Kenzi crossed the driveway leading to Lovelace Organic Research Enterprises (LORE) wondering where the lab was. Judging from appearances, she was approaching a hippie commune, or perhaps a macrobiotic farm. Why weren’t they downtown like the other Seattle research firms? Did they need to be outside the bustle of the city to create this rustic homespun ambiance?
The main building appeared to be a converted house, or perhaps farmhouse, with a red picket fence and a porch swing. She could see several other buildings behind it which she assumed were the actual labs, although they looked more like barns and stables—exactly what you might expect to see behind the farmhouse with the red picket fence.
She couldn’t say she disliked it. LORE appeared to have replaced the austere antiseptic Star Trek hallways of the stereotypical laboratory for something much more relaxed and accommodating. As she opened the front door, her nostrils were not inundated by the smell of ammonia. If she wasn’t mistaken, she was inhaling incense. Did they have diffusers in the lobby? Was it built into the ventilation system?
A woman in her mid-forties awaited her. No white coat. Instead, the woman wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt. Of course, you could see that anywhere in Seattle. Maybe grunge was alive and well in the scientific community.
The woman did, however, hold a clipboard. At last. Some semblance of normalcy.
“I’m Maggie Price. Managing Director for LORE. You must be Kenzi.”
“I am. Thank you for agreeing to meet me. Is Maya here?”
“She’s inside her lab.”
“Do you two work together?”
“Not exactly. I oversee all the projects.”
“So you’re Maya’s boss.”
“Basically. I’m in vaccine development. Maya works on defense contracts these days.”
She didn’t recall Maya mentioning that. “She makes weapons?”
“In a way. Most of the applied weapons work is subcontracted to a larger firm in downtown Seattle. Maya’s done a lot of work on chemical accelerants that could be deployed in weapons, though. Or a million other ways, some of which might actually benefit mankind.”
It was hard to miss the cynical note. “You don’t approve?”
Maggie shrugged. “I know what an independent lab has to do to stay alive. There’s no point in complaining. Someone has to pay the piper.”
“Vaccine work must keep you busy these days.”
“And how. This was a quiet little niche when I came to LORE. After the coronavirus outbreak, it became the most active sector of the firm. You know, Moderna used some of our work to develop its vaccine. In record time.”
“I did not know that.”
“We keep it on the downlow. Let others take the credit. Your partners remember that. Leads to more work in the long run.” Maggie glanced at her clipboard. “I understand you and Maya have a court date.”
“Yes, but we have plenty of time. I was hoping to look around.”
“That’s why I’m here. I seem to have become the lab’s Walmart greeter and tour guide. Follow me.”
Kenzi could see evidence of a workplace—stacks of paper, laptops, and copiers. But they hadn’t erected cubicle walls or put in fluorescent lighting. For the most part, the farmhouse still looked like a farmhouse.
“We have three research buildings,” Maggie explained as they walked outside and crossed to the first of them. “But we’ve tried to maintain a consistent appearance. Our founder felt it was important that this did not become another sterile lab. It’s like everyone wants to imitate 2001: A Space Odyssey. Why? I wouldn’t want to work in a place like that. Why not create a friendlier workplace, a more humane workplace, something people can look forward to seeing every day?”
“I give you points for innovative thinking.”
“That’s the difference between a business built by a man and a business built by a woman. Men worry about impressing people. They design offices to placate their inner insecurities. Women think about quality of life. They design offices to nurture the human beings who work there.”
“I assume LORE was named after Ada Lovelace.”
Maggie smiled. “Props to you. Most people think it’s the name of our founder. I’ve even heard men snigger and suggest the lab was named for some porn actress. Yes, this firm was dedicated to the great Countess Augusta Ada King, Lord Byron’s only child, brilliant in her own right, possibly the first programmer for Babbage’s theoretical computer and absolutely the first to realize that computers had potential uses beyond calculating. But of course, since she was a woman, her achievements were ignored by history.”
“Until now.”
“Exactly. It’s #MeToo time for historical figures, too.”
Maggie opened the door and, true to her word, revealed a friendly, homespun lab. While Kenzi could tell it was a workplace and people were working, it reminded her more of a family hotel room than a lab. Lots of wood. Paintings on the walls. Excellent lighting. And the same incense she detected the first moment she entered the main building.
Maggie slowly strolled through the lab, occasionally waving at people and pointing out various stations. “This is where we do our energy-related research. As you probably know, that’s booming. Entire countries have pledged to reduce or eliminate fossil fuels. President Biden has said he’ll spend trillions developing solar and wind power. GM and others have promised to distance themselves from automobiles with dangerous emissions. But for that to work, we need to make serious technological innovations. Work out the kinks in solar power. Create electric cars that go farther and last longer without recharging. We’re only a small part of this major lifestyle change, but we like to think we’re doing our bit.”
“If you’re helping protect our planet, I’d say you’re doing a great service, for this generation and the next. We all need to do what we can to fight climate change.”
“Climate change. Right.” Maggie made a scoffing sound.
“You…don’t believe in climate change?”
“Depends on what you mean. The climate is changing. That’s obvious. But historical records indicate that this is natural. The planet goes through cycles. There’s no reason to believe humans have altered or even influenced this.”
The scientist was a science-denier? “I thought there was no serious dispute about climate change in the scientific community.”
“People are just afraid to speak up. They’ve been silenced by the mainstream media.”
She might expect something like this from Crozier…but from a scientist? “I take it you don’t work in this area.”
“Heavens no. I’d rather be working with stem cells any day of the week.”
Wait a minute. If she worked with stem cells, her opinions weren’t coming from the religious right. “May I ask where you got your ideas about climate change?”
“It wasn’t Fox News, if that’s what you’re going for. Look, I’m a trained skeptic. All scientists should be. I don’t believe something, much less advocate action, until I’ve seen convincing and incontrovertible evidence. And so far, that hasn’t happened.”
Kenzi decided to let it go. Surprising, but probably not relevant to Maya’s case. And she needed to make friends, not enemies.
They passed out of the first building and entered the second. The décor was essentially the same, but there were more people working here and the atmosphere seemed more intense.
“This is my building,” Maggie said. “Like I told you, vaccine research has become our busiest and most profitable line of work. We’re toiling around the clock to protect humanity from the looming viral threats that could potentially decimate the population. I’m proud to be part of this effort to prevent threats—real threats—from taking untold lives. The coronavirus vaccines were developed more quickly than any in human history. That’s a result of many minds working together, scientists all over the world joining hands to achieve beneficial results.”
A few minutes later, they entered the third and final building. Kenzi expected to find Maya here, but didn’t see her. Maggie took her to Maya’s station, but it was unoccupied.
“She’s around,” a woman sitting to the right explained. “Stepped out for a moment. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
Kenzi nodded. “Any idea where she went? We have an appointment.”
“No. Sorry. I don’t keep track of her movements. By the way, I’m Zelda. Zelda Blake.”
“Nice to meet you. Kenzi Rivera.”
“This is the end of the tour,” Maggie said. “If you need something, let me know. Otherwise, I should get back to my office.”
“Of course. Thanks for showing me around.”
Maggie disappeared through the back door. Kenzi turned back to Zelda. “Do you work with Maya?”
“We work in the same area. We don’t have any projects together. I’m actually new to this.”
“New to LORE?”
“No. I used to be in the immunology department.”
“Like Maggie. She apparently loves it.”
“She would.”
Kenzi’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds like you didn’t love it. Do you mind if I ask why? I’m representing Maya in her divorce and the more I know about her the better.”
Zelda seemed hesitant to speak.
“I don’t blame you for being reticent,” Kenzi added. “But I’d rather hear about potential problems from you than hear it for the first time in court.”
Zelda paused another moment, then spoke. “I had serious reservations about the vaccine projects. Especially when they went forward with stem cell work.”
“Isn’t that an essential part of modern immunology? I read that some of the early coronavirus vaccines couldn’t have been created without it.”
“True. But those were lab-grown stem cells, not embryonic stem cells. Not actual fetal tissue. Though to me, it’s just as bad. We’re not meant to create life, and that’s what scientists are doing when they grow living tissue. But when the world is running scared, it loses its moral compass. I think using stem cells of any kind is immoral. I mean, we might as well start doling out abortions. It would amount to the same thing.”
Didn’t seem like the same thing to Kenzi. “Are you religious?”
“Devoted Baptist. Turned my life over to Jesus Christ years ago. You?”
“I was raised Catholic.”
“Oh.”
There was something about the sound of that monosyllable that Kenzi severely disliked.
“The Pope disapproves of stem cell research, right? And you have to believe whatever he tells you to believe?”
“I wouldn’t put it quite like that…” Kenzi knew better than to start comparing religions. No cheese down that mousehole. “But I’m surprised to hear how strong your religion is. Maggie just told me scientists only believe what’s supported by evidence. No one is ever going to prove the existence of a religious deity.”
“That’s where faith comes in.”
“Does that work in the lab?”
Zelda smiled. “I’m not going to ask the Defense Department to pony up for a faith-based weapon. But my faith sustains me and gives me strength. Evidence would weaken that. It would make faith irrelevant.” She turned her eyes downward. “I don’t mean to preach, but I believe I should witness whenever I have the opportunity. I’ve suffered from depression my entire life. Sometimes I’ve had…dark thoughts. At one point, I was at the end of my rope. Jesus brought me back from that. He’s the only reason I can get up in the morning.”
“Then I’m glad you found the faith you needed. And I know how controversial stem-cell research is. I’m surprised you’re the only one who objected to using it.”
“I’m not. We’ve had many complaints. Even threatening letters.” Zelda rifled through her desk till she found what she sought. “This is a photocopy of a letter we received from something called Christians for the Sanctity of Human Life.”
Kenzi took the letter and quickly scanned it. “Seems to be threatening you with the wrath of God. Literally.” She noted some of the key passages. “Sinners will burn in eternal torment.” “We must purge sin with the fires of righteousness.” The name beneath the signature block was Bonita H.N. Hall.
“May I keep this?”
“Sure. I have it on my hard drive.”
“Has Maya seen it?”
“I assume so. Why?”
Kenzi hesitated. “I get the idea that you don’t like Maya very much.”
Zelda looked away. “Look, if you’re her friend, I don’t want to say anything rude.”
“I’m her lawyer. And I need to know everything. What’s your problem with Maya?”
Zelda drew in her breath. “I take motherhood seriously. It’s a holy appointment. And I can’t approve of…Maya’s approach to child raising.”
This was the last thing Kenzi needed to hear when they were mere minutes away from an important custody hearing. “What is it you don’t approve of?”
Zelda’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You know she belongs to a cult.”
“I know she’s in Hexitel.”
“Do you have any idea what they do?”
“I know Maya considers it her religion, so shouldn’t we respect the choices her faith has made?”
Zelda pulled a face. “Surely you’re not suggesting that cult is a legit religion. Her poor little girl will be a train wreck if she’s raised around that crowd.”
“Do you have any reason to suspect Maya has done anything…inappropriate with her daughter?”
“I have more than a suspicion.” Zelda was still whispering. “I know she—”
“Kenzi! I didn’t know you were here.”
Kenzi jerked her head around.
Maya stood right behind her.
“Zelda was filling me in on all the lab gossip,” Kenzi explained. “Seems like you’ve got a lively workplace.”
Zelda scooted away, lips pressed tightly together.
Kenzi checked her watch. “We should leave now. I’ll brief you in the car.”
Maya led the way out of the building. Kenzi followed.
But as she did, she wondered what Zelda had been about to tell her. And worried.