“Gina is in danger. You need to protect her, no matter what. I have done all I can to keep her safe, but I fear it’s too late, and she will get sucked into this maelstrom. She’s too important to us both to let that happen. I also need you to watch Thomas Cattafi’s and David Bromley’s backs. They are the key to all I’m about to tell you, and they must be protected at all costs.

“I was working on a case with a small pharm company in Paris when I accidentally downloaded information about a possible bioterror attack using our own flu vaccines. I briefed Gina, then set about trying to gather information about the attack. From what I found, a small group was testing out a new ‘drug’ in Sierra Leone, claiming it was a vaccine for measles. Instead, it contained a new, undocumented viral hemorrhagic fever that is especially virulent. They were testing a weapon, perfecting it and planning to use it to attack the United States and Israel.”

There was a brief pause, and Amanda shook her head.

“It gets worse. This new hemorrhagic fever kills in forty-eight hours, and it could be airborne. Right now, it is unstoppable, especially in an unsecured environment like Africa. The data points were absolutely terrifying, and just as I was making progress on discovering who, exactly, is behind this, they shut things down, wiped the files clean, destroyed every bit of evidence, and everything I had went up in smoke. And I knew my word wasn’t going to be enough. You know how this administration works. You have to have a knife to their throat for them to pay any attention to these threats.

“I’d only gotten the name of a single company that was involved—Denon Industries, out of London. The money trail led directly to them. They have a charitable arm that has been funding the development of this horrible weapon.”

Denon jumped up from his seat. “That’s preposterous. I had nothing to do with this!”

Sam hit Stop on the video. “Mr. Denon, please, sit back down. We will hear everything Amanda has to say before making any assumptions or judgments.”

“Sir?” It was Bebbington, excited now, standing in the doorway to the living room. “Ms. Bouchard, she’s right. I’ve tracked some of the funds. Whoever embezzled them from us set up a trust under the guise of being a charitable organization. It traces back to the pipeline project, but it’s in your name, under your private accounts. According to the records, you’ve been pumping money into this experimental medical treatment for two years.”

“Jesus H. Christ on a piece of toast, Bebbington. How the hell did this happen?”

“I haven’t been able to trace the information all the way back to the perpetrators yet, sir. Whoever did it has managed to obfuscate their trail masterfully. It’s going to take us a while to figure out who’s behind it. But I’ll keep working on it. I’ll find them, I swear it.”

“You do that.” Denon drew himself up to full height, faced Sam and Fletcher. “Denon Industries will cooperate fully with the FBI and any other international law enforcement organization you see fit to involve here. These actions are clearly of a single person who set out to deceive me and the company. I would never sign off on such a thing. It goes against everything I believe in.”

Sam put her hand on his arm. “Sir, I appreciate that, but please sit down. Let’s hear the rest of Amanda’s story.”

Fletcher moved a step closer, and Denon glanced at him, then sat, looking miserable. Sam pressed Play on the video, and Amanda Souleyret continued her confession from the grave.

“Something seemed odd about the trail suddenly leading me to a single organization, but I had to move quickly. I set up an infiltration strategy and implemented it. It didn’t take long to get inside the company. What I found showed my earlier suspicions were right. I believe Denon Industries is being set up as the fall guy behind this massive genocide. And genocide it is, I’m sure of it. First in Africa, and, soon enough, in Europe and America. It is a perfect weapon.

“You know what I do, Robin. I’ve been intimate with James Denon for nearly a year now. I do not believe he is aware that his company’s finances are being used to fund the operation, nor do I believe him personally capable of knowingly authorizing such devastation. My software found a back door that was bleeding funds, but quietly. He has a mole, but I haven’t been able to figure out who it is.”

Sam saw Denon’s face collapse at this news. He loved this woman, and she’d just exonerated him. Sam felt infinitesimally better. At least she wasn’t sitting in her living room with a mass murderer.

“I sent Thomas Cattafi into the company to see if he could work this from another angle. He hired on to their African pipeline project as an intern, a liaison between the company and the locals, and in that guise was able to get into the areas affected in Sierra Leone. What he saw there was frightening. David Bromley is Thomas’s mentor. He’s a virologist at George Washington University and a preeminent scholar in hemorrhagic fevers. Tommy explained what was happening, and took Bromley’s guidance on testing the blood of the people affected and reporting back with his findings. Tommy told me that there are reports of a British man who comes to the area once a month. We think this is how the bug is being delivered, in the medications that are supposed to be relieving the suffering of those afflicted.

“Tommy brought out the samples, and he and Dr. Bromley have been working for the past few months on a real vaccine. It’s complicated to explain, but Tommy figured out that stem cells from cadavers showed the most promise in combating this disease.”

Sam looked at Fletcher. That explained what Thomas Cattafi was doing at the anatomy lab. He’d been taking samples to use in his fight against the bug.

“Cattafi and Bromley have been working hard to reengineer the stem cells to create a workable therapeutic vaccine against this superbug, which means they can give it to people who’ve been exposed and halt the spread of the disease. I know they’re very close to success. They’ve had to test in the field, with Bromley going directly to Africa to inoculate the infected people, and I understand it’s been rough going, but they are starting to see a positive response. Their work will save the people affected, if they can get to them in time. And if we are attacked, we need to have the means to stop an epidemic.

“Meanwhile, I followed the money. I believe I have identified at least eighty percent of the people involved, from the terrorist organization in Africa to the company manufacturing the bug. I infiltrated their systems and stole the material I hope contains the answers to stopping the spread of the disease. It’s time to turn this information over to State and let them sort it out. I’ve included a list in this package. You’ll see some familiar names. Jason Kruger, for one, who works for Gina, which is why she’s in so much danger. I believe he is the ‘British’ man they talk about—you can look at his official travel to prove where he’s been, and though he grew up in South Africa, he has a British accent, probably from early schooling there.”

Amanda shook her head.

“Greed, sister. Greed drives terrorism, and the people who are trying to do good are being overwhelmed by the ones trying to make a buck on the backs and lives of the people. It sickens me, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be the one to end their attack.

“Please, Robin, act quickly. I have a lot of evidence, but not a lot of answers. It’s time for me to let Gina shut down the funneled funds from Denon’s company. With any luck, they will be able to discover who, exactly, is behind all of this. They’re going to need James’s cooperation, and I promise you, he will cooperate. He’d never want anything like this to happen. He’s a good man, and I care for him deeply. If you get a chance, please tell him so. And while you’re at it, will you tell him my real name? He only knows me as Juliet Bouchard, and it’s important that he understand why I deceived him. I wanted to tell him myself, when all this was over, but I don’t think I’m going to get a chance.”