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“After he saw the article, he was concerned. And it turns out rightfully so.”
“That was close, then. If he hadn’t done that, who knows what would have happened.”
“I know. I try not to think about it.”
“Where is Dr. Pallon?”
“He’s gone to get dinner. We’ve been going nonstop all day.”
“Next time I see him, I’ll have to thank him for keeping you safe. We’ve invested a lot in you on this project. I look forward to the time when we have a product to offer the public.”
Sydney’s phone weighed heavily in her pocket when she felt the buzz of another text message come through.
She didn’t like Myles or what he stood for, but she had signed a contact giving Biotech Solution the drug once it was finished, and she always considered herself to be a woman of her word. But no matter what she told herself — no matter how slimy Myles appeared to be — she couldn’t shake the sick feeling that plastered her stomach whenever she thought about what she really intended to do.
“Well, thanks for stopping by. Was there anything else you needed?”
“Trying to get rid of me so soon?” He smiled. “I know you’ve got a lot of work to do. Perhaps I’ll stop by another time once you’re settled in. I look forward to receiving further reports from yourself and Dr. Pallon.”
After Myles left, Sydney pulled a box over to her feet and opened it. It was full of books.
A large bookshelf lined one wall. At her old lab, all she had was a cheap, moldy, plywood construction that pretended to be a bookshelf. It would be a nice change to find all of her things at home in here. But the visit from Myles soured her attempts at appreciating God’s blessing. He was trying to give her good things that she didn’t deserve. She had always followed his path for her life, but she stepped off the path and now she didn’t know where it was anymore.
But she couldn’t dwell on it. She didn’t have time to contemplate her mistakes or she’d never get anything done. The best thing she could do now was to put it out of her mind and see things through to the end. She’d made her choices and now she had to live with them whether she felt good about it or not.
Chapter12
Aaron parkedhis car outside the gate at the lab and held out his badge as he approached the guard.
“Evening.”
The guard took the badge and looked at it. “Agent Pritchard. Is something wrong?”
“I hope not. You’ve been briefed about Professor Davis, who is working out of here now?”
“Yes. I’ve been informed.”
“There is an ongoing threat to her safety, and I wanted to find out if anything odd has happened around here?”
“Can you be more specific? Is there something I should look out for?”
“No. Nothing specific. But we’ve just lost a witness. It looks like he killed himself, but we can’t be too careful. Just make sure you don’t let anyone in who doesn’t have clearance.” He deserved the look he got from the guard. “Sorry. I know you’d never do that. But we believe there are some well-connected people involved. If anything seems suspicious, no matter what it is, can you contact me? If someone comes to the gate who you have to turn away, can you take down their name and license plate and contact me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks for your help.”
Aaron scanned the area as he went back to his car. It happened sometimes that suspects killed themselves to protect the information they had, but it didn’t happen very often. And usually only in cases where the subject had a psychological connection to a cause of some kind. Popov wasn’t the type.
* * *
It was quiet in the building when he entered. He didn’t come into contact with many people on his way to Syd’s lab and he was confident nothing was out of the ordinary there. But he still made a mental note of certain details. Sometimes things would return to his mind later and turn out to be important.
He looked through the window of Sydney’s door and saw her hunched over a report at a large table in the middle of the room. He tried the handle, but it was locked.
“You locked the door?” he called through the thick glass. She didn’t look up, so he banged on the door.
She jumped, then spotted his face in the window and put a hand to her chest.
