Paul Gitsham - The Last Straw

“Here’s where it gets really interesting. I decided to look up this person.” His long fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard and a new browser window opened. Typing rapidly, he entered the email address into the browser’s search bar. Instantly the familiar Google results page appeared, with a single entry ‘California Biotechnology Investment Ltd’. Without being asked, he clicked on the blue link. Immediately, the page turned to the familiar white ‘404 not found’ page.

“Shit,” swore Warren.

“That’s what I thought, but then I remembered — in cyberspace nothing is ever really deleted.” Robertson clicked the ‘back’ button on the browser, returning to the search results page. Moving the mouse pointer, he highlighted the results again.

“It may no longer be active, but it was up long enough for Google to cache it.” Without being asked, he explained, “In order to speed up searches, search engines take a snapshot of webpages that they index. It allows them to extract keywords and whatever other information that they need. Google stores these in a cache and allows users to actually access the snapshot and see what the page looked like at the time that it was indexed. It can be several days out of date, but that doesn’t always matter if the page doesn’t change very often.”

Sure enough, a light blue link next to the entry read ‘cached’. Warren remembered seeing that link plenty of times in the past as he’d conducted web searches, but couldn’t ever remember clicking it. Robertson did so.

Immediately the page changed to a photograph of a shiny, metal and glass fronted building. Superimposed over the bottom left of the picture, an ethnically diverse group of lab-coated young people with impressively good teeth — some with clipboards, others holding what appeared to be laboratory equipment — stared earnestly at the camera. Across the top of the page ‘California Biotechnology Investment Ltd’ was emblazoned.

To the right, the company mission statement proclaimed that CBI Ltd was a privately funded venture capitalist firm specialising in ‘funding today’s ideas to solve tomorrow’s problems’.

At the bottom of the page a small disclaimer read ‘Enquiries by invitation only’ with a mail icon next to it. Robertson hovered the mouse pointer over it revealing the mysterious contact’s email address.

“Is that it? I don’t see any other links.”

“That’s it. Either this is the holding page for a very selective venture capitalist firm — ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’, or it’s a scam. Either way, it appears to have become unavailable some time during the past seventy-two hours since Google last indexed it.”

Warren digested the implications for a few moments. It was too much to take in all at once, he decided; he needed time to think. “I think we’re starting to build a picture here, but I’m not sure what of. Pete, can you send me copies of all of the correspondence sent and received from this email account? Further can we try and track down this company and maybe this J Priest?” Robertson nodded. “Oh, and can you keep a monitor on this account, in case we get another email? I think we need to get back to the station and try and piece this together,”

Robertson agreed but held up a cautionary hand. “Just one more thing I think you might be interested in.”

“Oh, what might that be?” Warren paused, wondering what was coming next.

“Jeremiah?” Robertson nodded to the young university staff member to take over.

“At 21:55 hours on Friday evening, somebody copied all of Professor Tunbridge’s files onto a USB memory stick.”

Back at the station, Warren called for a meeting at five p.m., to pull together the day’s findings. That gave him a half-hour or so to go through the email correspondence between Tunbridge and the mysterious J Priest.

The ten emails had been archived into a single document, in chronological order, and Warren was able to print them out and read them like a transcript of a conversation.

The first, sent by Priest to Tunbridge, hinted at the way the two had met.

Dear Prof Tunbridge,

Thanks a lot for taking the time out to chat about your work at yesterday’s break-out session. Your work is fascinating and, as I said at the time, is something that CBI Ltd might be interested to know more about.

Unfortunately, I have to fly back to Los Angeles tonight and so can’t take you up on your offer to tour your laboratory at the moment. Nevertheless, I will be speaking to colleagues about your work. To that end, I wonder if you would be kind enough to send me a copy of the PowerPoint presentation you gave.

Yours,

Dr J Priest,

Senior Investment Scout, California Biotechnology Investment Ltd.

Tunbridge’s response had been quick and to the point.

Dear Dr Priest,

Thank you for your continuing interest in my research. I enjoyed our chat at the conference and would be delighted to send you a copy of my talk.

Yours,

Prof Alan Tunbridge

CEO Trident Antibacterials.

Leafing through the emails, Warren watched the relationship unfolding. Priest, whoever he was — he now signed his emails John — was smooth and subtly flattering. Within a couple of emails, he had Tunbridge sending additional data and was promising to present Tunbridge’s work to the board of investors. With the benefit of twenty-twenty hindsight, it was obvious that Tunbridge was being played perfectly. The question was, who would know Tunbridge well enough to hoodwink him so thoroughly?

The correspondence continued over the course of several weeks, becoming increasingly technical in nature and difficult to follow. Warren was contemplating the need for another cup of coffee, when suddenly he sat bolt upright.

Alan,

Great news!

I spoke to the board and they were extremely interested. Our CEO has a long-standing interest in the field of anti-microbial compounds and has actually requested a telephone conference with you. You’ll forgive me for the cloak and dagger approach, but all of our investors are very private individuals with significant business interests and influence worldwide. For them to express an interest in a technology, regardless of the depth of that interest, can result in changes in stock prices and ill-informed speculation. As responsible investors, we would try to avoid that. For that reason, we would prefer not to reveal the identity of any of our members, until we can speak directly. We would also ask that you refrain from mentioning this upcoming meeting.

He can give you an hour at 2pm on Friday 12 thAugust, California Time. I apologise that the time difference would make that 10 p.m., UK time, unfortunately that is the only space in his diary.

In addition to the CEO, some of our scientific and legal team will be part of the call. We would therefore ask that you are prepared to answer any scientific or legal questions that arise and are able to send or receive any electronic files necessary.

Obviously we would be happy to sign any necessary confidentiality agreements. Please feel free to send them to this email address.

I look forward to doing business,