Dead in a Week (Forensic Instincts 7)

“I need you to put on those anti-static gloves now.”

“Why?” Simone couldn’t help but ask.

“Because you and I both know that Aidan is going to want everyone involved to be brought to justice. And that means supplying the authorities with proof—anonymous proof. We can’t have your fingerprints on the USB drive with all the evidence I’m about to place on it for the benefit of the FBI.”

“So that’s what you were working on earlier. Don’t keep me in suspense—what proof did you find?”

“I hacked into Xu Wei’s cell phone carrier.” Terri sounded like the proverbial cat who’d swallowed the canary. “The images of the stolen technology were sent from Xu’s cell phone to Jia li’s. Also sent from his cell phone were numerous calls to Croatia.”

“Bon.” Simone was both excited and impressed. She reached for the gloves and wriggled her fingers into them. “Gloves are on.”

“Now remove the USB drive from the package and insert it into your laptop. Let me know when you’re done.”

A few minutes of struggling with the packaging and the drive came loose. Simone inserted it into a spare USB port.

“All ready.”

Terri took over from there.

She switched to the remote window where she could see and control Simone’s laptop. She copied the phone logs and images of the Nano confidential drawings that Xu had stolen. Then, she ejected the drive. “Simone, please remove and reinsert the drive so I can test it.”

Simone complied quickly.

Terri saw the drive reactivate. Then she double-clicked on each file to make sure they were readable. Satisfied with her workmanship, she ejected the drive. “Success. Now place the drive inside the padded manila envelope and seal it.”

Simone dropped the drive into the envelope, removed the self-sealing strip, and closed the envelope. “All done,” she replied.

“Great. We’ll be getting that to the FBI as soon as we’re done here. I’m sorry you’re stuck outside the apartment complex, but transmitters have a limited range and you need to be in close proximity to pick up their conversation.”

“I expected that. But there’s another reason I’m still here. While it’s likely that things will go as planned, it’s always possible that Jia li and the mole will leave the apartment without revealing what we hope to hear, in which case I’ll have to see who the mole is with my own eyes.”

After that, neither of them had much to say. The sense of accomplishment they’d experienced soon ebbed, and tension crackled cross-country, as they waited for news and waited to act.

“It’s been hours, Terri,” Simone said, speaking their concerns aloud. “I’m worried. I know Aidan. And so do you. He wouldn’t wait. He’d move in the moment the opportunity presented itself.”

“Which it might not have.” Terri was trying to be the voice of reason. “There’s a young woman’s life on the line. Aidan is strategic, highly intelligent, and well-trained. He’ll do this and do it right.”

“I know. I just…” Simone’s mouth snapped shut. Who was this apprehensive woman? She always kept it together. Being cool under pressure was essential, both at Zermatt and at McKinsey. Yet here she was, seized by raw nerves and acting like a rookie.

“I apologize, Terri. Let’s chalk it up to the fact that I’m not good surveillance material. I’m too type A proactive.”

“Sitting on my hands and waiting is tough for me, too,” Terri replied. “And like you, I’m not ordinarily a worrier.” A discreet cough. “Plus, it’s worse for you. I’m not emotionally involved.”

“You’re right.” Simone didn’t pretend to misunderstand what Terri was saying. Despite the total professionalism she and Aidan exhibited when doing Zermatt business, their personal relationship was hardly a secret to the team. “This investigation is high stakes, just like all of ours. But now we’re talking about a life-or-death mission.”

“Aidan’s a survivor. He’ll be fine.”

As she spoke, there was a beep on the line, followed by the audio announcement: “Joining conference call…” and then their team leader’s familiar voice: “Aidan.”

Osijek Airport

Osijek, Croatia

2 March

&n

bsp; Friday, 4:38 a.m. local time