Formula for Murder (15 page)

             
             
             
by Karen Amend and Mary Ruiz

Detective Burrows sauntered past the riot of chrysanthemums along the walkway to the science building, eyeing his open notebook with questions compiled for Dr. Simon Santora. As he neared the splashy golden flowers adjacent to the double doors, a fire alarm halted his steps. Seconds later he was bombarded by what seemed like hundreds of students racing from the building. He knew it was past lunchtime, and since he’d been on campus frequently, he knew this mad rush was abnormal, as was the alarm. Then he saw campus security guiding students out the exits.

They easily determined that there was no fire or gas leak, merely a chemical experiment gone awry, producing the same smelly chemical that serves as a warning in natural gas. A high-pressure system and the smelly experiment had hampered the natural venting process.

Burrows found Santora by Kat’s description of a man with light hair, tanless skin, and nondescript glasses. Richard shot out quick, precise questions that Santora volleyed.

While setting out a few flasks on the bench top and grabbing some bottles of chemicals from the refrigerator Santora explained how Charlie had an article just two weeks ago in the
Journal of American Chemical Society
. He felt it was possible the barely-suppressed excitement revealed there could have led people to believe Charlie was close to a conclusion. Some circles might have found that challenging, just as Abner had told Nick and Kat.

Burrows asked him to back up a few courses, perhaps to basic high school chemistry, and try to explain whether Charlie was working on many experiments with different students, or one experiment with many students working jointly.

“It’s in a way the same experiment, just different aspects,” Simon explained patiently. The professor chooses his research platform and his sub-projects. He has a possible goal, but the research over the years can fragment into more tangents.

Burrows settled on one of the lab stools, carefully leaving room for his overflowing belt line, and waited for Simon’s explanation. “One student could be making a molecule, another purifying an enzyme, a third testing the hypothesis. Once they’ve drawn their conclusions at the end the researcher has to determine what’s next—the best way to approach the general scheme given the new information.”

Santora prepared to mix methylbenzoate with aniline for his organic class students to separate and identify the following day. His notebook was open nearby with the percentages he’d decided on earlier. Now the scent of bananas wafted around them as he worked, but he continued talking.

“The research can take a year in just getting the setup ready. For instance, to study the surface of a molecule and see how it reacts you have to first design and build a physical machine that would do that.”

“So the research mentioned in that article is basically the only project he was involved in?”

“Yes.”

Richard asked further questions about the research, trying to determine whether it could have been related to Charlie’s death. He appreciated the man’s zeal but was trying to focus on how this could drive someone to a violent crime. He still had to determine if it was premeditated or caused by an eruption of emotions during the course of a conversation. 

Already getting lost in the logistics, Richard attempted to steer the discussion back to one of his main questions, “So how can this vandalism theory fit into Charlie’s death?”

The professor turned from his chemicals, giving the detective all his attention. “I have no clue how it fits into his death, but if you’re referring to the rumors that Charlie was a suspect in the possible theft, nothing was proven.”

“OK, so let’s suppose he took it. Then what would he do with it? How would it help?”

Using common language for Burrow’s sake, he laid out the scenario again. “It’s called cutting corners. Say you want to study an enzyme. The first step would be to purify it and make a substrate. To cut corners you could pick a molecule that has been made already or you could steal a purified enzyme.”

“How difficult is that?”

“You’d have to know the layout of someone’s lab. Know that it needs to be in an minus 80-degree freezer and pick your time. Such as covering with a lab break-in and the resultant aftermath.”

If Charlie wanted the enzyme to use in his research, all he had to do was ask and
Billings
would probably have provided it. It’s one of the reasons why a theft was questionable.”

Burrows, who’d been around at the time of the vandalism, was trying to remember the circumstances. “It was never proven there was a theft, right?”

“Right. It was more than likely pure vandalism. The rumors about Charlie taking it were sour grapes in my mind.”

The detective sought Dr. Santora’s opinion on whether someone from the sponsoring corporation would have any reason to kill Dr. Abbott.

Simon thought not. “What would be the gain?”

“Even if the research wasn’t going well?”

Simon went back to the storage cabinet for a minute but showed little concern. “They’re used to that. Happens all the time.”

He continued, “When they’re lucky and the research pans out, it makes up for those grants that went nowhere. Those in the sponsoring corporation know to be patient but once the findings are confirmed the researcher in turn has to be patient. The paying company wants to control the disbursement of the information, if they allow it at all. Depends a lot on the particular research. Their main concern is getting their product on the market first.”

Kat wandered in and tried to stay discreetly in the background, but Burrow’s instincts notified him when she arrived. He finally turned to her and said, “OK, Katharine. What’s up?”

Kat smiled and moved closer to Simon and her old friend, opting for a straightforward answer. “I was checking up on you.”

Raising his eyes heavenward he then grinned. “Well, at least she’s telling the truth for once. No subterfuge. I like that. We’ll let her stay.”

Turning to Kat he explained, “He’s telling me about Dr. Abbott’s research.”

Santora stopped setting up his test experiment and followed through with more background. “Charlie’s experiment was working with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, called  NAD+ for short. It’s a coenzyme that is in all living things. It’s used in hundreds of thousands of processes. It transfers a hydride, which is hydrogen, with a pair of electrons.”

Burrows scanned the bench top and found most of the clutter situated under what looked like his kitchen stove hood, but this one had bars and dangling lines and this hood came down and around to form a box four feet deep. With the sinks and hot plate nearby it looked much like a kitchen, though admittedly it was cleaner than his own. He dreaded what someone could cook up in here with a devious mind. He was glad the murderer seemed straightforward—no infectious viruses or plagues to worry about.

For now he could find no reason to be suspicious of the man so he attempted to concentrate on what he was saying. The smell, which had distracted him at first, became almost overpowering before he stepped back from it. The scientist’s booming voice once into a subject belied Simon’s faded appearance. He was working under the hood, and, noticing Richard’s discomfort, explained.

“The first one smelled like bananas and isn’t too bad but the aniline smells like rotting fish. It’s one of the reasons we do it under the hood with the ventilation on. Besides, it’s safest to work with volatile compounds under the hood.”

Kat took a whiff of each, puzzled. Before she could detect why, she noticed some handwritten papers signed by Simon. A quick glance detected legible writing and good self image. It confirmed her feeling that the man was in the clear.

Santora went back to talking about Charlie’s research but could see he was losing the detective so he simplified even further. “It’s a critical compound. We all know this molecule structure, and to be honest, most believe it functions a certain way. Charlie thought it functioned differently. He was trying to examine the method of transfer by slowing down the intermediate step enough to well, see it, basically.”

Kat appeared to wander aimlessly around the perimeter of the room. By outward appearance it seemed she couldn’t follow what Simon was saying. Burrows knew better but was ignoring her, attempting to concentrate on Simon’s explanation.

Kat stopped and frowning, interrupted Simon. “You’re talking about essential compounds that allow the body to run correctly, right? We eat certain foods with particular vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, and nicotinamide so that our bodies can produce these NAD+ molecules.”

The chemist hesitated in mid-stride, not hiding his surprise at her knowledge. Burrows hid his grin as Simon re-evaluated his analysis of Kat and watched her more closely as she continued to circle around the room.

“Right. They play a role in hundreds of biochemical reactions. They and the vitamins are essential to producing ATP, the main energy currency of cells.”

Burrows still struggled to comprehend. “OK, you’ve convinced me. It’s important to the production of energy. Why do we need to know how it works? What would be the gain?”

Simon waved his hands in the air excitedly as if it had been his experiment. “For the pure knowledge of it. People have been trying to figure this out for hundreds of years. It almost sustains life for living systems and scientists don’t know for sure how it works. To a scientist, that’s enough reason.”

Beginning to understand the scope, if not the science of the project, he nodded.

“Overall understanding of life—not just the human body? Sounds damn impressive. So how close was he? And why doesn’t everyone think he was murdered for his research?”

Pleased with the detective’s initial grasp on the situation, Simon nodded, and excused himself as he walked across the room to find a smaller beaker. He continued talking over his shoulder. “Like I said, most scientists don’t agree.”

Kat quickly whispered in Burrows’s ear. “Let’s drop this aspect for a minute. I’ll talk to you outside when we’re finished here. I have a thought.”

“Why aren’t I surprised? Let me finish some of my other questions, then we’ll talk.”

Simon returned as Richard consulted his notes. “Why is your lab so much smaller than the one Dr. Abbott used?”

Knowing that the students’ success relied on his accuracy, Simon set aside his experiment again. “This is a professor’s lab. Each professor has one. It’s where we usually do our experiments. Charlie had one too. He just wasn’t using it that night.”

“What kind of lab was he in?”

It was a general chemistry lab. The students do their lab work in them. I’m not sure why Charlie was in there. He was mostly working on his own research lately; was only teaching one lab. We don’t have any teaching assistants here,” he went on. “The personal touch one-on-one with the professor is considered essential to the package. He was setting up a student experiment like I am here. Mine’s a mixture. His experiment could have been the same, or something simple, like asking the students to identify an unknown compound or mechanism. Usually student workers prepare his. If the ingredients were already out in the main lab, Charlie would have continued where it was convenient.”

Kat frowned and interrupted again. “But you were there the night they found Charlie. What was in the tubes on the counter near the body?”

“Good point; I wrote it down somewhere. Gave it to your officer that night, detective. We could check what it was to see if it was related to his own research or his lab work. We assumed it was just for the lab.”

Burrows looked at his notes. “We already checked his schedule. He wasn’t teaching any labs that evening, and there weren’t any classes in that lab that night.”

“But his lab was early the next morning it was logical that he was preparing ahead,” Simon confirmed.

Richard agreed to get back to Simon with the information just to double check and he and Kat left. They walked slowly down the halls, watching the returning students and speculating about the murderer. It was so difficult to believe it could be one of these industrious-looking students, Kat thought.

Richard confided, “Simon doesn’t think the theft of the enzyme a couple of years ago might be linked to Charlie. But we’ll have to try again to find this Jeffrey Billings and the student involved, just to eliminate the possibility.”