Dead in a Week (Forensic Instincts 7)
Page 95
Zermatt jet
2 March
Friday, 5103 nm to SFO
5:30 a.m. CET
Aidan’s voice had a definite edge to it when he answered the phone, as if he knew he wasn’t going to like what he heard. “Yes.”
“It’s me,” Terri said. “Conference Marc in.”
Aidan called out to Marc, then did as Terri asked. “Problem?” Aidan pressed her in that same edgy tone.
“Complication.” Terri filled the tw
o of them in with a few quick sentences.
It was enough.
“Maxwell. Shit. I never saw that coming,” Aidan said, his jaw clenched. “And Simone’s in there with him?”
“She just went in. You can ream us out later. Marc, I need you to contact your FBI buddy. Offer him a rain check for two steak dinners. Just get him to Jia li’s apartment complex now. Once he’s there, ask him to park and wait. I’ll call you the instant Simone has what she needs and is leaving the apartment. At that point, get the make and model of his car and find out where he’s parked. Request that he take a short walk away from his hopefully unlocked vehicle. He’ll understand why when he gets back.”
“That last part will never fly, but I’m on it.” Marc had his cell phone in his hand. “The steakhouse is five minutes from the apartment. I’ll get Jeff there. Call you right back.”
Three minutes later they were back on the phone.
“Jeff is en route,” Marc told Terri. “I lit a fire under his ass by telling him—off the record—that the crime going down falls under his FBI industrial espionage division. He’ll play by our rules that he received an anonymous tip.”
“Which he will.”
“FYI, he’s driving his personal vehicle, a silver Honda Civic. He’ll give me an exact location of where he’s parked once he’s in place. Forget the unlocked car. It’s a no-go given the weaponry carried by a special agent. What I got him to agree to is to leave the passenger window cracked open an inch so that Simone can slide the manila envelope in.”
“That’ll have to be good enough,” Terri replied. “I’ll relay all that to Simone when she calls.”
“Let me know the minute that is,” Aidan told her, his anger barely contained. “I want to hear she’s safe.”
Crescent Woods Garden Apartments
Palo Alto, California
1 March
Thursday, 8:25 p.m. local time
The apartment complex was busier than it had been earlier, with tenants arriving home from work or heading out for a late dinner. It was easy for Simone to slip inside by appending herself to a small group of students who were complaining about their workload while carrying in plastic bags filled with cartons of Chinese takeout.
Once inside, she veered down the hall and made a beeline for Jia li’s unit.
As she raised her hand to knock, she heard Robert’s muffled voice saying, “I don’t know what kind of game Xu is playing, but that voice mail ought to get his butt in gear.”
“I don’t understand it,” Jia li replied. “His text was urgent.”
Simone knocked.
“Finally.” Robert was clearly beyond worrying about staying hidden, because he strode across the room and yanked open the door. “Where the hell have you been…?” His mouth snapped shut and his entire body went into startled red alert when he saw Simone standing there.
“Simone?” He uttered her name inanely as if trying to connect the dots.