Chapter 44
When I walked in the labs I heard McMurrich’s voice.
“If you let me know what you are looking for I can make your task easier”, she was saying.
I decided to stay where I was and understand what was happening before making myself visible, and I lingered close to the entrance a while longer.
“We just need to verify that the lab is safe and make a few checks on the chemicals you use and produce here”, a man said.
So the inspection was here already. I felt a surge of disquiet cheerfulness bubble within me. I would phone Mariam Avery later on to tell her about the inspection and try to understand if she had sent these people. I pictured a scandal exploding around the polymer – the MagnaSize, what a name! - and the labs being shut down. I pictured being laid off from FoodTech and not having a stipend, and I felt strangely relieved rather than worried.
“Not a problem. I can find the people who work in the different labs to help you with any questions you might have”, I heard McMurrich say.
I headed back to my desk, trying to act casual. McMurrich was talking with her back to the door, but somehow she caught a glimpse of me while I was trying to walk past her unnoticed.
“Iris”, she said, the misplaced severity of her tone echoing in the high-tech environment like the voice of a hateful governess from a classical novel.
“Yes”, I replied as neutrally as I could
“These people are here to inspect the labs. Start by showing them the room where you usually work, I’ll go find Alice in the meanwhile”
“Sure. The lab is this way”, I said, gesturing them to follow me.
“Iris, by the way”, I said, turning around and tending my hand after McMurrich had walked away.
There were two inspectors. One was bulky, and the skin of his face was saggy with faintly red patches. It was a strange thought for that moment, but I felt like I wanted to get him through this inspection as fast as I could. This man is not well and he might have no more than one year ahead of him, I thought. Now he doesn’t know and he burns away his time in meaningless tasks. I act and smile, and show him the labs wondering if he is here for the polymer but trying to hide my anxiousness. He plays along patiently, shaking hands with me and looking around. And all of a sudden –for no reason -I recalled a man I once saw queuing up at the check-in of an airport, too polite to interrupt the airline representative chatting inanely and tell her to speed up because he was about to miss his flight.
“Jim”, he said, his smiled constrained in the abundance of his flesh.
The other guy was trim and brisk.
“Curtis, good to meet you”, he said, shaking my hand briefly with his nervous grip.
I liked this guy better than the chubby one, although I knew I would play ruthless with him if needed.
When I brought them in the room they started looking at the instruments, without speaking. Then Curtis opened the fridge, and began looking at the jars with interest, picking them up one at a time and rolling them in his hands.
“What’s in these jars?”, he asked, after replacing the last one in the fridge
“The contents are written on the labels”, I said
“There are acronyms written on these labels. What I need to know is the actual content of these jars”, Curtis explained, with a display of patience superimposed on an tone that said, “I am no fool”
“Right”, I smiled.
I went to the fridge and began explaining.
“This is a pudding sample, to which a polymer has been added…”
“What polymer are you working with?”, he asked, while Jim was standing behind us, hands joint behind his back.
“It’s an organic polymer I am developing…”
At that moment McMurrich stepped in, followed by Alice.
“Everything fine so far?”, she asked
“I am curious about the composition of the polymer additioned to this sample”, he said, looking at her.
Then he asked, addressing me specifically, “Do you have some pure polymer I can look at?”
This man knows, I told myself
I handed him the vial with the pure polymer. He looked at it again with the same attentive expression he had before, as if gazing at the jars could be somehow revealing.
“So, what were you saying about the composition of the polymer?”, he asked
McMurrich looked at me frostily
You fool, they’ll see through you as crystal clear as through an icicle, I thought
“It’s an organic polymer”, I said, knowing I wasn’t giving out any useful information. I hoped he would bring the polymer with him and analyze it. But was he allowed?
“This is a proprietary formulation”, jumped in McMurrich
“We understand this very well, Dr. McMurrich”, said the trim guy
There was a pause, and we all stood there wondering what the next move would be. Curtis had an advantage, and I think McMurrich suspected he would give her checkmate. She tried to look confident but I sensed she wasn’t.
“We will never disclose any of your industrial secrets, but we need to verify the safety of the products in your labs”, Curtis said
“This is an organic polymer, and it does not pose any risks when handled with the precautions used in these labs”, McMurrich said defensively
“We will need to take a sample of the polymer to have it analyzed. This is normal routine, we are doing these tests in a number of labs”, Curtis explained coolly
“This polymer is proprietary, as I explained to you earlier”, McMurrich insisted
“Dr. McMurrich, we are conducting a simple inspection but you look quite anxious”, he said, looking at her slyly.
“I am determined to protect the novelty of our products”, she said, still in control but with a slight crack in her voice.
“Dr. McMurrich, we can come back with a warrant or get the sample now and have a look at it without making a big fuzz over this. Just tell us what you prefer and we’ll go from there”, Curtis said.
McMurrich was cornered, but she refused to admit she had lost the battle.
“May I ask the reason for this urgency? Our labs have always been in good standing, and FoodTech is a respected corporation. We will contact our lawyers about this matter if confidentiality will not be kept when handling our products”
“Certainly, we respect your corporation and the need for confidentiality. But I hope you appreciate the difference between confidential and hidden to the authorities”, said Curtis, smiling a pungent smile.
“We are not hiding anything”, McMurrich said
“That’s great. In this case you have nothing to worry about. We’ll be in touch with you shortly”
Curtis smiled again and headed to the exit, without waiting for us to guide us. Jim turned to me, with a hint of apology on his face, but then he followed his colleague without saying goodbye.