She stared down at the toxicity report. The words blurred. “This is impossible!”
Agent Bryce didn’t even blink. “This record and ten others like it were found in your clinical-trial database, Ms. Montgomery.”
“No, you’re wrong! No adverse effects were reported during the clinical trials. There weren’t any toxicities in the database besides dry mouth and headaches.” Aware that she was close to shouting, close to tears, Raine turned to Jeff. “Tell him how we went back through the databases right after we heard about the first death, just to make sure.”
He nodded quickly. “I double checked myself. There weren’t any cardiac toxicities in the database.”
Bryce’s expression flattened. “That’s because they were deleted on Ms. Montgomery’s authori zation. You’re looking at a data ghost my people pulled off the server.”
Raine surged to her feet. “That’s a lie!” She felt Max move up behind her. She shrugged him off when he touched her shoulder, but she took the hint. Vibrating with indignation, she sank back to her seat and hissed, “I’ve never seen those reports before in my life. If I had, I would have backed off on the clinical trials while we investigated the toxicities. There’s no way I would’ve sent Thriller to market without checking into something that big.”
Bryce made a noncommittal noise. “Yet your pass code was used to delete the records.” He glanced over at Detective Marcus, then back to Raine. “You stood to make a ton of money in the first few weeks your drug was on the market. Maybe you figured you’d get away with it for a few days or weeks, even a month before the cardiac toxicities started popping up. When the death reorts started coming in, you figured you could grab the money and run.”
Raine felt a scream building in her throat, in her soul. She stood again, this time with deliberate slowness. She pressed her palms to the surface of her desk and leaned forward to glare at Bryce. “I never-” she paused “-
This time she quieted when Max touched her shoulder. His voice was deep when he said, “I don’t know about you three, but it looks to me as though someone is setting Ms. Montgomery up for a very long fall.”
A shimmer of surprised relief washed through Raine at his support. But before she could respond, Detective Marcus challenged, “Based on what evidence?”
Max’s fingers tightened on Raine’s shoulder, holding her quiet as he said, “For one, your hypothesis has a big hole in it. This isn’t a cash business. The invoices from the initial drug purchases won’t come due for thirty days at the earliest, and it’ll take sales a while to peak. There won’t be any money in the first few weeks for her to run with.”
“Profits from licensing agreements, then, or presales,” Bryce insisted. He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll be following the money trail, you can bet on that.”
Raine matched his glare, drawing strength from the man behind her. “Be my guest, but make it quick because you won’t find a damn thing, and while you’re doing that, the real arsonist is going to be out there, doing…” She trailed off, not liking the options.
Max overrode her. “More importantly, if this is a setup, then we’ve got a murderer out there.”
She glanced up at him. “Murderer? What do you mean… Oh.” She swallowed hard, her stomach free-falling at the realization. “Oh, God. You think someone killed those four women to make it look like Thriller has a problem?”
Max said, “It’s a possibility that Vasek and Caine will be investigating as our top priority.”
Bryce shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ve already got my suspect and the electronic evidence to back me up.” He tapped the thin folder. “These files were deleted using Ms. Montgomery’s pass code. There isn’t any access to the system outside of this building, and I bet you’ve got spyware on your machines, so it should be easy enough to figure out when and where the changes were made. I’ll bet-”
“Wait.” Raine held up a hand. Her palms were clammy, and the sore spot on her head echoed the beat of her pounding heart. “You’re wrong. There
It had meant connecting the system to outside communication lines, but at the time, the company had been so small it had seemed like a minimal security risk.
Now that risk loomed large and foolish. Maybe even suspicious.
Silence ticked in the room for a long moment. Max let go of her shoulder, leaving a cool patch on her skin where his body heat had warmed her. He moved around the desk and leaned back against the far side, so he faced the three men while Raine stared at his back.
But there was no mistaking the dark musing in his voice when he said, “Which would explain the attack on Raine, and why the earlier scans didn’t find the data ghosts. The guy in her house was using the computer to input them.”
Her head spun as the scenario made an awful sort of sense. “But that means-”
Max shot her a look over his shoulder, one that clearly warned her to shut up. Then he returned his attention to the men and said, “That means that Agent Bryce and Detective Marcus have some work to do.”
Bryce stood, a scowl etched on his face. He fixed Max with a glare. “I’ll be watching you two.” He transferred his attention to Raine. “And don’t leave town.”
“Right. Stay put. Got it.” Raine pressed her palms against the desk, holding herself steady. “I’ll be here when you figure out who is trying to ruin my life, and why.”
Her voice broke on the last word, evidence of the rage, the humiliation and the damned dumb confusion rocketing through her.
Who was doing this?
Bryce stalked out of the office, followed by Detective Marcus, who nodded briefly at Max as though acknowledging an adversary, or maybe a kindred spirit.
Jeff stayed behind. “Raine, are you going to be okay?”
Knowing he was asking about more than her health, or even her safety, she nodded. “Max is on our side.” She hoped. “I’ll be fine. If the FDA goons will let you into the system, have the techs work on those faked toxicity reports. I want to know when they were entered and when they were deleted. And from where.”
The techs who’d built her the back door should be able to identify its use, but would that be enough? It would prove that the entries had been made from her house, but it wouldn’t prove that she hadn’t been the one to delete them.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and wished for an aspirin. A vacation. A friend.
At the thought, she glanced at Max, who had retreated to his spot by the bookcase. “Thanks for backing me up just now.”
His expression flattened. “Don’t make me regret it.” He pushed away from the wall and stalked across the office.
He was at the door before she found her voice to say “Wait! I thought you believed I wasn’t responsible? Or was that just an act for Bryce and Detective Marcus?”
He turned back. “I haven’t decided what I believe yet. I just hope to hell you don’t make a fool of me again.”
And then he was gone, the glass door swinging shut in his wake.
Leaving her alone.
MAX DIDN’T GO FAR. Down in the office lobby-where he could watch both the front and rear exits, just in case-he paused by the front desk, where a pretty dark-haired woman manned the phones. He overheard the tail end of her conversation.
“Of course you’re concerned, Barbara, but there’s no evidence of a longer-lasting concern. You used your sample packet and you feel fine, right?” The receptionist’s expression softened a hint and she chuckled. “I see. That definitely counts as fine, and then some. So hold onto the rest of the pills for now, and we’ll let you know when you’re cleared to use them again, okay? Great. Bye, now.”
When she disconnected, all trace of humor fled from her face, leaving her eyes dark and worried when she
