The Body in the Laboratory

By Mike Lord

A cleaner finds a jacket lying on the floor of a top secret laboratory and then suddenly discovers there is a dead body inside the jacket. The police investigation is hampered by the secret research being conducted at the laboratory in the Fylde. Painstakingly the police review the suspects, but it becomes clear that the murderer probably came from overseas, prompted by the need for an organisation to find out what type of research has been achieved in the laboratory.
One clue leads to an investigation amid the Vietnamese community in Nottingham, but the suspect appeared to have fled to Madrid where there are no extradition facilities for mere suspects. The police consider how they can lure the suspect back to the UK.
A simple murder investigation becomes an international chase for the killer as the police forces in Germany and France become involved when it is discovered that the suspect was originally recruited by Stasi in East Germany before unification, but then fled to Marseilles and then on to England to escape custody following a murder conviction.
At the last moment the Special Branch from Scotland Yard becomes involved and the murderers are arrested.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Lord
• Release date: Mar 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310415760

Mike Lord

Mike had worked in sub-Saharan Africa for over 25 years, and in south and east Asia for another 25 years. He was an expert in the development of livelihoods for disadvantaged farmer families, who often live in remote and mountainous areas.Mike has now retired and has written three historical novels, and has just completed another based on the family of the Emperor Quang Trung, who is still revered all over Vietnam.

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Butterfly Books

The Body in the Laboratory,

by Mike Lord

© Mike Lord, 2014.

Mike Lord asserts his authority as the author of this novel.

ISBN: 9781310415760

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A Body is found in the Laboratory

The cleaner trod on his cigarette butt and then swept up the ashes from the floor. He coughed and just hoped that the air-conditioning would remove the fumes of the tobacco smoke before anyone came to work that morning, and complained.

Monty Spiller had been under treat of dismissal for some time now, but it was only his security clearance that delayed him actually being sacked.

He pushed a cleaning trolley as he worked, with a powerful disinfectant being the last action to be applied to the floor. The disinfectant was not really needed as most of the research was electronic, but it masked the tobacco smell!

He looked under the nearest workbench and thought he saw a jacket lying on the floor on the other side of the workbench, somebody must’ve dropped it last night, he thought to himself.

A few minutes later, at the end of the row of work benches he turned the corner, and suddenly realised there was somebody actually inside the jacket and lying on his back on the floor.

Are you alright, mate? he asked as he walked towards the jacket.

It was only when he saw the listless eyes in the face of the man lying on the floor that his brain clicked into gear.

Oh, my god! he thought to himself, he’s dead!

His immediate thought was to run for help, and then he remembered the security system at each door, each of which needed a pass code, that he looked at the nearest bench with a telephone unit.

He quickly dialled a number for security.

This is Monty, he reported, I think there’s been an accident in this laboratory, and maybe the man is dead.

Stay where you are, said the stern voice from security, we’re on our way.

Monty had been a soldier and had seen active service as a rifleman, but he never liked looking at dead bodies, so he walked towards the body and the jacket, but made sure he did not get too close. Now as a civilian he was not happy, disliked having to work hard, and resented authority.

He was not in fact very tall and a bit thin and emaciated, which his addiction to tobacco did not help. He was wearing a blue boiler suit, with a white T-shirt underneath, and he had fair wispy hair and blue washed out eyes.

It took several minutes for the security detail to arrive, and the first man into the laboratory was his nemesis, the smartly uniformed Rupert.

Sergeant Rupert had also been a professional soldier, but a senior NCO, and although getting older and losing a lot of his hair, had kept the rest of his hair cut very short. He didn’t walk but he marched everywhere swinging his arms. He didn’t talk but he barked;

Where is he then?

Monty pointed to the jacket, but stayed out of the way.

Rupert walked towards the jacket and was going to help the body to get up, but quickly realised it was in fact dead.

Call the police, he told the man immediately behind him.

The man did as he was told, and then put down the phone.

I’d better go and let the police in, announced Sergeant Rupert, so don’t let anyone touch anything, he told his team, and he began to march back toward his security post.

His team was two similarly uniformed men, and their curiosity prompted them to look at the face of the body lying on the floor.

It’s Charlie Li, said one man.

What ‘appened to ‘im? asked the other.

Are you sure he’s dead? said the first man.

Better not touch, said one, the Ol’ Bill will be here soon, so they waited.

Sergeant Rupert had also managed to tell some of the arriving scientific team to wait in the reception area, but did not tell them why.

The senior scientist there was a middle aged woman called Susan.

What’s happening? she demanded in a stern voice.

Bit of bother in the lab, said Rupert in a marvellous understatement.

When the police arrived a few minutes later there were two of them, a man and a woman, who both identified themselves by showing their Warrant Cards.

This way Inspector, said Rupert, and he led the way to the laboratory, having to unlock with a pass key the electronic security doors as they went.

In here, Rupert said finally, and pointed to the body lying on the floor at the edge of a workbench.

The senior policeman walked to the body, and motioned his woman assistant to take a closer look.

Who is he?

He looks like one of the scientists working here, said Monty, his name is Charles Li,

Li? queried the Detective Inspector, and who are you?

My name’s Monty Spiller, and I’m the cleaner, and I discovered the body whilst I was cleaning this morning, He looked again at the corpse.

He lives near Lytham, volunteered a security man, his parents run a take away chip shop, but I think he was born in Blackpool,

The woman policeman had finished her terse inspection of the body, and