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    Orleans Summer
    Orleans Summer
    Orleans Summer
    Ebook234 pages4 hours

    Orleans Summer

    By Dallas Releford

    ()

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    About this ebook

    In a remote government research laboratory near Waterbury, Connecticut, a lab manager discovers that twelve mice are missing from their specially constructed containment units. The mice have been infected with bubonic plague, the Black Death. She doesn’t know who took them or why they were taken.
    John Keene, who owns Keene Investigations and the only contractor for the government laboratory, calls in his daughter, Elizabeth Keene, a hard-boiled female detective. The company has a government contract to protect the facility and he’s worried he’ll lose all their government contracts if they are proven negligent.
    Elizabeth Keene, bright, beautiful and one of the best investigators in the world, is angry because she has to give up her vacation. Even though Elizabeth is well educated, a karate expert and gorgeous, her father is from the old school—a hardboiled detective—and has instilled many of the old skills in his daughter. Elizabeth conceals a deep, dark, horrifying secret that is known only to a few close friends, and the police. Nathan Black, a professor at a local college brutally raped her when she was fourteen years old. She doesn’t know his identity and has enhanced and pruned her investigative skills hoping to find the rapist so she can live her life in peace. She suffers from inescapable nightmares about the ordeal and sees the monster frequently in her dreams. Her father expected a son and ended up with a beautiful daughter. Elizabeth struggles to please her father, to fill the void in his life she created for him when she was born. Feeling she has to live up to his expectations, she strives to be the best she can be.
    And then the nightmares really begin when she receives a mysterious call from a stranger. Elizabeth Keene knows she has heard the voice before, except she can’t connect the voice with a face. The voice haunts her and eradicates any hope of peace until she can figure out who has been calling her.
    For the first time, Elizabeth realizes that they are up against an evil force that can destroy them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDallas Releford
    Release dateJul 2, 2011
    ISBN9781466194892
    Orleans Summer

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      Book preview

      Orleans Summer - Dallas Releford

      Orleans Summer

      By:

      DALLAS RELEFORD

      Published by

      Dallas Releford at Smashwords.com

      Orleans Summer

      Copyright (C) 2011 Dallas Releford

      * * * * *

      This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, places, events, organizations, areas, or locations are intended to provide a feeling of authenticity and are used in a fictitious manner. All other characters, dialogue and incidents are drawn from the author’s imagination and shouldn’t be accepted as real.

      No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without explicit permission from the author or publisher except in brief quotations used in an article or in a similar way.

      Smashwords Edition, License notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. The ebook may not be re-sold or given to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      * * * *

      Dedication

      I would like to thank my wife Sharon for her understanding while I was writing this book. She passed away on August 18, 2010. She is dearly missed.

      I would also like to thank my agent and typist, Harriet Smith and Martin Smith, my advisor and typist. Their hard work and dedication has made this book much better than it would have been without them.

      Credit is also due to my lawyer, Daniel C. Atwood and my financial advisor Ova Helton, Jr. for their sound advice.

      I am also grateful to many other people who kept me going through tough times I have faced in the last seven months.

      * * * * *

      Prologue

      She recognized Nathan Black instantly. He wasn’t the old man he’d been disguised as any longer. He was the monster that had raped her when she was fourteen years old. He was the man with short brown hair, evil black eyes, thick eyebrows and a pale, wrinkled face. He was the man standing in front of her with a revolver in his hand. His taunting smile, his robust laugh, reminded her of a hyena’s laugh—just before it attacked a helpless herd of sheep—and made her want to smash his face into a thousand pieces. She grimaced, scaring herself when she imagined the things she wanted to do to him.

      * * * * *

      Orleans Summer

      Dallas Releford

      Three blind mice,

      See how they run!

      They all ran after the farmer's wife,

      Who cut off their tails,

      With a carving knife.

      Did you ever see such a thing in your life,

      As three blind mice.

      An old nursery rhyme

      * * * * *

      When someone steals twelve mice infected with bubonic plague from a government research lab, Elizabeth Keene and her partner, Barbara Steele attempt to find the mice before someone can release them in the sewers beneath New Orleans. Racing against time and the arrival of hurricane Katrina, they follow a man who has the deadly mice. Elizabeth Keene has seen the monster in her nightmares a million times and now she must face him if she is to save the world from a horrible ordeal.

      Orleans Summer

      Chapter 1

      Amy Shore, an auburn haired research lab man-ager at Phoenix Laboratories finished drawing blood from twelve white mice and put them back in their protected cages where they would remain until their turn came to become part of important government research work. Sara Maples, a manager who worked the previous midnight shift hadn’t had time to run the tests on the animals, so now Amy had to do it. Third shift had been busy preparing mice for shipment to anxious clients. Phoenix Labs developed mice without immune systems and sold them to other research facilities. This project generated revenue to help pay for the expensive research they did. Although the government funded specific research projects, Phoenix was still in business to make money.

      Even before she took her first morning break, savored the fresh aroma of a hot cup of coffee, she went to each of the special isolation chambers, checked all the couplings, hoses and fittings to ensure they were not leaking or damaged. This had been a routine she’d practiced each morning before she did anything else since she had started work at the laboratory six years ago. Before she began her day, she checked equipment, briefly reviewed safety procedures, and made sure the animals were secure. Working in a safe environment was her first priority. If an employee made a mistake while work-ing in such an environment as they worked in, it could be fatal to the employee, the animals and to many other people as well. It was part of Amy’s job to make sure that standard operating procedures were in place and that they were being followed. Errors or mistakes were not acceptable at Phoenix Labs. It was all in the SOPs or Standard Operating Procedures she’d written for all the lab workers to follow. After all, when you were dealing with a biohazard environment such as she worked in, you could not be too careful. In most cases, it could be her last mistake.

      Wearing protective clothing, she got up from the table and walked to her desk. Pulling a notebook and a pencil from a drawer, she began the arduous task she hated, counting the rats and mice. Each morning when she came on duty, she had to take inventory of all the animals. Carefully checking each cage, every creature in their environmentally controlled containers, she knew that she had to be sure that infected animals did not come into contact with non-infected creatures. Checking her paperwork as she proceeded through each lab or containment area, she knew she had to account for every animal. If a lab technician or anyone else, for that matter, didn’t follow procedures and an infected animal was put into physical contact with other creatures that weren’t infected, then the situation could become disastrous.

      The room around her was entirely compliant with Biosafety Level 4 practices. The laboratory was built to stringent specifications meant to protect the workers from the dangerous bacteria they worked with every day. It also was designed to prevent the bacteria from escaping from their special containment units. She’d written the SOPs and made sure the building met the Center for Disease Control’s requirements. Since they dealt primarily with animals—rats, mice and fish mostly—they operated under the Animal Biosafety Level 4 SOP that defined how the building was to be constructed, how animals were to be handled and many other necessary constraints to prevent an accident.

      According to procedures, the animals were not kept in the research labs. They were housed in specially built containers in an environmentally controlled section of the building separate from where the lab workers conducted research. Even the uninfected animals were kept separated from the ones that had been infected. All cages and other equipment were cleaned and maintained by competent, well-trained technicians. The room where the decontaminated equipment was stored was called the clean room. All waste according to HAZMAT regulations were properly disposed of in an incinerator located outside the building near the power station, or were placed in red plastic bags. Most waste such as blood, urine and feces were put in containment bags and then incinerated immediately. Hazardous material was nothing to fool around with and Amy constantly worried that someone would make a mistake, eventually. Always diligent, alert for such possibilities, she checked to make sure that a HAZMAT manual—containing instructions for handling hazardous materials—was located in each room, within easy reach. Since they used radiation, she made sure that each area that used the technique had signs posted and that equipment like emergency showers worked properly.

      Making a mental note to check with security to make sure they were properly prepared for any emergency, she continued walking from the research lab through the various chambers and labs. Quickly glancing around, she checked to ensure that everything was in working order. Using her access card, holding it up in front of a card reader, she entered the heavily secured animal containment room. The cold air chilled her blood and caused her to shiver. She wasn’t sure if it was because the room was cold, or if it were for another reason. Each time she thought about those little animals waiting for a fate that led to a horrible death, she almost cried. After years of experimentation with animals, she figured she should get used to it, except she never did.

      Inside the room, Amy stood facing a long row of special containment units with glass windows in them. The glass was shatter proof and was able to withstand the impact of a bullet. Each was about six feet long, four feet high and was constructed from stainless steel. All fittings were copper or brass. The rubber hoses were the best money could buy. A master computer controlled the temperature, humidity and air quality of each unit and the room they were in. Filters cleaned the air before it entered the unit and the used air was expelled into a special cleansing unit before being released into the outside world. Even the uninfected animals were given the same consideration as the contaminated creatures. They were always kept separated from the infected animals.

      After checking each unit in the clean room, she entered the room where the uninfected animals were kept. After a close inspection, checking the equipment and making sure all the animals were where they were supposed to be, she entered the room where the infected animals were located. It looked almost like the other room, except it was the most dangerous room in the facility. These animals were infected with everything from measles to the Black Death.

      A clipboard with medical charts and other information was hung from a hook on each unit. An index card was taped to the glass on each unit informing the researchers about what disease or virus each group of animals had been infected with. Each unit contained twelve mice, rats or other small ani-mals. The special fish tanks were in another room. The Zebra fish were used for scientific studies be-cause most of their organs were similar to humans. They were perfect for DNA research because they reproduced quickly, were easy to handle and were-n’t expensive to maintain.

      Amy knew that just about every disease known to man was being used to conduct studies for the government. The Homeland Security Department wanted to know what defenses could be built to protect the country from a terrorist attack. The attack they expected—and feared most—was one that everyone dreaded. The terrorists had threatened to use bacteria, viruses and deadly germs in their assault on the people of America. The Department of Homeland Security wanted to be prepared for anything.

      Tiring of the morning routine, she counted the animals in each unit noting any signs that any of them might be abnormal or sick. When she came to the containment unit where the mice were infected with one of the most deadly diseases known to humans, she stopped and stared into the empty container. They were gone. Too stunned to move, she stood for a few moments trying to figure out what had happened.

      In order to remove the mice, or any other animal from the other cages, a technician placed a sealed container on the side of the unit. By pushing a lever, an opening appeared in the wall of the cage allowing access to the external container. The technicians could use rubber gloves permanently installed at the base of the unit to remove and place the animals into the container without exposing themselves to the deadly diseases. Once the transfer was complete, the door was closed and the containment unit was secured again. If the operation was conducted according to procedure, bacteria could not escape. Amy was not sure what had happened here. Alarmed, she read the sign. Someone had removed twelve mice infected with the Black Death, bubonic plague.

      Astonished, she backed away from the enclosure trying to remember the Standard Operating Procedure for what had happened. Since she’d just arrived, she knew she was the first person to come into the lab. Third shift had left as she was entering the laboratory. That meant someone on the previous shift had removed the mice.

      Quickly pulling the clipboard from its hanger, she scanned the papers. Nobody had checked the mice out for experimentation. It was rare that anyone would take all twelve of them. They’d been checked during a routine inspection when third shift had arrived the night before. Now they were missing.

      Aghast, Amy Shore headed for the security office located near the main entrance. Her day had started off just perfectly. Now she had something to tell her husband and her grand children about, if she lived long enough to tell them.

      1

      * * * * *

      Chapter 2

      Patty Campbell slammed her slim body down on a couch in the living room of Elizabeth Keene’s comfortable apartment. A vacation in New Orleans? It’s August, Elizabeth. You have to be nuts. It must be hot and humid down there this time of the year. The mosquitoes are as big as your father’s pigeons he likes to raise. Why can’t we go in late fall? Maybe it will be cooler then.

      Elizabeth Keene, daughter of John Keene, looked at Patty and realized that she was probably right. However, she hadn’t had much choice when it came to vacation time. She never did. Her father owned Keene Investigations. Keene held contracts with many government and private businesses. The only time her father could afford to let her take a vacation was in midsummer when the caseload had lessened. Her father usually hired a freelance detective to help with the work she normally did. Of course, as he always told her, nobody could replace his only daughter. Her father was approaching retirement age, except he had always said he’d never retire because he didn’t have a son to take over the business. Elizabeth protested his decision insisting that she could run the business as well as any man.

      The dispute escalated until Elizabeth threatened to quit the agency and pursue her writing career. Realizing he was losing the argument and his best employee, her father had agreed to slowly indoctrinate her into the management process so she would have plenty of time to learn how to run the business. When he wasn’t busy running the business, her father liked to spend time at his country home south of Waterbury. He raised pigeons for a hobby and read mystery novels. He also had an apartment in Waterbury close to where she lived. He maintained an apartment in Waterbury because during the winter, there were times when the weather was so bad that he really didn’t feel like driving all the way home in it. Nah, Elizabeth said, as she tore into a red apple bigger than her fist. Chomping on the delicious fruit, she tried to relax and forget about work. Her father could manage things without her. The next four weeks were hers. She’d really earned them. She really had. Father was specific about when I could take my vacation. I even told him that we had planned this vacation for several months and he still insisted on setting the date. I guess if I ever get married, he’ll want to set that date, too.

      Patty rested her elbows on her knees and took another generous spoonful of yogurt from a plastic cup and savored its flavor as she shoved it into her mouth. Did you tell him that you, me and Maureen are going to take his yacht all the way around Florida to New Orleans?

      Elizabeth stared at her friend and laughed. He was frantic, she replied. He told me he’d never trust three beautiful women with his yacht. Elizabeth couldn’t understand why her father even owned a yacht. He’d bought it when her mother was still living and they used to cruise up to Maine during the summer months and spend their vacation there. After her mother died, he’d rarely taken the yacht out at all. It was a gorgeous little ship with two tall masts and an elongated hull painted white with green lettering on the sides. She was called the Venture. Elizabeth didn’t know why he hadn’t named it for his wife. Her name was Sylvia Keene and she had loved John Keene more than anything else. When John Keene married her mother, they had lived in Waterbury, in an apartment on the south side of town.

      When John took over the business after his father died, the firm was almost bankrupt. Through shrewd dealings and good administration, he’d finally managed to make the business profitable again. Her mother’s family was military people. Sylvia Keene’s father was an admiral in the navy. Most of her ancestors had been in the military. Having government contacts soon proved beneficial to John Keene. Within months after he took over the company, he’d started a security protection service and had obtained contracts to protect government installations, buildings and research facilities. Within five years they had a new daughter, Elizabeth. And, he was a millionaire. The question of the small ship, the yacht, puzzled her. She supposed that it brought back too many memories of happier times with his wife and that was the reason he didn’t use it much. It stayed docked in a safe harbor on the coast. The only time the ship had been on the ocean was when he took Elizabeth and a few friends for a short cruise. They usually did that a few times each summer, except for this year when they had been too busy to do anything, except work.

      So, what did you tell him?

      Nothing, Elizabeth admitted. You don’t argue with Dad. You should know that by now.

      How are we getting to New Orleans? I don’t really feel like walking and Maureen won’t fly since her parents got killed in that plane wreck two years ago.

      I rented a yacht and charged it to the agency.

      Patty swallowed hard almost choking on the yogurt. You did what? That must have cost a fortune. What did your father say about that?

      You kidding? He almost blew a gasket. You should have seen him calling that boat rental place and canceling the order.

      "So, where does that leave us?

      Elizabeth thought about it for a minute before answering. Her father had been against it from the start. Even though Elizabeth had been with him on numerous trips on the sea since she was young, he thought she should not be out on the ocean without him with her.

      Why can’t you just fly like everybody else? Her father had asked her the question before she’d had a chance to tell him that she wanted to do something exciting like sail all the way around Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, all on her own. Her father was determined to convince her to take a bus. She was determined to take the yacht.

      Eventually, he’d agreed that she could take the yacht, except she would have to take the crew with her. He’d known she wouldn’t actually be going by herself because she couldn’t handle the rigging, steer the vessel and do all the things that needed to be done to keep the ship moving. Even when he went with the women on short cruises, he had a couple of good seamen helping them. Elizabeth had already contacted the men and they’d happily decided to go with her. They loved the little ship as much as she did. Elizabeth had finally told her father that two other women were going and he seemed to feel

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