Chapter 89
As we drove I told Avery what had happened, looking at her at moments, keeping my eyes closed most of the time.
“I’ll get to see what these people are up to if I stay at FoodTech labs”, I explained
“Yes, but tomorrow you should stay home if you aren’t well”, Avery said
Sometimes I think she cares, she really cares about me…
“Anyways I have some news too”, Avery continued
“Yeah?”, I said
“Michael Gill worked in the headquarters of FoodTech labs in New York, with the same role as McMurrich had here. You knew this?”
“No”, I said
“He did. McMurrich was Mark Gill’s colleague at Diet Clinical, she was developing novel food preservatives, and Mark Gill was looking at the effects of the preservatives on the organism. McMurrich had come up with a new formulation, which was released it and then taken out the market. It’s hard to trace what happened, but it seems like Mark Gill raised the issue regarding the toxicity of the formulation. The facts have been blurred, and the case covered up before it could become a scandal. McMurrich and Mark Gill both left Diet Clinical after the flop of the product, either spontaneously or because they got kicked out. Mark Gill found a job at the DNA Research Center, while McMurrich was unemployed for a while. The two kept in contact, and eventually they became intimate”
“How do you know?”, I asked
“People always leave traces. They write emails for instance…It’s almost impossible to be truly invisible”
“You tracked down their private correspondence?”
“Mark Gill and McMurrich were lovers”, Avery continued, neglecting my question
“Yes, we know this…”, I said
“Michael Gill gave his brother’s lover a hand and she got hired at FoodTech labs, and because of this McMurrich always remained loyal to Michael Gill. But then one day you came up with your polymer and things changed. Michael Gill wanted Foodtech labs to produce the invention of the century. You are not the only one who has been working on a polymer that increases the volumes of the foods, they were trying to come with exactly the same invention in the labs in New York”
“Really?!”, I exclaimed, flabbergasted, because McMurrich had always made me believe that this was my project, and mine only
“But you got there first. They gave your polymer to the guys in New York to try and see how it worked, how it could be improved and to test its safety. McMurrich didn’t want this, she felt like they were taking something from her, not giving her enough credit. The polymer had been developed in her lab and she wanted to commercialize it as soon as possible. She probably thought that if she did she could climb up the ladder”
“So this is how Micheal Gill knew that the polymer was unsafe…”
“Yes, based on the facts I have so far”
“So what did McMurrich do when she felt they were not giving her credit what I came up with?”
“There was nothing she could do”
“So all she did was vent and then…she got killed because they tried to silence her?”
“So here is the missing link. I cannot see Michael Gill killing her because of that. And it was Mark Gill who ran her over and killed her, not Michael Gill”
“So you’re sure about that. Ok, but Mark Gill is Michael Gill’s brother”, I argued
“Yes, but you see it doesn’t make sense. McMurrich’s lab comes up with a polymer, the head office says it should be improved and tested, McMurrich hates this but cannot do anything about it. She is not in the position to cause damage to Michael Gill, so he has no reason to have her killed. And if he did want to have her killed he wouldn’t involve his brother and come up with such an imperfect murder. The crime scene was swarming with evidence, I cannot believe the murder was planned”
“What about Sandeep? Did you interrogate him or Ronny?”, I asked
“Sandeep is still unconscious”, Avery said
“And Ronny?”
“Ronny is dead”
“What? How?”, I was shocked
As we were driving a vague sense of nausea had been pervading me, I could feel it floating within me between one irregular heartbeat and the next. Now it gushed upwards, I took down the window and vomited.
Avery slowed down, pulled her car on the side. We were driving in a solitary side street not far from my home now, and all I could feel beyond the hot silence was my breath resounding in my ears, the sour taste of vomit burning my throat and my nose. I spit on the asphalt. Avery held my forehead and gave me a tissue. I wiped off the filaments of saliva dribbling from my mouth and went back to the car. I closed my eyes.
“Are you ok?”, Avery asked buckling her belt
I shook my head no.
“How did he die?”, I asked
“He stole some pills and ate them”, Avery said
“I want to do the same”, I said
“Iris. Let’s go home, I’ll stay with you for a while, then I’ll send a colleague to patrol your house. Give your man a call, he should come over to your place. It’s easier for us that way, we won’t need to send someone to check on him too. And you need support, psychological support, I mean”
I nodded faintly, feeling empty headed.