat in a hot, stagnant maze, only able to see a few feet ahead. He wondered what surprises awaited him at the end.

The inside of the hangar had obviously been renovated with a complex of interior walls and offices added. With his flashlight, Lee could see that the offices he passed were basic cubicles. They had been stripped bare of furniture and office equipment.

Finally, he came to a large room behind two swinging doors. He panned the room with the penlight. He could make out several lab benches with sinks built into them. The lab was empty of equipment though, not even a microscope not to mention the sophisticated machinery and instruments that Sendaki had assured him would be present in a facility involved in splicing, transplanting and manipulating genes. He opened a few drawers and cabinets. They were empty, not even scraps of paper were left.

Satisfied that nothing of interest had been left behind in the hangar, Lee began retracing his route from the loading dock. After a couple of wrong turns, he neared the loading area again. Then, he felt a puff of cool night air on his face. He froze. He knew he had closed the loading dock doorway. Lee switched off the penlight and stood in the total darkness.

He stood completely still. Sweat dripped off his nose and his own breathing seemed incredibly loud. Lee remembered his tai chi training, trying to relax and stay as calm as possible. He listened intently but heard only the silence which seemed to roar in his ears.

All at once, Lee sensed someone immediately in front of him. He felt the warmth of another body, just before they came into contact, the person’s torso touching Lee’s right arm.

“Hey,” he heard the person say as Lee ran past him toward the loading area. Then he ran headlong into another person and they both went sprawling on the floor. Lee struggled to his feet and tried to keep his legs moving toward the loading dock, but the second person had him around the knees and was holding him back.

“I got ’im. I got ’im,” said the man holding him. Then Lee kicked one leg free, relaxed the other leg and jammed the heel of his hand hard into the nose of the person holding him. He could feel the grasp weaken as he pulled the second leg free. Lee started running toward the loading dock again but then someone else had him around the waist and was pulling him down.

“Hold ’im Goddamit! Hold ’im.” Someone had switched on a flashlight but it was being waved around in the corridor, adding to the confusion. All Lee could see were arms and torsos.

Lee guessed there were three of them. He managed to get back on his feet, lifting someone on his back. Then he fell forward face first onto the cement floor. With his arms pinned, Lee hit flat on his chest and the left side of his face. He was stunned.

It felt like all three were on top of him. Everyone was gasping for air. One of them, probably the one he’d hit, punched him in the kidneys several times. Lee stayed face down on the floor. He slowly regained his breath, trying not to moan, and felt the pain deep at his core from the kidney punches. The left side of his face was numb.

After a few minutes, his arms were jerked around behind his back. He felt rope going around his wrists. Something cloth was put around his eyes and tied behind his head. They pulled him to his knees and helped him stand. He felt someone grab his wallet out of his pants. With a person holding each arm, they marched Lee down the corridor. He stumbled down the stairs as they left the loading dock.

He was shoved into a car. Someone followed him into the backseat. He heard both front doors slam shut and then the car took off.

“What the fuck are we going to do with him?” said the man sitting with him on the backseat. It was a young-sounding voice.

“Shut up,” said the driver. No one spoke for the rest of the ride.

He was still dazed but Lee forced himself to concentrate. He had to think about what might happen next. What choices did he have? Would there be any opportunities to escape? He realized he was in the middle of nowhere. They could kill him and dump him in the desert and it might be weeks before his body would be found. His mind wandered to the image of buzzards and coyotes attacking his corpse. He shook the picture away. He had to think.