Exposure

by Kathy Reichs

  “All right, then.” Hines pointed to the door. “Single file down the hall. Follow my man, Spence. Don’t get cute, neither.”

  We did as instructed. Spencer led us deeper into the bowels of the aquarium, passing three more sets of doors before arriving at some sort of holding area.

  “In there.” Hines pointed to a small room with a table and four chairs.

  We entered and sat. Hines locked the door from the outside.

  “Well, we’re finally busted.” Shelton sighed. “Gonna look great on my college apps. Think they’ll knock it down to probation for first-time offenders?”

  “Relax,” Hi said, but a tapping foot contradicted his own advice. “We know the district attorney. Harris owes us at least one get-out-of-jail-free card. Right?”

  “We shouldn’t even be here.” Ben’s fist slammed the table. “Those clowns wouldn’t have gotten the drop on us if we’d been flaring. Not in this lifetime.”

  “Done is done.” I took a deep breath. “Maybe Hi and Shelton are right. We might be able to duck any serious charges. After all, we didn’t actually do anything. No theft. No damage. Just some light trespassing.”

  And computer fraud. But, hey, they didn’t know that.

  “Tell that to my mother.” Hi laid his head on the table. “She’s gonna roast me alive. Then shoot me. Then kick me in the man parts.”

  I patted his shoulder. “Whatever happens to you, I’ll get worse.”

  Kit was already mad. I shuddered, thinking about how to explain this one.

  The door swung open.

  “Everybody up,” Hines barked. “Seems you’ve got a fan.”

  A fan? What could that mean?

  Hines marched us to a nearby elevator. When the car arrived, we ascended two floors. This section was nicer, with high ceilings and plush red carpeting. Spacious offices lined the hall, each with a window overlooking the harbor.

  For some reason, I got a bad feeling.

  And I trust those feelings.

  “Move along,” Hines said. “Last room down.”

  I spotted a fish tank halfway down the aisle. Dug into my pocket.

  “Hi,” I whispered. “Distraction in five. Four. Three . . .”

  I broke off as we neared the tank.

  Hi spun. “Yo, warden. When do we eat around here? I’m hypoglycemic, plus I’ve got a hernia. And rabies simplex D. Basically, I need a ton of pills or my arms will fall off.”

  “Boy, you’re on my last nerve.”

  As Hines glared at Hiram, I palmed the flash drive and dumped it into the fish tank. The yellow-and-black rectangle tumbled to the bottom.

  So long, friend. Let’s hope Shelton’s email went through.

  “It’s a cultural thing,” Hi was saying. “I think you’re being very insensitive.”

  Hines snorted. “Do you want me to cuff you?”

  “Kinda.”

  “Hi.” I nodded.

  He turned from Hines without another word.

  At the end of the hall, the guard knocked on the door of a corner office.

  “Come in.” A voice I knew well.

  Score another one for my gut.

  Chance was sitting behind a desk, typing on a laptop. Behind him, a huge window looked out over the dolphin-viewing platform.

  “Thank you—” Chance glanced up, “—Mr. Hines. I’ll take it from here.”

  The guard withdrew without a word.

  “You have an office here?” Shelton blurted. “This makes no sense.”

  Chance’s eyes had returned to his monitor. “I’m allowed to use this space as needed. And it makes perfect sense, since my family’s foundation helps keep these lights on.”

  He finally looked at me. There was no humor in his eyes.

  “You stole something. Give it back.”

  “Sorry, Chance.” I took a seat, crossed one leg over the other. “It’s a big place, and we got lost. Hiram wanted a smoothie.”

  “Mango strawberry,” Hi confirmed. “Heard the break room had a blender.”

  Chance spun the laptop on his desk. A clip was playing onscreen—the four of us, poking around in the server room.

  “For some reason, this surveillance system doesn’t have sound. Foolish, but there it is. I can’t see what you’re doing in the corner, but it’s obvious you’re hacking the system. Why?”

  His last word carried true bafflement.

  He doesn’t know why we’re here.

  “I’m sure you’ve had the server room inspected,” I said. “You know nothing is missing.”

  “Indeed. That’s the only reason they gave you to me.”

  I shrugged. “Like I said, we got lost. It happens.”

  Chance leaned back in his chair. Seemed to consider for a moment.

  “You understand that I can have you arrested for trespassing?” he said coldly. “Or that, alternatively, I could arrange for you to walk right out the front door, scot-free?”

  He’s trying to bully me.

  “Do what you have to, Chance. We. Got. Lost.”

  His eyes flicked to Hi, then Shelton. Finally to Ben. Whatever he saw there didn’t improve his mood.

  “I’ll let you go.”

  Sighs escaped from both Shelton and Hi. I felt a similar relief.

  I might talk a big game, but I was desperate to avoid Kit finding out about this.

  Chance held up a finger. “One condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “A minute alone, Tory. I’d like a quick chat.”

  Ben shot forward. “You can stick that chat right up—”

  “Ben!” I stared daggers at him. “It’s fine. Please wait in the hall.”

  With a simmering glare, Ben turned and stormed out. Shelton and Hi followed on his heels, calling after Ben as he stomped down the hallway. The door swung closed.

  I turned back to Chance. Was surprised by the naked anger in his eyes.

  “You think you’re so smart, don’t you, Tory?”

  “That’s what you wanted to say?” I rose. “If so, I’ll pass on your chat.”

  “SIT. DOWN.” For a moment, his cool slipped completely. “Or you can spend the rest of your morning arranging bail.”

  I retook my seat, trying to hide my shock.

  Something was very wrong. Chance might be callow, but he was never cruel. There was a tension in his posture I didn’t like. His fingers drummed the desktop, as if unable to remain still. Both feet bounced on the floor.

  “I know about Karsten,” he said simply.

  “Who?” Knee-jerk. My mind slipped into panic mood.

  “Come off it, Tory. I know all about the good doctor, his parvovirus experiments, and XPB-19. I have his research files. They’re stored on a Candela blade server, downstairs.” Chance tapped the laptop on his desk. “The same server you spent five minutes huddled beside in this surveillance video.”

  I didn’t reply. When you’re nailed to the wall, it’s best to say nothing.

  “I’ve had Karsten’s files for months,” Chance went on. “Couldn’t make heads or tails of them. But then I saw something very interesting.”

  No response. I schooled my face to stillness.

  Let him tell you what he knows. Give nothing back.

  “Do you know the subject Karsten used to test XPB-19?” Chance winked. “I bet you do.”

  Oh no.

  “It was a wolfdog. One he’d capture on Loggerhead Island. How extraordinary!”

  No no no.

  Chance leaned forward. “I find that exceedingly interesting, in light of Karsten’s research notes. This one in particular.”

  He reached into a drawer and pulled out a single sheet.

  Slid it across the desk toward me.

  No no no no no.

 
Unable to resist, I craned my neck to read it. Knew what I’d see.

  It was the page I’d suspected, with the handwritten note at the bottom.

  I sat stone still, breathless, unable to formulate a response.

  Chance read the notation aloud. “The highest caution must be employed. Due to its radical structure, Parvovirus strain XPB-19 may be infectious to humans.”

  My mind gibbered.

  Impossibly, he’d made a connection. Recognized a link no one else would’ve noticed.

  Chance laid the truth bare. “Karsten used Coop as his subject. Coop was patient zero for Parvovirus XPB-19. Parvovirus XPB-19 is contagious to humans. You own Coop.”

  “This means nothing.” Even I didn’t buy my words.

  He had hard evidence tying us to Karsten’s experiment.

  Suddenly, to the Virals, Chance Claybourne was the most dangerous man alive.

  “Enough dancing around!” Chance thundered. “Tell me the truth. Tell me what I don’t know. Tell me what I saw!”

  “No.” I tried to rise, but my legs were jelly.

  “Why did you steal Coop from the institute? Did you catch the virus? What happened when you did?”

  A manic intensity filled Chance’s eyes. One I’d seen months before.

  “I’ve seen things I can’t explain,” Chance hissed. “You will explain. Now!”

  “Be careful, Chance.”

  “Excuse me?” He seemed momentarily taken aback.

  “I said, be careful.”

  Chance’s face hardened. “Are you threatening me, Tory?”

  I steeled my nerve. Was tired of being pushed around.

  Chance wanted to play hardball? Thought he could bully me into revealing my secrets?

  Not a chance, Chance.

  You have no idea who you’re dealing with. What you’re dealing with.

  Chance rose, planting his hands on the desktop. “Your secret won’t stay hidden forever.”

  I placed my own palms on the desk. Stuck my nose inches from his.

  “You’d better hope it does, Chance.” Barely a whisper. “Otherwise, you might not like what you find. Not one . . . little . . . bit.”

  Our eyes locked.

  An electric charge filled the room.

  What are you doing? Did you just threaten him?

  Hiding my misgivings, I met him stare for stare. Felt his hot breath on my cheek.

  For the second time that morning, Chance broke first. He flopped backward into his chair, sweat glistening his brow.

  He swiveled to face the window. “Get out of here. Now.”

  I didn’t wait for a second invitation.

  “You okay, Tor?”

  Hi set his roast beef sandwich aside. He and Shelton were watching with troubled eyes.

  “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

  We sat at our usual table in Bolton’s cafeteria. Ben had dropped us off right as the lunch bell sounded. We’d all missed second and third periods, which looked suspicious, but so far no one had made a fuss.

  I hadn’t spoken since fleeing Chance’s office. Not as we exited the aquarium, on the drive back to school, or upon sneaking into the lunch crowd.

  I hoped they thought my silence a result of my argument with Ben.

  I had zero intention of telling them what Chance had said. Not yet.

  Is that my call? Who am I to keep that kind of information from the pack?

  I pushed the doubts aside. There was no reason to create panic. Not without some notion of how to deal with the situation.

  Honestly, I worried what Ben might do. If he thought Chance was threatening him . . .

  Ben? That’s a laugh. I just threatened Chance to his face.

  I shivered at the memory. What had I been thinking?

  Self-preservation. It’s a powerful motivator.

  “You don’t wanna talk about what Chance said?” The third time Hi brought it up.

  “It was nothing. Chance wanted to know what we were doing in the server room. He tried to bully me, but I convinced him to let us walk.”

  Hi nodded slowly, but I could tell he still had questions.

  “Chance keeps popping up in weird places,” Shelton said. “He’s got connections to LIRI, to Candela, and to the aquarium. That can’t be coincidence.”

  “I’ll deal with Chance.”

  But could I? Which rabbit up my sleeve would make him walk away?

  None of them. Chance had questioned his own sanity over our secret.

  I made him think he was crazy. He won’t let this go until he learns the truth.

  “Okay.” Hi tapped his thumbs together. “So what’s next? Lotta balls in the air.”

  I was happy to change the subject. “Should we tell the police about Rex Gable?”

  “Get directly involved?” Shelton looked at me askance. “Seems a bit messy, don’t it?”

  “We could make an anonymous tip,” Hi suggested. “Call from a pay phone, like in one of those prehistoric movies. There still are pay phones, right? Like, where old people hang out?”

  “When was the last time you saw one?” Shelton countered.

  “Whatever. We could buy a burner. Call from a rooftop, then dump it.”

  Shelton snorted. “You’ve been watching The Wire too much.”

  Static cackled from the cafeteria speaker. A bored female voice came on. “Victoria Brennan, please report to the headmaster’s office. Victoria Brennan to the headmaster’s office.”

  Classmates glanced our way. Whispers sprang up around me.

  “Not good.” Shelton was reaching for his earlobe.

  “Tell them you have amnesia,” Hi said. “Or dementia. Pretend you’re Joan of Arc.”

  “Thanks for the support, guys. If I’m not back for class, look for my body in the harbor.”

  Hiram’s hand flew up. “I call her iTunes collection. Shelton can have the mutt.”

  “Nice.”

  I took a deep breath. Tried to count the tightropes I currently walked.

  Kit. Whitney. Ben. Chance.

  Now the headmaster? What’s one more in the mix?

  With a groan, I hurried to meet my fate.

  • • •

  “That’s four days this week,” Headmaster Paugh scolded.

  “I know.” Head down, face meek. He hadn’t invited me to sit. “I’m very sorry, sir.”

  “That’s quite a lot to excuse.” Paugh watched from across a delicate antique desk that must’ve cost a fortune. “Even from one of our best students.”

  “It’s been a crazy week, sir. But that’s over with now. I’ll make up all the work.”

  Paugh steepled his fingers. “I accept that on Monday you were called to testify in an important matter. And on Wednesday, you were summoned by the district attorney herself.” He sat back in his overstuffed leather chair. “But yesterday, without warning, you missed two more classes. And this morning, you did so again.”

  “We were wrapping up court business,” I said quickly. “There were papers to sign, and a conference with the DA. You can call Ms. Harris’s office to confirm, if you’d like.”

  Please God, don’t.

  Paugh pressed his fingers to the desktop. “You missed Spanish four times out of five this week. That cannot continue. I won’t allow it.”

  “No, sir.” Serious nodding. “Understood. The court doesn’t need me anymore, not even for sentencing. It’s all worked out so that I won’t miss any more school.”

  “See that you don’t.” Paugh’s scowl deepened. “First this Gamemaster debacle, and now two of our students kidnapped. I don’t know what’s happening to this city.”

  Then he glared, as if I might be the cause of all the trouble.

  I remained silent. Eyed the door.

&nb
sp; “Have you been following the Gable case?” Paugh asked.

  “What?” The question caught me off guard. “Oh! Yessir, of course. I have several classes with the twins.” A pause. “Terrible thing.”

  “The worst I can remember.” Paugh removed and wiped his glasses, his eyes taking on a faraway look. For an instant I saw real pain.

  Why not tell him about Rex Gable?

  Paugh was the headmaster. He could tip the police without revealing a source. In a way, he was perfect.

  I opened my mouth to speak.

  Paugh fixed me with his bird-like stare.

  Something in his demeanor. A coldness to his glance. The set of his shoulders.

  I didn’t like it. Didn’t trust it.

  I closed my mouth, abandoning the idea until I’d given it more thought.

  “Did you have something to say, Miss Brennan?”

  “No, sir. Just that I hope the police find Lucy and Peter. And that they’re well.”

  “Yes, of course.” Paugh replaced his glasses. “Your island friends missed class this morning as well. Same reason?”

  “Yessir.” Hoping my eyes didn’t betray me.

  “Ella Francis also? She missed a presentation she’ll have difficulty making up.”

  I stiffened. “Ella missed psych today?”

  “Yes.” Paugh’s eyes narrowed. “She wasn’t with you?”

  “No,” I said, unable to hide my surprise.

  The headmaster was right—Ella had a major group project due that morning, one that counted for a third of her semester grade. She’d been whining about it for weeks. Missing the presentation was going to cause her all kinds of headaches.

  Paugh waved a hand. “Very well, please return to class.”

  I beelined for the door.

  “And, Miss Brennan?”

  I turned, doorknob in hand. “Yes?”

  “No more of this. I’ll be paying attention.”

  I nodded, then scurried into the hallway.

  How many offices will I run from today?

  • • •

  I was grabbing my econ book when I remembered Ella.

  She must be sick as a dog, or she’d have been there.

  Slipping into the ladies room, I checked to be sure I was alone. Then I dialed Ella’s cell.

  Four rings. No answer. Voicemail.