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"Looks like she worked at VexoCorp, too. Looks like they deal in some sort of applied medicine and manufacturing stuff." He recited the address, and Rachel instantly tapped it into her phone.
“Anything else you need from me?” Stapleton asked.
Sullivan looked to Rachel, and she shook her head. "Nope," Sullivan said. "That's perfect. Thanks."
As soon as he ended the call, Rachel started dissecting things. She felt a brief sense of urgency because she knew she'd have to step away in a few hours to make it to her appointment. "I know it's early, but by the time we get to this place, it'll be nearly seven-thirty. And if I've learned anything about the doctors in this field, it's that they're workaholics. I think heading straight to VexoCorp will save us a trip."
“Yeah, that could be true. And even if Sherry Calloway isn’t there yet, we can ask anyone else who is there about her. So…lead the way.”
She used the map to guide him, getting a feel for the early morning Seattle traffic as they made their way across town. The drive between Dr. Stevens’ house and VexoCorp was only sixteen minutes bit it felt slower to Rachel, knowing there was a killer out there—a killer who’d only had a twenty-minute headstart on them when the first officer had arrived at the Stevens residence.
The VexoCorp building was a nondescript little place that ended up being less than two miles from LaRange Labs. It was in a small business park with several other small buildings tucked away from the highways and streets as if they were all trying their best to remain unseen. All of the buildings had a faded white exterior, a shade Rachel thought might be referred to as eggshell or white smoke. When Sullivan parked at 7:10, there were already nine cars in the parking lot.
"You mind taking the lead on this?" Sullivan asked. "I mean, since you've already butted me and all."
Rachel smiled, as she’d always been a firm believer in using sarcasm as a way to subtly convey comfort between two people. And he’d put the sarcasm on very thick, making sure she knew it wasn’t an actual dig against her.
"Not a problem," she said. "Based on her message and her reaction to hearing your voice on the phone, I think she's going to be spooked pretty easily."
They entered through the front doors and came to a small lobby. There was a desk at the front, but no one was sitting at it—likely due to the early hour. A small sign stood front and center on the desk. It read: Please buzz for help.
Rachel approached the desk and saw a small device that resembled a credit-card reader There was a large button along the right side and a number-pad on the left. She pressed the button and heard a very faint, electrical buzzing. She and Sullivan stood by for about ten seconds before there was a response of any kind. After that time, there was a soft beep and a man’s voice came through a hidden speaker on the device.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Rachel said. “I’m Special Agent Rachel Gift, here with a local detective by the same of Paul Sullivan. We were hoping to speak with Sherry Calloway.”
“Oh…um…okay. A Special Agent? Like with the FBI?”
“That’s right.”
“Would you mid walking over to the camera mounted by the door to your left and showing your badge?”
She did as instructed, eyeing the camera as she made her way over. She supposed the metal door it was installed over led into the labs. She held her badge and ID up to the camera. Sullivan filed in behind her and did the same. A handful of seconds later, there was a dry-sounding click, and the door in front of them opened.
Sullivan pulled it open and allowed Rachel to pass through first. The hallway they stepped into was the same color as the building's exterior…not quite white, but almost. Unlike the labs where Dr. Adler had been murdered, there were no large windows allowing passersby to look inside. Instead, there were sleek doors that almost looked like they belonged on a spaceship. As they started down this hallway, one of those doors—two doors down from them—opened up and a man stepped out. He was on the young side, surely no older than thirty, and he looked as if he was trying to hide the fact that he was excited to be receiving a visit from the FBI.
“Sorry about that,” he said as he made his way toward them with a bit of a shuffle to his step. “Security and all, you know.”
“No problem at all,” Rachel said. “Can you please show us where we would find Sherry Calloway?”
“Take a right at the end of this hall. She’s got an office and lab combo sort of thing. The first three doors you’ll come to are hers.”
“She’s in?”
“Yeah. I think she’s been here since six. A lot of folks here either work late or come in early…depends a lot on who they’re collaborating with and where they are in the world.”
Rachel quickly nodded her thanks as she and Sullivan continued down the hall. When they came close to the end, Rachel heard what she thought was murmuring…like two people talking in something almost lighter than a whisper. There was an urgent edge to it, something that caused her to start moving a bit faster.
As she came to the intersection at the end of the hall, she caught the tail end of a comment, and that caused her to move even faster.
“..to just tell them I had to leave for a personal reason or some—”
The voice stopped as Rachel came to the intersection. She looked to the left and saw two women speaking in a close huddle, but that last comment came to an end when both women spotted Rachel, and then Sullivan coming in on her heels. Rachel knew one of them was Sherry Calloway at once; her look of guilt and fear was hard to miss. She was quite gorgeous, her blonde hair spilling slightly over her shoulders and her bright blue eyes made somehow more alluring by the fear filling them.
Calloway’s mouth opened and then tried to turn into a smile. Instead, it froze somewhere in between and became a look of shock.
And then she pushed slightly away from the woman she’d been speaking to and ran.
