“Strange how?” I asked.
“All these weird compounds, some highly toxic. The arsenic content is off the charts. That’s why I called Melissa. That’s her thing, you know? Searching for life forms that use arsenic instead of phosphorus. But she’s been focusing on microbes so she didn’t believe it at first. But the more we looked at it, the more convinced she was that there was something important here.”
Carrick held up his hand. “Wait, why is she looking for life forms based on arsenic instead of phosphorus?”
Tubbs shrugged. “There’s a theory that some of the life on this planet might not have originated here, a ‘shadow biosphere.’ And if it originated somewhere else, one theory is that its metabolism might use arsenic instead of phosphorus, which this stuff seems to do.”
“So what are you saying?”
Tubbs put up his hands. “Well, she was saying it might be of extraterrestrial origin. I’m not saying that. In fact, now I’m pretty sure she’s wrong.”
Carrick snorted. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure, too.”
I ignored him. “Why’s that?”
“After they left, I compared the DNA to regular tiger cress DNA. It’s identical except for three chunks that are totally different.”
“You mean like, mutations?” I asked.
“Or do you mean like splices?” Carrick said.
Tubbs pointed at Carrick and said, “Bingo. There’s a company called Xenexgen, maybe ten minutes from here, that specializes in bioremediation using engineered microbes to pull contaminants out of polluted soil. One of the biggest sequences spliced into the tiger cress genome is almost identical to one they use for their arsenic remediation products. The weird thing is, most bioremediation products sequester the arsenic so it is less bioavailable. Melissa specifically said this arsenic is highly bioavailable.”
I shook my head. “It’s genetically engineered? Who would engineer a toxic version of a wild plant?”
Tubbs bit his lip. “Melissa’s theory is that it might not be toxic to everyone, or everything.”
Carrick snorted. “So, what, you think it’s genetically modified Purina Alien Chow?”
Tubbs didn’t smile. “Sounds crazy when you say it out loud, but I’d love to take another look at it.”
“What happened to your samples?” I asked.
“Moose and Melissa only left me a little bit. It turned into green goo overnight.”
As soon as we got outside, Carrick said, “You don’t believe that stuff, do you? The extraterrestrial stuff?”
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to find Moose and Melissa.”
“Right.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “So, next stop Xenexgen?”
I nodded and called Junie to see if she’d heard from Melissa.
“No.” Her voice sounded tight. “No one has seen her since last night. That presentation was a big deal for her. She wouldn’t have blown it off. Have you found out anything?”
“The last person she talked to was a guy named Moose Scott, a friend of a friend who found some weird plants out in the forest. He gave samples to Melissa to look at. Does that mean anything to you?”
“She’s an astrobiologist. Weird plants are kind of her thing.”
I told her what Tubbs had said.
“Arsenic? Hmm. Maybe that was her big thing she was on to. Did you talk to this Moose person?”
I paused. I didn’t want her to freak out, but I didn’t like keeping things from her — especially not things I knew she’d find out later. “Moose is missing, too.”
She gasped. “Joe, are you serious?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. They could have hit it off and gone somewhere together.” Although they wouldn’t have left their phones behind. “But I’m comparing notes with a friend of Scott’s, a Philly cop named Carrick. We’ll find them.”
I could hear her voice getting thick and wet. “Okay. Keep me posted.”
As I put down the phone, Carrick looked at me. “She’s worried?”
I nodded.
“You too?”
I shrugged. If I wasn’t worried, I wouldn’t be looking for her. “I don’t know Melissa well, but she didn’t seem the type to flake off.”
We drove in silence for a minute or two, then Carrick asked, “So what do we know about Xenexgen?”
It was a good question. I picked up my phone and called my pal Bug.
“Hey, Joe. How’s it going?” he said. “You and Junie having fun with all the saucer heads?”
I smiled. “Having fun being away from you guys, that’s for sure.”
Bug laughed. “I’d be deeply hurt if I didn’t know that was a lie. I know you miss me — why else would you be calling me?”
The conversation chilled the tiniest bit. I wouldn’t be calling him without a good reason, and good reasons were never good news. I was calling him because he ran MindReader, the DMS’s supersecret, superpowerful computer system.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m here with a new friend,” I said, letting Bug know I was not speaking freely. “Philadelphia detective Doyle Carrick and I are looking into a couple of missing friends.”
Bug typed for a second. “Carrick looks legit… a bit of a loose cannon, makes some enemies, but he’s a righteous dude who makes a lot of busts and has been on the right side of some nasty fights.”
“Great. We’re looking for a Bruce ‘Moose’ Scott and a Melissa Brant, both went missing sometime last night.”
“Want me to track ’em? Credit cards, cell phones, the usual?”
“They left their phones and wallets behind, but see if anything pops up. Also, Brand left behind a prescription drug called Tapazole. She’s missed a couple doses, so anything you can find on that would be great. First, though, I need you to look into a company called Xenexgen.” I spelled it.
Bug typed some more, then said, “Headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and Monroe County, Pennsylvania.”
“What the hell are they doing out here?”
“Looks like the company was originally involved in coal. Acquired three years ago by current CEO Cecil Bortman. Very closely held, very quiet.… There’s some very heavy-duty encryption protecting their systems.”
“Apparently they have a line of bioengineered products used for hazardous waste remediation?”
“Let’s see… yes, Clean Sweep, a line of microbial products that sequesters heavy metals and other pollutants in soil. It seems to be one of their main product lines. I don’t see much in the way of sales, but they seem sound financially.”
“What’s their communications like?”
“Not as secure as their servers, but they’re pretty quiet.”
“Okay. Keep an eye on that. We’re about to visit their Monroe County location.”
“You thinking they might get chatty after you leave?”
“Exactly.”
“You got it.”
We drove through fields and farms and wooded hills, rounded a bend, and there was Xenexgen. The front was all high-tech global HQ office chic with the chrome double-helix X logo. As we pulled into the vast and almost empty parking lot, we could see production facilities in the back. Along one side, there was a long row of shipping containers with the blue Xenexgen logo being loaded with pallets of blue-and-white sacks.
Carrick parked in front of the main entrance, a curved overhang of mirrored glass sheltering a row of green glass doors. Inside, the lobby was more mirrored glass and chrome, a very modern impression that was seriously undermined by the cardboard boxes stacked two deep, at least three or four high, against the marble walls. The old guy at the desk eyed us for employee badges, then sat up straighter, surprised that we didn’t have any.
“Can I help you?”
I held up my badge. “We’re looking into a possible link between a couple of missing persons and one of your products.”