Page 29 of Poison Evidence

“And you think Parker is looking for the AUUV,” Undine added.

“Yes.”

Mara let out a curse. “That’s why the Pentagon finally funded the survey? Why they pressured Ivy to finish CAM early? The Defense Intelligence Agency learned about the stolen technology and saw an opportunity.” She made a sound that was something like a low growl. “Those assholes sent Ivy therealoneand didn’t even bother to warn her about what she was walking into?”

There was a short pause before Curt said, “That appears to be the case. It seems they felt that Ivy’s cover story of mapping Peleliu was foolproof—especially because it was the truth. She herself didn’t know. And the US military could get full Palauan government approval for the project, because the Republic of Palau has been asking for the survey for a long time.”

“Jesus. They could at least have sent her in with a team,” Undine said.

“I was told they figured that would only draw attention,” Curt said. “She was to work with locals—a local pilot for the aerial survey, and charter a boat and scuba partner for the underwater spot-checking of her mapping data.”

“Parker Reeves was more than qualified to be her boat captain and scuba partner,” Luke said.

“Yes,” Curt said. “We figure that might’ve been his original plan. Jack Keaton has a charter service. How long did you know Reeves?”

They’d covered this last fall, but reiterating the past could always spark a new, relevant, memory. “About a year. I’m based in Port Angeles but spend a fair amount of time in Neah Bay with a few of my ongoing research projects. Parker volunteered to help with a project early on; that’s when we first met.”

“You said in November you got the impression he wanted to leave the spy trade.”

“He said he wouldn’t go back to Russia right before he jumped from the Osprey. I had no reason to think he was lying.”

“Do you think he returned to GRU?”

Luke had always hoped Parker had made his escape. But he told Curt, “Maybe. I really don’t know.”

“Is it possible he’s working for Russia now?”

“Yes.”

“Wait,” Undine said. “If Parker is workingforRussia, and he abducted Ivy to force her to use her technology to work for Russia, isn’t that…an act of war?”

Her question was met with silence. Finally, Curt said, “It’s on the continuum. We need to determine exactly who Reeves is working for. For now, the State Department is monitoring the situation. We’re doing everything we can to keep this from escalating.”

“And to protect Ivy,” Mara added.

“Yes. And protect Ivy.” Curt paused. “The GRU fed Reeves information about the sub last fall.” It was a statement—Luke and Curt had gone over all this in great detail months before—but he had a feeling he knew where Curt was going with this line of thought. Mara and Undine weren’t going to like it.

“Yes. He knew almost as much about the sub and what she carried as Yuri did.” Yuri was the man who’d set events in motion last fall that could have resulted in massive destruction in the Pacific Northwest—if not for Parker’s assistance that cold night in the Osprey.

“So if he’s working for Russia right now, he probably has a strong lead on where the missing drone is. Perhaps better than anyone else on the hunt.”

Mara gasped. “Curt Dominick, you can’t be thinking of using Ivy to—”

The sound cut off. Probably a mute button had been hit. The woman had just last-named her husband. That didn’t bode well.

Curt came back on the line. “Luke, I need your honest gut evaluation. Is Ivy MacLeod in danger from the man you knew as Parker Reeves?”

Undine grabbed Luke’s hand. He knew the answer she wanted him to give: the one that would get Ivy away from Parker. Away from Palau.

But that answer would be a lie.

He sighed and released Undine’s hand, fully expecting she’d last-namehimbefore this conversation ended. “I gave Parker a chance to take me out on the Osprey,” he admitted.

Undine gasped.

He met her gaze. “I was never in real danger. I know not to take off a harness on the open ramp of a tilt-rotor aircraft. If he’d tried to push me, he’d have been the one to take flight. But the important thing is, Parkerthoughthe had an opportunity to get rid of me while the airmen were busy hauling in the boat. At that point, I was the only person who knew he was working for the GRU. In his mind, one shove and he would’ve been able to return to Neah Bay, and no one would have known. But instead, he pulled me into the Osprey.”

“You let him go, didn’t you?” Curt asked. “You tested him, and he passed. So you let him go.”

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