by K C Gillis
The laboratory space looked like a mix of two time periods. The furniture, tables, and benches matched what she had already seen. But the lab equipment looked like something out of a movie. There was an array of different machines that were either new or very well maintained, all clean and shiny with their own LED displays. Many had stainless-steel lines and tubes attached, making Jordan think of high-tech science experiments. At the far end of the floor was a section walled off from the rest of the space by large glass doors. In fact, the walls were almost entirely made of glass, offering a full view inside.
“Let’s go to the observation suite,” Charlie said, pointing to the glass-enclosed room.
“The glass room? Cool.”
Jordan had never really been inside any sort of laboratory before. Unless she counted high school biology, which she’d only taken for one semester. The whole floor looked impressive with its array of equipment. But the observation suite was almost science-fiction-like. Charlie pushed a button, and a glass door popped out about an inch and slid to the right, accompanied by a noticeable rush of air.
“What’s up with the wind?” Jordan said as she followed Charlie inside.
“Oh, that. The observation suite is under negative pressure. So when the door opens, anything in the air inside the suite stays inside and doesn’t spread out into the rest of the lab. I don’t even notice anymore.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Here? Probably not. But most CDC labs, even small ones, have some sort of containment space where we could work on things that might be dangerous. The headquarters in Atlanta has the serious containment equipment. That’s where we can work with things like Ebola.”
“Yeah, I remember. So what are you going to do?”
“Just a basic examination. See if there’s a visual signal of what killed the fish. Let’s get it out of the bag.”
Jordan put the bag on the long stainless-steel table in the center of the room while Charlie put on a white lab coat, gloves, and some protective glasses. He then reached inside and retrieved the wrapped fish, removing the newsprint. There was a glass tray on the table, similar to the glass baking dish into which Charlie had placed the fish.
“What should I do?” Jordan asked.
“You can watch. Why don’t you put on a lab coat as well, just in case anything splatters?”
“That’s a nice thought.” Jordan followed his suggestion.
Charlie began his work. Jordan had never seen him at his job before, at least nothing more than dealing with email on his laptop. This provided a very different view of Charlie. A focused, meticulous view.
He carefully examined the exterior of the fish and took several pictures as he went along. After ten minutes, he had finished his external examination and began a careful dissection. For Jordan, this brought back memories of dissecting a frog in high school. She remembered it as being just as gross as what she was now witnessing.
“I don’t know how you can do that.”
“Shh,” Charlie said. “I need to concentrate.”
“Sorry,” Jordan said quietly.
Jordan imagined Charlie had a detailed sequence of steps in his mind, performing each one exactly as it appeared. As he went about his work of slicing, removing, and examining, she noticed a small microphone attached to his glasses. Charlie spoke softly as he worked, noting what he saw.
It must have been an additional half hour before Charlie completed his tasks. He carefully arranged the pieces of the fish on a stainless-steel tray and placed it on a shelf in a large freezer. He cleaned up the workspace, removed his protective clothing and gloves, and scrubbed his hands. Jordan hung up the lab coat she had been wearing and waited for instructions.
“Let’s head back to my office,” Charlie said. “We can talk in private.”
Jordan didn’t know if that was good or bad for the fish kill story. Charlie’s face was completely neutral. She followed him back to his office, and they both sat down again.
“What’s the scoop?” Jordan said. “You look so serious.”
“Sorry. I’m still processing the exam. When I’m focused on work, everything else kind of fades into the background.”
“I’d say I understand, but my brain doesn’t work like that.”
“I don’t think that’s true. One day, you’re going to grab a Pulitzer for your work. Hell, you should have gotten one for GenPhage.”
“No, thanks. I don’t like the attention.”
“I think you do. At least a bit. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. Tell me what you saw.”
“Yes, yes.” Charlie leaned forward, arms on his desk. “From what I saw, this fish died from significant overexposure to some kind of growth hormone. But nothing I’m familiar with. I’ll need some tests to confirm exactly what the fish was exposed to. But definitely something that functions like a growth hormone.”
For the second time in recent memory, Jordan was having to understand something scientific for which she was horribly untrained. “You need to keep this simple for me. What makes you think it involved a growth hormone?”
“There are several tissues that show signs of significant hypertrophy. That means excessive growth.”
“Like where? What tissues?”
“Well, most of the musculature, for starters. This fish is actually quite young, just a month or two old. But it has a body size of a full-grown adult. In addition, the scales look misshapen, like they’ve grown irregularly or too fast. In fact, there were many areas where the scales were protruding abnormally. There was no visible sign of bacteria or a virus, so I think it’s from a growth hormone.”
“What do you mean? Like the stuff really short kids take?”
“Probably not.” Charlie paused, seeming not sure if he wanted to venture too far away from fact. “But I’m familiar with the effects of most growth hormones. The size of this fish, plus the scale abnormalities, make me think it isn’t natural.”
“Not natural? So man-made, then?”
“That would be my conclusion. But I’m not sure. For that, I’ll need tests.”
“If it was man-made, what would be the reason to expose the fish to it?”
“Well, this fish is a species of trout, a very tasty fish and one with commercial potential. If one could boost the size of the fish, it’d be more profitable.”
“Money. That’s the reason?”
“Possibly.”
Jordan should have known better by now. If she needed a motive for something, start with money. Why should a fish kill be any different?
“Was there anything else you saw?”
“Well, despite the excessive growth, it was actually liver failure that killed the fish. The liver of that fish was rock hard. Something overtaxed it, causing it to fail. If all the fish that died also died of liver failure, then something about the growth hormone they were exposed to may have been toxic to the liver.”
“Well, there’s no way we’ll know if the other fish died of liver failure. For now, let’s assume that they did. What’s next? You mentioned testing?”
“Yes. I’ll get this fish tested for chemicals in the blood and muscles and try to identify what the actual growth hormone was. I also want some tissues tested, including the liver, to try to assess how damaged the liver and other organs were. But my gut tells me we’re dealing with something engineered.”
“Do you think they tested the fish in the lake? That seems like it would be hard to do.”
“Absolutely not. If they intended to expose the fish to this engineered growth hormone, it would have happened in a controlled environment. Like in some kind of breeding site or tank. How the fish then got into the lake, I’m not sure. Probably just dumped.”
That was the first thing that actually made any sense to Jordan. “That would explain why they were all found near each other. They must have been dumped after they died. That would mean the lake doesn’t actually have a problem. I
t was just a dumping ground.”
“That’s what I think,” Charlie said.
“So how long will the testing take?”
“I work with this particular lab a lot, so they’ll expedite it for me. If I get over there right away, maybe by the end of the day tomorrow. Otherwise, not until after the Fourth.”
Knowing the cause was man-made gave Jordan the motivation to dig into the Copper Lake surroundings for real to find the source. If she could find the source by the time the test results came back, she could enjoy a nice Fourth of July before writing her story.
“That sounds good to me. Let’s drop off our fish friend at the lab, and then I’ll take you to lunch.”
“Deal. I’ll have fish and chips.”
“Gross.”
24
Rachel and Derek headed up the dock following their tour of the lake. Walking toward the bar, Rachel received a text from Travis, telling her he had arrived. She told him to enter the marina grounds, keep to his right, and look for the bar.
Rachel spotted Travis’s tall frame well before he saw her. “Travis,” she called, waving her arm.
Travis waved back. When he reached Rachel, he bent down and embraced her. “It’s good to see you,” he said. “Man, it’s been a long time.”
“It feels like forever.” Rachel had momentarily forgotten that Derek was right beside her. “Oh, forgive my manners. Travis, this is Derek.”
“You’re the guy who found the dead fish?” Travis extended his hand.
Derek accepted Travis’s handshake. “Yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you. I guess you’re the guy Kasey’s brother called?”
“The one and only.”
“Let’s grab a seat,” Rachel said. “We’ve got some catching up to do. Derek, can you join us for a bit?”
“I’ve got a few minutes. Then I’ve got to get back to work. We’re still cleaning up some of the mess from yesterday.”
The trio sat at a table, and a server came over from the bar to take their orders.
“Is Kasey off today?” Rachel asked Derek.
“Not completely. She starts at five.”
“So where the hell is Jordan, anyway?” Travis said. “She asks me to come up for a couple of days and then texts me she won’t be here until later.”
Rachel looked to Derek. “Do you want to tell him?”
“You go ahead. You were with her.”
Rachel replayed the previous night’s events for Travis, step by step. Some details were secondhand, since Rachel never went inside the house. Derek confirmed what he could of events in the house.
By the time Rachel had finished, they all had a drink, though only Travis had one with alcohol. “Are you serious?” Travis said, looking at Derek. “You told Jordan to sneak into your house to steal a dead fish. And she did it? While both you and your police chief dad were in the house?”
“Yep. And she pulled it off. The fish should already be with her friend for testing.”
“What friend? Did she say?”
“Not to me,” Derek said.
“I think his name was Charlie,” Rachel said.
Travis had a laugh at that. “Charlie. I should have known. He’s Jordan’s go-to scientist.”
“So you know him?”
“Oh yeah. The three of us spent a few stressful days together when Jordan worked that GenPhage story. Hell, Charlie even got kidnapped.”
“No way?” Derek said. “That’s crazy.”
“No argument there.”
Derek looked at his watch. “Sorry, but I’ve gotta run. Good to meet you, Travis.”
Travis broke the silence after Derek’s departure. “Did you hear from Jordan?”
“I got a text that she was going to head back after lunch.”
“So what else is going on up here? I got the impression there was more than just the fish thing.”
“Maybe. There have been three weird accidents in the last couple of days. Each one kind of strangely random. Jordan thinks the three together is too much of a coincidence.”
Rachel told Travis what she knew of the accidents, though she was a witness only to the third one.
“I hate to say it, but I might have to agree with Jordan. If there had been just one accident, I could pass it off as coincidence. But all three, happening close together, feels intentional.”
“I can see why you two get along so well. Your brains are on the same wavelength.”
“You better not go there. Your sister won’t like it.”
“I know. She already warned me.”
“There’s not much I can do on the fish thing without Jordan, but I could help with the accidents. Is there something I can dig into online?”
Rachel thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think I know enough to even point you in the right direction.”
“All right. Let’s start with names. If the accidents were really on purpose, then the marina or someone associated with the marina is the target. Who’s the owner?”
“Let me think. Mike. Mike Banfield.”
“Good. I can work with that. His family?”
“He has a wife. I think her name is Alice. His daughter is Kasey.”
“Right. I knew that. Her brother was the one who called me. I forgot his family owned the marina. Is there anyone else you met tied to the marina or the accidents?”
“I haven’t met many people yet, sorry. Jordan knows who’s who around here. Wait, I do remember something. I’m pretty sure Jordan told me that Alice used to date the police chief in high school.”
“That was a long time ago. Do you think it’s important?”
“Oh yeah. The chief and Mike used to be good friends, but not anymore.”
“That’s interesting. What’s the police chief’s name again?”
“I don’t know his first name, but his last name is Foster.”
“That’s good enough. He’ll be easy to find.”
“You think the chief has something to do with the accidents?”
“Nah, but the fact that he and the marina owner have a strained history may help me find something.”
“What’re you going to do?”
“If it’s all right with you, I’m going to do some digging online. See if I can find something that might help connect the accidents to the marina. I’ll do it here if I can get Wi-Fi.”
“That works for me.”
Chief Foster watched Francis Emberly enter Mary’s Bakery just before noon. Through the glass storefront, he saw Emberly walk toward the back of the small restaurant. Just as the chief had instructed. He decided he’d let Emberly stew a bit. With the decreasing level of control he was experiencing, he needed to feel in charge. Making Emberly wait for him was a small thing, but it helped.
The chief passed the time on his phone for about fifteen minutes and then went in.
Emberly sat at the back of the restaurant at a two-person table. As the chief approached, he noticed Emberly’s coffee was already empty. The chief concluded the wait should have been sufficient to piss Emberly off.
Emberly spoke first. “It’s about time. I’ve been here at least fifteen minutes.”
The chief pulled out a chair and sat down. “Sorry about that,” he said with no real sense of apology. “I have a town to look over. I can’t change my schedule for you.”
“Well, I’m not here for you to waste my time. We both have a lot at stake, so it would be best if you gave our situation the appropriate amount of attention.”
“Or what? You’ll run and tell your boss? He and I have an agreement, and I’m upholding my end. If those assholes at the test site can’t control their shit, it’s not on me.”
“Is that so? We both know you were the one who removed the dead fish from the lake. How do you think the town would react to knowing that fact?”
“If it gets to that point, your boss will be toast. He’ll never get reelected.”
“Perhaps. But you’ll be out of a job right along with him.”
&n
bsp; The chief knew Emberly was right on that point. “So why are you here? You won’t be able to do anything. You stand out like a sore thumb.”
“I’m here to look out for certain interests. In case things go off the rails.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I dealt with the reporter.”
“Really? How exactly did you deal with her?”
The chief hadn’t planned on telling Emberly more than the minimum to shut him up. But his condescending attitude needed a correction.
“I learned she had one of the dead fish and was going to get it tested. I intercepted and destroyed it. Now she’s got nothing.”
Emberly looked to be processing the chief’s statement. He came to an obvious conclusion.
“If the reporter got her hands on a fish, wouldn’t it have been your son who gave it to her?”
The chief sneered at Emberly. “Yes, it was. He thought he was doing the right thing. Now he knows to stay out of it.”
“Is this reporter Jordan Reed still here?”
“I think so. Her sister is here as well, so she may stay for a few days.”
“Keep an eye on her.”
“I know how to do my job.” The chief pushed his chair back, preparing to leave. “Anything else?”
“Yes, actually. The marina.”
The chief had hoped this wouldn’t become an issue. He was wrong. “What about the marina?”
“Don’t play stupid. I’ve heard there’s someone interested in buying it. What do you know?”
The chief didn’t feel obligated to share anything with Emberly on the topic. It wasn’t part of the arrangement. “I can’t say I know much of anything. If there’s another person trying to buy the marina, I haven’t seen any evidence of it. And Mike sure as hell wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“I find it hard to believe the local police chief would know nothing about someone trying to buy the only real asset in his small town. There’s no way this could happen without word getting out.”
“Well, maybe not much has actually happened. Hell, if you want my opinion, your boss is wasting his time. Mike won’t sell the marina to anyone.”
“Let the businessmen worry about that. But you need to know my boss considers your obligation to him to cover any interest he has in Copper Lake. Not just protecting the test site.”
