Chapter 7 - THE SECRET OF RAINIER INSTITUTE
Abigail was taken to the station for questioning, but she refused to speak until she had legal counsel. We placed her in a secure interview room while Detective Ellis searched through the old Rainier Institute files.
The facility had specialized in venom research and antivenom development. According to the official report, a containment failure had caused the death of one technician and forced the institute to close its reptile division.
That technician was Daniel Ward.
Abigail’s younger brother.
The official report said Daniel had violated safety procedures.
Abigail claimed that was a lie.
“My brother was careful,” she told us. “He had worked with venomous animals for six years. He didn’t forget to lock a chamber.”
“Then what happened?” Mara asked.
Abigail stared at the table.
“Someone opened the containment room from the outside.”
“Who?”
“I never saw him.”
“But you suspected someone.”
She looked at me.
“Rainier Institute was developing an experimental antivenom. The project was worth millions. Daniel discovered that the lead scientist was selling research samples to a private buyer.”
“Who was the buyer?”
“We never learned his real name. Daniel kept records. He planned to report everything.”
“And then he died.”
Abigail nodded.
“After his death, the institute blamed him. They destroyed the evidence and paid off the inspectors.”
I placed the scarf photograph in front of her.
“Why were you at the park?”
“I received a message.”
“From whom?”
“Someone using my brother’s old code.”
“What did it say?”
Abigail swallowed.
“It said, ‘The last witness is at Centennial Park.’”
Mara leaned forward.
“Who is the witness?”
“I don’t know. I thought it meant an animal. Maybe one of Daniel’s test specimens.”
“Why were the children photographed?”
“I didn’t photograph them.”
“Your scarf was found there.”
“I lost it two days ago.”
“Your initials are on it.”
“It was a gift from Daniel.”
She looked at the pendant.
“That was his too.”
I studied her face.
She was frightened, but not of the police.
She was frightened of someone else.
“What happens if you tell us everything?” I asked.
“Whoever killed Daniel will come after me.”
“They already came after you in the alley.”
“That was a warning.”
A knock sounded at the door.
An officer entered and handed Mara a sealed envelope.
“Found in the evidence locker.”
Mara opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Lily and Mason leaving the hospital.
Written across the bottom in black ink were six words:
TITAN CANNOT PROTECT THEM FOREVER.
My stomach tightened.
Someone had access to the investigation.
Someone knew about Titan.
The next morning, Lily and Mason were moved to a secure location. Their parents were placed under police protection. The department assigned two officers to watch the hospital entrance.
Still, the threat reached us.
At 2:14 p.m., the hospital fire alarm sounded.
Patients were evacuated into the parking garage.
During the confusion, a man wearing a maintenance uniform entered Mason’s room.
He carried a small black case.
Fortunately, Titan and I were nearby conducting a routine building search. Titan caught the scent before I saw the man.
He pulled me down the hallway.
“Titan, track.”
The dog sprinted toward the stairwell.
The maintenance worker heard us and ran.
He reached Mason’s room and grabbed the boy by the arm.
Mason screamed.
The man pulled a syringe from the case.
Titan hit him from the side.
The syringe flew across the floor. The man fell, but immediately drew a knife.
I tackled him before he could reach Mason.
He fought brutally, striking my ribs and trying to crawl toward the syringe.
Titan seized his wrist and held him down without biting.
“Drop the knife!” I shouted.
The man refused.
I secured the weapon and handcuffed him.
Inside the black case was a vial labeled with a symbol I recognized from the Rainier Institute records.
Mara arrived minutes later.
She looked at the vial.
“This isn’t antivenom,” she said.
“What is it?”
She examined the label.
“Something designed to cause paralysis.”
Mason was alive.
But the attack confirmed one terrifying truth.
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The people behind the old laboratory crime were still operating.
And they were willing to silence children to protect their secret.
