by Aimée
“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!”
Ella groaned. With Hollywood sound bites like the last one, Branch sounded like he was running for office. How much more could the tribe endure?
The waitress, a Navajo girl in her early twenties, came up to her. “What do you think, Officer Clah? Are our politicians forgetting The People?”
“No more than usual. Branch likes to talk about the lies other people tell,” Ella said, “but he uses catchphrases and deals in half-truths geared mostly to get him more listeners, not to solve problems. Until we find the answers we need, no one, including Branch, knows exactly where the truth lies. Assumptions are seldom reliable enough for anything except gossip, yet that’s exactly what he’s using as the premise for all his claims. Always be careful when anyone insists he’s got all the answers, because that alone makes him a liar.”
Ella threw a dollar on the table. Her appetite was gone, and George Branch was responsible. Without ordering, she said goodbye and walked out.
* * *
Ella sat in her office, studying Senator Yellowhair and Ernest Ben’s phone records. One thing they had in common was several calls made at about the same time to Morgan’s home.
On a hunch, she dialed Sheriff Taylor’s number. “You have Hansen’s phone records, don’t you?” she asked.
“Sure. They’re in his file. Whatcha need?”
“I need you to check and see if he called two numbers in particular.” She gave him Yellowhair’s and Ben’s numbers, then waited.
“They’re here. He called each of them twice in one month. The last time was the day before he was killed. Have you found a connection?”
“I think so,” she said slowly. “Was the first time the day after the animal exposition?” she asked, giving him the date.
“That matches,” Taylor said.
“Here’s what I think happened. My guess is that Hansen either caused or discovered that there had been a radiation leak of some kind at LabKote. He knew that people and animals were exposed, so he called the two tribal officials he knew, ready to blow the whistle. But Yellowhair and Ben decided to check for themselves and called Morgan. Morgan found out what Hansen had done and either killed him himself or had him killed. Later, maybe suspecting Yellowhair and Ben could still cause problems, or because they asked for payoffs he couldn’t provide, Morgan kidnapped them, and made it look like the Fierce Ones were responsible.”
“Can you prove any of this?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
“Keep me updated, and let me know if I can help.”
“You’ve got it.”
Justine came in as Ella hung up. “I heard the last part of that. So you think Yellowhair and Ben were kidnapped because they knew too much?”
“I’ll tell you the picture that’s emerging for me. I’m betting that there was an accident the day of the animal event at the fairgrounds and that resulted in a radiation leak. Hansen wanted to blow the whistle but, unfortunately, he called two men who couldn’t be trusted. They, in turn, probably demanded hush money from LabKote, and that’s when Morgan or Landreth, or maybe both, decided they needed to get rid of them to keep the lid on things a while longer.”
“So, you think Ben and Yellowhair are dead?”
Ella considered it. “I’m not sure. If Morgan’s behind what’s going on, I’d say probably not. He wouldn’t pass up the chance to use them as leverage if things got rough.”
“How do we get evidence that will either prove or disprove your theory?” Justine asked.
“What we need are LabKote’s electric bills, power consumption records, water bills, phone bills, and anything else that would indicate something atypical happened the day of the exposition.”
“But how does this tie into the livestock killings, or do you think they were a separate event?”
“I think it’s connected. My guess is that they staged those incidents to divert us and help cover up what happened. Remember that all the anim
als killed were females. That was self-serving on several counts since it would also take care of any questions that might have arisen later if any problems showed up with their offspring,” Ella said.
She continued. “Of course, they purposely made it look as if the traditionalists were killing the animals of the progressives so that people would start fighting each other, and the trail would become hopelessly muddied. Mrs. Brownhat had to go, too, because she had been irradiated, and knew about the door being open. All she had to do was mention it to the wrong person, and they were busted. They tried very hard to make it look like an accident, but they failed.”
“We still have nothing except circumstantial evidence and not even Judge Chase will give us a court order based on that,” Justine said.
Ella cursed under her breath. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s why I want you to have the electric company check their records and see if there was anything unusual in that power grid, or whatever it’s called, around that time. That won’t require a court order.”
“I’ll see to it,” Justine said. “For what it’s worth, I think your theory’s a good one. From that angle, it’s easy to link the events to the break-in at the clinic. It seems likely that they were looking for women at a stage in their pregnancy where their fetuses would be vulnerable to radiation. Elisa Brownhat had to go first for a couple of reasons, but she wasn’t the only pregnant woman in this area they’d have to murder to remove all risks. Several children born with defects whose mothers were at the animal show could easily have led to an investigation that would have pointed back to LabKote, the only real source of radiation outside a hospital around here. Fortunately, things got too hot for them, and they had to change their plans.”
“At the time Elisa was killed, they must have still been planning to stay on the Rez for the duration. I would imagine that they changed their minds after things started getting quickly out of control,” Ella said.