“It’s not in our inventory at all.” Ogren is leafing throughsome papers. “It wasn’t anywhere in the house. She must have taken it withher.”
“Could be.”
“Was his name on it?” Ogren asks.
“Don’t know. Don’t remember. Why?”
“Because if the award didn’t say ‘Sam Dillon’ on it, wemight not have noticed it in our search. When we flipped her house. We couldhave gone right past it.”
“You think Pagone has it at her home?” McCoy asks.
“Don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances.”
“You’re going to search her house again.”
“Damn straight.”
“Roger?” McCoy says, her voice turned up a notch. “Not aword about our bug, right?”
Roger Ogren sighs with disgust. “I’m not going to mess withyour device,” he promises. “Hell, don’t tak emy word for it-you’ll be able tolisten in the whole time we’re there.”
McCoy laughs.
“Thanks, Agent McCoy. You’ve been a real princess.”
“It’s Jane, Roger.” She hangs up the phone and looks at herpartner.
Owen Harrick is watching her. “Remind me never to cross you,Jane,” he says.
ONE DAY EARLIER…
They wanted him to go to America. Not Washington, D.C., orNew York, the obvious spots, but to a large city in the Midwest. It was RamHaroon who had suggested this city. One of the biggest in the Midwest, twosolid universities in town with international-economics programs, good highwayaccess to other cities, if that was where the mission took him.
The mission. They were vague, as Haroon would expect. If putunder interrogation, he would not be able to say anything concrete. He did notknow how long he would be in the States, though he suspected that the matterwould be completed within two years, the time it would take him to complete hisdegree.
His first year in the States was uneventful. He enjoyed hisclasses. Liked most of the people he met. Met a couple of women, one of whomwas American. It was not until November, last year, that he was approached.
“There will be an American,” they told him. They showed hima picture, told Ram the man would go by the name of “Larry Evans.” They gaveRam no background on Evans. He was working with a scientist at a company calledFlanagan-Maxx Pharmaceuticals with its principal headquarters just outside thecity. He was working on obtaining a formula for a drug. When the assignment wascompleted, Larry Evans would hand Ram a piece of paper and maybe a couple ofsamples of the product. They told Ram nothing more.
But Larry Evans told Ram much more, because he assumed Ramalready knew. The drug, Ram learned, would appear to be baby aspirin but would,in fact, contain a deadly ingredient that would ultimately kill-ultimately, notimmediately, and that was the point. If children all over Western Europe beganfalling simultaneously, there would be an outcry. This drug, Larry promised,would kill slowly over months, attacking children’s immune systems, while otherchildren were taking it as well.
The drug could be made rather quickly. Anyone could make apoison. What would take time, Evans explained, was masking the product so thatthe chemical could not be detected by regulatory agencies.
Ram listened to Evans, noted the lack of any emotionalreaction as he described the devastation that these drugs would cause. He wasclearly not Islamic, and Ram didn’t know if Evans was anti-Western at all. Thiswas not about idealism. This was about twenty-five million dollars.
For some reason, Evans wanted to explain the details to Ram.From the outset, he wanted Ram’s approval. “This guy, he’s one of their topscientists. He’s got a problem, though. More than one. He likes cocaine and helikes to gamble. He was into a bookie for over fifteen thousand dollars. Nowhe’s into me for it. I bought the book. I bought this doctor’s debt. Now heowes me. And I’m cutting him in on the prize money, too.”
“You’re sure he can be trusted?” Ram asked.
“I’m sure. He needs me. I’m supplying him cocaine. I give itto him, in moderation. He’ll never get caught, because I won’t let him. And thepharmaceutical company-he’s a top scientist. They have no idea. This guy istesting this stuff, developing this formula, without anyone’s knowledge.”
“And this is not a matter of conscience for this scientist?”
“He doesn’t think we’re killing anyone,” Evans said,laughing. “He thinks this is for preventive research. It’s illegal, yeah, heknows that. He thinks I’m working for a foreign government. But he doesn’tthink I’m selling it to you.” Larry tapped Ram’s arm. “I’m telling him what hewants to hear,” he said. “He’s so caught up in drugs and trying to keep hishead above water, he’ll believe what I tell him.”
“I am not entirely satisfied,” Ram said.
“Look-this guy’s life got turned upside down. His wife lefthim, he got in a bad way with drugs. I’m telling him to develop something forme that won’t be used to kill anyone-it will be used to save lives-and he’llget a couple million dollars in a foreign bank account when it’s over. He canretire, move somewhere, start a new life. This guy’s not going anywhere. Andyou know what he really wants? He wants me to bring him more free cocaine.Every day.”
Ram shook his head.
“You think I want to get caught?” Larry Evans asked. “If Iget the first inkling that this guy is turning, I’ll be out of the countrybefore you are. Believe me.”
Class dismissed. The twelve students in his seminar oninternational human rights rise almost simultaneously. Two of them go to chatwith the professor, which Ram Haroon has done as well from time to time, inline with his instructions to be in the middle of the pack in everything hedoes.
Ram walks out of the classroom and heads upstairs to theschool’s library. He walks over to a set of carrels reserved for audiorecordings. Most of the lectures are recorded now, and many researchmaterials-especially many from foreign sources-are on audio only. Ram walkspast the carrels and fakes a cough. He sees Larry Evans, sitting in one of thecarrels with headphones on. Ram walks to a water fountain and takes a quickdrink, then turns around and walks to the carrel where Larry Evans sat onlymoments ago.
Evans is gone. Ram pulls the chair out and finds a scribblednote taped under the seat.
Everything looks good. It seems clear that Dillon knewnothing about this. There was something else going on at the company, somethingnot even remotely close to this. It was related to the company bribing statelawmakers to get a prescription-drug bill passed. No one will ever connect itto us. The good doctor has been assured. He is back at work. We are back inbusiness.
I will still keep an eye out. I’ll let you know, but thebottom line is, don’t worry. If she knows something, I’ll find out.
Ram Haroon looks around. There have been unexpected,unwelcome developments. A man named Dillon is dead, a man who might have known.How he could have known about this is anyone’s guess. It’s hard to believe, andRam does not believe, in his heart, that Sam Dillon knew anything. Which meansthat Allison Pagone does not, either. But he must be clear with Evans. He willhave to insist, at some point, on his terms, that Allison Pagone be eliminated.He must insist that no chances be taken. No more mistakes can be made.
THREE DAYS EARLIER…
Allison has shopped at a different Countryside Grocery Storebefore, where she and Mat used to live, but this
