Dead in a Week (Forensic Instincts 7)

“Nothing,” he replied, stopping in his tracks. “That’s what’s got me scared shitless. Stuff was moved around and then put back as carefully as possible. And, June, whoever it was got inside my desk and to my stash.” He paused, staring at the door—and obviously at June—like a terrified rabbit. “My cash and pills were rearranged. Not stolen, just askew. Which means they didn’t want to take them. They either wanted evidence, blackmail ammunition, or I don’t know what. But whatever it was, they got it.”

June was silent for a minute, and Simone strained her ears to hear her response.

“Did you have a client list in there?” she asked tentatively.

“What? No,” Ethan snapped. “My records are all stored electronically, and encrypted. Happy?”

“Of course not.” A tinge of relief, but still a shaky voice. “No one’s contacted you?”

“Not yet, no.” Ethan was pacing again. “But it’s just a matter of time. They didn’t go through all that for nothing. Photos have probably been circulated to whoever’s behind this. I don’t know what to do.”

He looked like a small child about to cry.

“Sit tight.” June sounded so tightly wound that her calming words were almost laughable. “There’s nothing you can do until you’re approached.”

“How cavalier.” Now Ethan was visibly pissed. “May I remind you that if my ass is fried, your deliveries dry up?”

“You don’t need to remind me,” June choked out. “But we have to find out what they want. What else can we do but wait?”

“Right. Great. So it’s business as usual around here until a bomb goes off in my face.” Ethan sucked in his breath, striving desperately for control. “I’ve got to pull myself together. I can’t look or act weird, not when I’m holding down the fort for Vance while he’s in Lake Tahoe.” He ran a palm over his face. “You’d better get out of here,” he said. “The last thing we need is for anyone to make a connection between us. We’re screwed enough as it is.”

Simone shrunk against the wall as Ethan walked over to the window and peered out, perceiving what he believed to be a deserted hallway.

“Go now,” he told June.

“You’ll keep me updated?”

Ethan was nodding, but Simone didn’t wait to hear anything else. She couldn’t risk the door opening and June finding her eavesdropping.

She slid along the wall until she was back outside Vance’s office. There, she paused, opening a file folder and relaxing her stance as she seemingly studied the folder’s contents.

When enough time had passed, she slipped the file folder back in her briefcase and continued on her way.

The area near Ethan’s office was deserted.

* * *

As soon as she’d driven beyond Nano’s gates, Simone called Aidan and filled him in.

“A drug dealer. Nice.” Aidan was still sitting in the same seat on the Gulfstream that he’d been occupying since the team videoconference. “So the Chinese were checking Gallagher out after Cheng reported in. They wanted to know where he was getting his spare change. And what they found will lead them to assume he’s also immoral enough to commit industrial espionage. That only confirms what we already guessed—that Ethan Gallagher is not our mole.”

“It also explains why June Morris is so strung out.” Simone was driving as she spoke. “Sleeping with Robert helped get her the CFO spot. But holding on to that position is another matter entirely. It’s gotten bigger and more overwhelming as Nano has grown. And she no longer has the perk of sharing Robert’s bed to get his support.”

Aidan tapped his pen thoughtfully against his leg. “We’ve got tons of corporate drama going on at Nano and no clue as to who the insider is. Lots of suspects, not a single damn lead.” He blew out his breath, clearly wrestling with the situation. “Our mission is to rescue Lauren,” he stated flatly.

“But you also want the whole case wrapped up and all the involved parties punished.” Simone’s assessment was matter-of-fact. She knew Aidan only too well.

“Yeah, I do. But my attention needs to be focused on where I’m going, what Philip, Marc, and I are planning, and how we’re carrying it all out successfully. I need you to spearhead the other parts of the investigation, Simone—you and Terri. When all this is over, I want everyone who’s guilty to pay for his or her crime, one way or another.”

“Which brings us to this young woman you briefly mentioned—Jia li Sung.”

“I couldn’t get into detail, not with Vance still a loose cannon.

Now I can. Because it’s the reason I asked you to drop everything and leave Nano once Vance was settled in.”

Aidan went on to explain everything to Simone—Terri’s findings, her plans, and their hold-back-but-coiled-to-strike timetable.

Simone listened intently, then said, “The plan is strong and may very well hand us our mole. And while it’s necessary that we wait to initiate the text, I want to maximize my time. I’m supposedly heading back to my hotel to compile a comprehensive report on Vance’s department in preparation for my meeting with Robert and Vance tomorrow. No one expects me to be on-site. Once I’m in my room, I’ll call Terri and get briefed on the details of my job and drive to Stanford Business School right away. As for the electronic devices I’ll be using, you left the package Terri sent you in my hotel room for security purposes, locked in my safe.”