Intimate Knowledge

by Amanda Stevens

  “Would you relax?” he said impatiently. “You’re as jumpy as a cat. I told you this won’t take long.” He picked up one of the boxes from his credenza and handed it to her. “Have a look inside.”

  Trying not to seem reluctant, Penelope placed the box on the desk and removed a layer of packing material to reveal an ornate ceramic mask. She glanced up. “It’s beautiful, but I don’t recognize it.”

  He smiled. “No, you wouldn’t. They just arrived this morning?”

  “They?”

  “There are six of them, all hand-crafted and painted by Emilio Cervantes. He’s a Juarez artisan whose work is becoming quite collectible. I believe your mother owns a few of his pieces.”

  That was news to Penelope. “This one is magnificent,” she said. “May I?” Carefully, she removed the mask from the box. It was a large piece, made to slip over the entire head rather than cover only the face. But judging by the weight, Penelope surmised that the insides were hollow.

  Her heart fluttered. “You say these just came in?”

  “Yes, I was afraid they wouldn’t make it. But now that they’re here, I’ve decided they’ll make the perfect segue from the slide-show presentation to the auction. I wanted to let you know beforehand because I know how much you hate surprises.”

  Penelope returned the mask to the box, hoping that Avery didn’t notice how badly her hands were suddenly shaking. “Was that all you wanted to see me about?”

  “Yes. Now run along and change.” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “Jane and I can hold the fort until you get back. But make it quick, okay? We’re getting down to the wire.”

  “I won’t be long,” Penelope promised.

  ON HER WAY OUT, Penelope ran into Jane again on the back stairs. Literally. She had just stepped into the stairwell and was looking back over her shoulder, making sure that Avery hadn’t followed her, when she and Jane collided. Still poised on the top step, the older woman grabbed Penelope’s arms to steady herself.

  “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she said with a wry laugh.

  “This time, it really was my fault,” Penelope said contritely. “I’m running late and I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you okay?”

  Jane looked uncharacteristically rattled. “I, uh, just remembered something that I have to do, that’s all. One of those little details that’s been driving me crazy all day.” She shook her head. “This night can’t end soon enough to suit me.”

  “I know what you mean,” Penelope murmured. “Anyway, I’m just on my way out. I still have to go home and change.”

  “Were you in Avery’s office just now?” Jane asked.

  “Yes, I just left him. Jane—” Penelope resisted the urge to check behind her again, but she couldn’t help lowering her voice. “You haven’t seen the new security guard the agency sent over, have you?”

  “Which one? Avery hired a couple of new ones, although…” Jane lifted her chin. “I don’t think any of them will be able to take Tim’s place.”

  “No, I’m sure you’re right about that,” Penelope agreed automatically. “But Tim will be back on the job in no time. Right now, though, I’m looking for Larry Jones. Have you seen him?”

  “The tall, good-looking one? I don’t think he’s on until later, but I could check with Avery if you like. I was just on my way in to see him—”

  “No! I mean, no, don’t do that,” Penelope said in a calmer voice. “No need to bother Avery with this. He has enough on his mind as it is. I’ll take care of it later.”

  “Take care of what?” Jane asked in confusion.

  “It’s not important. Just…don’t say anything to Avery, okay?”

  Jane threw her hands up. “Even if I wanted to.” She stepped aside so that Penelope could move around her to the stairs. “Go on, get out of here. Go change. And while you’re at it, have a drink to calm your nerves. I thought Avery was a basket case,” she muttered before exiting the stairwell.

  Penelope waited until she was in her car and driving out of the parking lot before calling Simon. Taking out her cell phone, she punched in the number he’d given her two nights ago and told her to memorize.

  “It’s me,” she said in a rush when she recognized his voice. “I think I just found the Nicin.”

  “Don’t say another word,” he said sharply. “Where are you?”

  “I’m on my way home to change.”

  “I’ll meet you at your apartment then. Don’t leave until I get there.”

  “I won’t, but you’ll have to hurry. If I’m late getting back, Avery might get suspicious.”

  Simon paused. “Penelope, don’t leave until I get there. And for God’s sakes, don’t say a word to anyone.”

  PENELOPE LET HERSELF in to her apartment, then hurried into the bathroom, hoping to shower and change before Simon arrived. But when she came out a few minutes later, he was just stepping through the French doors into her bedroom.

  She gasped when she first saw him. He was in his security-guard disguise, and it took her a moment to recognize him. Even when she did, she clutched the towel tightly around her.

  “I’m never going to get used to that,” she murmured, her heart pounding at the sight of him.

  His attention dropped to the towel, lingered, then moved back up to her face. “I know what you mean.”

  Penelope blushed, wondering if she’d purposely allowed herself to be caught in such a state of undress. If she’d secretly wanted to shock him, the way he’d shocked her last night.

  She couldn’t say that she was all that proud of her lack of restraint the night before, but she wasn’t going to be too hard on herself, either. Because in spite of everything, she still had feelings for Simon. She’d been crazy about him before the truth had come out, and it was unrealistic to think that she could get over him in a matter of days. It did little good to remind herself that the Simon she loved had never really existed, because the man she’d been with last night had the power to make her fall head over heels in love with him again.

  All of that flashed through Penelope’s mind in the blink of an eye, however, and in the next instant, she hitched the towel higher, making sure not to reveal even a hint of cleavage.

  “You said you’d found something,” he prompted.

  Penelope nodded, relieved that they were not going to talk about last night. “I think I know how they’re bringing in the Nicin. And how it’s getting out of the museum.” Quickly she explained about the masks. “If the insides are hollow as I suspect, the clay could have easily been molded around some kind of container or vial. All you’d have to do is break the clay to retrieve it.”

  “You say you saw six of them?”

  Penelope nodded. “That’s how many boxes I saw in Avery’s office. I only actually examined one of the masks, though. He’s putting all of them up for auction right after his slide-show presentation, so if we keep an eye out for the highest bidder…” She trailed off. Maybe she’d been expecting too much, but Simon seemed only mildly interested in her revelation. “Don’t you think it’s at least possible that’s how the Nicin is getting into the country?” she insisted.

  “It’s possible,” he said with a shrug. “But it seems a little obvious. And the fact that Avery was so willing to show you those masks suggests to me that he might have wanted you to jump to the conclusion that you did.”

  Penelope frowned. “I know, but he might not have shown them to me if he hadn’t caught me in his office.”

  “What do you mean, he caught you?”

  Penelope bit her lip, knowing that he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “Okay, I may as well tell you. Jane told me that Avery had gone home to change so I decided to go up and have a look around in his office.”

  Simon’s face hardened in anger. “Are you crazy? That’s exactly what I told you not to do.”

  “I know, but it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Besides, I don’t think he suspected anything. I mean, he might hav
e when he first saw me down on my hands and knees, but I recovered quite well, if I do say so myself—” She broke off when she saw Simon’s face. His eyes had gone cold with fury.

  “What are you talking about, Penelope? What the hell did you do?”

  “Nothing!” His hostile tone made her instantly defensive. “There was a medicine bottle on his floor, and I accidentally kicked it under his desk. I had to get on my hands and knees to reach it.”

  She suddenly had Simon’s undivided attention. “A medicine bottle? Did you get a good look at it?”

  “No, not really. I’d just managed to grab it when Avery came in. But don’t worry. Like I said, I was able to cover. I told him that I’d dropped an earring back.”

  “And he bought that?”

  Penelope shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he? I’m not in the habit of lying.” Unlike you, her tone implied.

  Simon let the implication pass. “Did you leave the medicine bottle under the desk?”

  “No, I put it in my pocket. Do you want to see it?”

  “Yeah, I want to see it.” There was something in his tone that Penelope couldn’t quite define.

  She went into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle where she’d left it earlier when she undressed.

  Coming back out, she tossed it to Simon. “It’s not going to tell you anything. There’s no label.”

  Simon opened the lid and shook one of the capsules into his palm. Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he lifted it to squint at the tiny print stamped onto the surface of the soluble shell. His face went rigid as he muttered a four-letter word that Penelope had never heard him use before.

  The vulgarity shocked but didn’t particularly offend her. “Simon, what is it?”

  “Ferric hexacyanoferrate.”

  She tried to pronounce it, then gave up. “What is ferric whatever? Another form of Nicin?”

  “No. It’s another name for Prussian blue.”

  Penelope lifted an eyebrow. “And that is?”

  “It’s used to treat certain kinds of poisoning.”

  “Nicin poisoning?”

  He looked at her then, and his eyes made Penelope cold with fear. “The FDA has approved Prussian blue to treat radiation contamination due to harmful levels of cesium-137.”

  “Cesium-137. Wait a minute. I know what that is,” she said excitedly. “I’ve heard my father mention it before. Cesium is used to treat certain kinds of cancer, right?”

  “That’s right. But it can also be used as a radioactive component in an explosive device.”

  It took Penelope a moment to comprehend his implication, and then she gasped. “Oh, my God, Simon. Are you talking about a dirty bomb?” She put her hand to her mouth. “Here?”

  “If you’re asking if Houston is the target, I have no way of knowing that.” He returned the capsule to the container. “There’ve been several recent arrests in Europe and Asia of people trying to smuggle small amounts of cesium across international borders. My guess is that the cesium is being brought into this country in minute amounts from several different locations. It could take months, even years to obtain the quantity needed.”

  “But…those pills don’t really prove anything, do they?” Penelope asked desperately. “Maybe they were prescribed for someone being treated for cancer.”

  “It’s possible, but not very likely,” Simon said. “Cesium used in medical procedures is very closely controlled and monitored. Besides that, Prussian blue isn’t readily available to the public. The FDA and the CDC have been working with the Department of Homeland Security to add it to the national stockpile as a counter-terrorist measure, but right now, it can only be taken under the guidance of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center.”

  “So how did someone get their hands on it?” Penelope asked.

  “Where there’s a will there’s always a way,” he said. “Money can buy just about anything in this day and age.”

  Penelope shuddered. “If, as you say, it could take months or years to bring enough cesium into the country to make a dirty bomb, then why do the smugglers need the Prussian blue?”

  “It’s probably a precautionary measure. Anytime radioactive materials are transported under less than ideal conditions, contamination is always a possibility.”

  Penelope sat down on the edge of the bed, her legs suddenly too weak to support her. “I don’t understand, Simon. I thought we were looking for Nicin. How did we go from a toxin used in cosmetic medical procedures to a radioactive component used in dirty bombs? Did you know about this all along?”

  He rubbed his neck. “We always suspected that the Nicin was a diversion. But until today, we didn’t have any concrete proof of what we were looking for.”

  “Simon, this is…” Penelope put both hands to her face. “This is bad, isn’t it? Really bad. What are we going to do? We have to tell someone. We have to stop them—”

  Simon came over and knelt beside her. He took her hands in his. “Listen to me. We will stop them, but when the time is right. We can’t afford to screw this up. Like you said, this is bad. So for now, you can’t say anything to anyone. Do you understand? You have to pretend everything is normal. We can’t tip them off that we’re on to them. Not until we know when and where the cesium is coming into the country.”

  “Them?” she asked weakly. “I know you think Avery’s involved, but who else, Simon? Who else have you been watching?”

  A shadow flickered in his eyes before he quickly looked away. “We don’t know who Avery is working with. That’s why we can’t move on him yet. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. “But Simon…my whole family will be at that auction tonight. If anything happens, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

  His hands tightened on hers. “Your family’s not in danger, Penelope. You have to trust me on that.”

  She swallowed. Trust him? That was asking a lot, considering.

  “Your family isn’t in danger…but you could be,” he added.

  She bit her lip. “What do you mean?”

  “Is there any chance Avery knows you found that medicine bottle? Are you sure he didn’t see you put it in your pocket?”

  “I…don’t think so.”

  Again his grip tightened. “But you can’t be sure?”

  She shook her head.

  “That’s it, then. You’re out.” He stood and began to pace.

  “What do you mean, I’m out?”

  “I mean, you can’t go back there. It’s too risky. You’ll have to call the museum and tell them you’re sick or that you’ve been in an accident. Whatever, just make it sound good.”

  Penelope frowned. “But if I don’t go back, Avery will know something is wrong. He may cover his tracks so that you’ll never be able to find out who he’s working for. Or how they’re getting the cesium into the country. I have to go back, Simon.”

  He stopped, his expression darker than she’d ever seen it. “No, you don’t. We’ll find another way.”

  “There is no other way.” Penelope surprised herself by how calm she suddenly sounded. Slowly she stood to face him. “Aren’t you the one who told me that there’s more at stake here than just you and me?”

  AFTER SIMON LEFT, Penelope hurried back into the bathroom to finish dressing. A headache throbbed at her temples, and she reached for the ibuprofen she kept in her medicine cabinet. As she opened the mirrored door, her eyes lit on the fancy bottle of elixir that Tay sold exclusively at her day spa. Her friend swore by the results of the product, and as Penelope shoved aside the bot tle, looking for the ibuprofen, something Tay said the night before came back to her. “It won’t do you any good sitting in your medicine cabinet.”

  Penelope frowned. It had never occurred to her until now to question how Tay had known the product was in the medicine cabinet. Was it just a reasonable guess, or had she gone snooping at some point?

  Penelope supposed that wouldn’t be all that unusual. A lot of people couldn’t resist a peak into someone el
se’s medicine cabinet. But she hadn’t put the bottle away until the night before her trip. Until then, it had been on her vanity. And to her knowledge, Tay hadn’t been alone in her bathroom since then. She certainly hadn’t opened the medicine cabinet the night she and Penelope had searched the apartment for an intruder. Penelope knew that for a fact because she’d been on Tay’s heels the whole time.

  So how had she known the bottle was in the medicine cabinet? And did it matter?

  You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, Penelope scolded herself as she noted her pale reflection in the mirror.

  Gulping down the pain medication, she closed the medicine-cabinet door and went out to her bedroom to dress.

  “THAT’S HIM,” the woman said as she handed her companion the binoculars. “Have a look.”

  The man behind the steering wheel lifted the binoculars and stared at the security guard hurrying across the parking lot to the rear entrance of the museum. “Are you sure that’s him? My contact assures me that Simon Decker is still listed as a patient at the Fairhaven Reha bilitation Center in Dallas. There’s been no change in his condition.”

  “Then your contact is either a fool or a liar,” the woman said in disgust. “I’m telling you, that’s him.”

  The man lowered the binoculars with shaking hands. “That’s it then. They’re on to us. We have to get out of the country tonight.”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” the woman said coldly. “Not until the job is finished.”

  The man turned to their compatriot in the back seat, hoping for an alliance. The second man’s eyes were hidden by dark glasses, but his expression remained coolly neutral, as if the outcome of the argument didn’t matter to him one way or the other.

  The first man said to the woman, “If that really is Decker, then the feds are obviously moving in on us. I say we cut our losses—”

  “And I say you shut the hell up,” the woman told him.

  He looked like a whipped puppy as he slunk down in the seat. “Then what are you proposing we do?”

  “I’m proposing that we get rid of the problem, and this time, I don’t want any mistakes.”