Page 75 of Poison Evidence

The officer did as instructed, zooming in until the image pixelated, then backing up until it was clear again. They only had one eye, a line of cheek. But apparently, that was enough for Ian.

“Motherfucker,” Ian said.

Luke studied the image. “I take it you recognize him.”

“Yeah.” He glanced sideways at the officer. “The details are classified. Sorry.”

Luke took that to mean it was CIA business and he and Palea would get the full story later when they didn’t have company.

“We’re going to need a printout of that image,” Ian said. His hand curled into a fist. “And you’ll want to post it in the squad room.” He glanced at Palea. “He’s wanted by the FBI for treason and a host of other crimes.”

Awww, shit. Suddenly it made sense. This was one of Dr. Patrick Hill’s men, and Ian knew him—well enough to recognize him with only part of his face visible.

“He’s changed his appearance, but not enough for someone who knows him.” Ian met Luke’s gaze. “Good news for you, Sevick. No way was your boy in league with the men who attacked the party.”

“How can you be certain?”

Long-banked anger burned behind Ian’s eyes. “No chance in hell would a chickenshit like Zack Barrow run the risk of being caught in the ballroom just so someone else could win Ivy’s trust. Barrow was the inside man—probably because he could pass for an American party guest. I’ll bet anything that when he watched his prize walk out the door with another man, he called in the others.” Ian slammed the side of his fist on the desk. “And, I’m the dumbshit motherfucker who drilled it into him that he always needs a backup plan. He called me his mentor.”

Luke wasn’t the only one here who nursed guilt over misjudging a former ally. Luke, at least, had the hope that Dimitri was still playing for the right team, while there was no doubt Zack Barrow—whoever the hell he was—was aligned with the kind of scum he and Ian had spent years trying to isolate and eradicate.

It was time for Luke to show Ian the card he’d received days ago. Maybe, if Dimitri really wasn’t a threat, there was a chance he’d left a trail of crumbs for them to follow.

He hoped so, anyway, because they sure as hell needed to find Ivy before Zack Barrow did.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ivy marked the location of the sap-covered trunk on the computer tablet that acted as her field map. When she got back to the cave, she’d find the tree in the database and use the data to teach CAM the infrared signature for sap-covered poison trees. With that data, she could isolate every weeping poison tree within the target area and it would simply be a matter of a second flyover with the drone and an intensive scan of the landform and tree-root system.

“This will take a few days,” she said. “To get the data isolated and extracted. If we’re wrong, and the AUUV is underwater after all, we’re screwed.”

“It’s the best lead we’ve got,” Dimitri said. “I say we focus on it instead of the broad survey.”

They finished exploring the island. If there was a tunnel in the rock, it was a natural void—she could find no entrance that led to the anomalous reading taken by RON the night before.

It was strange, the feeling of homecoming she felt when they returned to their island haven. Shelter, food, water, and Dimitri. This would be quite a life if it were sustainable.

But she had family in DC: her parents, two sisters, a niece, her cousin, and his fiancée, Isabel.

The wedding was next month at Alec’s estate. It would break her heart if she missed it.

She had a life, and a damn good one at that, even if the last two years had been difficult.

Plus, she’d promised herself she’d pursue artificial insemination once CAM was complete. Her marriage had fallen apart, but that didn’t mean she’d stopped wanting a child.

While Dimitri provided an emotional connection she hadn’t realized she’d been missing, he couldn’t replace everyone she cared about. Not that he was offering to run away with her. He’d made it more than clear that he’d never endanger his sister and nephew that way.

Best for her to focus on CAM and the search and forget about Dimitri altogether. She immersed herself in the work, her lifeline, sleeping only when RON’s batteries recharged, eating when Dimitri insisted. She’d probably forget to breathe if it weren’t an involuntary reflex.

When she wasn’t working or sleeping, she mentally mapped Dimitri’s contours, taking in his ridges and lines. Committing his body to immutable storage so he would remain unchanged and she could access the memories when he was long gone.

She dreamed about coding and crawled out of bed at four a.m. on the eighth day since she’d met Dimitri, the fifth day since they’d retreated to their own private island. An idea had come to her that required troubleshooting. Two hours later, having isolated a variable that would make it easier to separate vegetation layers, she crawled back into bed beside him.

He woke as the air mattress shifted. His reaction was startling considering he’d been deeply asleep a moment before. He pinned her to their air mattress. “You’re supposed to wake me if you get up. For your safety. Even if you’re only visiting the latrine.”

“I didn’t leave the cave.” They’d agreed she wouldn’t leave the safety of their hiding place without letting him know. Not even to relieve her bladder. Not because he needed to control her, but because she could be taken.

Others were on the hunt for the AUUV. The danger was very real. The longer they were in the cave, the easier it was for her to forget, become lax. Dimitri battled that with increased vigilance.

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