Chapter 5: The Laboratory That Was Supposed to Be Empty
At seven the following morning, Daniel Mercer arrived at my apartment.
He carried two coffees and a thick leather briefcase.
"You're not going anywhere alone," he said.
I took one of the coffees.
"Good morning to you too.""
He placed the briefcase on the kitchen counter.
"I spoke with a private investigator. The former Mitchell Industrial testing facility was transferred to a holding company three years ago. The beneficial owner is Xavier Mitchell.""
"Why would he buy an abandoned laboratory?""
"That's what we're going to find out.""
I showed him Naomi's message history.
He read the final exchange.
"Did she explain what accident she was talking about?""
"No.""
"Then we'll need to ask her.""
I shook my head.
"She won't tell us anything.""
Daniel looked at me.
"Mr. Walls, I understand she's your former partner, but I want you to stop treating this as a relationship problem.""
I frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"You're still reacting to her as someone who betrayed you emotionally. That's understandable. But the information she's withholding may have legal significance.""
I looked down at my coffee.
He was right.
I had spent years believing Naomi and I shared everything.
Now I had to accept that she might have known about my father's business dispute while sleeping beside me.
Daniel checked his watch.
"Let's go.""
The facility stood outside town, behind a rusted metal gate.
A faded sign still displayed the old company name.
MITCHELL INDUSTRIAL TESTING CENTER.
The main building was a long concrete structure with narrow windows. Tall weeds covered the surrounding grounds.
Daniel parked beside the gate.
A security guard approached.
"Can I help you?""
Daniel stepped forward.
"My name is Daniel Mercer. I'm representing Cedric Walls. We'd like to speak with the property manager.""
The guard looked at me.
Then at Daniel.
"Do you have an appointment?""
"No. But we're investigating a historical engineering matter involving this facility.""
The guard picked up his phone.
He spoke quietly for several seconds.
Then he looked at us again.
"Wait here.""
Five minutes later, a black SUV appeared behind the building.
The driver's door opened.
Xavier stepped out.
He was wearing a navy suit and sunglasses.
He looked almost amused to see us.
"Cedric. I was wondering when you'd show up.""
I stepped out of the car.
"Why didn't you tell me you owned this place?""
He removed his sunglasses.
"Would it have changed anything?""
"Probably.""
He laughed.
"You're beginning to sound like your father.""
Daniel approached.
"Mr. Mitchell, I'm Daniel Mercer. I'm representing Mr. Walls.""
Xavier shook his hand.
"Congratulations.""
Daniel frowned.
"For what?""
"For being the lawyer who gets to explain why this is all a waste of time.""
Daniel didn't react.
"We're here to inspect records related to Project Horizon.""
Xavier's smile disappeared.
"That project is irrelevant.""
"Then you won't object to our reviewing the records.""
"I didn't say that.""
I stepped forward.
"My father specifically instructed me to find the original laboratory report.""
Xavier looked at me for several seconds.
Then he turned toward the building.
"Come inside.""
The interior smelled of dust and industrial cleaner.
Several rooms had been renovated. New computers sat behind glass partitions, and the old testing equipment had been replaced with modern machinery.
But at the far end of the corridor, a metal door remained.
A faded label read:
*ARCHIVE ROOM — RESTRICTED ACCESS.*
Xavier stopped in front of it.
"There's nothing useful in there.""
Daniel glanced at the lock.
"Then opening it shouldn't be a problem.""
Xavier stared at him.
"You people think everything can be demanded.""
Daniel remained calm.
"My client is investigating documents connected to his father's intellectual property. If the relevant records are here, we can request access through the appropriate legal process.""
Xavier shook his head.
"Fine. I'll have someone retrieve whatever records still exist.""
I stepped closer to the door.
"Why not open it now?""
"Because it's not my priority.""
I looked at him.
"You bought this building.""
"Yes.""
"Then you know what's inside.""
His jaw tightened.
For the first time, the confident expression disappeared.
"Listen, Cedric. Your father and mine had a business arrangement. They disagreed. That's all.""
"Then why did my father withdraw the patent application?""
"Because he wasn't capable of completing the project.""
I felt my hands tighten.
"He spent years working on it.""
"And years failing.""
Xavier pointed toward the corridor.
"Your father was a good mechanic. But he wasn't an industrial engineer. He didn't have the resources, the facilities, or the technical knowledge required to commercialize his ideas.""
Daniel interrupted.
"Mr. Mitchell, I would advise you to be careful with your statements.""
Xavier ignored him.
"Your father understood that eventually. That's why he accepted money.""
"Then why did he write that you changed the terms?""
Xavier's expression hardened.
"Because he was angry.""
"About what?""
"About being offered a smaller role in a project that had outgrown him.""
I stared at him.
"You're saying he was jealous?""
"I'm saying he couldn't accept reality.""
For a moment, I wanted to hit him.
Not because of Naomi.
Not because of the engagement proposal.
Because he was standing in a building my father had helped create, describing him as a failure.
I stepped closer.
"My father spent thirty years repairing machines people like you couldn't understand.""
Xavier smiled coldly.
"And he spent the last part of his career trying to compete with people who could.""
Daniel placed a hand against my arm.
"Let's go.""
I looked at the locked door one final time.
Then I turned.
But as we reached the corridor, a woman in a gray cardigan emerged from a side office.
She was around sixty, with short silver hair and a pair of reading glasses hanging from her neck.
She stared at me.
Then her face changed.
"Thomas?""
I stopped.
"I'm Cedric. His son.""
The woman's hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh, my goodness.""
Xavier's expression darkened.
"Dr. Lewis, what are you doing here?""
She ignored him.
She approached me slowly.
"You look just like him.""
I swallowed.
"Did you know my father?""
She nodded.
"I'm Margaret Lewis. I worked here as a laboratory technician. I was there during the original Project Horizon tests.""
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"Dr. Lewis, would you be willing to speak with us?""
She glanced at Xavier.
Then back at me.
"Not here.""
Xavier folded his arms.
"Margaret, you have a confidentiality agreement.""
She looked at him.
"I also have a conscience.""
The hallway fell silent.
She reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
"I've kept this for fifteen years.""
She handed it to me.
On the front were four words.
*FOR THOMAS WALLS'S SON.*
I stared at the envelope.
"Why didn't you send it?""
Her eyes filled.
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of whom?""
She glanced at Xavier.
Then whispered:
"His father.""
We met Margaret at a small diner twenty minutes away.
She sat across from me in a booth near the window.
Daniel placed a recorder on the table after obtaining her agreement.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a folded laboratory report.
The paper had yellowed with age.
At the top was the date of the original Project Horizon test.
October 17.
The same date my father had circled in his notebook.
The report contained technical measurements, pressure readings, and a description of a catastrophic mechanical failure during a high-speed test.
I looked at Margaret.
"What happened?""
She took a deep breath.
"The original prototype failed during its second test.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Someone had modified the pressure regulator.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Was the modification authorized?""
Margaret shook her head.
"No.""
I looked down at the report.
"Who made the modification?""
She hesitated.
Then answered.
"Richard Mitchell's engineering team.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
"Because they wanted to demonstrate that the system could be made smaller and cheaper. Thomas disagreed. He believed the regulator needed an independent mechanical backup.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Did the system hurt anyone?""
Margaret nodded.
"One of the test engineers was seriously injured. Thomas was blamed because his name was on the original design.""
I looked at the report again.
There was a handwritten note beneath the test results.
*CAUSE OF FAILURE: UNAUTHORIZED PRESSURE REGULATOR MODIFICATION.*
Beside it was a signature.
Richard Mitchell.
Daniel photographed the page.
"Did your father know about this report?"" he asked me.
I nodded slowly.
"He told me to find it.""
Margaret looked at me.
"Your father tried to stop the test. He warned them that the modification wasn't safe.""
"Then why was he blamed?""
"Because the company needed someone to take responsibility.""
She wiped her eyes.
"Richard told everyone Thomas had approved the changes. When Thomas refused to sign the final report, they threatened to sue him for damages.""
I stared at her.
"Was that why he withdrew the patent application?""
"Partly. He wanted to prevent the company from using the original design without acknowledging the modifications.""
Daniel looked up.
"Do you have proof that Richard authorized the changes?""
Margaret nodded.
"I kept a copy of the original test authorization.""
She opened her handbag and removed another sheet.
There it was.
Richard Mitchell's signature.
And beneath it, a handwritten instruction:
Proceed with reduced regulator assembly. Commercial deadline cannot be delayed.
Daniel read it carefully.
"This could be extremely important.""
Margaret nodded.
"It was never included in the official report.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
She stared into her coffee.
"Because Richard told us the company would destroy our careers if we contradicted his version of events.""
"Did my father know you had this?""
She nodded.
"He asked me to keep it safe.""
My chest tightened.
"Why didn't he take it with him?""
"He tried. But he was involved in a legal dispute, and the documents were considered company property. He told me that if anything happened to him, I should find his son.""
I swallowed.
"Did he know he was going to die?""
Margaret looked away.
"I don't know.""
The diner seemed suddenly silent.
Daniel carefully placed the documents into a protective folder.
"We'll need to authenticate everything.""
Margaret nodded.
"I understand.""
I looked at her.
"Why did you finally decide to speak?""
She reached across the table and touched my hand.
"Because I saw the announcement about your prototype. I recognized the design. And I realized Richard's family was about to do to you what they did to your father.""
I sat back.
The room seemed to blur.
My father hadn't failed.
He hadn't simply walked away from a promising invention.
He had been pushed out.
And someone had made sure his name carried the blame.
Daniel closed the folder.
"Mr. Walls, this changes the situation significantly.""
I looked at him.
"Can we prove it?""
"We have a path to establishing what happened. But we need the complete original records.""
Margaret suddenly looked frightened.
"There's one more thing.""
Daniel stopped.
"What?""
She lowered her voice.
"The laboratory accident wasn't the only reason Thomas walked away.""
I stared at her.
"What do you mean?""
She looked directly at me.
"Your father discovered that Richard Mitchell had been using his research to develop a second system without his permission.""
I felt my pulse quicken.
"What second system?""
Margaret took a small photograph from her handbag.
It showed a prototype I had never seen before.
Its structure was different from my father's original design.
But the central mechanical mechanism looked almost identical to mine.
Margaret turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
Five years before my father died.
And beneath it, in her handwriting:
*THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL VERSION — BUILT FROM THOMAS'S ORIGINAL DESIGN.*
I stared at the photograph.
May you like
Then Margaret said the words that changed everything.
"Your father didn't just want to protect his patent, Cedric. He wanted to protect you.""
