Page 57 of Devil
“Where are the players now?” he asked.
“Nadia and Sonia are still in Acton. The Lam sisters are on their way back to DC from an overnight in New York. And Dr. Jennifer Pritchard, the scientist who created the virus, is dead.”
“Dead?” Crawford asked.
“An accident in the lab,” Devil said. “She died less than twenty-four hours after exposure to the virus.”
“Did you talk to her?” Highborn asked, his eyes narrowing.
Devil shook her head. “She locked herself in the bathroom. Presumably, she had a final fit of conscience and didn’t want anyone near her while she was most contagious.”
“Then how do you know it was an accident?” Highborn continued.
Devil was not impressed by this line of questioning. “There were signs of an accident,” she said. “If you want more details, call the CDC. They contained the house and are running the investigation.”
Both Highborn and Crawford eyed them. Franklin wouldn’t have disclosed her status as an agent for China, so the only information they likely had on her was from the standard files they kept on expats. Meaning they’d know she was a Chinese national, a doctor, and rich. They wouldn’t know anything else.
“I’m sure you can understand why we’re not all leaping at your story,” Highborn said.
Darius’s hand once again tensed on hers, but she shrugged. “I don’t much care, actually.”
“A Chinese national concocting a conspiracy theory about a threat to the Chinese president. Sounds like a way to embarrass the United States when nothing goes down,” Crawford said.
“It’s going to be far more embarrassing for you when it does, but whatever floats your boat,” Darius responded.
The agents switched their attention to him. “And what’s your role, Commander?” Both Highborn and Crawford made a deliberate show of looking at their intertwined hands.
Darius smiled. “I’m just the arm candy,” he said, making Devil laugh.
The two agents narrowed their eyes again but went back to the topic at hand. “Where’s Pritchard’s body now?” Crawford inquired.
Devil sighed and looked at Darius. He shrugged, seemingly agreeing that it wasn’t worth their time talking to the two agents.
“Call the CDC,” Devil said, rising. Still holding her hand, a little something she was growing quite fond of, Darius rose as well. “We’ve given you what we know. As I’m sure you’ve been told, both Commander Washington and I will be at the dinner tomorrow night. It’s really the only time they might be able to get close enough to the president to infect him with the virus. His security team is also aware of the threat, and I trust you’ll be coordinating with them. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a few things to do before he arrives tonight.” And with that, she and Darius turned and walked away.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Darius haileda cab once they reached the other side of the park. Neither he nor Lily had glanced back at Highborn and Crawford, although he knew they’d be calling to report in with their superiors. Highborn and Crawford had every reason to be suspicious of the story. But that hadn’t been the vibe he’d picked up from the two.
A cab pulled over, and Lily slid in first, then he followed. Once she’d given the driver the address of a coffee shop down the street from their safe house in Alexandria, she turned to face him.
“They’d already made up their minds that it was bullshit,” he said.
She nodded. “And they fell back on the ‘you can understand why we wouldn’t trust you’ as their excuse for not paying any attention.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
“Are you going to ask Franklin about it?”
She shook her head. “He won’t tell me anything. A quirk of his personality. I’m checking my email to see if we have the guest list yet or if Cyn sent any updates on the shopping spree.” A few minutes later, she leaned over and showed him her screen. Together they scanned the 415-person guest list. The guest list that did not include either Tina or Amy Lam.
“Fuck,” he said. “Is there anyone else from the council going?”
“It’s hard to search for that on my phone. We can look when we get home.”
“And no news from Cyn?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.” They fell into silence as the taxi made its way through the city toward Alexandria. They were crossing the river when Lily turned to him. “I’m not much into conspiracy theories, but we’re missing something. Some piece of the puzzle. How did those three parties all connect up in the first place?”
He’d wondered the same thing but had pushed the question to the back burner as they’d turned their focus to uncovering and stopping the plan. But to Lily’s point, maybe it was time to really dig into that question. Maybe the ticket to understanding what was being put into play was in the answer.
