Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)
“I’m an SIU agent and predisposed to be suspicious of everything and everyone. Especially those who have a vested interest in keeping their secrets.”
Lloyd’s smile was cold. “The military did not silence Kathryn Douglass, I can assure you.”
Oddly enough, Gabriel believed him. “Where is the call button?”
“In the bedroom, beside the right bedside table.”
“The police found her dead in her bedroom at three twenty-one.”
“Meaning the murderer savored his time with her?” Blaine asked.
Gabriel glanced at him. There was an odd hint of amusement in the general’s voice that rankled. “Given Douglass’s body was torn apart, I doubt the murderer savored her death too much.”
Blaine raised an eyebrow. “There are some in this world who get off on such things.”
And the general was one of them. Why he was so sure, Gabriel couldn’t say. Perhaps it was just the hint of hunger in the general’s otherwise flat gaze.
“The police believe Douglass and her murderer had intercourse before she was murdered. They’re testing for DNA.”
“So it could be nothing more than rough lovemaking gone extremely wrong?” Blaine asked.
“I seriously doubt it.”
Blaine’s smile was unexpectedly ferocious. “Oh, so do I.”
Which was an odd thing to say when he hadn’t yet viewed the room in which she’d been murdered.
“May we see the scene?” Lloyd asked.
“This way.” Gabriel led them into the bedroom and stepped to one side so he could see their reactions. Neither man gave much away, but the tiny hint of amusement touching Blaine’s mouth was disturbing, to say the least.
“What do you make of the message, General Lloyd? How is Kathryn Douglass connected to Penumbra?”
“She’s not.” Lloyd’s voice was flat. “As you are well aware, Penumbra is not an active project, but one that was shut down years ago.”
“Forcibly shut down by fire,” Gabriel amended.
Lloyd’s gaze flickered toward him. “Yes.”
“But if the project was destroyed and Kathryn Douglass had no involvement, why would the murderer leave this particular message?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know, or won’t tell?”
Lloyd’s smile was flat. “I cannot withhold something I do not know.”
Again, Gabriel believed him. “Were there any other survivors from the project that you haven’t mentioned already?” He didn’t have much hope of getting a direct answer, but the question had to be asked.
“Only the peripheral project support,” Blaine said. “People like nurses, teachers, trainers, et cetera.”
“And they have all been assigned elsewhere?”
“Many have retired or died,” Blaine said, and there was something very cold in his eyes as he said it. “That project occurred a long time ago, and it has not been reopened or repeated since.”
“And yet, evidence of it keeps appearing.”
“Not through military means, I assure you,” Lloyd said. He glanced at Blaine. “Though we should do a check of the surviving personnel. See if any had recent contact with Douglass.”