Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (book recommendations .TXT) 📗

'Do you know if they ever met outside of work?' Jacob continued questioning her.

'Probably. I can't recall.'

'Was there anyone else they spoke to a lot?' Ally switched back to asking the questions.

'What is this about? Was Natalie involved in Mia's murders?' Daksha asked.

'We believe it may have something to do with Natalie's murder and our current investigation,' Jacob informed her.

'Oh my God,' she said, shocked about what they'd told her.

Ally continued digging around Natalie's office with her latex gloves covering her hands. Jacob placed his notepad and pen back inside his pocket, whacked on his gloves and helped Ally in the search.

After a few minutes, they gave up. They couldn't find a single shred of anything that could help them. Ally ripped the gloves off her hands with frustration.

'Thank you, Daksha,' Jacob said as he pulled his gloves off and followed Ally out of the office. 'You seem a little angry.'

'Frustrated more than anything, mate,' she replied. 'I thought maybe we'd find something, but we've found absolutely nothing.' Ally turned back to Daksha, wanting to ask another question that sprung to mind. 'Sorry, I've got another question to ask.'

'Fire away.'

'Does the hospital have a contract with Harrington Labs to trial patients on experimental drugs?'

'No. All that sort of thing needs to go through the appropriate chain,' she explained.

'Thank you. If we need anything more we'll contact you,' Ally shook her hand before catching up with Jacob. 'Looks like doctor Natalie Dixon was giving out experimental drugs off the books.'

'So, she had a secret contract with Harrington Labs? If she got caught she'd have lost her job,' Jacob said.

'Would've been better than losing her life,' Ally replied, lifting her eyebrows at him.

'If I were a doctor with a secret stash of drugs, I wouldn't hide them here,' Jacob spoke his thoughts.

It turned 8.43 pm when Jacob and Ally arrived at Natalie's home. Crime tape still stuck to her door as Ally ripped through it, opening the door and entering the property. They both wore their latex gloves and searched through the entire house. Drawers were being emptied and contents rifled across the room. They didn't know what exactly they were looking for but hoped they'd find something in relation to Harrington Labs and the secret meds.

'Find anything?' Jacob shouted to Ally from the dining room.

'Not yet,' she yelled back from Natalie's office.

Ally pulled out the filing cabinet drawer and flicked through the files of paperwork, each with a labelled tab. She stopped when she noticed the file named Harrington and removed the contents inside. It was a contract with Natalie's name at the top, explaining their agreement in which she'd give the trial of the drug to certain categories of patients. She was paid a sum of £10,000 for each subject and their results. The bottom was signed by Malcolm Harrington.

'I've got something,' Ally bellowed.

Jacob came rushing in. 'What is it?'

'It's a contact between Malcolm Harrington and Natalie. It explains how he'd pay her £10,000 for each person she'd given the drug to and their result of how they were affected,' she explained. 'If this isn't enough evidence to pay your uncle a visit, then I don't know what is.'

'Dan did say he was not to be trusted. How could he risk putting these people's lives in danger?'

'Greed? Control? There are many reasons companies do these sorts of things, Jacob. It doesn't mean it's right though.'

'I'll call Barnes and let him know,' Jacob insisted. He left the room and called DCI Barnes. 'Hi, boss. We've found a contract between Natalie and Malcolm Harrington explaining their agreement and her payment. Can Ethan dig through Natalie Dixon's financial records to see how many payments were made from Harrington Labs?'

'I'll get him on it right away,' Barnes replied. 'Are you guys going to pay Malcolm Harrington a visit?'

'When we've wrapped things up here,' Jacob explained.

'Okay. Keep me updated.'

Jacob placed the phone back inside his coat pocket while Ally stood beside him clutching an evidence bag with the contract inside.

'Think we'd better get this to the station and visit Harrington Labs in the morning,' she said.

'Good idea,' he replied. 'Though, I do think we should pay Mr Harrington a visit tonight.'

Once they sat inside Ally's Ford Mondeo, Jacob called his uncle to inform him of their findings as he'd promised.

'Dan, we found something at Natalie's house.'

'What did you find?' he asked Jacob.

'A contract binding Natalie to give Harrington Labs information on her patients she'd trialled the drugs on. The offer was £10,000 for each patient report. We visited the hospital and they have no contract with Harrington Labs which means Doctor Dixon was doing illegal activities off the books,' Jacob explained.

'The problem is, why is Harrington Labs interested in certain patients with different conditions that can cause dissociative identity disorder?'

'That's something I hope Malcolm can answer.'

Malcolm Harrington drove through the gates of his home and onto his drive, parking right outside his house. Opening his front door, he was greeted by his wife. The walls were incredibly tall, giving the hallway a high ceiling with a grand staircase in the middle.

'Good evening, honey,' she greeted him as he stepped one foot through the door, holding a glass of bourbon whiskey.

He grabbed the glass from her, smiled and necked it back. 'It's good to be home. Dinner smells good,' he said, sniffing the air.

'It'll be ready soon,' she replied before walking back into the kitchen.

Malcolm strolled across the large, grand hallway, and over towards his study. He slowly and quietly closed the doors behind him, trying not to make too much noise. He sat at his expensive oak desk and relaxed in his comfortable leather chair. He placed the empty whiskey glass on the