Page 105 of Misdirection

Olive believed him. But what she wouldn’t do to be a fly on the wall . . .

Olive forced herself to go back to her office.

But all she could think about was Jason’s meeting with Adriana.

What would she tell him? What kind of excuse might she offer?

And the bigger question: Who was this woman working with inside the company to get the information she wanted? Clearly, it wasn’t someone with security clearance. That was why she’d tried to use Claudine and Alex to get into the corridor.

That probably meant this person wasn’t an executive. An executive could get into the corridor whether or not Alex was there.

However, even if this person was able to get into the corridor, they’d need a special code and badge. How did the mole plan on getting that?

Too many things still didn’t make sense.

Olive called Tevin and Rex and gave them the update. Rex promised to call his contact with the FBI so someone would have eyes on Adriana at all times. If she tried to leave the hospital, they needed to know where she went and who she met with.

Then Tevin had assured her that he was parked outside the building and monitoring everything on his end. When she’d started this assignment, he’d given her a tracker. He’d insisted she wear it today.

She had.

Then Olive waited more, pretending to look busy as she sat at her desk.

Twenty minutes later, a knock sounded at her door, and Duncan poked his head inside. “You have a minute?”

“Two for you.”

He didn’t look amused. Instead, he slipped inside, shut the door, and sat across from her.

Whatever he had to say, Olive knew by his demeanor that it was important.

She remembered what Jason had told her, remembered that this man should still be a suspect. In her line of work, she never fully trusted anyone, did she?

It wasn’t the easiest way to live. But this was the path she’d chosen.

She’d need to remain on guard.

Even though he’d come to talk to her, she had a question for him that couldn’t wait. “Why didn’t you tell me everything about this smart dust and its capabilities?”

He blinked with surprise. “You found out about that?”

“About the fact it could be programmed with deadly pathogens? Yes, I did.”

Duncan closed his eyes. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. That information is highly classified. I didn’t think you needed to know.”

“Didn’t need to know? I’m working this case. I would think I needed to know!”

His face remained tense as he opened his eyes again and stared at her. “Maybe it wasn’t the right call to make, but it seemed wise at the time.”

She only stared back at him and said nothing.

“There’s something else you should know—it’s the reason I came to see you.” His gaze remained heavy and serious. “I didn’t want to send a text or even talk about it on the phone—just in case. I assume you’ve checked your office for bugs?”

“First thing I do every day.” She uncrossed and crossed her legs, suddenly antsy. “What’s going on?”

He leaned closer. “As I told you when I came to your apartment, I’ve been getting nervous about this possible mole stealing our information and using it for nefarious purposes. It’s supposed to happen today.”

“I know.”

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