Page 59 of Devil
By the time they were done, dusk had fallen, and a chill filled the house. Rather than stay at the table, Lily suggested they move to the sitting room and turn the fire on. Leaving the dishes for later, Darius followed her into the cozy room, but Chad veered off down the hall toward the garage. A few moments later, he joined them, wheeling in a large whiteboard.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Lily asked. She’d taken a seat on the couch, and Darius was beside her.
“Back storage room,” Chad answered. “Stella told me it was there. I’m kind of old-school when it comes to mapping people and events. I know a lot of people like to do it on their computer, but this is my way,” he said, gesturing to the board.
For the next hour, they added people, created a timeline of past events, and projected out what they believed the outcome might be. When they finished, the board had so much information on it that Darius had no idea how the man would even begin to process it. But process it he did.
Chad Warwick sat on an upholstered chair he’d moved to be four feet in front of the board. He rested an ankle on a knee, sat back, and stared. Whatever was going on in the man’s head was a mystery, but he supposed that’s why Lily had asked for assistance. They needed someone who could help them think about the situation differently.
He glanced at Lily. She was studying the board as well, her eyes darting to the various pieces of information scattered around the white space. He was no slouch in the brains department, but after everything they’d walked through, he needed a break. Rising from his seat, he meandered back into the dining room and began gathering their dishes. Rather than put them in the dishwasher, he filled one side of the sink with hot water and dumped some soap in. Bubbles formed and filled the space as the water steamed. When it was sufficiently full, he scraped the plates and set them in the water.
There was something methodical and meditative about doing dishes and as he washed, he let his mind wander as his gaze drifted to the window. Men and women dressed for business walked the residential street. Some had kids in tow; others were solitary figures. As the people streamed by, he considered what would happen to these people if the virus Jennifer Pritchard had created was unleashed.
Even knowing she’d intentionally infected her father with a mild form, Darius had a hard time seeing Jennifer as someone intent on bringing a new type of plague to the world. The work she did at the research center was focused on preventing that exact scenario. It was possible that she never intended it to go beyond the president. But every scientist knew that unless a situation was contained, or the virus had limited ability to transmit, it was nearly impossible to control spread.
Had that been what she wanted? To bring about a global pandemic that would likely kill millions before scientists figured out how to stop it? And if so, why? And why start with the president?
He rinsed the dishes as he mulled over that last question. Why start with the president of China? It was such a specific target and one that, seemingly, she had no connection to. Or did she?
Drying his hands, he returned to the sitting room to find Lily and Chad in the same positions he’d left them. “Do we know if Jennifer Pritchard has any ties to China?” he asked.
Two heads swiveled in his direction. “None that we’ve found,” Lily answered.
“He’s a very specific target and not an easy one to get to,” Chad said. “Which likely means that eithershehas a connection to him, or she was working with someone with a connection to him.”
“That was my thought, too,” Darius said, taking the seat he’d vacated earlier. “Who gave all these players”—he gestured to the board—“the idea that it was even possible to get that kind of access to the president?”
“Is it time to bring the Lam sisters or Sonia and Nadia in?” Lily asked.
Chad shook his head. “On what grounds? Sure, they broke into a top-secret lab, which is trespassing, but as far as you can prove they didn’t take anything other than a sheet of paper.”
“And even though we know it was the dosage chart, because we didn’t actually see what was on the paper they took, we can’t prove that it was the same thing,” Lily finished, making a face. “Still, with Jennifer’s death, it seems like we should at least be able to talk to them. Isn’t there a law involving potential terrorist attacks that we could leverage?”
Chad grinned. “Yeah. There are a lot of those. But when the president’s security isn’t bothered by the rumors, and our own agencies haven’t deemed it a credible threat, you’re not likely to get any support in that arena.”
“Fuckers,” Lily muttered under her breath. Darius chuckled and reached for her hand.
“We could have someone pick them up on the trespassing charges,” Darius said. “I know it might not get us anything. I don’t think these women are hardened criminals, though. It’s possible it could scare them enough to talk.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Chad said. “If nothing else, it will prevent the Lam sisters from getting anywhere near the president.”
Lily inclined her head. “We don’t know how they planned to get near him anyway. They weren’t on the guest list for the dinner tomorrow. And while I didn’t check, I have a hard time believing they were invited to the White House dinner tonight. Of course, there’s always the chance they could be masquerading as the help, but since Stella has people on them, I don’t think that’s an option either. Not without us knowing,” she added.
“I’ll check with Stella,” Chad said, pulling out his phone.
“The other thing we should consider is the notebook,” Lily said. “It’s been sealed in the plastic bag for more than twenty-four hours. If we wear gloves, it’s probably safe to remove it.”
“Probably?” Darius repeated.
She shrugged and gave him a half-smile. “Frankenstein’d virus. If it were standard smallpox, I’d say it was safe, but…”
“But who the hell knows with this one,” he finished.
“It is a risk,” she conceded.
“But if we find something that could stop what’s being put into play, it’s a risk worth taking.”
“It’s a riskI’lltake,” she said. Everything in him rebelled at the idea, and he opened his mouth to object, but she cut him off. “I may call the US my home, and in every way, it is, but China is still my government, and I still have a duty to them. You don’t.”
