Marise leaned in slightly. “Does Lena normally come by the office before her shift?”
“No. She’s one of our senior staff and goes straight to the site.”
“What time does the night shift start? I can meet her there if you’re busy. I need to tick off this audit.”
A flicker of relief reflected in the woman’s face. “At eight; all the staff would have left the building by then. Dr Knowles and her assistant are the only ones who sometimes are still there.”
Marise smiled. “Then I’ll catch Lena at work. Tell her I’ll be waiting at the entrance ramp.”
Hill nodded. “I’ll text her now. Anything else?”
“No. I’ll send my report to you next week.”
“Very well,” Hill said, already turning back to her laptop as Marise rose to go.
Marise chuckled to herself as she walked into the street. No one liked to be audited, and instead of questioning her more thoroughly, the woman couldn’t wait to get her out the door.
At ten to eight, a blue sedan pulled up at the entrance of the parking ramp where she was waiting. The woman who stepped out of the vehicle was in her late forties, stocky, and wearing a blue uniform with the Com Co’s logo, two intertwining Cs on her pocket.
Marise came forward to greet her, clipboard in hand, her ID badge clearly visible on her coat.
“Are you Lauren Manley?” the woman asked, her voice not unfriendly.
Marise nodded. “That’s right. And you are Lena Forde?”
“Yes. Ellen said you would be waiting here. I believe you’re doing an audit.”
“A Routine workplace compliance check,” Marise replied. “I’ll walk the route with you for a while to observe procedures, note any access issues, then let you get on with your shift.”
Lena smiled. “Okay. Hop in and I’ll drive to the basement.”
Marise slipped into the passenger seat, noting that the car was clean, smelled faintly of disinfectant, and a small plastic lunch container rattled around in the console.
As the car moved into the lower level of the garage, the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting long lines across the concrete floor. Marise watched the surveillance cameras track their entry and mentally noted the security points.
Lena pulled a lanyard from the glovebox and handed it to Marise. “A spare card. Use it to open the security doors.”
“Thank you.”
They stepped out onto the concrete and Marise followed as Lena walked to the service lift at the rear. Lena pressed the button for level 2.
“That’s the main lab floor?” asked Marise.
“No. It’s the restricted area,” Lena said. “Dr Knowles' lab is at the far end. They haven’t been staying late this last week, so I doubt they’ll be there tonight.”
Marise hoped not. This subterfuge would have been all for nothing if either Kathleen or Ted were working late.
When the lift doors opened, Lena led her out into a quiet corridor lined with closed doors. Each bore a discreet silver placard and a red keycard scanner. She swiped them through the first checkpoint and stepped aside.
“This is the start of my route,” Lena said. “Vacuuming, surface sanitising, and biohazard bin checks.”
Marise nodded. “I’ll follow along.”
“Suit yourself.”
Marise fell into step behind her, eyes flicking over the cameras, wall panels, and badge scanners.
She trailed Lena down a sterile corridor flanked by reinforced lab doors. Each room had a discrete metal number and a tiny green light blinking at the scanner. Their shoes made no sound against the spotless floor, and for a while,the only noise was the soft hum of the ventilation system and Lena’s practical commentary as she tidied and wiped surfaces. “Unit 2A’s empty, with only microscopy junk,” Lena muttered, sweeping a mop head around the corner with the efficiency of someone who could do it blindfolded. “3B has a refrigerated rig, but no one's touched it in weeks. Dr Knowles is in 4C.”
