Page 106 of Undercover Savior

“Whose?” I asked.

“Not yet identified.”

“Dressed in all black?” Sullivan asked.

“Affirmative,” Gus responded. “Wearing gloves and a ski mask. We don’t have ballistic reports yet, but believe the gun Fallon was holding when we arrived on scene was used to kill him.”

“He took me from the library.”

Gus nodded. “We suspected that might be the case.”

“Has anyone prepared a preliminary report?” I asked.

“Collectively, yes,” Con responded.

“You’re here,” said Mairi when she walked in from the direction of the kitchen.

Both Sullivan and I stood.

“Forgive me,” I heard Mairi say when the two women embraced.

“Without you, we never would’ve found Sullivan,” I said, resting my hand on her shoulder. God knew how long it might have taken us to realize she was missing if Mairi hadn’t shared her concerns about Fallon with Gus and me. I shuddered, realizing how close I’d come to losing the love of my life.

“Shall we get started?” Con asked when Mairi left the room. “The reports Ash asked about have been distributed via a secure app and should be available on your computers. We will also review them verbally.”

My eyes met Sullivan’s, and she nodded, then opened her laptop.

Con cleared his throat. “I’ll begin with damage assessment. As we’re all aware, Weber knows the extent of what we know, with a few exceptions. And those are primarily things we’ve learned in the last several hours.” He shook his head and sighed. “Apologies, but this needs to be said. Everyone in this room is likely asking themselves the same questions I am. How was Fallon Wallace able to infiltrate SIS as well as be named editor in chief at the Crown Herald.”

“Is the latter connected to the massive data breach at the news agency?” I asked.

“In part. It does appear she wasn’t just hired. She was recruited into the position. University records and work experience all line up, at least on the surface.”

“What do you mean?” Sullivan asked.

“All of it, including everything we think we know, could very well have been intentionally planted as well as AI generated.”

I thought about Periscope’s warning. It came the same day we first met Fallon. “Has any progress been made on Shelby Torriton’s cause of death?”

“Typhon said he expects to hear from the medical examiner today.”

“She said, ‘They’ll come for you. In fact, they already have.’ She had to have been talking about Fallon.”

“Most likely,” said Gus.

If only the woman had been more specific in her warning. “She also said, ‘Janus thinks he controls Chimera. He’s wrong. That may be your only chance at survival.’ Could it be Janus is Weber and Fallon, Chimera?”

Con typed something on his keyboard. “I wasn’t able to find anything on either code name.”

“Typhon was running them as well.”

Something else occurred to me. “Mairi said she saw Fallon speaking with Ambrose. Has anyone questioned him yet?”

“Negative,” said Gus. “What’s perplexing about my mum’s report is that according to CCTV, Ambrose left the estate within minutes of his leaving Thistle Gate.”

“On Christmas?” I asked.

“Affirmative. However, my mum insists it was him she saw with Fallon.”

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