She waved at them. “Come on up.”
Maya, he assumed. Teagan smiled and started to climb the stairs. He followed, and Maya held out her hand to Drew. They exchanged introductions.
He released her hand. “Thanks for meeting with us so late.”
“No worries.” She spun, her athletic shoes squeaking on the polished floor. “Follow me to the lab.”
She turned and led them to the Toxicology and Controlled Substance Unit, which was located right inside the door.
She used the electronic reader to get them into a space that looked very much like Sierra’s lab, with stainless steel tables in the middle and equipment along the edges. Different kinds of equipment, but new, state-of-the-art-looking things.
She went to a very large glass-fronted case that had gloves mounted in the glass that extended inside the case. She started dressing in orange, heavy-duty overalls. “I’ll need to use the bio-safety containment cabinet to check the drugs. All our work with drugs must be done within the cabinet these days.”
“Why’s that?” Drew asked, though he thought he already knew the answer.
Maya tugged the suit up. “Possibility of fentanyl contamination. All it takes is seven hundred micrograms of fentanyl to kill. That’s a mere half dozen grains or so. Plus, fentanyl sold on the street is made in clandestine labs and isn’t as pure as the pharmaceutical version. Means the effect on the body could be more unpredictable.” She added a face shield and heavy gloves.
Drew nodded his understanding. Criminals cut drugs with all kinds of substances. Some harmless like baking soda. Some harmful like benzocaine. Some dangerous like fentanyl. It was often used to help a product stretch further because it was cheaper than the drug they were selling. But sometimes it was used to enhance the drug and the high for their customers.
Drew stepped closer with the drugs and noted a Class 4 label on the cabinet. “How many classes are there?”
Maya held out gloved hands for the package. “Only four. And even a class three is probably overkill for this test. We normally don’t deal with class four toxins, but we always like to outfit our labs with the very best. Costs more, but you can’t put a price on safety.”
Maya nodded at Drew. “If we find fentanyl in the drugs, you’ll want to get rid of that jacket in our biohazard bin and scrub your hands clean before you leave.”
He hadn’t thought of that. “Aw, man, it’s one of my favorites.”
“Can’t put a price on safety.”
“The supplier didn’t seem to hesitate to handle it so maybe that’s a good sign.”
“Or the supplier isn’t too bright, which is often the case.” She inserted the package into a glass container on the side and closed the door. She slid her arms into the sealed holes for the long, heavy gloves that were attached to the inside of the cabinet.
She pulled the sliding table holding the package into the main cabinet and began work using chemicals already in the cabinet. “You might want to take a seat. This will take some time.”
Drew didn’t mind watching but it was going on three a.m. He figured Teagan was tired, so he sat, hoping she would too.
“You do any more searches after I left?” he asked.
She nodded. “Didn’t find anything but I texted Nick before I took my shower. He hasn’t located anything either.”
“Seems like the circle and sword aren’t common.”
“Or there’s something missing in the spaces where the graves were dug that could give us the answer.”
He nodded. “I really don’t see Rossi or one of the Contis going to all this trouble to bury someone who bucked the status quo or made a mistake.”
“Agreed. I think we’re looking for a flunky they assigned to kill these men and who’s got some sort of sick obsession.”
“Could be Rossi’s current thug,” Drew said. “They didn’t mention him by name tonight, but he’s in the pictures you took of Rossi so Nick could come across his ID.”
“I don’t really expect him to find the guy.” Teagan sighed. “I get that a lot of criminals post on social media, but I doubt someone who would do something like this would be on social media advertising his conquests, and I can’t see other reasons his image might be online.”
“Yeah.” Drew leaned on the table and looked at Maya, who stood to put two frighteningly large-looking needles into the transfer port. She would confirm the drugs. That was a given. But could she also find something to give them a lead as to where they’d come from?
“Okay now we run this through the mass spec.” She pulled out the needles and moved to a machine about the size of a microwave. She stabbed the first needle into a port on top of the machine. “I’m running these samples through mass spectrometry. The information is then sent to the computer, where it will compare the samples to a database of known chemicals and drugs. If a match is found in the database for both the drug and any chemical it was cut with, it’ll be identified.”
Drew had to admit he was impressed once again with the skill of the Veritas partners and the machinery of their lab.
