Page 40 of Todd
An investigative reporter? Contacting Sadie? Jesus Christ.The implications crashed over him in waves. The idea of a blown cover and Sadie’s compromised mission hit him.
The notification from the compound appeared with speed, confirming audio and visual connection. Todd positioned himself inches from the screen, every muscle in his body coiled tight as he waited for Sadie’s voice to cut through the digital static. When it finally came through his speakers, clear and controlled despite the chaos that must be churning in her mind, relief flooded through him.
“Okay, Melinda. Here’s another cold washcloth to make you feel better. So you just said that you’re an investigative reporter, and because you feel ill, you want me to know what’s going on. Right?”
Even through the camera’s limited field of view, Todd could see Sadie moving toward another woman who was sitting in the chair. Watching Sadie work sent currents of both pride and terror through his chest.
“I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.” Melinda’s voice carried a tremor. “You’re not like these other women here. You seem smart and observant. And if you’re here for rejuvenation, I want to warn you to be on guard. This place is not what it seems.”
Smart choice, Todd thought grimly, his hands clenched into fists on the desk surface. The irony was bitter since Melinda had no way of knowing she’d just confessed to a security operative whose cover could be blown by a single wrong word.
“Okay. You can trust me. Tell me anything you want me to know.” Sadie’s response was warm enough to encourage confidence but neutral enough to avoid raising suspicions. Todd found himself leaning closer to the screen, as if proximity to her image could somehow bridge the miles between them.
“My editor had a friend. An old college roommate who had married well. Her husband died a year ago, and with no children, she was the epitome of a wealthy widow.”
Todd focused as Melinda’s story unfolded. Wealthy widow. A woman with money but no family to ask questions. The profile was so precise it couldn’t be coincidental. Serenity Dunes was selecting its clients with a certain type in mind.
“She heard about this spa and the mental rejuvenation… the anti-aging brain. She’s not a stupid woman, according to my editor, and she’d done her research. It all seems aboveboard. Everything talks about vitamins and minerals, and it’s a very homeopathic way of helping to keep the brain healthy. The reviews were good, and she thought ten days at this resort spa would be just the thing to help lift her from some of the sadness she felt as a widow.”
Todd’s mind automatically cataloged the parallels to their own case. Natalia Benedetto was also a woman of means, isolated, and seeking healing in the Arizona desert. He had no doubt that Sadie was making the same conclusion.
Melinda paused, pressing the washcloth to her perspiring face, and Todd watched Sadie lean forward with the perfect balance of concern and curiosity. Even through the limited camera angle, he could see the subtle tension in her shoulders, the way her body remained poised for action despite her relaxed posture.
“Would you like a glass of water?” Sadie’s offer came at exactly the right moment, giving Melinda time to gather her strength.
Todd held his breath as Sadie moved toward the nightstand, then exhaled in silent approval as she bypassed the provided water pitcher. She was smart to trust nothing that hadn’t come directly from a sealed source. She filled the glass from the bathroom tap, another calculated choice that spoke to her instincts.
Melinda drank with desperate thirst, then continued her revelation. “My editor didn’t hear from her friend until after she got back home. But she didn’t feel well, and my editor quizzed her about what all went on here. She told her about the spa treatments, which all sounded normal. She told her about the supplements and the way she felt ill after every massage. She laughed it off, according to my editor, saying that maybe the rejuvenation techniques just weren’t for her.”
Todd’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. The supplements Sadie had risked her life to obtain, the ones currently being analyzed in Phoenix labs, were clearly just the beginning. If they could be administered through massage oils, every treatment became a potential problem.
“Anyway, a week later, she died.”
One week. That was all the time between a luxury spa vacation and death. His hands gripped the edge of the desk, every protective instinct screaming at him to storm into that facility and extract Sadie immediately.
“She wasn’t alone since her housekeeper was with her, but there were no relatives, and the funeral was very small. My editor asked the housekeeper if there had been an autopsy, but there hadn’t. But my editor felt like something had happened here. Something her friend was given or exposed to.”
No autopsy.The detail hit Todd. Without relatives to demand answers, without suspicious circumstances officially recorded, a death could disappear into statistical noise. Just another wealthy woman who’d succumbed to natural causes after a period of declining health.
“And your editor started investigating?” Sadie’s prompting was masterful, drawing out information without appearing overly eager.
“Yes, but she knew I had the skills to do some digging. I found a tenuous connection between Dr. Patel and a small pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. He did an internship there many years ago, and they claimed to be on the cutting edge of Alzheimer’s treatment.”
Todd’s fingers flew over his laptop keyboard, opening new windows and cross-referencing databases. Dr. Patel was another name to add to their growing list of suspects. Switzerland, Alzheimer’s research, cutting-edge treatments that might include experimental drugs with unknown side effects.
“That’s not a lot to go on,” Sadie observed, her voice carrying just the right note of skepticism.
“I know, and I agree. But my editor is now like a dog with a bone. She wants to know what happened, but, of course, has no legal right to pursue anything. So she and I put our headstogether and came up with me coming in here, trying to figure out what was in the supplements.”
The admission sent terror racing through Todd’s veins like liquid fire. Melinda wasn’t just an innocent bystander who’d stumbled onto something suspicious. She was an active investigator who’d deliberately entered a dangerous environment with nothing but journalistic instincts to protect her.
Todd found himself holding his breath, waiting for Sadie’s response. This was the moment where everything could go wrong. She might feel compelled to reveal her own cover, to offer an alliance with someone who could compromise the entire mission. His hands trembled slightly as he watched her face on the screen, seeing the careful calculation behind her compassionate expression.
“I can understand your desire for your editor to have the truth.” Sadie’s response was flawless, acknowledging Melinda’s motivation without revealing anything about her own. Then, with a subtle tilt of her head that Todd recognized as her analytical mode engaging, she added, “Why are you telling me this?”
Perfect question.Todd’s admiration for her instincts sent warmth flooding through his chest despite the circumstances. She was gathering intelligence while maintaining plausible deniability, every word chosen to extract maximum information while preserving operational security.
“Because if anything happens to me, I want someone else who was here to know. I’m not allowed to talk to my editor while I’m here, but at least if I talk to you, then I know someone can ask the questions. Look, you spoke to me that first day and just that contact gave me the idea that you were someone I can trust.”
