Page 74 of Accidental Murder
Kayla peeled the gaffer’s tape off the filing cabinet. Inside the top drawer were desktop items including a Rolodex, framed picture of Cici in a tutu, and partial ream of Xerox paper. In the second drawer were dozens of folders, separated by sections:Accounting, Bioethics, Consumer Diligence, Consulting, Data Entries,andFamily Matters.The drawer below contained more files beginning with the lettersGthroughR, and the bottom drawer held filesSthroughZ. Nothing screamedRead me!Many files within the lettered sections of drawers were out ofalphabetical order, which seemed unlike Sara. The person who had packed the office must have shoved them in haphazardly.
Or . . .
Kayla frowned. Was it possible someone had rummaged through them?
The primaryAccountingfolder included typical incoming and outgoing expense files. TheBioethicsfolder held at least twenty project memos. A completion report was attached at the end of each.Consumer Diligence, Consulting,andData Entriesfolders contained a bunch of what Kayla considered tedious information. In theFamily Mattersfolder, in a file markedCici, Sara had stowed private school applications, college fund savings account information, and a copy of her stock portfolio. In the rear portion of the folder, she noticed a travel brochure for a safari to Africa. On it, written in Sara’s handwriting, were the words:After high school graduation, just me and you.
Kayla stared at the brochure, now convinced Sara had been making plans for the future. She hadn’t killed herself.
Behind the file titledCicishe found another labeledCotton Candy. Anybody intending to remove incriminating files might have skipped over the file, thinkingCotton Candyreferred to a bunch of fluff. Had Sara slyly buried important data in it?
Remaining alert for sounds outside the office, Kayla reviewed the contents of the file. Midway through she found a document-sized envelope, its brad taped shut. Written in miniature letters in the lower left corner:Project: Brain Freeze.
The words jarred her. Now, she knew for a fact she had seen the phrase before. Not in a dream. Not here, either. Where? When? On a client’s computer? At GLU?
After unsealing the envelope, she reviewed the contents. She couldn’t find Jacob’s name referenced anywhere and no mention of his Brain Juice product. Sara had catalogued her probe by date, but her notes ended in October. Sara hadn’t included arecord of completion like she had for her Bioethics’ files. Had she abandoned her research?
Key terms popped out to Kayla as she read a fact sheet:Gregor Mendel, DNA, personality altering. In college, she’d taken a human biology class and learned Mendel was a scientist who made breakthrough discoveries in heredity based on his genetic work with pea plants.
In her notes, Sara questioned whether Brain Freeze was a genetic Frankenstein project.
Kayla set the fact sheet aside and resumed her search. Three-quarters of the way through theCotton Candyfile, she discovered another envelope labelled:Project: Ionizing Radiation. Its brad was also taped shut.She paused again. She must have seen that phrase somewhere other than in her dream, too. Like the info in the Brain Freeze file, theIRdata was sorted by date. Sara’s notes concluded in October. Two key terms in theIRfile caught her attention—handicappedandmalfunction.She noted both projects had been carried out at Bledsoe Research Institute. She wasn’t familiar with the organization. That didn’t mean anything. Dozens of research facilities opened yearly in the Bay Area. She placed the sheet with key terms on top of the page from theBrain Freezeenvelope and pressed on.
At the end of theCotton Candyfile she came upon a letter written by Sara on behalf of Wilkerson Hospital to Dr. David Macintyre thanking him for his contribution to scientific research. What had her uncle contributed to the project? Money? Time? Had he operated for free on a challenged or handicapped person? Maybe he had decided to step back from his regular practice and had intended to join the team. Research, he’d told Kayla on more than one occasion, was the backbone of scientific breakthroughs.A memo dated late October, handwritten by her uncle on a personalized note card, canceled Sara’s access to the Brain Freeze project.
Kayla drew up short, suddenly remembering where she’d seen the term. At her uncle’s cabin. On the night of the memorial service. While searching for Margaret Thornton’s telephone number. A sheet of paper had been peeking from beneath theYellow Pages.
Her pulse quickened when she recalled she’d also caught sight of the words days before when she’d helped her uncle with his Power Point presentation.
What was his role in the project? Was he in charge? If Sara had uncovered something problematic, she might have gone to him to discuss it.
The doorknob jiggled. Kayla held her breath.
“Excuse me.” A woman spoke outside the door. “Doctor Macintyre, I’ve been looking for you. Sir, if I could speak to you about your niece.”
“Of course, Inspector.” The doorknob stopped wiggling.
Kayla remained frozen. Why was her uncle once again outside Sara’s office? Why did Hanrahan want to talk to him?
“May I buy you a coffee in the cafeteria?” Hanrahan asked.
“That would be nice.”
The moment their conversation faded, Kayla pocketed the memo, note, and pages with key terms, and slotted the emptyCotton Candyfolder into the drawer. Cautiously, she peeked into the hallway. All clear. She eased out and closed the door without making a sound.
Halfway down the hall, she halted. Taylor Simmons was making the turn, chin lowered. He was typing something on his cell phone with one hand while fumbling in his pocket with the other.
Swiftly, Kayla slipped into the women's restroom.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Megan and Dr. Macintyresettled at a table in the cafeteria before the onslaught of the lunch crowd. “Sir, how well did you know Sara Simmons?”
He jutted his chin. “I thought you wanted to talk about my niece.”
“This is in relation to your niece.”
He loosened his silk tie but didn’t say a word.
