Page 50 of Thorn

The case was intriguing, that was for sure.

Gage’s computer pinged right on time, and he booted up on his encrypted video conference into Panther Force war room.

Lynx was in the view. “Hey guys!”

“Good morning,” they said.

“For you, well I guess for me too. The cock hasn’t crowed, yet, so I still think of it as night. Nutsbe’s going to be here in a minute. He’s just looking into something for you.”

Thorn swallowed down his bite of food as he wiped his mouth on the overly-starched linen napkin. “While we wait, I’m interested to hear, you said you were heading out on a field trip?”

“Right. So the only information Nutsbe or I could find about Juliette Marie DuBois was her green card and her stamp entering the United States. After that, she became a ghost. No car insurance, or driver’s license, no residence, no residential phone number under her name. She has a bank card that’s tied to Dr. DuBois. It looks like he’s paying her bills.”

“But you tracked something down,” Thorn said as he cut into his steak.

“I tracked David DuBois down. He has a lovely home in D.C. proper. It’s in a chichi area where the houses cost mega. It could mean something nefarious, but it’s not completely telling because people often have income streams that aren’t connected to their professions. But on a DARPA contract, he’d never be able to afford it. He also has another house. This one is in a suburban neighborhood in Alexandria, Virginia. A pleasant neighborhood with a lot of older people.”

“Does he rent it out?” Gage asked.

“Interesting question,” Lynx said. “I stopped by to find out. When I drove over, there were two packages on the front porch. One was for Roxanne Olson and the other was for J.M. Dubois.”

“Bingo,” Honey said.

“In spades. A woman and her dog were walking up the street as I was standing at the door. I introduce myself and asked her if she was Roxanne. Roxanne, very thankfully, is a very friendly person, and I gathered some information about the strawberry part of our pink rabbit mystery.”

“What was your excuse for prying?” Honey asked.

“I told her that Juliette was having some medical issues in France. Then I explained how when someone is overseas with such problems that the Red Cross can sometimes step in and help the situation.”

“From that,” Gage asked, “she assumed you were with the Red Cross?”

“I have a friendly face and a helpful attitude.” Lynx smiled.

“I want to hear this now, but will you also send me a report for reference?” Thorn asked.

“Yes, I’ve typed it up. I just need to upload it for your team.”

“Who is this Roxanne Olson?” Honey asked between bites.

“Roxanne is an author who is living with Juliette as her caregiver. The dog she was walking was Toby, Juliette’s stability dog.”

“Stability dog, huh?” Thorn said. “That might explain the video in Orléans.”

“Almost guaranteed,” Lynx said. “My understanding is that Juliette and her mother were in an accident. The elements of the accident were never described to Roxanne, but Juliette’s mother was killed, and Juliette sustained significant disability. One way that you can identify Juliette is that on her feet there are white marks from burns.”

“Do we have photographs of that?” Honey asked.

Lynx pulled a hair band from her wrist and stuck it between her teeth. “No, I don’t, sorry.” She reached up and gathered her hair back in a pony tail and was winding the elastic around it as she explained, “Juliette sustained a head injury that affected her memory. She has issues with stability, tinnitus, confusion, sometimes she is hard of hearing − more specifically there are certain ranges that she can’t hear. These hearing deficits cannot be corrected with hearing aids.”

The men were hard focused on these details. They’d be important during a rescue attempt should one be called for.

“Juliette also has unexplained fevers,” Lynx said. “That can exacerbate these effects, with accompanying headaches and confusion. So, all in all, I would say your pink rabbit, is severely affected by her medical condition. And the fact that she was able to get to France on her own in high heeled boots, no less, is quite remarkable.”

Honey asked, “Does she wear glasses or contacts? Are there any medications that she takes on a regular basis, something we need on hand if we were to scoop her up?”

“No, there are no medications that can help her. Roxanne said that when Juliette starts to become feverish, her father takes her to his lab and gives her an IV drip of electrolytes. And that seems to help. Her vision is fine. That is to say, she has twenty/twenty eyesight on her good days, but when she’s experiencing what Roxanne refers to as a ‘bad spell,’ she has difficulty focusing. This is why she can’t have a driver’s license and depends on Roxanne to drive her around and care for her. Juliette also has good days where her symptoms are less aggressive, and she can take care of herself.”

“Except for the driving,” Thorn said. “Which explains the weaving of the car that she stole from the good Samaritan.”

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