Murder at Naughton Pharms

CHAPTER BREAK – THURSDAY NIGHT

  In the distance, above the expanse of prairie, thunderheads flickered, lit silently from within, too far for the thunder to carry. Kelly had laid out a canvas tarp at the edge of the sumac shrubs, the same spot where he had sat with Bennie. The sun had dropped below the western clouds, and the ravine below was now in deep shadow, but no lights showed in the farmhouse windows.

  They had stopped at Jessica's house, where she changed into casual clothes, including a charcoal grey rugby shirt with a pink stripe -- long sleeves to guard against mosquitoes. She had also grabbed a rain jacket. Following her lead, Kelly retrieved his dark green windbreaker from the back seat. He also took the flashlight and the tarp. Jessica carried his umbrella.

  Kelly pointed to the long, low barn built against the hillside. "That's the poultry barn I told you about."

  Off to the right, closer to the farmhouse, was the half-collapsed wreck of the traditional barn. The main door faced left, with the basement door oriented toward the house. To Kelly, it seemed like the brick silo helped support some of the walls.

  "Looks quiet," said Jessica.

  They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the August night – the chirping crickets, the display of the distant lightning, the croaking of the frogs from the stream below.

  "I wonder if there's a way to check public records for permits involving experiments on animals," said Jessica.

  "Probably. Unless he's still working for the government on some secret project."

  "Maybe Kupmeier and the other victims found out he was using animals illegally, and they used that for blackmail."

  "Could be. That would make for a hell of a movie plot. But the cops didn't see any animals."

  "Maybe they have a third place."

  "Someplace the cops don't know about? That's a thought. I suppose we could follow Naughton again; see where he goes, but I'm curious about that barn and why they were in there."

  "You think the police might have missed something."

  "Maybe they moved stuff out, or hid it. They had advance warning. They agreed to the search."

  "You want to look inside, don't you?"

  Kelly nodded "Them being in there, in the dark, just doesn't jive with what Amundson said about the place."

  "Maybe you should talk to the police again?"

  "No. I've already ruined my credibility with them."

  "They might give you a better explanation. Maybe there's a good reason for what you saw."

  "Maybe."

  "But you don't want to ask."

  "No, I don't."

  "Then let's look for ourselves."

  Kelly looked at her. "That's probably the dumbest thing we can do."

  Jessica smiled. "Probably."

  "You sure you want to?"

  She nodded.

  Kelly looked back to the farmstead. In truth, he had already given the idea some thought. "What we could do, is go right up to the house and knock. If anybody comes to the door, we'll tell them our car won't start and we don't have cell service. We'll ask to use their phone."

  "What good will that do?"

  "That's the cover story in case someone's home. If nobody's there, we go on to the barn, like we're looking for someone to help us."

  "What if they recognize you from this afternoon?"

  Kelly thought about that for a moment. "Well, I was wearing a hat and sunglasses. Going without should help. And I can put on the windbreaker." He looked at Jessica hopefully.

  She nodded, affirming that the changes should do the trick.

  They took the tarp back to the car. Jessica also left her rain jacket, but kept the umbrella. They headed down the hillside toward the single-lane wooden bridge. It had no railings. The stream below ran deep and fast, swollen by an overly-generous share of isolated thunderstorms.

  In addition to the lingering daylight, a nearly full moon now rose in the east – only a light haze of clouds obscured it. They didn't need the flashlight, but it was dark enough for the motion sensor to trigger the floodlight. Kelly opened the screen door and knocked. Jessica came forward, leaning close, listening for any sounds from inside. Kelly knocked a second time, more loudly. Still nothing. They waited several seconds.

  "So far, so good," said Kelly, just above a whisper.

  A gravel path led to the poultry barn. The entrance had a set of twin doors, each four feet wide. A padlock hung open, the hasp undone.

  "It doesn't seem like they're very intent on security," said Jessica.

  Kelly knocked, then slowly pulled a door open. "Hello?"

  The glass windows lining the left side of the building were grimy and some were broken. The windows let in just enough light to give shape to the room and to several pieces of old equipment. The stale air carried a hint of oil or gasoline and a fair dose of mildew.

  "Spooky in here," whispered Jessica.

  Kelly turned on the LED flashlight and panned it slowly over the items, among which were the remnants of a harrow, a few steel drums, and a dusty headboard and footboard stacked with a set of rusted bed springs. Farther on, they found an old metal kitchen table with one matching chair lying on its side. There was also the old animal crate Kelly had seen. It gave no immediate clue as to the type of animal it had held. Parked by the windows was an old car on flat tires, a Chrysler LeBaron K-car from the 80s. "Not much worse condition than new," joked Kelly.

  Beyond the car, the wood floor ended, giving way to dirt as the barn stretched away in a series of pens made of wood and chicken wire. "I sure don't see why they'd be spending time in here."

  "Maybe they sit in the car to listen to the radio," said Jessica.

  Kelly chuckled. "That's as good an explanation as any."

  He pointed out several sets of footprints in the dirt. "Those are likely from the police search." He played the light back toward the entrance. "The dirt's been swept up in the front. No prints."

  A faint whirring caught their attention.

  "What's that?" said Jessica.

  Kelly clicked off the light, fearing it might be seen, though he was quite sure they would have noticed any approaching vehicle. Aside from the headlights, it would have rumbled upon the bridge.

  The whirring subsided, but Jessica gasped, drawing Kelly's attention to a light showing from below a stack of metal shelves against the wall. They hid behind the car just as the shelves swung outward. Through the car windows they saw Doc Naughton emerge, dressed in a lab coat, lantern in hand. The hidden door swung shut behind him. As Naughton went to leave, he stopped at the partially open barn door. After a long pause, he turned, looking around. Jessica ducked, but Kelly held still, confident he could not be seen, but his heart raced, and Jessica's grip on his leg spoke to her tension.

  Naughton finally turned away, seemingly satisfied there was no one there. The room darkened as he closed the door. The hasp slapped into place, followed by the snap of the lock. The hint of light from his lantern faded along with the crunch of his footsteps on the gravel.

  Kelly exhaled in relief.

  "Crap, I about peed," whispered Jessica.

  Kelly crept to the windows, finding a broken pane to look through. The motion light came on as Naughton neared the house.

  Jessica came to Kelly's side. "I think he locked us in."

  Naughton entered the house, turning on an interior light.

  "We'll go out the window," said Kelly. He shielded the flashlight with his hand. Using a sliver of light from between his fingers, he determined that the window was hinged at the top, with a simple latch at the bottom. He turned off the flashlight and unhooked the latch. The window was stiff. It groaned as Kelly cracked it open. "It's going to be noisy. And the frame is in pretty bad shape. The glass could even break. Might be a good idea to give him some time to fall asleep."

  "We wait in here?" Jessica's apprehension was clear.

  "Maybe there's another way out. Either way, I'd like to see what's behind that secret door before we leave."

  Jessi
ca looked toward the door. "Are you sure?"

  "Not if you don't want to."

  "One close call is plenty. And we still need to sneak out of here."

  "I suppose."

  "And we have enough to go to the cops now, right?"

  "Sure. A secret room. We broke the law to find out, but we need to tell them."

  Jessica looked again at the secret door. "What do you think is in there?"

  "Well, I'd expect a lab, but he has a lab in town. Why would he need a secret lab?"

  "Maybe it's not a lab?"

  "Man cave? Big screen TVs? Wet bar?"

  Jessica punched Kelly's shoulder. "It's not a man cave."

  "Maybe he's growing special mushrooms, breeding a secret variety of truffle or something."

  "Oh, wouldn't the cops love that. Send them back out here to find mushrooms."

  "Maybe they're psychedelic. Or ..." Kelly looked at Jessica, suddenly more serious. "Maybe they're medicinal. He plans to derive a new drug from mushrooms. That would totally make sense."

  Jessica acknowledged the possibility with a shrug. "I guess. That's as good a theory as any. Except it doesn't explain why he didn't let the cops see."

  "Corporate secrecy? Or maybe he did show them, and they're respecting his request to be discrete."

  They briefly fell silent, contemplating the possibilities. The yard spotlight timed out, further darkening the barn. Kelly could see uncertainty in Jessica's eyes, her expression caught in the faint moonlight. He put his arm around her as they sat crouched beside the car.

  "If it's just mushrooms," she said at length.

  "Could be embarrassing."

  "I suppose we should know first."

  "Changed your mind?"

  "Maybe. I don't know. Maybe just a quick peek as long as we're here and have to wait?"

  "Sure. Let's do it." Kelly stood. "And if anything happens, we go for the window and get out fast."

  After checking for any sign of action at the house, they crept to the secret door, the moon providing just enough light to find their way. The panel looked no different than the rest of the wall, except for the attached shelving that helped disguise it. Kelly gave the shelf a tug. The panel moved silently and with little effort. He opened it a crack and used the flashlight to peer inside. "There's another door," he whispered. He eased the panel open farther and briefly turned on the flashlight to examine the door frame, looking for an alarm trigger. He saw nothing, but still returned to the broken window in the barn to check the house for any sign of activity.

  "Anything?" asked Jessica.

  "No. Seems quiet. There's just that same light in the window."

  He rejoined Jessica and they entered the passage, closing the panel behind them before turning on the flashlight. The second door was metal, with a one-foot square double-paned window. Kelly looked in. All he could see were a few tiny LED indicator lights glowing red or green in the darkness. He shined the flashlight through the window, doing his best to shield the glare off the glass.

  "Looks like a lab." A pair of red lights blinked – glowing eyes staring into the flashlight. "Holy shit," Kelly jumped back, startled.

  "What?"

  "Something looked back at me." Kelly waited for his pulse to settle, and then tried the door handle. The lever moved freely, and despite the presence of a deadbolt, the door yielded with a slight whoosh as an airtight seal gave away. At first, there was only fan noise, but then there came a faint chatter. The flashlight found the source – a small monkey in a large acrylic cage, eyes faintly glowing as it looked into the light. It hunkered down cautiously on an elevated platform in the back. The cage also contained a real tree branch. A grid of rope ran from the floor to the platform.

  Kelly closed the airtight door and found a light switch. The well-lit lab had two more large acrylic chambers to either side of the monkey. The one on the left had a patient gurney draped in heavy black plastic and topped with a folded blanket and pillow; the one to the right was empty.

  The lab also had a desk and a handful of work stations that reminded Kelly of the bioanalytical lab at work, though two of the stations here were more sophisticated. They were sealed, with sleeved ports for reaching within.

  A small countertop centrifuge sat next to a large cabinet with temperature controls and a glass door. The cabinet contained a number of culture dishes and flasks, plus a rack of centrifuge tubes. The containers held red or yellowish media, and they were labeled with lot numbers and dates. There was also a large two-door refrigerator. Kelly peeked inside to see bottles of cell culture media, white paper bags of unknown content and an assortment of jars and trays that meant little to him.

  The monkey had left the platform, crossing a limb of the tree branch to approach Jessica, who regarded him through the acrylic panel. "So, what do you suppose they're doing with this little guy?"

  "I wish I knew." Kelly pointed to the top of the acrylic cage. "There's the Steri-Bright germicidal lights." There were two mounted on the ceiling in each of the chambers.

  At the back of the lab were two more doors. One looked like a freezer door, thick with a small window and typical pull handle. The other was more promising – another airtight door, which suggested a possible exit. Kelly worked the handle. A hiss of incoming air greeted him as he pushed the door open. It led to a mechanical room, the source of the fan noise. Kelly turned on the lights. Jessica joined him.

  Immediately on their right was a decontamination tent with hand-held shower head. Hanging beside the tent was a hazmat suit.

  "Whoa. He must be working on some nasty shit."

  A passage along the left wall took them past a furnace, air conditioning unit and water heater. At the back of the room was a workshop, complete with drill press, compressor, tool cabinets, wet vac, and backup generator. A first aid kit and fire extinguisher were mounted on the wall by the electrical panel, but the most important feature was on the left – another door suggesting a way out. Kelly pulled it open.

  "Why are their doors unlocked?" said Jessica.

  "Remote location, old barn, secret door – they're probably overconfident, especially if the barn door is normally locked. If Naughton hadn't been here, maybe we don't get in."

  The door opened onto another small, dark entryway that led to another secret door of old barn wood. From this side, they could see the hidden hinge. They let the first door close behind them, which cut off the light from the mechanical room. Kelly turned on the flashlight, holding it low and partially screening it with his hand. He pushed the panel open and they were greeted by the now-familiar barn smells. There was also the scent of fresh rain, and they could hear a few raindrops upon the roof. It was darker now, the moon obscured by the clouds building in.

  They found themselves at the far end of the barn. "Gets us nowhere," said Kelly. "We'll still need to go out through a window."

  "One back here, farther from the house, might be best."

  "Right. We better turn off all the lights first."

  "And maybe take some pictures."

  "We could, but if this goes badly, pictures could incriminate us for breaking in."

  "Yikes. And if it's some secret government thing ..."

  "Federal prison, maybe."

  They returned to the lab, Jessica pausing at the monkey cage as Kelly killed the lights. They relied now on the flashlight and the spill of light from the window in the mechanical room door. They were about to exit that way when Jessica stopped, pointing at the freezer. "We didn't look in there."

  Kelly redirected his flashlight to the freezer door. "May as well. If we take a little time to let it start raining good, that will help drown out any noise when we break out."

  Kelly pulled open the freezer door, located the light switch and turned it on. Their breath misted in the frigid air. Jessica held back, holding the door open, avoiding the worst of the cold.

  Shelves on the right were crowded with plastic boxes full of vials, foam containers, a rack of plastic laboratory fl
asks of different colors, and numerous white cardboard boxes, some quite small, others as large as a file drawer.

  Above on the left was a row of white cabinets. Below was a shelf. Kelly was about to look in a cabinet when his attention turned instead to the shelf. Stacked there were some long black plastic bags. "Hey, I think ..."

  Jessica gasped, turned off the light and allowed the door to close. "Kelly!" she whispered.

  The lights came on in the lab. Kelly turned off his flashlight and joined her at the door, taking care to stay out of the light from the window. Naughton held the door as Naughton's assistant, Richard Ivers, backed into the lab pulling a wheelchair. A man strapped in the chair was slumped over, apparently unconscious. Naughton crossed the room, opening the thick acrylic door to one of the chambers. Ivers unstrapped the man and easily lifted him to the gurney in the chamber.

  Naughton slipped into a white lab coat, pulled on examination gloves, and wheeled an IV stand into the chamber. He hung a bag of liquid from one of the hooks and set about finding a vein to start a drip.

  "Looks like some derelict they brought in," whispered Kelly.

  "I hope they don't stay long." Jessica was already shivering.

  Naughton adjusted the drip to his satisfaction, and then left the acrylic chamber. Ivers closed the door, ensuring it sealed tightly, screwing down a series of three latches.

  Naughton pulled off the latex gloves, tossed them in a garbage can, and went to a computer station. After a moment of typing, he looked back at the chamber. "Vents are opening." A red warning light came on above the door. "Time ... 9:02pm."

  Ivers folded the wheelchair and stowed it beneath a counter. Naughton looked toward the back of the room, something catching his attention. Kelly and Jessica sank down, making sure they weren't seen.

  "Richard, did you turn on the lights in the mechanical room?"

  "No, sir."

  The lights! Kelly and Jessica shared a look of concern.

  "Those lights were off when I left," said Naughton.

  Kelly braved another look, staying well out of the window light. Naughton reached into a drawer and pulled out a handgun. He went to the main airtight door and turned the deadbolt, locking it. He gestured toward the mechanical room and handed the pistol to Ivers. "You better take a look."

  Jessica snuggled close to Kelly, her teeth beginning to chatter. He put his arms around her. Ivers was lost to sight as he went to the mechanical room.

  "They wouldn't look in here, would they?"

  "I sure hope not." Kelly looked toward the black bags on the shelf. "Want to hear the other bad news?"

  "No," she whispered. "But tell me anyway."

  Kelly regretted bringing it up. "It can wait."

  He kept an eye on Naughton, who seemed to be checking to see if anything had been tampered with.

  "Tell me."

  "I shouldn't have said anything."

  Jessica gave him the evil eye and poked him with the umbrella.

  "Ouch."

  "Tell me, you dork. You can't just say there's more bad news then clam up."

  Kelly took a deep breath. "See those black bags on that shelf?"

  Jessica nodded, shivering.

  "I'm pretty sure they're body bags. And I think that's what's on that gurney out there."

  "Oh, crap." Jessica stared at the bags. Her voice quivered. "They're not empty, are they?"

  "No, I'm afraid not."

  "How many?"

  "Two, three. Maybe even four. They're piled together."

  To Kelly's surprise, Jessica took the flashlight and handed him the umbrella. She went to the bags.

  "Careful with the light," he whispered.

  Jessica gave Kelly a glance that questioned his need to warn her. She cupped the end of the thin flashlight and turned it on, creating just a pinhole of light. Kelly crept over to join her.

  "Steri-Safe Remains Bag," she read from the printing.

  There was also an orange bio-hazard warning patch. She played the light across the pile. "Three looks about right." She turned off the light and handed it back to Kelly. "I think we have to call the police now, secret federal project or not."

  "We'll need to get back to the highway where we can get a cell signal."

  Voices resumed in the lab. Kelly and Jessica crept back to the door, but the conversation had ended. Naughton and Ivers were huddled at a computer.

  Kelly held Jessica close as they squatted by the door. She snuggled against him, her head on his chest, as they tried to resist the cold.

  "They better leave soon," said Jessica, as they continued to whisper.

  "We should be okay – as long as they don't pull an all-nighter."

  "But maybe they will pull an all-nighter – dealing with their fresh test subject."

  Kelly had no answer for that. He knew they couldn't stay in the freezer indefinitely, but he didn't see any way to make a run for it – not with Ivers there, or with Naughton having a pistol.

  A minute or two later, Naughton spoke again, too softly for them to hear what was said. Kelly and Jessica stood to look just as Naughton and Ivers left the lab, turning off the lights. That left the warning light on the acrylic chamber, which painted the room in a faint red glow.

  "Looks like one of those photography darkrooms you see in old TV shows," said Jessica.

  They waited several minutes before pushing on the latch release and easing the door open.

  "Let's use the back door," whispered Kelly.

  Jessica looked in at the unconscious man. "I wish there was something we could do."

  "Best thing we can do is go for help. I'm pretty sure opening that chamber would be a bad idea."

  They left the lights off as they slipped into the mechanical room, the hazmat suit looming as a ghostly greeter. The darkness was made even more ominous by the fan noise, humming circuits, and small indicator lights that seemed to hang in space. Kelly left the flashlight off, managing – barely – to see the way. As they came past the air conditioning unit, it kicked in with a squeal and whir that caused them to jump. "Holy shit," said Kelly.

  Jessica leaned against him, hand on her chest, just as startled. "I did not need that," she gasped.

  Catching their breath, they continued on through the soundproof door, the darkness becoming complete in the small entryway. They could now hear rumbles of thunder and the patter of rain. Kelly briefly cupped the flashlight and turned it on to get their bearings. He turned it off again as he eased open the secret panel to the barn.

  Kelly welcomed the rain. It drummed strongly and would help mask any noise as they went out though a window. The lightning, too – it came in an almost steady flicker, high in the clouds, helping light the way.

  Lightning suddenly captured the silhouette of a man by the windows. He turned on a spotlight, blinding them.

  "Stop right there! We are well armed and will shoot." A thunderclap gave exclamation to the threat.

  Naughton. Kelly recognized the voice. Stepping into the light on the left, blocking the way to the front of the barn was Richard Ivers, armed with a shotgun.