What Human Remains

Chapter 7

Detective Ross squeezed his way into the driver's seat with a grunt trying to fit the crutch he used across the seat next to him. He had already sent his driver home as he was a family man with little kids and the detective didn't see a reason why the man should suffer from his late hours at the office. Besides, his Dodge was an automatic, so he figured he should be able to handle the car just fine with one foot available. The only problem along the way was the dull ache that usually set in after a while of being immobile, but on his way out he had made sure to stock up on painkillers from his desk drawer.

He reached over his shoulder for the seatbelt when his attention was taken by a car entering the parking hall. Normally this scene would have hardly attracted his attention, but the oddly late time of arrival made him raise an eyebrow. Certainly he knew he was not the only one at the department with a habit for late hours, but he did not recognize the car pulling in and parking in the space next to the elevator.

He was about to reach for the key in the ignition when he recognized the person stepping out of the car. He could tell by the way Officer Daniel Myers was looking around as he made his way to the elevator that the officer was nervous. Deciding to leave the car key alone for the moment, he watched with great interest as the floor indicator lights on the elevator changed. Apparently the young officer had friends in high places as the elevator stopped on the floor of the top brass.

He had begun to wonder how far the tentacles of his case stretched. Odd connections with the military, people infiltrating his department, people kidnapped off the street. If someone above him was fully aware of what was going on, it would explain the ease with which Myers had managed to slip into place within Homicide and under his own watchful eye.

He could not help feeling annoyed, like he had been used. He was good friends with the chief, having played more golf with him than his wife would have probably liked. Why hadn't Raymond given him a heads-up and instead kept him in the dark? Were someone's personal interests at stake here?

He observed the time it took for the young officer to return from his visit and head back to his car. He made a mental note of the car's license plate as well as the color and the make, allowing Myers drive away and disappear properly through the exit ramp before he started the engine of his car and drove after him.

He had a feeling that he wanted to see where the young man was going. Chances were they might have the same destination in mind.

He watched Myers leisurely weave his way through the night traffic, driving aimlessly at first. The detective knew very well what the randomness of the drive signified. His own goal was to make himself invisible so that Myers never suspected he was being followed.

He eased into a remote parking space by the curb, maintaining his distance as he watched Myers pull over into the visitor parking area in front of a tall building the glossy modern architecture of which screamed money. The lit sign posted at the edge of the parking area stated he was looking at the headquarters of Argennics Laboratories, a rather new company he remembered he had heard something about in the news, although, with the company names resembling each other so much, he could not be certain. Whatever or whichever the company was, however, they certainly had the oddest business hours. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. It was well past eight PM and Myers walked in without a single delay at the front desk.

From his vantage point Detective Ross had a perfect line of sight into the bright lobby that was walled with glass all around. Myers barely offered a nod to the clerk, and he was allowed to pass the security gates. The question that remained was whether his relationship with the company was a professional one or more personal. If Myers was already affiliated with the military and the police, what was his connection with a medical company? Also, which one of the parties, if any of them, was responsible for his act as a federal agent?