“Fine.” Viv groaned. “But for now, guess what? There’s a door on the bottom fourth floor, to the side of the clean room, that you can barely see. Did you see it during the tour?”
“No.” Laurel took out her phone and typed out a quick text to the evidence team to find the door and go through it. “Did anybody see you down there?”
Viv shrugged. “Sure, but like I said, nobody paid me much attention.”
Huck dug into the bag at his feet and handed a cheeseburger to the girl. “What else?”
She unwrapped it, smiling. “I had lunch in the break room, and I’d say that Bertra isn’t very well liked. She’s running the facility, and most folks don’t seem to like her.”
“Why not?” Laurel asked.
“She runs everything. Staff rotation, lab access, internal security. She’s polite, but everyone acts like she might pull the floor out from under them at any second. People are tense. Real tense.”
Huck eyed the bag. They’d bought tons of burgers. “Anyone say it out loud?”
Viv gave a small nod. “One lady named Jane joked that Bertra probably hired the sniper who took out Sandoval. People laughed, then got real quiet.”
“And Dr. Liu?” Laurel asked.
“I asked three people about her. One said she didn’t know, and the other two just walked away. One of them looked . . . scared. Not annoyed. Scared.” Viv pushed her hair away from her eyes. “Everyone believes that Melissa Palmtree died by falling down those stairs, and that Larry died by suicide. There are no whispers about either of them.”
Laurel exchanged a glance with Huck.
Viv wasn’t finished. “I think I stumbled onto something else, too.”
“Go on,” Laurel said.
“I went to Bertra’s office and the door was cracked. She was talking to a guy named John Fitz. He was wearing a lab coat and his badge showed he had top clearance, but that’s the only time I saw him. Bertra was mentioning something about moving the next round to the other lab, but she stopped talking when I stepped in.”
Huck’s eyes narrowed. “So you are on her radar.”
Viv shook her head. “Not at all. I played dumb and said I was ready for my next assignment. She bought it, I think.”
As they pulled into their parking lot, Laurel spotted Kate’s Volkswagen Bug parked to the right of the doorway. “Let’s go up and let your mom know about your afternoon. Then I want you to run me through the entire day again, step by step, with names and faces. I’d also like descriptions if you have them.”
Viv exhaled next to her, shoulders slumping a little. “Great,” she murmured, and looked away, out the passenger window. Her phone buzzed in her hoodie pocket, and she pulled it out to read the screen. “It’s from Oakridge Solutions.”
Laurel’s eyes snapped to the screen. “Please answer and put it on speaker so we can all hear.”
Viv obeyed, swiping to connect and holding the phone between them. “Hello?”
Bertra’s voice poured through the speaker, smooth and cultured. “Vivienne, I just wanted to personally tell you what a fantastic job you’ve been doing lately. The team has been very impressed. You have asked thoughtful questions, you’ve kept up, and you’ve showed real initiative. We don’t see that very often at your age.”
Viv swallowed, glancing back at Laurel, then Huck. Her voice was small. “Thank you.”
“I’d like you to come in early tomorrow,” Bertra continued. “Very early. There’s a special project I want you on. I’d like to brief you myself before the others arrive, and we’ll get you to school on time.”
Laurel stiffened. Huck’s expression visibly darkened.
Viv glowed. “What time? I have class at eight.”
“How about six?” Bertra cut in, still sounding chipper. “This is a rare opportunity, and I think you’re uniquely suited for it. I could really use your help.”
Viv blinked, excitement flushing her face.
Laurel sharply shook her head. What was Bertra up to? Did she know Viv had snooped around?
Viv frowned.
