Chapter 18

As if on cue, Merrick appeared from around a corner, bearing a smile and outstretched hand, all friendly and encouraging from a public relations standpoint.Interestingly enough, he didn't wear the standard space cadet uniform, but a nice taupe suit jacket and slacks with precise pleats, his shoes of fancy maroon leather.The smile and hand came with an attractive face and nicely proportioned body.Thankfully, his job excused him from the shaven head look, his nutmeg hair neat and thick, his mouth full and confident, and his eyes expressive and very blue.

"Detective Parrish, I'm Dane Merrick.Sorry to keep you waiting."

We shook hands, his flesh smooth and warm."No problem.Do you have an office or room where we can talk in private?"

"Of course, but I'd like to give you a tour of the company first, just to give you an idea of what we do here.If you like, we can talk while we walk; and I assure you that we can do so in all confidence."He pointed up to the corner of the ceiling where a camera lurked."We have those for security reasons, of course, but we don't record conversations or watch our employees around the clock.Nor do we require visitors to wear name tags or identification devices.We just don't think it's necessary in establishing good will between the institute and the community."

Nice speech, I'd have to give him that."

He flashed me a charming smile."So, let's take the tour."

As Merrick then led the way I walked a pace behind him until we came to a junction where the hallways diverged in opposite directions.Then he paused and waited for me to join him before we continued down the right hall, side by side.We stopped when we came to a large viewing window."This is our production lab," Merrick explained as he turned to me, "where we continue our research on cell development."

I peered through the window and observed some employees hunched over steel work tables, others operating equipment, sophisticated machines."I suppose that's my first question, what does the institute primarily produce, and who is your target audience?"

Merrick laughed."That's two questions, detective, but I can answer both quite readily.The purpose of the institute is to research and develop what we hope will be a common vaccine to rid the world of the most prevalent diseases, and that means cancer."He paused to take a quick breath."In the twentieth century, the medical community produced vaccines to eradicate the most common diseases up to that point, mainly polio.In the twenty-first century, AIDS became the next heinous disease to go.And now it's cancer, with our primary goal to come up with an aggressive vaccine.Oh, I know there have been breakthroughs in cancer drugs, but we want to eradicate the cancerous cells before they take hold.Our second objective is to research and develop ways to prolong life.Wouldn't you like a long, fulfilling, and healthy life, Detective Parrish?"

His gaze focused on my face.For some reason I felt a blood rush and a tingling sensation as if Merrick could strip away my officious veneer and discover my more intimate thoughts.For instance, my assessment of his total form and function ran towards definitely handsome, sexy and inviting."Of course," I answered truthfully."Doesn't everyone?"

"For most people, a longevity serum would be hailed as truly miraculous, a chance to return to the days of our ancestors when people lived well into their nineties and even on to a hundred or more.Same holds true with a drug to prevent major diseases.Therefore, our audience consists of the world population, most of us ordinary but valuable people just like you and me."

I switched my glaze back to the technicians in the laboratory as Merrick continued to stare at me.Checking me out?Looking for flaws?Scoping out my intentions?I couldn't tell.

"Actually," he professed and finally focused on the top of my head, "we're more of a research and development company, similar to a pharmaceutical firm but with much more advanced methods and proven results."

"What did Gavin McAllister do here?You remember him, the dead man."

Merrick never batted an intriguing eye."Oh, yes, yes, his death hit us all hard.Gavin had been our senior production and resources manager.He will be sorely missed, of course.I only knew him on a professional basis, but Dr. Zeff Nutter might be able to give you more information about Gavin as well as explain more fully the goals of our organization."

"Proven results," I repeated as we began to walk the hall again."How do you measure longevity on people not yet ready to move on to old age?You don't speed up the process, do you?"

Merrick laughed again, his voice a pleasant base tenor."Actually, we measure certain chemical reactions that happen naturally in the body, those stimulated by the drug, and then the combination structure of both.From there we can chart the progression of ageism quite accurately."As he spoke, the PR man played with a portable communication unit, probably a communicator to call or summon other employees. When a message came up on the narrow display he smiled and then glanced back at me."Doc Nutter says we can meet him for a couple of minutes in his briefing room.From there--" His gaze deepened again."We can go to the employee café and have a cup of coffee while we talk.I can think more clearly when I have my afternoon caffeine rush.What about you?"

I offered an agreeable smile."Caffeinated sodas work for me, or one of those high energy drinks, but coffee is good, too."

We started our walk again, further along the hall until Dane Merrick came to an archway leading inside a compact but dark tunnel, the only light from thin strips of blue neon edging the entrance portal.He pressed his hand against the wall display, the sensor inside registering his palm print and identifying him as a Senesco employee.He quickly programmed the digital panel below and then turned back to me with another warm smile.

"There, now I got you programmed in.Just walk inside here, pause at the yellow line and allow the scans to acknowledge and sterilize you.A beep will alert you when you're good to go, and from there you can continue on to the doctor's liar-oops, I mean scientific environs."

Suddenly, Merrick let out a low, throaty chortle, like the menacing laugh of the bad guy in one of those old-fashioned melodramas. He just needed the black cape, top hat and narrow handlebar moustache. "We call him Dr. Nut Case," the PR man continued with a clever wink."Of course, we reserve the euphemism for those times when he dismisses us from his company which is often.You'll understand when you meet him.The doc looks and acts like a mad scientist at times, like he has bats in his belfry, but he's a genius, a rather intense genius.Just don't let him scare you."

I laughed."Oh, I don't scare that easily."

"Good."Before he allowed me through the sanitizer, he gave me a thoughtful look."I'd like it if you would call me Dane.I'm not much on formality, only when I'm conducting business, and then it's the full moniker, Bishop Dane Merrick.But as Dane, I can talk candidly and openly.In fact, you'll find me much more conducive to an interview when I loosen up a bit."

How loose did he want to become?For a moment I weighed the pros and cons of allowing him a more familiar line with me, but in the end I consented."All right, Dane.You can call me Cadye when we talk together like this."

"And save the more formal Detective Parrish for public consumption, right?"

"Right."His attractive smile always made me follow suit.As much as I allowed myself to admit it, I had been stacking up his assets since we met.For one, Dane Merrick stood a good five inches taller than me which made for a nice, even match on the dance floor, that's if we ever got that far.I had been studying his shoulders, too, and decided that broad, sturdy look beneath his jacket had to be from a real set of muscles and not padded enhancements.

Now Dane gave a polite sway of his arm towards the tunnel."Right this way, Cadye.Guests first."

I never felt a thing as I walked onto the autoclave panel, paused at the yellow line and waited for the sanitizer beam to pass over and around me.Beneath the panel a series of rollers picked up all the minute particles on the bottom of my shoes.When the machine finished, a recorded message directed me towards a revolving door with an exit sign overhead.I gladly left and waited for Dane. When he joined me, he touched my elbow and guided me forward and through what appeared to be another lab, only this one smaller in size and scope.Yet the machines in here seemed bigger and more complicated with vials, gadgets, blinking lights and those funny levers and electrode things found in all good horror movies. Could I be looking at the creations of a mad genius?Probably.

Before we went any further, a tall, willowy woman in a lime green suit wended her way around the work tables and made a beeline for us.Her wide smile of welcome added to the friendly glint in her hazel eyes.She had a long face with prominent features, and cropped hair, short and spiky on top, its color a blend of jet sheen and copper red.

"Ah, there you are, Dane-with our guest."The woman extended her slim hand, making her trio of chunky platinum bracelets slip down her wrist."Hello, detective, I'm Renata Tijeras, the executive director of marketing and sales."

"Nice to meet you," I replied and shook her hand.Besides the manicured nails with soft mauve polish, I noticed she wore several gold rings with semi-precious stones but no wedding band.And she exuded a pleasant smell, of hibiscus and amber."I'm Detective Parrish, assigned to the Gavin McAllister murder."

"Oh, yes, what a terrible tragedy."The marketing director's smile faltered for a moment."I wasn't actually acquainted with Gavin or even worked with him directly, but I did know he was an incredible asset to the organization.If there's anything I can do for you, detective, please don't hesitate to ask.Tiffin at the front desk will give you our individual extensions so you can contact me and Dane directly.And by the way, I prefer to go by Renata."

"All right, Renata, thank you."Right now I preferred to stick to cool politeness, not because I felt intimated or even superior to the corporate management types; but Renata Tijeras, like Dane, remained a potential suspect.Nonetheless, Ms. Tijeras struck me right off as a straight-forward, no-nonsense go-getter, who probably belonged to all those networking clubs and women's organizations after graduating in the top ten percent of her class at some business school, and then setting out to prove herself as an independent career woman.Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I always steered clear of those kinds of women if only because they always seemed on a mission to recruit us hapless, clueless working gals.And whether such professional camaraderie would help me in the end or not, I simply had no time to network and join clubs.

"Well, I won't keep you two," Renata said as she crooked her arm at her side, allowing her bracelets to slide back with a clink of metal."I know, Detective Parrish, that Dane will do whatever he can to assist you."

"We're off to see Dr. Nutter," the PR man informed his colleague with a lyrical up-slide of his voice as if announcing, we're off to the wizard!

Renata gave a light laugh. "Oh, yes, our resident scientist is quite a character, but he'll prove informative nonetheless.He can't help but talk about his work; and if you steer him gently, he'll offer much more about the people here and the dynamics of our organization."

"That's what we're hoping for," Dane added, his own chuckle puckering his cheeks and making little attractive dimples under each."Or at least a few words of enlightenment."