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he break room and from other employees who like to gossip. But Ethan and I are colleagues, not friends. He’s probably either up to his neck in credit card debt or he’s got rich parents subsidizing him.”
Or he’s getting payoffs from Pennington to do a little off-the-books work, David thought.
He’d found the probable candidate to be helping Pennington. Ethan Gallagher’s educational background had no doubt given him the technical skills he needed. And he was glued to Vance’s side and willing to do anything to make his boss happy and to boost his own income in the process.
“David?” Zoe was calling for his attention, and David mentally kicked himself for zoning out on her.
“Sorry, Zoe.” He gave her a sheepish look. “The truth is, I’m desperate for a cigarette. I’ve been trying to quit, but without much luck so far. Would you mind if I stepped outside for a minute?”
“No problem.” Zoe was already reaching for the proposal he’d given her. “I’ll do a little rereading while you’re out.”
“Great.”
* * *
By the time Zoe’s companion rose from his seat, Simone had taken half a dozen photos of him from her hidden stool at the end of the bar. She’d also been able to make out the logo at the top of whatever papers he was handing Zoe. Franklin Wales. Big-time headhunters. She wished she could have caught snippets of their conversation, but she couldn’t risk moving closer. The exchange of papers and the intensity of the conversation told her that this was serious business. And the champagne toast? Clearly a deal being sealed. But what kind of deal? Was Zoe making a career move? Or was the whole scenario, including the document exchange, a cover? Interesting that Zoe’s companion was Chinese.
That could be sheer coincidence. On the other hand, it could mean that Zoe was the mole that Zermatt was searching for.
Simone used this break in the action to open the browser on her cell phone and check out the Franklin Wales website. She went straight to the “members of our team” link and ran through the names and faces.
It didn’t take her long to find this guy. David Cheng. Impressive bio. Contacts all over the globe. Fluent in Mandarin.
Quickly, she forwarded a brief summary of what was going on right now, along with the photos she’d taken and the link to Cheng’s page on the Franklin Wales website, to Terri. “See what you can dig up,” she typed. She made sure to cc Aidan.
Then she waited patiently for Cheng to return.
* * *
Jítuán Headquarters
Shenzhen, China
Xu Wei, the CEO of Jítuán, disconnected the call with Cheng and contacted his head of security, simultaneously texting him all the pertinent information about Ethan Gallagher he’d just heard.
“Send our people to this man’s apartment tonight,” he instructed in Mandarin. “Find out everything about him.” A pause. “Yes. Tonight. Pay them whatever is necessary.”
20
Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe
28 February
Wednesday, 4:05 p.m. local time
Aidan had been in the Penningtons’ hotel suite all day and had no immediate plans to leave—not with the instability of things at this end.
He resettled himself on the sofa, quickly firing off a Daddy text to Abby, promising that when his work in Santa Clara was done, he’d join her for a full day in Disneyland before they all flew home to New York. It was a promise he was determined to keep—not only because he loved spending time with Abby but because the fact that he’d be able to do so meant that Lauren Pennington would be safely reunited with her family, and he’d have a clear mind to spend time with his daughter.
But first he had to bring the Penningtons’ daughter home.
He glanced up, seeing the same scene he’d seen all day.
Vance was standing like a statue at the panoramic window. He hadn’t moved in hours, and he was wound so tight that he was about to erupt. And Susan had been crying and walking the floors all day. Between the two of them, Aidan was gravely concerned that someone might do something stupid, something that would endanger Lauren’s life.
Sure enough, Vance’s head snapped around and he stared at Aidan. “If we don’t hear back soon, maybe I should reconsider and contact the FBI.”
Aidan kept his demeanor calm. “That would be foolish, Vance, and I think you know it. You’re panicking. I understand. But you learned a great deal from one conversation with Lauren. Based on her diet, we’ve narrowed down our search to Slavonia, which is a small region of Croatia. My team members are meeting with informants who will narrow down that area even further. We’ll get locations and answers. We’ll bring Lauren home safely. You have my word.”
