“Sounds good to me,” Gray said. “But if she doesn’t respond quickly, I say we make a cold call.”
“Agreed.”
I quickly emailed Barbie a brief summary of our request regarding any information she might have about Tango Bio without going into much detail. I provided my phone number and expressed some urgency in talking with her.
An hour later, my phone rang from an unidentified number. Everyone froze. I didn’t typically answer those calls, and I’d be surprised if it was Barbie so quickly and at this early hour on a Sunday, but I couldn’t take the chance of ignoring it just in case.
I swiped on the phone. “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Lexi Carmichael?” a woman’s voice asked. “You just sent me an email at my address at the Philadelphia Enquirer? You said you had a matter of urgency.”
“Yes, I’m Lexi and I did send the email,” I responded. “Are you Barbie Shutt?”
“I am,” she replied. “How can I help you?”
I put my phone on speaker for everyone to hear the conversation. “Thanks for calling back so quickly and early on a Sunday. I appreciate it. However, I’m a little pressed for time, so I’m not going to beat around the bush. My friends and I have reason to believe Tango Bio Research Solutions in New Jersey is conducting illegal animal testing. We’re hoping you might have some information that could help us. We understand you investigated their predecessor company, Vision Zone Technology, twenty years ago, and we were hoping that you might still have information or contacts that could help us.”
A pause. Just long enough to be deliberate. “Who are you exactly? And who are you working for?”
“We’re not working for anyone,” I said. “We’re just four women in Atlantic City for a bachelorette party. We happened to stumble across an unusually smart golden retriever who has led us into an unsettling mystery involving Tango Bio Research Solutions. We’ve been taking a hard look at them and don’t like what we’ve uncovered so far. At this point, we’re just trying to make sense of it. But I’ll give it to you straight—the bottom line is we suspect Tango Bio is continuing the illegal animal research started by Vision Zone years ago. We hoped you might have information that could help us sort this out and protect the golden retriever we found.”
Another long silence. “That’s a pretty bold claim. You mentioned there was some urgency to your call. What exactly do you know?”
I decided to play it straight with her. If she was as good an investigative journalist as I suspected, she would sense any kind of deception.
“Not a lot, but we believe something big is going down soon at the lab, and at least one animal, possibly more, may be at risk. Their staff was anxious enough to track us down, as well as stalk and threaten us, until we returned the dog. The dog absolutely, positively did not want to go with them, and the methods we observed did not sit well with us. At one point, they referred to an upcoming appointment for the dog that she couldn’t miss. We are very concerned about the health and welfare of the dog and, similarly, if there are other animals at the lab, their condition as well. But we need more information on them and their operation to be clear on what we’re dealing with and how far we can go.”
Barbie was silent again, then exhaled a deep breath. “Where are you located? I don’t typically share information with strangers, especially not over the phone. I would prefer to talk with you in person to better understand your involvement. I’m sorry, but that is my standard procedure for investigative reporting. If you can’t meet, I understand, but I don’t really know if I can help you otherwise.”
I blinked, surprised. “We’re currently at the Orchid Royale Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. At least until tomorrow.”
“I live on the south side of Philly,” Barbie said. “I can be there in under ninety minutes.”
“You want to come…now?” I asked. “Here? Are you sure?”
“Not really, but you indicated it was urgent,” she replied. “It’s a risk, but one I’m willing to take. I don’t know where this might go yet, but in my job I always have to be willing to listen. I’ll call you when I’m in the lobby.”
“Thanks so much,” I said, and we hung up. I looked over at the girls. “She’s coming to us. What do you think?”
Gwen was the first to speak. “I think it’s promising, but we have to wonder how much information she actually has about Tango Bio. If she had substantive and conclusive proof, she would have published it, right? I’m worried she may be as much in the dark as we are.”
“We’ll find out shortly,” I said.
“As long as she can help us get Ginger back, I’m all for her help,” Basia said. “You were right, Lexi. Given how little time we have, we need all the help we can get.”
Since we all agreed, we simply nodded our heads and got back to work.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lexi
Gwen ordered breakfast from room service as we kept up our research. I started trying to dig into Tango Bio’s digital financial footprint. Unfortunately, there was little to be found, even knowing the background that Slash had provided. Tango Bio was privately held and had few public filings.
Room service arrived while I was checking the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services online business listings. Tango Bio listed just one company official, a Brian Thomas, who had no social media presence and little other information. He listed an address in Newark that matched that of a business consulting firm. He was likely little more than a corporate figurehead.
As far as I could tell, there was no evidence Tango Bio held any current federal government contracts, corroborating Slash’s findings. Their website also did not identify any other clients or products, though it did indicate areas of research, but none included animal intelligence enhancement or testing. Clearly, if I was going to make any progress, I’d need a lead I could pull.
I stopped long enough to wolf down some pancakes with real maple syrup. I needed the quick sugar boost with my coffee to make up for the short night. I then checked for permits filed with the state to operate a biological research facility and, unsurprisingly, drew a blank. Interestingly, they were still brazen enough to use the name of Tango Bio Research Solutions.
