‘You found the missing swipe card.’
‘Since when did you realise you had a missing card?’Finn’s dark eyes narrowed in on poor Lenora.Not many people handled Finn’s scrutiny.
‘W-we only worked it out this morning going through the data.’
‘I’ll want a copy to confirm that this key card’s number collates with your data report.’
‘Sure.Wow, that’s great…’ Lenora blinked a few times.‘Anything else you need?’
‘We noticed on the drone’s footage there are hatches on the roof.’Finn pointed to the high ceiling.‘Do you know why?’
‘Bastion opens them when the humidity gets too high in the hatchery.Heat rises, so it’s more effective than opening all of the internal doors to let the heat out.’
Stone gazed up at the roof, where large ceiling fans slowly stirred the soupy humidity.Thick condensation effectively stopped any direct sunlight streaming through the milky windows that helped create the perfectly controlled crib like an oversized terrarium.
‘How long do those roof hatches stay open for?’Finn played boss, while Amara scribbled down the notes, and Romy busily filmed everything with confidence.
‘Some days, five minutes,’ replied Lenora, ‘other days, an hour or more.Why?’
From his folder, Finn showed Lenora the printed image they’d taken from Romy’s film.‘From the tracks left by the thieves’ van, it seems they parked at this end of the building, climbed up the drainpipe and used one of the hatches to get inside.Can we see them?’
‘Sure, this way.’
The gangway metal rumbled beneath them.‘Shh…’ Lenora put her finger over her lips.‘Not so heavy, guys.’
‘Sorry.’Amara then whispered to Stone, ‘Didn’t Craig mention one of the thieves was a light walker?’
They both tilted their heads to watch how lightly Lenora walked along the gangway.‘Her boots are too small,’ muttered Stone.
‘Did Craig take any castings of those footprints?It was next to the fingerprint kit I packed in the backpack I gave him.’
‘We were chasing daylight and took lots of photos instead.’
From the pocket of her white lab coat, Lenora dragged out her swipe card to open the door to the control room, that was like a tower in the sky.
‘Would the swipe card we’ve recovered,’ said Finn, ‘have access to all of the pens?’
‘No.But, you can unlock all areas from within the control room.Bastion can show you.’Lenora approached the slim man wearing a lab coat.‘Bastion, the police want to ask some questions about the hatch in the roof.’She pointed to the ceiling.
‘Sure.What’s up?’Bastion’s lanky, almost bird-like stride carried him across the room in long, awkward steps.His pale complexion, out of place for someone living in the outback, was only highlighted by the white lab coat that hung short and baggy on his tall, skinny frame.
‘Lose any lab coats lately?’Finn was a man who didn’t mince his words.
Bastion shrugged at Lenora, who was wearing the same style of lab coat.
‘My mother,’ explained Lenora, ‘set up a large laundry by the main house.’
‘Just for lab coats?’Finn asked.
‘No.All employees use it for their uniforms, to ensure they don’t bring any contaminants onto the property.’
‘How do the staff access these uniforms?’
‘It’s part of each team’s roster that someone delivers and collects the laundry daily.’
‘Are you saying anyone can grab a spare uniform?’
Lenora nodded.‘Why the questions about our uniforms?’
