by Kim McMahill
She was standing in front of him, hands on her hips, waiting for him to respond. Logan stepped forward. Tipping her chin up with his fingers, he leaned over and kissed her lips gently until she stepped back out of reach. Her eyes widened with surprise, yet she said nothing. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled crookedly. “You said to do whatever intrigues me.”
“Oh, great, if I wasn’t afraid of someone whacking me over the head with a two-by-four, I’d throw your nice butt out of here so fast,” she replied as she spun on her heel and stormed out the door.
Chapter Sixteen
Devyn Nash exited her boss’s office fuming mad, and a little beaten down if she were being totally honest with herself. As much as she denied claims by her fellow FBI agents that she was “the golden girl who could do no wrong,” she had become accustomed to frequent accolades for her work, especially from her boss, Special Agent in Charge, Gerald Conroy. Today’s meeting reminded her she wasn’t terribly fond of, or particularly good at, accepting a full-fledged, dressing-down by her superiors.
She would get over the scolding she had just gotten for following up on a lead she’d been ordered to drop, but the Sacramento agent who had ratted her out was now officially on her mental list of those she would get even with if ever given the chance. When it came to weasels, wimps, and tattletales, she had a very long memory.
One of the talents which had made her so good at her job was the ability to file seemingly unrelated or insignificant details away and retrieve them when, and if, the occasion arose.
Several years ago she had read a report about an explosion at the GenTech Medical and Pharmaceutical Laboratories. It destroyed a decade’s worth of research data on an experimental surgical procedure to reprogram how the brain interprets the body’s hunger messages, so that diabetic and overweight individuals might one day manage their nutritional intake without any conscious effort.
At the time, she hadn’t thought much about the incident except for the all-too-coincidental fact the servers containing the facilities’ backups just so happened to have been recently relocated to the same lab awaiting the construction of a new computer room, effectively destroying the backup and original data with one convenient accident. Reportedly, the incident set the research back a good five years or more.
A year later, the head researcher for Polk Genetic Research supposedly committed suicide after isolating a gene not previously known to contribute to genetic obesity. Fearing his company or colleagues would steal his work, he coded his notes with such a complex method it still hadn’t been broken. Most recently, an analyst for Smith and Brown Consumer Analytics died from injuries sustained in a ski accident at a resort outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Devyn couldn’t get the connections out of her mind, and had made her suspicions known to anyone who would listen, including her boss. Until the ski accident, the other two incidents were too far outside her jurisdiction to provide her with a legitimate excuse to investigate. According to her boss, the investigation into the unusual circumstances surrounding the recent skiing fatality at a nearby resort was still not hers to pursue.
“By the look on your face, I assume your meeting with Conroy didn’t go well, but I’m having a little trouble deciding if you’re mad or embarrassed,” Nick stated as Devyn plopped down in her desk chair.
“Furious, enraged, angry, and considering what form of revenge would be the most appropriate for a stinking rat, would pretty much sum up my attitude and predominant thoughts at the moment.”
“Whoa! Conroy is generally a fair man, and he always has your back, since you are his personal pet and the agency’s ‘Golden Girl.’”
“I’m only simmering at Conroy. It’s that worthless excuse for an agent in the Sacramento office that’s my target. Can you believe he told on me? What are we, five years old? It’s not like I stole his lunch money. If we’re going to be juvenile, if I ever meet him in person I can guarantee you he will experience a very public adult wedgie.”
The way Nick rolled his eyes made Devyn grit her teeth and count to ten. Nick Melonis was her current partner, evidently the only agent in the bureau capable of standing toe-to-toe with her. They had been together for nearly two years, and in that time everyone had failed in the office pool on how long he would make it, except Devyn. She had smugly gathered up forty bucks once the most generous bet of eight months passed, leaving her the default winner.
Nick was an attractive man, but in a relatively harmless way, which made him blend in, especially in city environments. His dark brown hair was always meticulously combed back. He sported a pleasant yet casual smile, and his intense brown eyes caught the attention of most of the woman they encountered, despite his borderline dorky rectangular glasses.
At first everyone was sure they were sleeping together, but Devyn had never felt anything more for Nick than brotherly love, and she was certain he harbored nothing deeper for her in return. They had a great working relationship, and at the moment that was the only kind she wanted or needed with any man.
“What did you do, Devyn?”
The patient, scolding tone of his voice dampened her ire. She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, twirling her pencil between her fingers.
“The local authorities wouldn’t give me a copy of their report on the Smith and Brown employee ski accident, since they claimed to already be working with an agent. I know the company is located in California, and the guy was only here on a vacation, and the FBI said all investigations into any possible connections between all the pharmaceutical, research, and consumer testing company incidents are to be handled by the jurisdiction in which the companies are located,” Devyn droned on sarcastically. “I went ahead and called the agent in California and asked him to send me a copy of the final report to satisfy my curiosity.”
“Not this again? Devyn, when are you going to give it a rest? I’m not denying there are a lot of uncomfortable coincidences, and that something smells a little fishy, but this isn’t our baby, and Conroy has specifically ordered you to back off on more than one occasion. Unless we have undeniable and indisputable evidence, it’s just too risky to start poking around these corporate giants.
“Their campaign dollars reach far and wide. Remember when you started asking questions about Polk at a political fundraiser? Conroy promptly got a call from the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Carson Grant. From what I gather, Conroy received a veiled threat concerning his future with the FBI if he didn’t rein you in.”
“I remember. That little fink is on my list, too, but nothing is worse than a tattletale, especially within your own agency. Aren’t we supposed to all be on the same team and have each others’ backs?” she mumbled as she lowered her head to avoid the admonishing look in Nick’s eyes.
“Pretty childish, I admit, but he is probably afraid of you. You do have a bit of a far-reaching reputation.”
Devyn slowly raised her head as a wicked smile eased across her lips. “Thanks. You always know the right things to say to cheer me up. I’ve worked very hard to instill terror in the hearts of my fellow men, and I’ve been pretty successful, except for you. What’s with you, anyway?”
“I know your secret.”
“I have no secrets.”
“Yes, you do. Under that tough-as-nails, mean-as-a-hornet exterior, you’re a softy.”
“Repeat that to anyone and the creepy gnome sitting on your desk will have a fatal accident.”
“That’s my girl. Come on, I could use a decent cup of coffee.”
Devyn grabbed the car keys off the desk and tossed them to Nick. “You drive. I could use a nap, granny.”
Chapter Seventeen
Sitting across the kitchen table from Logan for the second morning in a row felt so natural the realization made Grace incredibly uncomfortable.
When she came here to live with her uncle, it had taken months for her to accept Moss and feel at ease around him and Butch, but somehow Logan had s
lipped into her life with little resistance on her part. Normally, she would have bristled at his intrusion, and fought his presence and insistence on helping, but how could she?
He hadn’t tried to convince her none of the tragedies were her fault, nor had he placed any blame. He simply listened and let her cry, and for once she had no desire to face her problems alone.
The night before he’d helped with the chores, washed dishes, and read through a stack of files while she sat at the opposite end of the sofa, pouring over her research notes. The occasional glimpses at him brought a constricting pain to her chest as she acknowledged the peaceful domestic scene was just an illusion.
This morning when she’d woken to the sound of the shower running, she realized for the first time in her life the depth of her loneliness. My problem, not his, she thought as she ate her breakfast, questioning her decision to throw herself into a career at the expense of a personal life.
“More coffee?” The sound of his deep voice brought her out of her depressing thoughts.
“Yes, please.”
“What has you a million miles away?”
Admitting that she was enjoying something so simple as sharing breakfast with another human and wishing it would never end made her feel pathetic, so she focused on all the other thoughts rattling through her mind.
“My boss told me to call as soon as I found out if the fire was an accident. If intentionally set, he felt he had no choice but to go to the CEO of the company and fess up.”
“Why’s that a problem?”
“First, he and I will probably be fired for breaking protocol and housing test subjects outside the research facility which, compared to what’s happened to Butch and Moss, is the least I deserve, but the job is Stephen’s entire life. Secondly, they’ll want Charlotte taken to a secure facility, which is a joke. The quickest way to leak secrets is to place them under guard. Assigning a guard is like advertising you have something worth protecting, and the vultures immediately start circling.”
“You might be out of danger if you and the pig were split up. No sense getting rid of one if the other still exists, but right now there’s an ongoing investigation and nothing, including the pigs, are going anywhere.”
She wished the situation were as straightforward as Logan made it sound. With the amount of money at stake, Grace doubted the company would comply without a fight. She couldn’t let them take Charlotte to an unfamiliar facility to be cared for by people who only saw her as a research project and a potential lottery ticket.
Whenever she tried out a new nutritional supplement, she realized there was an unlikely but miniscule physical risk, but she never allowed the animals to be stressed and always pulled the plug on a project at the first hint of a negative result, avoiding any undue stress on the animal. For now, she had to focus on Charlotte’s well-being and caring for the rest of the stock and ignore any thoughts of possible danger to herself, or she would be unable to function.
“When UVN’s management finds out what happened, the sheriff’s office and local courts will be crawling with powerful corporate attorneys trying to secure Charlotte’s release. She’s living proof of a high likelihood that a person can eat whatever he or she wants, even if it’s nutritional crap, in any quantity, and still lose weight by ingesting a simple daily supplement. You see, pig and human digestive systems are very similar, so if the modified enzyme works for them it’ll probably work for people, though I can’t help but think it’s too good to be true, especially now.”
“What do you mean, ‘now?’”
“Charlotte’s weight has leveled off in the past week according to the logs Moss thankfully had stored in his desk. But what worries me the most is we don’t know what will happen when we take her off the enzyme, or if long-term use will have detrimental effects on her, such as potential organ damage.”
“I doubt that’s high on the list of priorities for your company’s CEO or its stockholders.”
“Profits are the bottom line. Safety isn’t. In the pharmaceutical game, companies maintain the best legal teams money can buy. Go into production, make money, and let the lawyers deal with the fallout when, and if, it comes. UVN and others in the nutritional supplement side are even less cautious than comprehensive pharmaceutical companies, since most of the products promote general well-being as opposed to curing a disease or ailment. As a whole, the products I develop either improve health or don’t help, but seldom harm, so legal action is minimal. None of the products I’ve ever worked on have been found to cause harm, so none have ended up in court.”
Logan rose from the table and paced to the living room window. “I talked to Sheriff Harris this morning, and we thought it best not to contact Uinta Vitamin and Nutrition until we know more.” About them, Logan thought but didn’t say it out loud. Background checks were being run on Grace, Dr. Clark, her two colleagues, and all of the upper management as they spoke.
“What’s the plan?” Grace asked.
“The sheriff’s office tracked down the rental vehicle the Hickman brothers described, and it was rented using a stolen driver’s license and ditched about seventy miles from here.”
“What does that mean?”
Logan shrugged his shoulders. All he knew for certain was that Sheriff Harris agreed Grace would be his top priority, and he wouldn’t let her out of his sight unless an emergency came up that couldn’t wait for another deputy. Being in such close proximity, she would be involved in every aspect of the investigation, so he didn’t see much point in withholding information from her.
“Do you think you can trust Dr. Clark to keep quiet for a while longer? I’d like to ask him some questions, and he could probably be a lot of help in figuring out who would want to steal the formula or keep it off the market.”
Grace nodded and walked over to the phone. Hitting the “speaker” button, she punched in Dr. Clark’s private number.
“Stephen, can you talk?”
“Just a moment.”
They listened to the sound of footsteps and a door shutting, and seconds later his concerned voice came back on the line.
“Grace, I was starting to worry. How’s everything going?”
“I’m fine, and Moss is healing, but I’m afraid our worst fear has materialized. I have you on speaker, and Deputy Carlson is here.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Stephen cleared his throat. “I’d like to say nice to meet you, but I hope you’ll understand if I don’t.”
“Yes, Grace filled me in on her project, and at the moment it’s the only motive we have for what we now believe to be arson, murder, and attempted murder. I need to ask you a few questions, and for a favor.”
“Certainly, whatever I can do to help.”
“I’d like you to keep this conversation and the incident quiet for a bit longer. I understand you have a responsibility to your corporate management, but I’m hoping to perpetuate the assumption that the data, the test subjects, and the supplements were destroyed in the fire, and that local law enforcement is considering this an accident, to whoever is responsible. Otherwise I fear Grace may be in grave danger.”
This time the pause was longer. Grace could hear the squeak in Stephen’s chair, and she could picture him removing his glasses, rocking back, and rubbing his exhausted face with his hand.
“I’m so sorry, Grace. I should never have gone against protocols by allowing off-site tests, and I most certainly should have had you bring the animals in the moment we realized we were on to something more than helping animals properly digest marginal foodstuffs. This setup has worked so well in the past, I guess we got complacent. I—I would never intentionally put you or your family in…danger.”
She had always thought of Stephen as a friend and father figure. She knew he cared a great deal about her, and hearing the concern in his voice touched her deeply.
“I knew the risks, but did what I thought was best for the animals. It would have broken my heart to take Charlotte and the others a
way from their home and put them in a concrete and wire cage in an unfriendly research facility. I’ve clearly let my emotions get in the way of good judgment.”
Grace felt the gentle squeeze on her shoulder and looked up into Logan’s serious eyes. He was trying to be patient but obviously had more on his mind, so she stepped back, allowing him to get closer to the speaker on the phone.
“It seems to me there are a multitude of companies which would either want to manufacture the product or prevent it from ever hitting the shelves. If we’re correct in assuming this project is the motive, with so much at stake, I can’t imagine the responsible party will stop with burning down a barn, which might have housed the test animals, supplements, and weight logs, when the scientists who could replicate the study and the product are still around.
“There’s no way to be sure at this point if the fire was planned or if Butch and Moss simply got in the way and the situation escalated. I don’t want to scare anyone, and I have to admit we have nothing solid to make us believe anyone else is in danger or that Grace’s work and the crimes are even connected, but I think anyone with knowledge of the research should be especially diligent and exercise additional situational awareness and caution until we know more.”
“Oh, Grace, what have we done? We’ve always worked to make animals’ lives healthier and ranchers more productive, but we got greedy. Maybe we could save the world—” His laugh broke, sounding on the verge of hysteria. “Now a man is dead, and those of us directly involved may be next, just to make a handful of stockholders rich. I only wish I knew who. The list of those who would benefit from this product’s sales or preventing it from being marketed is endless.”
Logan was afraid Dr. Clark was going to break down on him and not be of any help, so he regained control of the conversation. “I think blame is a little premature. The investigation is ongoing, so let’s focus. There have to be certain companies in the industry known to take shortcuts or play dirty. Please just think about what you know of the competitors or if anything has been especially abnormal with this particular project, and get back to me if anyone rises to the top or something strikes you as odd.”