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By the time Wednesday rolled around, I’d nearly forgotten about my required meet and greet at Magnarella’s new and improved lab. I wasn’t thrilled to revisit the compound premises. None of my experiences there had been positive, and today’s visit would be no exception. It was for the greater good, though. Just because West considered me a liability didn’t make me one. Thwarting Magnarella’s plans would prove I was an asset, possibly a dead one—but an asset, nonetheless.
The temperature managed to reach fifty-one degrees by midmorning, so I opted to ride Betsy, my motorcycle, and enjoy the springlike temperature. It felt good to have the wind rushing past me again.
The gates to the compound were closed, and I had to wait for security to admit me.
“Cool bike,” the guard said with a note of admiration. “Looks vintage.”
“Thanks, she is.” I’d left her in a storage unit with my other belongings when I moved to England. A little love and care upon my return and she was as good as the day I bought her.
“You can leave it here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Park it here by the booth. Mr. Magnarella told me to escort you personally to the new lab.” He pointed to a golf cart parked on the lawn. “I’ll drive you in that.”
“Seems like a slower option, but fine.”
I joined him in the front seat of the golf cart, and he started to drive.
“How far is the lab?”
“Not too far. It’s a separate building now.”
I guessed Magnarella didn’t want anyone breaking out of the lab and interrupting one of his dinner parties with the supernatural creature they’d slain. Fair enough.
We passed the old entrance to the lab and turned left at the end of the compound, where a shiny new building awaited us.
“Spared no expense, I see.” No wonder he needed a gala to entice investors.
“Mr. Magnarella takes his businesses very seriously.”
He took the amassing of power very seriously. The businesses were merely the means to an end.
The guard pressed his hand to the keypad and the door slid open. “Have fun. I’ll be here when you’re ready to leave.”
I was ready to leave now, but I knew I had to take the opportunity to see what monstrous activities the vampire had planned.
A second set of doors slid open, and I crossed the threshold of a spacious room. A man in a white lab coat stood at a counter, typing on a computer.
“Hey, Edmonds.”
The scientist glanced up at me, and his gaze darted to his pristine lab in alarm.
“Didn’t your boss warn you I was coming today?”
Dr. Edmonds smoothed the front of his coat. “He did. I tried to persuade him it was a bad idea, but he insisted.”
I surveyed the sterile silver and white environment. “I can’t believe you got another lab up and running so fast.”
He sighed with pleasure. “It’s amazing what money can do, isn’t it?”
“That’s why you stuck with Magnarella?”
“I’m a scientist, Miss Clay. You have no idea what a difference financial backing can make to an experiment.”
“Oh, I think I’ve experienced it firsthand.” I ran a finger along a metal worktop, just so he’d have to wipe away my germs later. “Why this nonsense? Wouldn’t you rather cure cancer?”
“Cancer is the old world. The elixir is the new one. With a successful elixir, cancer is only one of many diseases that will cease to be a problem to solve.”
