Chapter 26
Mark laughed when we interviewed him in his office. "Absolute nonsense. Genetically modified sharks? Here? Where are you getting this information from?"
"An anonymous source," I said.
Mark frowned dismissively. "Figures. Anybody can say anything. Doesn't make it so.”
"True, but what's the point?"
Mark shrugged. "Some people like to stir up shit.”
I couldn't disagree with that.
"Look, I can tell you that kind of thing goes against everything we stand for here. Our entire body of work is focused on preserving and maintaining the ecosystem, not disrupting it."
"Sounds like the perfect cover," I said, playing devil’s advocate.
Mark laughed again. "I can't win with you guys. You conspiracy theorists never stop. You've always got an explanation for everything, even when you have to jump through extreme mental hoops to justify it.”
"I'm not jumping through any mental hoops. I'm just asking questions."
Mark took a deep breath. "As you should.
That's your job. I'm sure you're good at it.
Where would we be if we didn't question things?
Take nothing at face value, that's my motto.
Of course, I look at it in a different context.
I look at the status quo, and I say, ‘Why is that the status quo? How can we make it better? How can we improve?’ Genetically modifying sharks for some covert military operation doesn't sound like an improvement to me. It sounds like a dystopian nightmare."
"I agree with you on that."
"I'm going to be honest with you. This has been hard for everyone here to process. First, Andrew's death, then Tess's. It's a little too much.”
"I don't know if you're aware, but we believe Andrew was murdered before he was tossed to the sharks.”
Mark lifted a curious brow. “Murdered? I guess that makes sense. I'm sure you're focusing on Bobby Fallon.” He theorized, “He found out about the affair, killed his wife and her lover. It's a tale as old as time.”
“Indeed,” I replied.
“The simplest explanation is often the most accurate.”
I couldn’t disagree. “I’m sure you’d have no problem giving us an extensive tour of the facility.”
Mark forced a smile. “Certainly. Whatever I can do to assist in your investigation, just ask.”
He picked up the phone and dialed an extension. “Marguerite, could you escort the deputies around the building? Take them wherever they want to go.”
Mark hung up the phone and smiled at us. “She’ll take good care of you.”
"Thank you," I said.
"My pleasure. I want to be as transparent as possible.
I have a vested interest in seeing you get to the bottom of this.
Two valuable employees are gone. I think Bobby Fallon should rot in hell for this.
I hope you throw the book at the guy. As far as this other nonsense, I'd like to put that to rest as soon as possible. "
Marguerite stepped into the office and smiled. "Gentlemen, are you ready for your tour?”
She was a stunning beauty with sculpted cheekbones, wavy blonde hair, and a mouthwatering figure sculpted by hot yoga and spin class.
We thanked Mark for his cooperation, then left the office with her. She led us down to the main lobby to start the tour. "This really is a wonderful facility. We are so fortunate to be here."
"How long have you been in the new building?”
"About three years now.”
The lobby was full of kids and parents. Daily tours of the facility showcased their work. It was part public aquarium, part research facility.
"Part of our mission here is to educate the public about our conservation work and how they can help our efforts to be proper stewards of the environment," Marguerite said.
Brochures on a rack near the entrance and main desk provided a map of the facility and an overview of the work Aqus was doing.
A flatscreen display welcomed guests to the building.
A gift shop sold T-shirts, stuffed sharks, manatees, sea turtles, and other marine life.
Of course, you could buy sodas, snacks, caps, sunglasses, sunscreen, keychains, and everything else imaginable.
All of it went toward funding the center, which was technically a nonprofit.
Marguerite escorted us to a wet lab that housed numerous tanks and pumps.
Volunteers logged data and made sure everything was running smoothly.
"This is our coral development area. We are able to study the effects of different processes on the reefs and develop new and novel ways to increase the growth and reseed dying areas.”
Microscopes, test tubes, testing kits, chemicals, beakers, Bunsen burners, and more lined the countertops. It was a small lab, but nothing to indicate genetic experiments were happening here.
We continued on, and Marguerite showed us tanks of recovering marine life—dolphins that had been rescued, sea turtles with cracked shells now in braces.
There were dozens of tanks with various forms of aquatic life, all recovering from injuries sustained in the wild.
They would be released once nursed fully back to health.
I pulled out my phone and scanned wireless networks. I found the main Aqus network, plus an unsecured guest network. There were several others as well. I said to Marguerite, “I’ve got a low signal. What’s the Wi-Fi password? I need to download something from the county server.”
“Just use the guest network. Password is Guest.”
I’m not going to lie, I was hoping she’d give me the main login. That was a long shot. Worth a try, though.
Marguerite continued the tour, and I fiddled with the phone.
With a hacker tool, I sniffed networks and logged IP addresses while she escorted us through every square foot of the facility.
Marguerite showed us the outdoor pens where more marine life in recovery stages were kept.
There was a small marina that was home to center consoles, research vessels, and mini-submersibles.
The tour took about an hour, and we didn't see anything to indicate the presence of a clandestine lab capable of gene splicing.
Marguerite was an attractive woman, and it wasn’t a bad way to spend an hour.
As we wrapped up, I thanked her for her hospitality.
She frowned and said, "I just can't believe Bobby Fallon would kill his wife. I'd only met him a few times, but he seemed like a nice guy. I guess you never can tell.”
I shrugged. "You know what they say. Never judge a book by its cover. But maybe he didn’t."
Her brow knitted with confusion. “If he didn’t kill Tess, who did? Seems to me like he had the strongest motive.”
“Well, that’s what we’re hoping to find out.”
The tour had come full circle back to the main lobby. I asked Marguerite point-blank, “Have you noticed anything unusual around here? Strange experiments?”
“You mean besides the deaths of two of my coworkers? That's pretty unusual.”
"Are there any other facilities besides what we've seen here today?”
"No. This is it.”
“No secret labs you haven’t shown us,” I teased.
She laughed. “If there are secret labs here, I don’t know about them.”
"What's your opinion of the rumors about Aqus engaging in genetic modification of wildlife?"
Marguerite laughed again. "I think people are looking for attention. And they'll say and do whatever it takes to get it.”
There was a little truth to that. Maybe a lot.
We said our goodbyes, walked across the parking lot to the Porsche, and hopped in.
"What do you make of all that?" JD muttered.
“If they’re engaged in genetic manipulation, they’re not doing it here,” I said. “They’ve got another facility.”
I sent Isabella the network IPs I had sniffed, then gave her a call. “Hey, I’ve got another project for you.”