Free Transparency: Bio-Tech Cavern Secrets Untold by D.K. Matthews

to me.”
    The chief stretched his neck, flattening out folds of fat. “You read me, Detective Halliday?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “This morning I received an official bulletin. Morning Glory , a bio-extremist group, is planning a peaceful demonstration outside Genevive Labs next week. You be our point man. Coordinate with Palmier. I’ve emailed some of the details to you.”
    Now Halliday better understood the chief’s tension caused by the possible connection between the recording and bio-extremists.
    The chief folded his arms like he did when ending department meetings. “The bulletin emphasizes the public’s growing mistrust over the secretive nature of biotech facilities. Let’s make sure we don’t give the extremists any kindling for a fire.”
    He nodded.
    “Coincidence? You receiving the recording from the deceased woman days before a bio-extremist group announce its plan to hold a demonstration at the gates of Genevive Labs?”
    The chief didn’t believe so and that explained why he couldn’t bury the issue. “There could be a connection.”
    “I’ll text you with an appointment time for Palmier.”
    “I’ll clear my schedule this afternoon.”
    Halliday left the chief’s office with a bad feeling in his gut.

Chapter Eleven
    Due to budget constraints, there had been no vehicles available in the motor pool. Halliday reset the trip odometer on his old Saab 9-3 Aero to record the mileage. Genevive Labs was located fifteen miles east of Santa Reina.
    Halliday sped down the county highway. Pine trees skidded past, their trunks like a brown picket fence until a large open meadow signified the exit to Lake Santa Reina reservoir. Leo kept a bass boat at the marina. Halliday had joined the veteran detective on several occasions. They drank more beer than caught fish. Leo told great war stories.
    The final five miles, Genevive Parkway, led straight to the labs, where miracles were commonplace. The road ran through thick forest, like nature’s attempt to hide any evidence of the big deal up ahead.
    Private cars weren’t allowed in the Genevive complex. Halliday parked in the visitor lot. He locked up and hoofed to the front gate. Three identical white Ford pickup trucks were lined up outside all loaded with chain link fencing.
    “Got a hole in your fence?” Halliday asked. The driver wore dark sunglasses. He stared at him, expressionless. It reminded Halliday of coming face to face with a fly. All of the security men wore similar outfits: blue jeans, light-blue cotton long-sleeved shirts and a black and orange SECURITY vest. They all wore the pitch black sunglasses, too.
    When an answer wasn’t forthcoming, he let it go. After all, security people weren’t paid to be friendly.
    Halliday had never been inside Genevive Labs. At the front gate he flashed his badge. After verifying his appointment, the guard issued him a visitor’s badge. He instructed him to take trolley number five up to the admin building.
    Genevive had a slew of open air trolleys with canopied roofs that warded off the rain, along with falling pinecones. They were all driven at slow speeds by retirees who reminded him of Wal-Mart greeter’s gone mobile.
    He jumped on number five, half expecting to hear Disney’s, “It’s a Small World,” through the speakers. A folksy voice announced, “Admin building is the next stop on the left.”
    The complex reminded him of a hybrid between Knott’s Berry Farm and Fort Belvoir, where he had taken antiterrorist training while with Diplomatic Security. The campus occupied fifty acres. It employed over two thousand personnel. A small portion of them were scientists. The employees worked in woodsy two-story structures, most connected by wood bridges. Squirrels, exceeded in number only by security cameras, wandered over manicured lawns and up shade trees.
    “Watch your step neighbor,” Halliday heard as he got off the trolley.
    During the two minute walk to the admin building signs everywhere