Page 67 of London
Linda stood. The whole thing seemed surreal, but at the same time everything fell into place. Someone wanted Gerard’s formula, and now that he had Jean-Paul’s files, whoever was after them had double reasons to go after him. She shivered. These people wouldn’t be happy when they realized they’d been outsmarted.
She nudged Gerard. “Let’s go. Get in the car and let’s get the hell away from here now.”
Gerard nodded, jogged around the Jeep, climbed in, locked the doors, and started the engine. In a cloud of dust, he turned the car around and headed back toward the main road.
“I just can’t figure out who would want that formula so badly,” he mused, retracing his steps.
“I have no idea.” Linda stared ahead at the road, a hurricane of thoughts whirling inside her head. Finally, she turned in her seat to face his profile.
“Gerard, there’s something I have to tell you.” She inhaled deeply. “Yesterday, I called Giovanni and asked him to hack Jane Orwell’s computer and see if he could find any proof that she was working to convince the board to pressure the MHRA to approve your serum.”
“What?” He took his gaze off the road and looked at her.
“I told you I went to see her, but while she said she would help, I’m not convinced she will. I’m pretty sure she only said that to placate me. After the dream you had the other night, when I realized you blamed yourself for little Lara’s death… I couldn’t let you suffer anymore, and I wanted to do something, so I asked Giovanni to help.”
Gerard pursed his lips, his eyes on the road once more.
Linda bit her lip nervously, waiting for his reaction.
“And your brother agreed to take this risk?”
“Yes. He did—for me, for you, for the children, for anyone whowillbenefit from your treatment.”
“What if he gets caught?”
“He won’t.” She smiled foxily. “Giovanni is an incredible hacker. He was only in high school when he hacked the government’s website and posted pictures of naked women there. He’s built his own computer software company from scratch. He knows what he’s doing.”
Gerard chuckled and shook his head. “That must’ve raised a few eyebrows.” He sobered. “Thank you, Linda. I wish you’d asked me first, but I appreciate your intentions more than I can tell you. And, although I don’t know your brother, he has my utmost respect and gratitude.”
He glanced at her once more. Their gazes met. The wordless communication between them warmed Linda’s heart. How could they have gained such keen insight into one another in such a short time? More importantly, how would she ever survive without him?
“You can tell him yourself,” she said, needing to get away from her thoughts. He couldn’t promise he could do it, but he will let me know one way or another.” She glanced down at the phone in her hand. “He may have called, but my phone is dead.”
“You can call him when we get home. I’m curious to see what he may have found on Mrs. Orwell’s computer. I don’t see what she would gain by holding back her support for my serum.”
“Who knows?” She settled more comfortably into the seat. “Will you call the police when we get to London and tell them what happened?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “And tell them what? I don’t see what good it would do. Hell, they may even start investigating me instead of looking for the culprit. And they don’t have any real leads. The man who trashed my place was a professional, and the picture they have is useless. They’ll never identify him from that, nor will they find anything he took.”
They reached the main road.
“Can you check the map—”
Before he could finish the question, the GPS beeped and came on.
“What do you know? The damn thing’s working again,” he said. “Looks like we’re back in business.”
To distract herself, Linda picked up Gerard’s phone—now with all the service she would ever need—and accessed the internet. She punched Hoia Baciu forest into the search engine and waited for the results to come up.
“I was right. That was the Hoia Baciu forest,” she said, reading the information and looking at the images on Wikipedia. While that wasn’t the only website she used, it was a quick go-to place for information. She occasionally made donations to help support it. “It says here it’s a popular tourist venue renowned worldwide.”
“Why is that?”
“Well… Apparently there have been some unusual things that have happened there. It’s known as a paranormal phenomenon.”
Gerard raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? First, you encounter a mysterious gypsy with a dire warning, then we get lost in a paranormal forest? Isn’t this a little too clichéish, even for Transylvania?”
“I’m not making it up. Look.” She turned the phone so he could see that there were a number of articles and videos related to the Hoia forest. “According to this, the forest has been nicknamed The Romanian Bermuda Triangle, and has been featured in paranormal documentary TV shows, likeGhost AdventuresandDestination Truth.”
