Lethal Outbreak (3 page)

Troy watched as both Lexi and Julia Nineteen guzzled beer for breakfast. As a major, he didn’t drink alcohol because it would quickly intoxicate him. Outers didn’t have the same metabolism and they knocked it back without a care. Out of the window, Troy could see a solitary crane on the skyline. It was putting the finishing touches to the sports stadium that would host the coming Integrated Games.

In the early hours, the high-security lab had been thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and fumigated by Saul Tingle’s emergency protocol.

‘Our forensic team’s been through the lab,’ Lexi said to Julia. ‘Nothing useful’s left. It’s like it’s been scorched. Glass vials would have survived, though. But there were only two. No sign of the third, whole or in pieces.’

Julia took a deep breath. ‘That’s what I feared.’

‘It means the motive might have been to get hold of some Martian soil,’ Troy said. ‘Have you ever heard of anyone wanting to do that?’

‘No. It’d be … suicidal.’

‘For an outer,’ Troy remarked. ‘Any ideas why someone might want it?’

‘No.’ She put down her beer. ‘Unless they had some sort of grudge against outers. Or scientists. Or the work we do here.’

‘Mmm. Why would anyone think like that?’

‘I don’t know,’ she replied.

‘Well, my guess is someone grabbed the third vial, sprinkled enough SUMP around the lab to kill the next lot of scientists to go in, and took the rest,’ Troy said. ‘The same person who sabotaged the blue suits. But even if we’ve got no idea where the poison is and who’s got it, at least we know it’s safely sealed. Because outers aren’t dropping like flies.’

Lexi grimaced. ‘For how long?’ She took another swig of beer.

Troy tapped his life-logger. ‘Thanks for the list of everyone who’s been in the BSL4 lab,’ he said to Julia. ‘There’s a lot of them. I notice it includes Saul Tingle and Eric Kiss. Tell me about Eric.’

‘Yes. He’s one of the guys who look after laboratory animals. That’s why he needs access to all our labs. He sets up the live tests on toxicity.’

Troy nodded. ‘But there’s more to it than that.’

‘Yes,’ Julia admitted. ‘I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Saul.’ She glanced around furtively before continuing. ‘It’s a bit embarrassing really. We’re … friends.’

‘What?’ Lexi exclaimed. ‘With that name, he must be a major.’

‘Yes,’ she replied, as if ashamed.

Troy didn’t react with the same distaste as Lexi. He was trained to get the most out of witnesses. Making it obvious that her friendship was peculiar did not help. He preferred sympathy. He shrugged. ‘I understand,’ he said, even though he didn’t. ‘But, to be clear, when you say friendship … ?’

Julia looked lost for words.

‘Lexi and I are workmates, even friends most of the time,’ Troy said with a grin. ‘But you mean something north of that.’

‘People won’t call it love. We’re two separate species.’

‘People mean different things when they talk about loving this and that, him or her,’ Troy replied. ‘So, the important thing is, what do
you
call it?’

Head bowed, Julia said, ‘I think we love each other, yes.’

Out of Julia’s sight, Lexi pulled a face, as if she had a horrible taste in her mouth.

‘And yesterday you had a few minutes together for what?’ Troy asked.

‘He was upset about something he’d heard. Rumours. You won’t tell Saul Tingle about this, will you?’

‘We only share our findings with those who need to know. There’s no reason for your manager to be in on it.’

‘But you’ll interview Eric?’

‘Yes,’ Troy replied. ‘He’s been to the crime scene and he called you away at the vital moment. That makes him a suspect.’

Julia sighed but she also nodded.

‘We’ll do it now,’ Troy told her. Smiling, he added, ‘Before you can warn him we’re on our way.’ At the door, he hesitated and said, ‘One more thing.’

‘Yes?’

‘Before yesterday morning, when was the last time someone worked in the BSL4 lab?’

‘That’d be a maintenance crew on Friday afternoon.’

‘The control room keeps a record of the doors opening and closing. So, what about the weekend? Did someone go in – and come out – between Friday afternoon and yesterday morning? That must be when the vial disappeared and the lab got contaminated. Unless it was down to the last engineer to leave on Friday.’

‘I’ll check all that and let you know.’

‘Thanks. And remember, one of the sabotaged suits was yours. You were a target. So, if you want a uniformed police guard, we can arrange it.’

‘I don’t think … No.’

‘All right. Take care. Double check everything if you do any risky jobs.’

‘Thanks.’

Walking towards the Animal Section, Lexi complained, ‘An outer and a major. It’s not natural.’

‘When I was little, my grandma had this scruffy little dog and she used to say how much she loved him.’ Troy shrugged. ‘Chalk and cheese species.’

‘Huh. That’s different.’

‘I didn’t think we were here to make judgements on people’s lifestyles.’

‘Even so … ’ Lexi shuddered. Lowering her voice, she added, ‘It might be relevant to the case, though. This major – Eric Kiss – could be using Julia. Maybe he got involved with her so he could distract her.’

‘Yeah. I used that with Julia as an excuse for questioning him, but the bad guy wouldn’t have had to distract her. Even if she’d been glued to the monitor, she wouldn’t have seen the sticky-tape tactic and she wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. And it’s obvious Eric Kiss doesn’t have a grudge against outers in general, because he struck up a relationship with one.’

‘If it’s genuine,’ Lexi muttered. She pushed open the door of the animal department and, trying to lift her mood, she said, ‘I’ve always fancied being a zoo keeper, working with lions, tigers, sharks and snakes.’

Troy laughed. ‘You always fancy anything dangerous.’

‘An element of risk always makes things exciting. It’s called adrenalin.’

Eric Kiss was bound to be a disappointment to Lexi. He mostly handled mice and rats, preparing them for scientific experiments. The greatest risk seemed to be a nip on the finger from an ill-tempered rodent. He was much taller and broader than Julia, and a few years younger.

‘Have you spoken to Julia in the last few minutes?’ Troy asked him.

‘No.’ He put down a bowl of animal feed and turned towards Troy. ‘Last time we were together was last night. She told me about yesterday. I mean, when she nearly went into the lab. You stopped her. I just wanted to say we’re both grateful. Very grateful. Maybe she didn’t thank you directly. I think she’s in shock for her friends.’

Troy shrugged. He wasn’t yet sure whether Eric was sincere or whether he was trying to create a good impression because he thought a nice person wouldn’t be a murder suspect. ‘Any major would have done the same.’

‘I know what you’re getting at. I have a relationship with Julia that most people would regard as bizarre.’

‘That’s not what I was getting at. I was thinking about a major having a wider visual range. That’s all. Your relationship doesn’t bother me and it’s not illegal, so it’s none of my business. I’m more interested in why you spoke to her yesterday morning.’

‘I feel … guilty for calling her away,’ Eric said. ‘I shouldn’t have … ’

‘Why did you?’

‘Not everyone’s as understanding and enlightened as you. Some people don’t think we should … spend time together. They talk behind our backs. Some might even threaten us.’

‘Threaten?’

‘I wanted to speak to her because I’d got wind of people plotting, threatening to get us sacked. It seems we make some feel uncomfortable.’

‘Who?’

Next to Eric’s shoulder, a mouse suddenly scrabbled at its cage. It was probably impatient for food.

‘A friend of mine overheard a conversation or two. I shouldn’t accuse anyone on flimsy grounds … ’

‘Like they accuse you and Julia on flimsy grounds?’

Eric smiled sadly. ‘I don’t want to sink to the same depths and I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but Brandon Six got told and didn’t approve. Neither did Fern Mountstephen. And Precious Austin was quite militant about it weeks ago.’

‘Who’s Precious Austin?’

‘One of the engineers.’

Troy nodded. ‘Ah, yes.’ She was on the list of staff who’d been trained to work in the BSL4 lab. ‘Rumours are like fuel on a wildfire,’ he said. ‘They
spread like crazy. I’m surprised there’s anyone around here who doesn’t know about the two of you.’

‘We’re still in the denial and damage limitation phase.’

‘When were you last in the BSL4 lab?’

‘Thursday. Setting up some toxicity tests. I was due back in yesterday afternoon but … events transpired against it. Tragically.’

Troy glanced around the room. ‘You don’t object to using animals in research.’

‘Not at all. They’re a lower life form.’

‘And you don’t have a grudge against outers in general?’

‘No.’ He smiled and added, ‘Definitely not a lower life form.’

‘Do you hold a grudge against the people who are whispering about you and Julia – like Brandon Six?’

Eric looked horrified. ‘It disappoints me. It doesn’t make me angry. Certainly not enough to kill someone – alongside two perfectly innocent colleagues. And you’d have to ask yourself why I’d sabotage my best friend’s moon suit.’

‘What makes you think the protective suits were interfered with?’

‘Julia,’ he answered without hesitation. ‘She told me last night.’

It was the response that Troy expected. ‘That’s it for now.’ Nodding towards the rows of cages and smiling wryly, he said, ‘The rats are getting restless.’

‘I can deal with the ones in here. The ones out there,’ Eric said, waving towards the door, ‘are more troublesome.’

Troy nodded. ‘Good luck with Julia.’

As they went back down the corridor, Lexi muttered, ‘Creepy.’

Troy glanced at his partner. He saw puzzlement, not hatred, on her face. ‘Well, I thought he was open and genuine. Bad guys don’t usually talk so much. They don’t volunteer information like he did. You have to squeeze it out of them.’

‘Maybe he’s a very clever bad guy.’

Troy laughed. ‘Maybe. I’m not ruling him out on a feeling.’

Sitting inside The Hungry Human, Lexi pulled another face. ‘But why’s it called a hot dog? You majors eat some funny stuff – lots of things you don’t know what’s inside – but a hot dog?’

‘Do you want a sample for DNA profiling?’

‘Just tell me.’ She bit into her fly larvae pizza.

‘Well … ’ He hesitated.

‘Ha. It’s another one you don’t have a clue about. Like sausages. There could be anything in there. Pig, horse, even dog.’

‘I would’ve had a clue,’ Troy replied with a grin. ‘I
offered you some DNA but you refused.’

The Hungry Human was one of many diners with a menu that featured major and outer meals, so it attracted customers from both human races.

Lexi looked up from her life-logger. ‘It says here a hot dog is basically processed meat, fat, salt, garlic and other gruesome bits and pieces. The meat trimmings are usually pork and beef but sometimes it’s cheaper mush – chicken or turkey. Not what you’d call health food.’ She paused before adding, ‘Listen. “The suspicion that hot dogs sometimes contain dog meat is only occasionally vindicated.”’

Feeling the vibrations from his own life-logger, Troy put down his lunch, drenched with tomato ketchup, and checked the incoming message. It was from Julia Nineteen. Keeping his voice down, he read it aloud to Lexi. ‘The end-of-the-week maintenance crew was Fern Mountstephen and Blaine Twenty-Two. You met them both yesterday. They went in together and left together. More interesting, someone went into BSL4 on Sunday. Not an officially sanctioned visit. This person – or more than one person – went in at eight o’clock in the evening and came out half an hour later.’

Lexi nodded. ‘Useful. Very useful.’

‘In more ways than one.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘It’s stopped you going on about my hot dog.’

It was going to be a long afternoon. At Troy’s request, Saul Tingle had given them use of an interview room within Shallow End Laboratories. Troy wanted to talk to everyone who was permitted entry to BSL4. All of them would have the skills needed to handle a vial of SUMP safely. Really, Troy had only one significant question for each of them. He wanted to know who had an alibi for Sunday evening and who didn’t.

While the parade of staff passed through the room, he and Lexi also checked who had the expertise to
make sticky tape that released acid when ultraviolet light fell on it.

They began at the top – with the unit director. Saul Tingle almost exploded with indignation. ‘You’re asking me if I went into the secure lab? But I’m the boss. And I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m a suspect either.’

‘That’s where we don’t agree,’ said Troy. ‘I think everyone on this list – trained to go into the high-security lab – is a suspect.’

‘But … ’

Troy interrupted. ‘The thing is, who’s a suspect and who isn’t is
our
choice, not yours.’

Saul wiped away a drop of sweat from his forehead and sighed heavily. ‘I only went through training to see what it was like, to be able to manage the operation properly. I never intended to work in there. I don’t have the expertise.’

Lexi had already noted that Saul was not qualified in chemistry. He did not appear to have enough knowledge to sabotage the protective suits.

‘So, when did you last go in?’

‘Years ago.’

‘And what were you doing on Sunday night, about eight o’clock?’

‘Eating.’

‘With someone?’

‘My family,’ Saul replied gruffly.

‘Where?’

‘At home.’

‘Thanks,’ Troy said. ‘That’s all.’

Once the unit director had stomped out of the interview room and slammed the door, Lexi said with a smirk, ‘That went well.’

‘Mmm. He’s south of a rock-solid alibi, isn’t he? I’m sure his family will tell us he was at home tucking into Sunday lunch – whether he was or he wasn’t.’

‘They probably had hot dogs.’

‘What did you have?’ Troy asked.

‘Oven-baked tarantula. And before you say that outers don’t have family, I had it with the forensic team while we finished off the last case.’

‘I had meatballs with Grandma.’

‘And what’s in … ’

Cutting her off, Troy said, ‘They were shiveringly good, so I scoffed the lot. Not a trace left for DNA testing.’

Next, it was the turn of Eric Kiss. Unusually for a major, he had enough of a science background to make the tape that led to the deaths in BSL4.

‘Sunday? In the evening?’ he muttered. ‘I was with Julia.’

‘Where?’

‘Nowhere in particular. Oh, I see. You’re hoping someone saw us who’ll provide an alibi. Sorry. Understandably, we keep ourselves to ourselves. We usually make sure we’re not seen.’

‘That fits. But it’s unfortunate,’ said Troy. ‘For the record, though, where were you?’

‘At Julia’s place. On our own.’

Later, Julia Nineteen backed up his version of events. ‘Almost as if they’d guessed what I’d ask and worked out a good consistent answer,’ Troy said with a smile.

Typical of a major, Fern Mountstephen didn’t have many qualifications in science but she had worked her way up Shallow End Laboratories, deserving every promotion, meeting every new challenge. According to her records, she was keen and determined.

‘You work with a lot of outers,’ Troy said to the technician.

‘Yes?’

With a grin, he said, ‘You must be sick of the sight of them.’

Fern appeared to take his comment seriously. ‘As it happens, I don’t really notice.’

‘Did Blaine do anything odd on Friday?’

‘Odd? When?’

‘When you did a service on the BSL4 lab.’

She shook her head. ‘Not that I noticed.’

‘Would you have noticed?’

She shrugged. ‘Depends. If he’d broken into a song and a dance, yes, but other things … ’ She shuffled in her seat. ‘Look. You’re alert in the lab, but you tend to concentrate on what’s in front of you. You’re restricted. Heat builds up. Fatigue sets in. Your eye-shield reflects the lights in the ceiling. It’s not easy.’

‘If you heard that a major was having a close relationship with an outer, what would you think?’

Fern hesitated. ‘Does that happen? It’d be a bit … ’

‘What?’

‘I don’t know. Gross maybe.’

‘I’m told that’s what Brandon Six thought as well.’

‘Did he?’ Fern was a barrel of a woman. Short, solid and stocky. She gazed at Troy and said, ‘If you’re hinting about me having relationships with outers, you’re right. I do. Good working relationships. And

I’ve got a lot of outer friends. That’s all. Anything else would be … ’ She shivered.

‘I was wondering where you were on Sunday evening. About eight.’

‘Er … I was in the local gym. To be precise, I was probably in the swimming pool.’

‘Do you get logged in and out again?’

‘Yes. You can check if you want.’

‘Thanks,’ Troy said to end the interview.

The other technician, Blaine Twenty-Two, was highly qualified in chemistry. Troy invited him to sit down and then asked, ‘Did Fern do anything odd on Friday?’

‘I don’t think so.’

Immediately suspicious, Troy said, ‘You had a whole day together. You must have done a lot of different things. Don’t you want to know which bit I’m interested in?’

‘I … er … I assumed you’re talking about BSL4, given what happened yesterday.’

‘How did you get on with Brandon Six?’

Blaine frowned for a moment. ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Relationships are always important to an investigation. It’s about motives. We tend to kill our enemies, not our friends.’

‘You can ask anyone. Brandon was a mate of mine. And, before you ask, I got on fine with Konnie and Tyla as well.’

‘Think back to Sunday. What did you do in the evening?’

‘Not a lot. I stayed at home and watched television.’

‘Can anyone verify that?’

‘No.’

‘What was on?’

Blaine sneered. ‘I drifted a bit but I saw a programme on the build-up to the Integrated Games. The ones where majors and outers compete on equal terms. It’s not far from here.’

Troy nodded. ‘Okay. That’s all for now, thanks.’

The young detectives talked to different members of staff until they had seen everyone on the list – apart from the engineer called Precious Austin. Accessing the company’s data files, Lexi said, ‘Ah. She was asked to resign a few weeks back. Near the end of last month. When it says “asked”, it probably means “forced”. Anyway, she couldn’t get on with the majority of staff who are outers.’

‘Time to put our skates on.’

‘What?’

‘She’s against outers so she’s got a motive. No doubt she’ll blame them for getting kicked out of her job as well. She’s not here so we’ll go to her. Is her home address in her file?’

‘Yes. On the other side of Shallow End. Second quarter of the main residential zone.’

‘Let’s go.’