Authors: Aimée & David Thurlo
Once the dog
and the agent had finished their work, the driver was allowed to lock the doors again, and get underway.
No one said a word until the truck was well down the road. Ella finally pulled Carolyn and Wilson aside. “Well, what did you think of the cargo?” Ella asked.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Carolyn said. “What we saw is not entirely out of line with what they claim to be doing. But what
puzzles me is why they’re getting rid of equipment they supposedly need, instead of shipping out product.”
“Let’s see what the other LabKote trucks are carrying, then we may have a clearer idea of what we’re dealing with,” Ella suggested.
They continued the process for another four hours, stopping and checking out three more LabKote trucks before the roadblock was finally taken down. After the
other two agents had left, they finally had a chance to talk freely.
“Their business is supposed to be producing sterilized lab supplies, yet there wasn’t a single box of lab supplies on any of the trucks,” Wilson said. “Just equipment used for the operation.”
“And how can they keep production going without the gamma ray machines, for instance?” Carolyn added. “Surely they only have a limited
number of those. How can they send back two to their supplier and still stay in business?”
“What if their radiation equipment malfunctioned, maybe leaking and causing an accident, and they’re now trying to cover up by sending the equipment back to the vendor?” Ella proposed.
“That’s reaching,” Blalock said. “If that was the plan, why didn’t they do it a long time ago? And why send back other
equipment they supposedly need? Are they running out of money, and having to send it back?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t discount the other evidence. Remember the dead birds and insects we found at the fairgrounds. Their deaths are consistent with overexposure to radiation. And I have reason to believe Elisa Brownhat may have been exposed as well.” Ella related her conversation with Martha Gene.
“That might provide a motive for murder. We’ll have to see how the toxicology tests come out.” Carolyn nodded.
“When you were there at LabKote, did you get a good look at any of the equipment in the sterile rooms, the ones that were off limits?” Carolyn continued.
“Sure. I saw one of those autoclaves, and another machine that looked like a big stainless steel chamber with lots of valves and
electronic panels.” Ella tried to recall the details. “It was really strange seeing the setup. It looked like a scene straight from one of those virus hunter movies, complete with the protective suits for the workers.”
“Why were they wearing biohazard suits? I don’t get it,” Carolyn said, mulling it over. “They shouldn’t need that level of protection. Ella, if you saw a photo of the machine you
just described, would you recognize it?” Carolyn asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Let’s go back to my office. I’ll show you my lab equipment catalogs and see if you can spot it. We’ll know more then.”
Blalock shook his head. “So, after all this work, what we have is inconclusive? Even if Mrs. Brownhat was irradiated, we still don’t have enough evidence to move on anything. We’d still have to link
her to LabKote.”
“Why don’t you come with me to Carolyn’s office?” Ella said. “This isn’t over yet.”
Blalock exhaled softly. “You’re never going to let me retire in peace, are you? Watch me get transferred to a post in Prudoe Bay, Alaska.”
“Do you feel that you’re on to something?” Wilson asked Ella. “All you really have at this point is circumstantial and speculative.”
She knew that he was
asking her to judge based on her intuition, not just theories. Like many others, Wilson thought it was far more than just police training. “I do,” she said at last. “But whether it’ll pan out or not, is something else altogether,” she said, bringing it into perspective for him.
“I’m worried about you … I’m worried about all of us,” Wilson said as Ella walked him back to his car. “Don’t forget
to let me know what happens.”
“You can come with us to Carolyn’s office if you’d like,” Ella said.
He shook his head. “All things considered, I’d rather not,” he said with a hesitant smile. “I try to avoid visiting the morgue while still alive.”
A short time later, Ella followed Carolyn and Blalock back to the hospital. She was now convinced that there was something going on at LabKote. Maybe
it had started with Hansen’s death, or the reason behind his murder, and possibly that of Elisa Brownhat. One thing was clear. LabKote was at the center of a lot of the troubles the Rez had seen.
Twenty minutes later, they were seated in Carolyn’s office. Blalock, sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee, was unusually quiet as Ella leafed through the equipment supply catalogs.
“Something’s eating
at you,” Ella said as Carolyn left to type up a report. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried about what we discovered tonight,” Blalock said. “Having LabKote all of a sudden boxing up and sending away equipment smacks of tenants who intend to slip out in the middle of the night.”
“You’re thinking that they plan to shut down and leave, before anyone can figure out what’s been going on and hold them accountable?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe I’m overreacting, but I always thought it strange that this company set up shop on the Rez, so far away from major airports, rail lines, and the interstates. You would have thought that they’d want to be closer to a major city where they’d have a variety of shipping options.”
“Land’s more expensive in the city and the tribe did give them a lot of tax
breaks.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got to tell you, Clah, if it were me, and I was doing something I didn’t want anyone to know about, I’d pick the Rez, too. Even going back in time to the atomic bomb development, this state has always provided a lot of isolation for secret projects.”
“If you had to guess, what would you say is going on?” Ella asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll tell you this. I’m going to
get even more details on Morgan’s and Landreth’s backgrounds. I’ll also see if I can speed up the Marine Corps and get the service file Officer Goodluck requested on Morgan. I’ll be gathering background information on LabKote, too,” Blalock said, picking up his cell phone and punching out a number.
“Morgan supposedly served in Desert Storm, came back, resigned from the military, then spent some
time in Europe doing security work. That’s information I got from Morgan himself, and LabKote’s personnel file. Maybe you can dig up more. Landreth’s background was kind of generic. I’m curious to see what FBI sources can add to that.”
“Have you learned anything else about LabKote, other than what’s in their brochures?” Blalock asked, still holding the cell phone to his ear.
“Not really. They’re
too new.” Ella suddenly stopped leafing through the pages. “Carolyn? I’ve got something here.”
Blalock rolled his chair back from the table, spoke briefly into the receiver, then disconnected the call.
Carolyn returned to the office just then and glanced down at the equipment Ella was pointing to. “Are you sure that’s what you saw?”
“Yeah. I remember seeing those places with the heavy gloves
you put your hands into before reaching into the sealed chamber.”
Blalock stood and walked over, looking down at the page from over Ella’s shoulder.
“Then I’ve got a news flash for you,” Carolyn exclaimed. “LabKote is doing something besides producing germ-free supplies. That’s a culture chamber for handling dangerous forms of bacteria. Those built-in gloves are for handling petri dishes and
vials without exposing yourself to pathogens. But based on what I’ve been told about their operation, they shouldn’t have any reason to culture any bacteria at all. Whatever bacterial colonies they do end up with would only be a result of faulty sterilization uncovered from sampling as part of their quality control. That’s part of their waste and something they probably destroy immediately, or should.”
“There’s some circumstantial evidence that suggests LabKote may have used laboratory animals at one point.” Ella told them about the rabbit Alice Washburn had found and the subsequent events. “That new rabbit is supposed to be a clever little thing.”
“The best and the worst. That’s another by-product of genetic manipulation or radiation-induced defects. I wonder exactly what they’ve been experimenting
with,” Carolyn said.
“Those suits that the men wore in that locked room…” Ella shook her head. “There’s something really bad going on there.”
“You know, if all they’re doing is producing germ-free supplies, they wouldn’t need biohazard suits and filtration systems. Most of the microorganisms they’d find in unsterile lab supplies are relatively benign. Even bad strains of food bacteria and strep
can be controlled using simple sterilization techniques and lab procedures,” Carolyn said.
Blalock was leaning forward. “Okay. So what we’ve got isn’t just a radiation leak cover-up. We also have a real good suspicion that they could be handling, and maybe even producing very dangerous bacteria. But to what end? Biological warfare or terrorism?”
“More importantly, how the heck do we get in there
to verify any of this? We have no evidence that will get us a search warrant,” Ella reminded them. “What would we say we’re searching for? Equipment that we
think
may be used for cultivating dangerous bacteria, and all based on my recollection? They’d sue us for harassment, for sure,” Ella said.
“And win,” Blalock added. “We’ll have to approach this from a different angle. Let’s see what we can
get from behind the scenes. I’m going to request backup and start a twenty-four hour surveillance. We need evidence that will get us a ticket in there.” Blalock started writing down notes. “We’ve had more than one ex-soldier or disillusioned tech-head decide to become a terrorist. We need to look for any foreign or domestic terrorist group connections to these people. I’m also going to request
information from Interpol on Morgan. They should have something if he did security work overseas.”
As Blalock left, Ella gave Carolyn a worried look. “I’ve got to tell you, I’m scared to death. I went to the fairgrounds a few times during that animal husbandry event, and I was pregnant at the time. My baby…”
“Might have been vulnerable,” Carolyn finished for her. “You could get some tests run.”
“I was already advised to get a maternal serum alpha fetal something blood test after sixteen weeks. What’s that?”
“That’s an AFP, a maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein screening test. They check your blood for elevated levels of alpha-fetoprotein. If the test comes back abnormal, it could indicate any of several defects or problems with the fetus. That’s when more tests could be run to isolate
the concerns.” Carolyn said.
“But will anything be conclusive?”
“At that point, probably only major defects, such as spinal cord problems or the absence of brain tissue.” Carolyn paused, then added, “But talk to your obstetrician. It’s been a long time since I studied anything to do with that field of medicine.”
Ella shook her head slowly. “I’ll ask, but if the screening test comes out okay,
I may pass on the ones that come later. Instead of calming me, I think at this point all they’ll do is scare me silly.”
Carolyn’s eyes narrowed. “You’re sounding a little bit like a traditionalist who believes fear can harm.”
“Fear
can
be harmful when you allow it to take you over. I really do believe that. Fright causes physical changes and chemical imbalances.”
“So, what are you advocating?”
“Something I’d never thought I’d be saying,” she said slowly. “I’ll go through the normal prenatal tests, but after that I’m going to rely on the old ways, Carolyn. This time, I think that the best chance my baby and I have is if I straddle the line between the old and the new, and take the best of both.”
“That’s a good plan, but I want you to know that I don’t think you really have anything
to worry about,” Carolyn said gently. “If you’d been exposed to any harmful bacteria, you’d already have shown symptoms. And those gamma ray generators produce a very narrow, directed beam. With the room shielded, you would have had to be in
exactly
the wrong place at the wrong time for it to have affected you at all.”
“Then how did the birds and insects get irradiated? Maybe their safety systems
failed and they exposed everything outside one of those big doors, including Elisa Brownhat. If Hansen knew about it, that may have been what got him killed. And somebody has been trying to kill me. Is it because they know I’m pregnant with a potentially deformed baby that could lead back to them, or is it because I’m on their case?” She ran a hand through her hair in a gesture of frustration.
“It’s all the possibilities and the lack of answers that scare me the most.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help you, just say the word. If what we suspect is true, I’d like to throw those LabKote jerks to the
Dineh
and let our people tear them apart.”
“Sometimes primitive justice has definite appeal.”
Ella returned to her vehicle, unable to shake the feeling that something terrible was going
to happen on the Rez soon unless she could find a way to stop it. She would have liked a court order to tap Morgan’s phone, but that was out of the question until they had some solid evidence.
Still considering her options, Ella stopped at the Totah Cafe. George Branch was doing his radio show, so she listened to his tirade. He had now embarked on an all-out attack on tribal politics and was
accusing the tribal council of cheating The People.
“The worst part,” Branch’s voice boomed over the radio, “is that the FBI and the tribal police are running around in circles chasing their own bureaucratic tails. The kidnappings are as phoney as everything about the people who engineered them. While our cops are out looking for kidnappers and missing politicians, our tribal resources are being
handed on a platter to non-Navajo businessmen. And, folks, when our land is used up and no good to anyone anymore, that’s when we’ll finally be left alone. The Anglos will leave, but we’ll still be here trying to undo the damage and scratching at the earth to provide enough for our own people. The tribe’s best allies right now are the Fierce Ones, despite the efforts of a few to make them look
like our enemies. The People are being told so many lies, the truth is getting buried. And we have our politicians to thank for this. Do something about it, listeners. The next time you visit your Chapter House, or go to the ballot box, let your elected officials know that you’re as mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore!”