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“Kristi bugged Marla!” I gasped.
“The dog?” Sorsha asked with disbelief.
Brian shook his head. “Angel, we scanned her along with everyone else.”
“But how thoroughly? I mean, Kristi is smart enough not to use something that would be found on a superficial search. And maybe it would show up on an x-ray or something, but Marla would probably have to be sedated for something like that, and who would even think a deeper scan would be necessary on a dog?”
Brian didn’t look convinced. “Dr. Charish had no way to know that Rosario and Marla would be brought into our fold.”
“Ah, Dante Rosario is with your lot?” Sorsha asked. “I’d wondered what happened to him. I thought he’d been disappeared permanently.”
“Yeah, he’s with us now,” I said then looked to Brian. “And you’re right, Kristi had no way to ever think that he and Marla could possibly end up with us. She’d have bugged the dog to keep tabs on Rosario.”
Rachel bristled. “Rosario told me how often he had to check in with her. That sounds exactly like something she would stoop to.”
Brian rubbed the back of his neck. “And then she got unbelievably lucky when Marla came into our lab.”
“It explains how Saberton beat us out to the swamp,” I said. “And how Kristi could have known about Douglas Horton and Deputy Connor. Marla stuck by Dr. Nikas a lot while—Oh shit.” I looked to Dr. Nikas in growing horror.
The blood drained from his face. “If so . . . she knows everything.”
Everything we’d ever talked about. Including mature zombies. And the fact that Pierce was actually Pietro. “That’s why she wanted you-know-who’s blood.” No wonder she’d cajoled Pierce into giving her a sample. “Oh, fuck. The switched blood tubes! She knew about you-know-who being you-know-what, so she watched closely enough to spot Jacques switch you-know-who’s blood for mine—then she had Hairy Tech switch it back so Jacques ended up with my blood instead of you-know-who’s.”
Dr. Nikas sighed. “And that recently acquired knowledge explains why she wanted your medical records.” He paused and flicked a glance at Sorsha, clearly unwilling to say more in her presence.
I turned to Sorsha. “Hey, Agent Aberdeen, would you possibly consider yourself an ally to our kind?”
Her brow lowered. “As an FBI agent, I’m an ally to anyone who’s been victimized.”
I waved my hands. “No no no. I mean you, personally. I know the feds have all sorts of restrictions and guidelines.”
One side of her mouth tilted up slightly. “Actually, the task force I’m operating under allows its agents a good deal more leeway in dealing with special circumstances. However, speaking for myself. . . at this time . . . yes, you can consider me to be on your side. An ally.”
I glanced at Dr. Nikas and got a micro-nod, which I interpreted to mean his nose told him Sorsha was telling the truth.
“Awesome. Right back at you,” I said to Sorsha, then pivoted to face Dr. Nikas. “Why the hell did Kristi want my medical records?”
“Because you have certain mature zombie factors, such as your ability to use a control bite, that might have been caused by your, ah, unique blood chemistry at the time of your turning.”
I made a face. “Drugs. The many many drugs I was on. But why would she care about that?”
He rubbed his mouth. “She hates us, but she envies us. And now I believe I know what her true purpose has been all along. I recently came across considerable research she had done on telomeres. I thought little of it until now, but I believe she is seeking a way to gain the benefits of being a mature zombie without having to, well, be a zombie first.”
I stared at him. “She wants to be immortal.” And Dr. Nikas probably “came across” that research by snooping in her files. Good for him.
“Is that possible?” Sorsha asked, surprised.
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“Whether or not it is,” Dr. Nikas said, “if Dr. Charish is attempting it, she must believe so.”
“Jesus,” I breathed. “She’s a fucking psycho lunatic. She released this epidemic . . . but that means she has a cure, right?”
He met my eyes. “I would be shocked if she did not.”
“Then whatever she was testing at the gym had nothing to do with a cure. But it could have been part of her immortality research.” My stomach clenched as another thought occurred to me. “She started the epidemic to have an unlimited supply of test subjects. She won’t miraculously come up with the cure—and bask in the glory—until she’s done with them.” I gritted my teeth. “And immortal.”
“Indeed,” Dr. Nikas said, eyes distant. “With this new insight, I believe I know her process now. I had been assuming a . . .” He trailed off then strode to the whiteboard and began scribbling notes. Portia went to the computer near him and pulled up the latest cell culture data.
