“How so?” Brown demanded.
“Because it was labelled waste. There was nothing special about Ed’s sample; it had a few curious mutations that Ed wanted to check out. Whoever contracted these men hired idiots,” I replied.
“Thank you, Rain. I’ll keep an eye out, and I’ve accessed the list, so we have the batch numbers of those that were taken,” Paulson said.
I lowered my voice. “Watch them carefully, sir, if we had a dirty security guard… police aren’t paid that well.”
“Understood,” Paulson agreed with a sharp nod. He moved back into the room and retook his seat. Being so suspicious was a nightmare, but it might keep people alive.
Chapter Fourteen.
Rain
Sophie and I walked to lecture room one, which was the biggest, and grabbed some seats. As I was the leader of my lab, I sat at the front to be visible. The team settled around me, all of them solemn and worried. If someone had attacked Ed here, none of us were safe. That made for frightening times.
We were talking quietly when the door opened and several guys and two women filed in. I recognised Ellen from HR. The other woman was a stranger.
But it was the men who stunned me silent. Lowell, Prescott, and Barrett, Allegra’s cousins, sat down. With them was Thatch, her brother. What the Sam Hill were they doing here?
“Sorry for calling this meeting under such terrible circumstances. For those who don’t know us by sight, my name is Lowell Spalding, and I’m the CEO. Beside me is my brother, Prescott, our CFO. Next to him is Damon Spalding, the company’s lawyer. To my right is Barrett Spalding, our CMO, and finally, Thatcher Spalding, our COO. This is Ellen from HRand Maise from the secretarial pool who will be taking notes,” Lowell said.
How the fuck did I not know the Spaldings owned ENS? ENS—Elise Norman Spalding. How dumb was I? My eyes narrowed on them, and Thatch glanced over. Murmurs rose with greetings, and I held Thatch’s gaze. Had Allegra known that her cousins employed me? Betrayal struck deep in my chest, and it hurt to breathe.
“We’ve had an update on Ed Sherman. Ed is in stable condition but in a medically induced coma. His family is at the hospital, and they’re all under heavy guard,” Lowell stated.
“That’s a relief,” Sophie exclaimed as several others joined in.
Angrily, I held Thatch’s gaze, allowing my contempt at their deceit to show. I was unsure whether Allegra knew.
“What happens now?” Sophie asked.
“Specialists are arriving shortly. These are ex-military and experts in personal security. Each of you will be assigned a bodyguard, and we’re opening up the bunker completely to anyone who wishes to move in temporarily. Security will also be increased around the building, and we have Hawthorne Investigations taking over background checks. A secondary company, The Juno Group, will then double-check those,” Lowell explained.
While I said nothing, those were names I was familiar with. And I guessed the ex-military was the Fallen Warriors MC or the Delta Force Group. Either way, it was better than before.
“Hi, you stated the bunker will be fully opened, does that include our families?” someone asked from behind.
“Yes,” Thatch replied.
The bunker was aptly named. It was underneath the building and served as a set of accommodations for staff. Typically, only a few bedrooms were open, but I knew it held suites. It was usually used when employees got snowed in or were workingon a project and didn’t want to leave. It was quite luxurious down there. Hospitals had on-call rooms; we had the bunker. The weather in South Dakota was notorious, so the shelter made sense.
“Naturally, we are covering the cost of security and opening the bunker. The food court shall remain open later, and meals will be free for you and your families. Ellen has some passes for you to collect. While I’m not insisting, I suggest you invite your families here. That makes it easier for us to protect them,” Barrett announced. He caught my eye and looked away.
Ignoring the Spaldings, I turned to my team and saw them all looking to me. We’d been together, most of us, for years, and they’d follow my lead.
“Bring them,” I agreed, and nods were returned. “Can they move in today?” I asked Lowell.
“Some of the private guards have arrived already. They will escort you to your families and stay until you return. We’d prefer sending you with two escorts per family. If we could stagger fetching your loved ones until we have the full team on board, it would be most helpful,” Lowell replied.
Oh, I’m sure it would, I thought. “Guys, whose family is currently at home as opposed to at work or school?”
Three put their hands up. “Move them first,” I said to Lowell, who nodded.
Ignoring the Spaldings, I organised a rota for those who wanted to bring their families here. The Spaldings moved amongst my team, offering what reassurance they could. Prescott reassured someone they’d hired the best PI company in South Dakota to work alongside the BFPD.
“Could I have a word, Dr Wright?” Thatch asked as I soothed Sophie, who was worried about her mom.
“Please confirm that Sophie can bring her mother, as they share a house,” I said to Thatch coldly.
