Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 - Box Set 2 of 2: Exit StrategyPaybackCovert Justice

by Shirlee McCoy

  Heidi’s face wrinkled in confusion. “Blake, that nozzle’s been here as long as I have.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Max rolled his eyes. “Dude, if she says she’s seen it…”

  “I know, I know, but you would have noticed this?”

  “Yes. I did notice it. I didn’t crawl underneath the blower like you did. I assumed it was an additional nozzle you used in specialty applications. In fact, I’m pretty sure I read something about it in the manual.”

  This woman would never cease to amaze him. He had no doubt she could give him the page number where she’d read it, but she was trying not to come across as a know-it-all. “Yes, they do come as an add-on. We didn’t anticipate needing them anytime in the future, and if we do need them later, we discussed—”

  Oh, no.

  “Discussed what?”

  “When we were working through the specifications on this line, Mark came with me when we went to see this model in action. We had a whole conversation about how easy it would be to install additional nozzles if we needed them.”

  Max whistled. “Did the dog sweep this area last night?”

  “He did.”

  “So they haven’t used it yet.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m going to have the forensics guys come back to swab this stuff to be sure.”

  “I don’t think that’s a bad idea, but you know we thoroughly clean the lines in between each run. If they ever had used it, we couldn’t expect to find more than a trace.”

  “It wouldn’t take more than a trace of anthrax to kill someone.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Heidi couldn’t believe it. It had been here all along. One lonely little nozzle with a tip the size of a dime, sitting in plain sight.

  If you were looking.

  And she had been. She’d looked a thousand times. Why had she assumed it was nothing?

  Markos was dead and she couldn’t shake the suspicion that he’d not been as committed to this scheme as the family expected him to be. Had his own family killed him the way they’d killed Joe? Could he have been looking for a way out? If she’d picked up on his wavering earlier and approached him, would he have given them all they needed to take the entire family down?

  She rubbed her hands over her face. When she looked up, Max had his phone to his ear.

  “You’ll have to go outside if you want to get decent reception.”

  He nodded and mouthed, “Lab,” as he went toward the door.

  “Where’s he headed?”

  “He’ll be checking to see if there are any lab results yet, and then he’ll line somebody up to come get this little present Markos has left for us.”

  “I can get it out of there, no problem.”

  “No!”

  Blake held up his hands. “Sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I yelled. But we don’t know what’s in it and we don’t know if they booby-trapped it to keep it from being removed.”

  “Ah. Good point.”

  Max returned and she knew he had bad news from his demeanor. She rested her hand on Blake’s arm, for his benefit or hers, she couldn’t say. “What is it?” she asked. At her words, Blake leaned closer and put his hand over hers.

  Max narrowed his eyes at her and she knew he hadn’t missed the way she and Blake were standing.

  “The lab results aren’t definite yet, but with the way this stuff is growing, they are pretty sure the dog was right.”

  Heidi’s mind raced. The implications were horrible. “They wanted to contaminate the containers with anthrax. It’s not a bad plan. I mean, it’s pure evil, but it’s genius. They contaminate water bottles or food containers. With this system in place, they could pick and choose which runs they wanted to contaminate.”

  “What would their success rate be?”

  “The anthrax spores would sit in the containers all chilled out until someone drank or ate from them. Then they’d get comfy in a nice warm stomach and they’d go active. What makes it so perfect is that the success rate won’t be one hundred percent. Not all the spores will go active before they are expelled from the body. Some people won’t get sick, some will. You ship all over the country, so random anthrax outbreaks start popping up in various places. It would be difficult to trace and that would make it almost impossible to stop.”

  Heidi looked at Blake, then Max, hoping one of them would stop her. Tell her she’d gotten it all wrong. But they didn’t, so she continued.

  “The Kovacs get this bright idea, but they need to get someone on the inside. Markos may have applied for positions all over the country, but this is where he got the job. They would have been ecstatic. He settles into the job, learns the ropes, starts experimenting with different ways to plant the anthrax.”

  Max picked up. “Then you start following him around, Blake, asking lots of questions, checking up on him when you notice the quality issues in his batches. He, or maybe the senior Kovacs, decide they’ve invested too much in this to fail and they try to take you out. You’re the real problem.”

  “I like the theory,” Heidi said, “but what about the attack on Caroline?”

  Max started to say something a few times, then shrugged. “No idea. We’ll come back to that. What I want to know is what were they waiting on? If they’ve got the anthrax and they’ve got the method, why not use it?”

  “Maybe they had a limited supply and wanted to get the biggest bang for their buck?”

  “The ballpark bottles.” Blake and Heidi spoke in unison. Blake grinned at her. Yes, definitely starting to think alike.

  She turned to Max. “They would have been perfect. National distribution, potential for thousands if not millions of cases, all spread out over months and months.”

  Heidi pointed at Blake. “I guess we know why Markos wanted you out of the picture.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Anytime anything happens with this blower, they call you. It’s your project. You’re the expert. He couldn’t risk you catching on to what he was doing and noticing this extra nozzle in place. My guess is the Kovacs have a lot riding on this.”

  Heidi ran her hands through her hair.

  “Of course!”

  “What?”

  “The Kovacs. They have stakes in multiple health care and security companies. A few months ago, I ran across some sketchy evidence indicating they may have a shell company that owns a controlling share in one of the anthrax vaccine producers. An anthrax scare would send stock prices soaring. They’d make a fortune.”

  Max joined in. “And if they were able to trigger the scare and then get back out of it without anyone knowing how they did it…”

  “They’d be able to do it again.”

  “Or sell the technology to the highest bidder.”

  *

  Most of the FBI agents had already headed out, either to their homes or to other pressing cases. The handful of agents remaining were coordinating with local officials in their efforts to locate Katarina Kovac.

  Heidi caught one of the forensic techs who hadn’t left yet and asked her to take samples from the blower before she left town. Heidi and Blake had hung out at HPI until the forensic tech had what she needed and then they headed home.

  Home? The cabin was as much of a home as Heidi had ever had. Homesickness engulfed her. Everything was ending and her heart throbbed at the coming goodbyes.

  Blake threw the car in Park and winked at her. “Good job today, Special Agent Zimmerman.” His words pulled Heidi back into the present.

  “It was your idea,” she said as she stepped from the car. “You’re the one who found the sabotage. Congrats. You’ve foiled your first criminal plot. How does it feel?”

  She’d meant the words to be teasing and light, but Blake didn’t smile. He shook his head and sighed. “When will you be leaving?”

  Heidi studied the ground and fiddled with her phone. She didn’t look up, even as he stepped closer. “Soon. I’ll stay for a week or tw
o to maintain my cover. Like I said, we’ll be trying to keep this quiet in the media, so it’s best if I don’t do anything that will raise any questions. I’ll be here for a few more days, and then go. I mean, that’s the plan. I’m due some vacation time, so I don’t have to pack my bags and rush off, but… Soon.”

  She needed to go inside, to get away from him before she couldn’t take it anymore. She turned, but his hand closed around her arm and he pulled her against him in one quick motion. She knew she should pull away. She didn’t. His hand had found her waist, and while his arms were wrapping around her, his touch was gentle and she knew all she’d have to do was take one step back and he would release her.

  She leaned in.

  His lips found hers, gentle and soft at first, then more insistent and she knew he was feeling everything she was. Love, beautiful and precious, and in their case, impossible.

  At some point, she pulled back enough to breathe and rested her head on his chest. He squeezed her close. “What are we going to do?” He whispered the words into her hair and she looked up. Before she could answer, he kissed her again. His hands found their way into her hair, then down her back. He pulled away this time, his chest heaving.

  “You were saying?”

  “I can’t remember.”

  She could barely remember her own name. She didn’t care about organized-crime families or anthrax plots or national security.

  All right, that wasn’t true—she cared, but she just couldn’t care enough to force herself to move out of Blake’s arms.

  The sound of wheels on pavement forced her to step back.

  “The Petersons are bringing Maggie home,” Blake said.

  The car idled for a brief moment. Maggie blew kisses at her grandparents and then raced toward Blake’s waiting arms. He buried his face in her hair and squeezed her tight until she squirmed and squealed to be released.

  When he set her down, Maggie ran to Heidi. “I missed you, Miss Heidi!”

  Those five words threatened the fragile grip Heidi had on her emotions. She knelt beside her and gave her a hug. “I missed you, too, sweetheart.” She couldn’t look at Blake.

  How would she ever say goodbye to this child and continue to function? Would she be able to continue to breathe when her heart had been left behind in the mountains of North Carolina?

  “I haven’t seen you in days and days, Miss Heidi. Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been working, sweetie.”

  Maggie furrowed her brow. “Which job?”

  “What?”

  “Your real job, or your FBI job?”

  How on earth? What could she say? Blake looked as shocked as she was. “Maggie, what do you mean?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Miss Heidi.” She let out a little huff. “I do live here.” Only a five-year-old could be so adorable while trying to be patronizing.

  Blake’s phone buzzed. “It’s Dad,” he said. Blake had been giving him hourly updates via text.

  Heidi knew Jeffrey and Eleanor were frustrated to be so far removed from the action, but as sorry as she was for the loss of Jeffrey’s cousin, she was thankful they’d been out of the picture for this weekend’s drama.

  Heidi smiled at Blake. “Why don’t I take Maggie for a walk. We’ll have a chat about my job, and you can go talk to your dad.”

  Blake caught on fast. “I think that’s a great idea. Do you want a jacket? It’s getting chilly.” The sun had begun its descent and the wind had a bite to it.

  “I think I’m good. We won’t be long.”

  “Okay,” Blake said.

  Maggie slid her hand into Heidi’s and pulled her toward the creek that ran behind the Harrisons’ home. “What is the FBI, Miss Heidi?”

  “What do you think it is? Where did you hear that term?”

  “I overheard Papa and Daddy talking. They were whispering. I had to be very still and I couldn’t hear everything they said.”

  Heidi could picture the scene. Blake taking a few moments to fill Jeffrey in on something, carefully keeping his voice down. Never knowing his rambunctious daughter couldn’t resist the siren song of a big secret.

  “Have you told anybody about the FBI? Talked about it at school?”

  “Oh, no,” Maggie said. She looked up at Heidi. “I never tell secrets.”

  “That’s good,” Heidi said. “It’s important to be trustworthy, but part of being trustworthy is not listening in on conversations when you know you aren’t supposed to hear them.”

  Color flooded the little girl’s cheeks. “You mean I should have told Daddy I heard him.”

  Heidi tried not to smile. “Yes, but also that you shouldn’t have listened in the first place.”

  Maggie’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”

  Heidi squeezed her hand and leaned toward her. “You should tell him when we get back to the house.”

  “Okay.” Her little chin trembled.

  Heidi knelt in front of her and took both of her hands. “You know what I think?”

  Maggie shook her head.

  “I think it takes a brave little girl to admit when she’s done something she shouldn’t, and to ask forgiveness. And I know for a fact that you are a brave little girl.”

  Maggie’s lips twitched. “I am pretty brave,” she said.

  “Yes, you are.”

  Maggie’s mouth broke into a wide smile. “Watch this!” They had reached the creek and Maggie darted to a fallen log laying in the water. Before Heidi could stop her, she danced across and jumped to the other side.

  “Fabulous!” Heidi clapped as Maggie hopped around the edge of the water, meandering farther downstream until she slipped out of sight around a large pine. Heidi followed her path.

  She rounded the pine, expecting Maggie to come into view, but she was nowhere to be seen. Where had she disappeared to? “Maggie?”

  A rustle in the trees. Too big for a squirrel. A deer? If she pulled a gun on Maggie, Blake would never forgive her. She slid her hand to her back, wanting to be prepared, just in case. “Maggie? Come on out, sweetie. This isn’t the time for hide-and-seek.”

  “I may have to disagree with you.”

  Katarina Kovac eased out from behind the pines.

  Maggie stood at her side, eyes wide, tears dripping from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Miss Heidi.”

  Heidi forced her feet to stay planted in the soil, even as adrenaline coursed through her. No matter what happened next, Katarina Kovac had crossed into unforgivable territory. Heidi focused on Maggie. Five feet had never seemed so far. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Maggie. Absolutely nothing.” She turned her attention back to Katarina. “Let her go.”

  Katarina sneered. “Are you kidding me? This little sweetheart.” She pulled Maggie closer. Maggie let out a little squeak. “This is my insurance policy.”

  “I won’t let you take her.”

  “Don’t worry,” Katarina said. “You’ll be coming, too.” Behind Maggie, she flashed a knife. “Why don’t you drop that gun into the creek and join us.”

  “What gun?”

  Katarina rolled her eyes. “I’ll admit you did a great job pretending to be a quality engineer, but after Markos’s unfortunate accident, it wasn’t too hard to figure out who you work for.” She waved the knife around. “Drop it.”

  The gleam in Katarina’s eyes frightened Heidi far more than the knife.

  She made a show of removing her weapon. She wanted to take Katarina out, but the woman crouched behind Maggie’s slight frame, making a shot impossible. “It’s been you all along, hasn’t it?”

  Katarina puffed out her chest. “Please. Markos didn’t have enough sense to get out of the rain. No way the family would have trusted him with an assignment like this.”

  So the family knew.

  “Now drop your phone,” Katarina said.

  Heidi dropped her phone in the creek. “Markos seemed like an intelligent guy to me. He managed to get a job at HPI,” Heidi said.


  “Only because I coached him through what to say at the interview,” she said. Heidi had so many questions, but she didn’t want to frighten Maggie any more than she already was. “Why did you decide to take him out of the picture?”

  “It wasn’t my call.” A faint hint of sadness trickled through her words. “But I do what I’m told.”

  She pointed the knife in Heidi’s direction. “Which is what you’d better do. Start walking.”

  Heidi didn’t have a choice. She walked down the creek bank, turning often to see if Maggie was all right. Trying to give her an encouraging smile or a wink each time. She kept her pace slow, both for Maggie’s benefit and in the hope that Blake would come looking for them.

  Too soon, they broke into a clearing at the back of the HPI parking lot, a beige sedan the only car in sight.

  This was it. The best opportunity she’d have. When they got in the car, she might have a chance to get Maggie away from Katarina.

  Katarina motioned with the knife. “Get in the car, in the driver’s seat. Put both hands on the wheel where I can see them. Don’t try anything funny.” Over Maggie’s head, she pointed to her ear. The meaning was clear. One wrong move on Heidi’s part and she’d slice off Maggie’s ear.

  Heidi’s stomach flooded with acid, but she climbed into the car and put both hands on the wheel as instructed. As long as she stayed alive, there was hope.

  Father, please help. Help me see how we’re going to get out of this.

  She watched Katarina. She only needed her to remove the knife from Maggie’s neck for a few seconds when she slid her into the car.

  She didn’t get those seconds. With one hand firmly around Maggie’s neck and the other gripping the knife, Katarina urged Maggie into the seat.

  Heidi swallowed hard. “I don’t have any keys,” she said.

  “You won’t need them.” Katarina smiled at her in the rearview mirror.

  What was happening? Heidi’s arms dropped to her side. No. She had to keep holding on to the steering wheel or Katarina might flip out. Why couldn’t she move? She began to tip toward the driver’s-side door. Why wouldn’t her body respond?

  The door opened and Katarina shoved her toward the passenger side. She couldn’t prevent her head from smacking against a bag in the seat. Heidi used every ounce of strength she had left to force her eyes to stay open. As Katarina draped the steering wheel in heavy plastic, the truth pierced through her foggy consciousness.