would simply be bribed to hand over the paperwork. The only question was, did it happen before Sula arrived at the clinic?
Rudker would have preferred to deal with the situation personally, but that simply wasn’t possible. Not only did Sula have a head start in getting to Puerto Rico, Rudker couldn’t leave town. Not with the expansion plans and the merger hanging on the city council’s approval.
A car pulled into a driveway two houses away. Rudker slumped down in his seat. A long-haired woman got out of a mini-van and walked up to the home. He couldn’t see her well, but she looked young, probably attractive. He thought about what he would do if someone noticed him. Or if the police stopped and questioned him. Did his breath smell like wine? Rudker popped a piece of cinnamon gum in his mouth. He would leave soon.
He wondered where Tara was tonight. Had she moved in with Doug? The thought heated his blood. He would have to find out who this guy was. Teach him not to fuck with Karl Rudker. Teach him to keep his dick out of married women. Rudker ignored the hostile ranting from the voice in his head. Doug would have to wait his turn.
Rudker knew he should get moving, but still he stayed and watched Sula’s house. He’d never lived alone before. In college, he’d had roommates, then he’d met and married Maribel. When she left him, Robbie had stayed and lived with him until Tara came along.
What was going on with Robbie anyway? His phone call had been so unusual. His son had never been much of a drinker. Like other young people, he preferred to smoke pot, but he’d never called while he was high before. Impulsively, Rudker scrolled through his contact list on his cell phone until he found the boy’s entry. He pushed call and let it ring four times before he remembered that it was one-thirty in the morning. He quickly disconnected. He would try Robbie again in the morning. Maybe they would go to lunch or see a movie this weekend. Rudker suddenly realized he missed his son. He couldn’t remember what they’d fought about the last time they were together.
Young people seemed so much more complex now than the students he’d gone to college with. Like Sula. He could not fathom what was driving her to be so intent on getting the PR suicide files. What possibly did she have to gain? Did she see herself as some kind of hero?
He stared at her tiny little house and wondered if she had any idea who she was up against. If not, she was about to find out. As soon as she set foot in the airport, Jimmy would let him know, then Rudker would put a stop to her nonsense once and for all.
Chapter 28
Friday, April 23, 8:47 a. m
Ruder got the call earlier than he expected. “Sula’s back and headed for the parking lot at the Eugene airport,” Jimmy reported.
“Follow her and call me if she goes anywhere but home.”
“When will I get a break?” Jimmy sounded weary.
“Soon. Once she’s in her house, call me and I’ll relieve you.”
“I’ll tally up my bill while I wait.”
Rudker went back to work on his comments for the company’s Q2 report. He had so much energy perking in his body, he could barely stay in his chair. He’d slept only a few hours, yet he felt hyper and charged with confidence. Today, things would go his way. He would take control of his world again.
Rudker channeled his energy into his quarterly statement, which came out more optimistic than he intended. The PR director would undoubtedly edit the hell out of it. Fine with him. Prolabs’ stock was at an all-time high of $48.76, as of 8:05 this morning. As long as the merger went through, stockholders would stay happy.
At 9:05, Cindy Taylor, his friend on the environmental committee, called. “We’re submitting our report to the commission this afternoon. Overall, we’ve given the project a greenlight. I thought you’d like to know.”
“Excellent. Thank you. Let me know when you kick off your run for mayor. I’ll be the first to donate to your campaign.”
“I’m announcing my candidacy next month at the Cinco de Mayo celebration.”
“I’ll get a check to you soon after. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Cindy was off the line. That was one of the things he liked best about her. She got things done but didn’t waste time yapping about it.
Rudker felt his fortune turn. If he’d been a gambler, he would have bought a lottery ticket. Instead, he called his broker and bought 1,000 shares of a little nanotech company he’d been investigating. Might as well spread his luck around, give the little guys a boost.
Too excited to wait for Jimmy to call, Rudker buzzed the PI.
“JJ’s Investigations.”
Rudker hated the name, but Jimmy had come highly recommended as someone who could keep private matters private. “What’s the word on the girl?”
“Headed for home. She just turned on Friendly Street.”
“What took so long?”
“She stopped at Safeway.”
“Stay with her. I’ll relieve you later this afternoon.”
“Why do I have to stay? She was on an all-night flight from Puerto Rico. She’s going to crash as soon as she gets home.”
“You don’t know that. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Rudker hung up before he had to listen to any more whining. Jimmy was probably right, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
She had only been gone for just over forty-eight hours but Sula was deliriously happy to be back on the ground in her little home in Eugene. She was exhausted, but she couldn’t rest, not yet.
She ate the Kung Po Chicken she’d picked up at the Safeway deli, then called Paul and left a brief message. “It’s Sula. I’m back. And I got DNA samples from both guys. A successful trip.”
The next call required courage she didn’t think she had. Sula paced the house with her phone in hand for ten minutes before she finally pressed the numbers. He answered on the second ring, sounding a little breathless.
“Aaron?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Sula Moreno. You called last week and invited me for coffee. If it’s not too late, I’d like to accept.”
“Sure. I’d like that. Hang on a sec, okay?”
She heard a door close, followed by the sound of a faucet. In a moment he was back. “Sorry. I just got back from a run and needed a drink of water.”
“It’s okay. I just got back from Puerto Rico.” Sula laughed. It made her sound like a seasoned traveler.
“Wow. I see why you didn’t call until now.”
“It’s been a crazy week.”
There was a pause. “I’ve got a lot going on over the next few days,” Aaron said after a moment. “What about Sunday afternoon, around three o’clock?”
“Great. Where?”
“Full City Coffee?”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
When she hung up, she realized she was shaking. It’s just coffee, she told herself. No need to be nervous. Or excited. Just coffee with a guy, an acquaintance.
Running on adrenaline, she unpacked her bag, threw a load of clothes in the washer, then took a shower. At noon she lay down. The two plastic bags with the Rios men’s hair samples sat on her dresser. She couldn’t stop thinking about them. Until they were packaged and in the mail to the FDA, her mission was not accomplished.
Sula got up, turned on her computer, and began a letter to Irene Johnson, an FDA public spokesperson she’d become friendly with while working at Prolabs. She tried to keep the letter simple, but her brain was tired and fuzzy and it took forty minutes to craft. Sula hoped her tone would seem concerned, but rational. In her first draft, she mentioned the disks disappearing from her home. Then she decided to cut that part. It made her sound too much
