Page 122 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Airtight

not natural. Evidently something went wrong inside that dome. A
search warrant for these premises is on the way. We can either wait
for it, or start now. May I count on your co-operation?”
To his credit, Ben did not crumble upon receiving this latest blow.
A little more air out of his balloon; what else could go wrong? “Yes.
Whatever you need. I see you’ve already met Kelly Day. She can
assist you. Now I must get New York on the phone.” He turned to
leave. Lt. Gramercy tapped his arm, not forcefully, but he halted.
“One question, first, Mr. Schmarker. What were you doing just
now in the Ecodome?”
He blinked. “Me? Oh, I needed to check some of the equipment in
there. Our team left so hurriedly that they might have forgotten to
turn something off. The test is over, but we may need to use the
dome again for other trials in the future. Some of that gear is on
lease, but we are liable for all of it and the insurance premiums are
stratospheric.”
“I see,” said Labelle Gramercy, taking out her notebook. That
could get on somebody’s nerves, I thought; I wonder if she does it
intentionally. “Were the lives of the people living in the Ecodome
insured by Cyborganics?”
He grimaced. “Of course. We had many contingencies covered.
When you lock up a group of people for a year in a totally sealed
environment, all sorts of things can go wrong. Aborting the mission
before its scheduled termination would have serious financial
consequences for us.”
“Even twenty minutes early?”
“Well, perhaps there is a silver lining on this cloud: the experiment
itself concluded before Dr. Reath passed away. As far as doing what
we set out to do, the project was successful. No claim against that
insurance will be made.”
“But the life insurance?”
“That is a matter for our attorneys to consider. Now, if you will
excuse me?”
Lt. Gramercy nodded. “Please don’t leave town, sir, until this
inquiry has ended. We may also be fingerprinting everyone involved.
A technician will be here shortly to do that if I deem it necessary.”
Ben grimaced and hurried off.

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