Kitabı oku: «Killer Harvest»

ONE

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Sassa Nilsson stopped in her tracks as her mentor, supervisor and close friend, Dr. Sam Kruger, slowed his pace. All she wanted was to grab their car from the San Francisco airport parking lot and head home to her baby. Instead, Sam halted...again. He pushed his glasses on top of his gray head and stared off into the distance—a nervous habit Sassa knew quite well.

She dragged her suitcase around him then stopped and looked back. “For someone anxious to get home, you are stalling.”

He nodded as if jarred from a serious thought. “Stalling...yes. Yes, I am.” He pulled his glasses down, straightened his spine and headed toward the elevators.

This “trip of a lifetime” had turned into a nightmare. Sassa had been Sam’s assistant for almost five years but she’d never attended even a local meeting with him. Life always seemed to get in the way. The international conference in China with the world’s leading plant biologists and agriculture experts was supposed to be a dream come true. But soon after they’d arrived, Sam received a phone call. His wife, June, was ill...so ill that his incredible focus was shot to pieces. Sassa had not seen him this disturbed since he’d received word last year that his son, Christopher, had been killed in Afghanistan. That loss had almost destroyed Sam. He might not have recovered if Sassa hadn’t had her baby.

Keri’s birth six months ago had put joy and meaning back into Sam’s life...as well as Sassa’s. This trip was her first away from the baby for any length of time and it was supposed to be a crowning achievement...for both of them since she helped put together Sam’s presentation. Instead she’d watched in horror as Sam bumbled through his lecture on plant viruses and bio-terrorism—meant to be the highlight of the conference. He’d managed to pull it together and make his point of how easily a plant virus could wipe out the world’s crops and food sources, but he hadn’t come across as the expert he was. He was brilliant, even gifted, which was why, as a professor at the relatively midsize California State University at Fresno, he’d still been awarded a massive grant to study plant pathogens.

Sassa knew Sam too well. Either June was gravely ill or something else was seriously wrong.

The elevator doors opened to an almost empty luggage area. With dawn just peeking over the horizon, crowds were light. Sassa and the professor were among the first of the flight passengers to arrive at the luggage carousel. Sam’s nervous gaze bounced around the empty baggage area as if searching for something. At last the machine clicked on and the carousel began to spin around.

“Sassa.” Sam took her arm. “My dear, I might not be driving home with you.”

“What?” Sassa spun. “You’ve been desperate to get home and see June. What do you mean?”

“A young man is coming to meet me. His name is Jared De Luca. He’s a friend. It’s just...he’ll probably be in uniform. A border patrol uniform.”

Sassa stared at him. “Sam, what is going on? What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “It’s best you know nothing. I want to protect you and precious Keri.”

“Protect us from what? You’re scaring me, Sam. Tell me what’s going on. Is June really ill?”

“No. I’m not sure where June is. I haven’t been able to reach her since we left.”

“What?”

She stared at her mentor. June was missing? Sam was afraid for Sassa and the baby? He stumbled over his words, searching for a way to explain.

Over his shoulder, Sassa spotted a man walking toward them. Was this Sam’s Jared? He wasn’t wearing a uniform. He wore a black leather jacket, black pants and sunglasses, even though the sun had barely risen. He looked odd. Something about his hair...it looked fake. Even his skin appeared almost waxen as he marched toward them relentlessly, like a robot.

A walking, live robot. Like the terminator from the movie.

Sam noticed her distraction and turned. He gasped and stepped toward the stranger.

“No...”

Without hesitation, the robotic newcomer pulled a knife from beneath his leather jacket, lunged and stabbed the older man. Sassa stood frozen as Sam cried out and bent over into the man’s leather-clad arms. The terminator man pulled his knife from Sam’s chest. As the professor sagged to the ground, the guy grabbed the strap of Sam’s laptop bag, cut it free of his shoulder and spun, marching for the sliding-glass doors of the exit. Sassa watched the whole scene, frozen and speechless. She wasn’t able to make a sound until Sam hit the floor.

She screamed his name and dropped beside him. Blood flowed from her friend’s chest and bubbled from his mouth. Sassa cried out again, knowing Sam was mortally wounded.

“Call 9-1-1!” she screamed at the other passengers moving toward them. “Someone call for help!”

Sam struggled to speak to her.

“Don’t talk, Sam. Help is on the way.”

He shoved his wrist at her, the one holding his ID bracelet.

She bent over him. “Please don’t move.” Tears fell onto his wrist and the bracelet, tears she didn’t even know she was shedding.

Sam shook his head again and tried to form a word. She leaned forward to hear him whisper, “Yours.”

Then his head fell back against the cement floor with a jarring thud.

Jared De Luca stood in a corner of the interrogation room while FBI Special Investigator Daniel Kopack put Sassa Nilsson through the ringer. Jared kept his promise to remain silent, but crossed his arms tightly to hold in his frustration. He was fortunate they’d even let him in the room. Speaking up would get him tossed out.

All the while his mind ran through one refrain: if only... If only he’d convinced his superiors at the border patrol to take the threats against Dr. Kruger seriously when he’d contacted Jared a year ago. If only he hadn’t taken leave, been away from his office when Sam had tried to reach him during the China trip. Sam and Sassa were three days into the conference before Jared learned that June Kruger was missing.

If only there hadn’t been a struggle over jurisdiction before anyone had taken action. Was it the border patrol, the FBI or Homeland Security’s job to investigate Sam’s claims? Well, now that he’d been murdered, the job obviously fell under the FBI’s rule and the capable hands of Agent Kopack. In spite of all Jared’s words to the contrary, the man continued to assume Sassa knew about Sam’s involvement with the Black Knights.

She didn’t. Over the months and the multiple phone conversations he and Sam had shared, the good doctor had assured Jared time and again that Sassa knew nothing. Absolutely nothing. Sam couldn’t keep the fact that he was being harassed by the environmental terrorist group from his wife, but he’d done everything he could to keep Sassa and her “precious Keri” safe. Sam had always referred to Sassa’s baby as “precious Keri.”

Sam had also stated that Sassa should have been called Sassy instead. She had spark and fire. She wouldn’t have sat by silently, waiting for the Black Knights to act. Those were the instructions issued to Sam by Jared’s superiors. The doctor had assured Jared that Sassa would have made something happen. Another reason he’d kept the information from her. He didn’t want her getting into trouble with the authorities. All to no purpose.

Now she was right in the middle of this disaster and definitely didn’t look sassy.

Her round face seemed hollowed out. Dark circles, leftovers from a twelve-hour flight, rimmed her eyes. Tears had washed all her mascara into smudges beneath. Add to all that a red nose, puffy lips and long blond hair tied in a messy knot on top. The woman was bedraggled, exhausted and in shock. She didn’t deserve what Kopack was putting her through and it was all Jared could do to keep silent. He couldn’t give them a reason to kick him out.

The entire situation was beyond frustrating. Not to mention the fact that Kopack asked all the wrong questions. No wonder Sassa appeared to have mentally checked out.

In her hand, she clutched an ID bracelet. Sam’s, of course. He’d seen it on the man’s wrist many times during their phone/video chats. When had Sassa unhooked it from her boss’s wrist? Why was she clutching it so tightly her knuckles turned white and her fingers red? Those were the important questions, not the accusatory ones Kopack kept throwing at her.

The agent leaned back in his chair. His self-assured manner grated Jared’s nerves. He stared at Sassa for a long time before leaning forward. “What do you know about the Black Knights?”

For the first time life came into Sassa’s blue eyes. She studied Kopack awhile before she drew her tongue over chapped lips. “I know they’re not what they say they are.”

“How’s that?”

Now a real spark came into her gaze. “They say they’re an environmental group, concerned with the future of the planet. But they’re really environmental terrorists.”

Kopack nodded. “What connection did Dr. Kruger have with the Black Knights?”

Another spark flashed in that blue gaze. Sassy Sassa had finally showed up but Jared feared her timing was all wrong. “He contacted them with questions about their organization, but he had no long-term connection with them.”

“I beg to differ. We have emails. He exchanged emails with the group’s leader for several months.”

She nodded. “He did, a long time ago. Right after his son died in Afghanistan. Sam went through a rough patch. He was angry at the government...at the world. He wanted to do something, be part of a change. But as soon as he discovered the group’s real goals, he broke contact with them.”

“Not true. We have emails from two months ago.”

“They were harassing him. He promised me he’d report them. Surely you know that.”

Kopack shrugged. “They wanted the formula.”

Sassa’s lips parted and her gaze widened even more. Smart girl. She caught on faster than most. Sam had said she was one of his brightest students.

“There is no formula.” Her tone hardened like bronzed steel.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded again. “Yes, I’m sure. I helped Sam destroy all our notes and information after the accident. We were working in a closed container. Sam was so cautious—he always insisted on closed containers. We had a strain of Xylella Fastidiosa and he was attempting to apply another strain of staph—” She halted and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Our equipment failed. The arm broke, dropped a large quantity of one strain onto the virus plate then the arm fell to the bottom of the container. Sam sealed off the arm, then went back to sterilize the plate. The virus had multiplied so fast you could see it with the naked eye. It scared us.”

“Why?”

Kopack was playing dumb. He knew exactly why.

Sassa’s sigh sounded frustrated. “It was a pathogen. A virus that kills plants. It had multiplied with nothing to feed on.” Kopack’s blank look frustrated her more. “Don’t you understand? The virus was growing, even without a host or a carrier. That meant it could attach to any plant, any crop and destroy it in hours or days. Airborne, it could travel the world and kill every living plant in its path. Sam tried to eradicate it. Nothing worked. Finally, he was forced to fry the equipment, everything in the container, with a blowtorch. It frightened him so much, he ordered me to wipe out all of our files so it couldn’t be repeated. We hadn’t recorded much, but I personally wiped most of what was there off the computer systems in the lab.”

She leveled her gaze on Kopack. “I know there’s no formula because it was an accident. We couldn’t repeat it because we shredded what info we wrote down and what was online, we deleted. I did it myself.”

Kopack shook his head. “Oh, there’s a formula...and the Black Knights knew your mentor had found it. That’s what they were after when they killed him. They stole his computer bag. Didn’t you wonder why, Ms. Nilsson? By the way, what is your real name? Up until a year ago you were known as Sassa Larsen.”

Her jaw stiffened and Jared winced.

Don’t lose your cool now, Sassa. Don’t you see he’s baiting you?

“I’m divorced. I preferred to go back to my maiden name.”

“Where is Mr. Larsen?”

“I haven’t a clue. Probably at the closest casino. He’s not my problem anymore.”

“On the contrary, he might be your biggest problem. As you noted, your ex is always looking for money. Is it possible he offered to get the formula for the Black Knights for a price?”

Her lips parted. “I haven’t seen Erik in over a year. He has yet to lay eyes on his own daughter.”

“Then how did the Black Knights discover the formula?”

She closed her eyes. “There...is...no...formula.”

Slowly, Kopack turned in his seat and leveled his gaze on Jared.

“What do you say, Officer De Luca? Is there a formula?”

Thanks, man. Way to put me on the spot.

Jared sighed, hooked his thumbs on his gun belt and met Sassa’s wide-eyed stare. “Yes. There is.”

Sassa stared at the tall stranger in the corner. Black hair, slightly wavy. High cheekbones and dark eyes. A chin that looked carved from granite and a perfectly trimmed goatee with a little five-o’clock shadow behind it. Maybe he’d had a rough night, too, as rough as hers. But those wide shoulders looked like they could handle anything that came his way, and he was handsome. Too handsome. She’d learned all about handsome men and their oh-so-charming ways from her ex.

“Excuse me. Exactly who are you?” The you came out with all the scorn she had for his type and her gaze scoured down the green uniform to the gun belt wrapped around his waist.

Green uniform. “Wait...are you Sam’s young man? The border patrol agent he was watching for?”

“Yes, I am.”

She was exhausted, worn to a frazzle, and now she was angry. Ready to lash out.

“You were late...too late.”

He winced as if in pain.

Good. At least one of these cold, brusque men with their blank faces had the decency to feel something for Sam...kind, gentle Sam. Tears pricked her eyes and she looked down, refusing to cry again, especially in front of the man who had failed Sam in so many ways.

“You’re the ‘official’ he contacted regarding the Black Knights. You’ve been talking to him since all this started. Why didn’t you stop that man from killing him? And why on earth did he contact the border patrol in the first place?”

That verbal dart seemed to strike a chord. He straightened his broad shoulders. “I head up the border patrol’s bio-terrorism section in Riverside. Sam and I had a previous connection regarding a species of plant coming in from Mexico. I’m a biologist. He knew I’d understand the pathogen’s danger.”

His words didn’t mollify Sassa. Sam was dead. No amount of credentials, connections or degrees would change that. Besides...

“There is no formula.” She grated it out, determined to make her point.

“Yes, there is, Sassa. You were right. The pathogen’s potential terrified Sam. He wanted to develop a cure. We provided him with the equipment to work from a secret lab in his home.”

Sassa wanted to snipe and argue, but what he said struck deep. His words made sense and rang with truth. Sam had been distracted, preoccupied for months, like he behaved when working on a project. She’d thought he was spending more time with his wife. June deserved the attention, so Sassa never questioned the time off or the extra hours.

A thought hit her like a blow. “He had no resources. He had to access the internet. These people could have hacked the computer in his home and discovered he was working on a formula.”

De Luca shook his head. “He wasn’t hacked. We supplied him with a private server connected directly to ours. He had the best computer protection our government could provide. And...he wasn’t working on the formula. He completed it.”

“The virus is real. And now they have it,” she whispered. Cold swept over her, so deep and chilling, her hands trembled.

“How...how could you let this happen?” Her tone was harsh. The dam holding her emotions in check had burst. “Why didn’t you stop him from developing it? Why weren’t you on time?”

Her words seemed to reach their target. De Luca winced as if she’d actually struck him.

“Don’t be so hard on Officer De Luca, Ms. Nilsson.” She turned toward the lead agent, ready to lash out at him, too. “The Black Knights created a very complicated diversion—a bomb scare in the airport precisely at the right moment. Besides, we didn’t leave Dr. Kruger unprotected. We had a man following you both throughout the trip. We found his body in a bathroom stall on the upper floor, not far from where you exited the plane.”

Sassa stared at Kopack. The hot flames inside her died out. A man had been following them, watching them everywhere they’d gone on the trip, and she had no clue? She should have known. Should have been more aware, more cautious. Paid more attention to Sam. Instead she’d been focused on herself, her own problems and her ambition to gain a name for herself at the conference.

And she had the audacity to blame De Luca for his faults. The heat of shame tinged her cheeks. She’d failed Sam. The truth swamped her and threatened to drown her. A familiar sinking feeling trickled through her but she fought it. She might have failed Sam in his last days, but she wouldn’t fail him in his death. She’d make the people responsible pay. Her mind kicked into overdrive.

“These so-called Black Knights... They seem to be everywhere. Know everything.”

Kopack agreed and opened a file. “They are one of the most technically competent terrorist groups out there. All thanks to their leader, Nikolai Chekhov.” He pulled a photo out of the file and handed it to her. “Do you recognize him?”

She studied the man in the photo and noted the waxy complexion. “Yes, he looks like the man who stabbed Sam. I recognize the strange appearance of his skin. But he had black hair.”

“He was wearing a wig. We found it on the ground in the parking lot.”

“He can’t hide that skin. It looks half dead.”

“That’s because it is. Chekhov’s parents were brilliant nuclear physicists working at Chernobyl. His family survived the accident and immigrated to the US. In the subsequent years, Chekhov watched his parents and his older sister die from different forms of cancer, all due to radiation exposure. Chekhov didn’t escape their fate. He has severe nerve damage. It’s killing him, too, but at a much slower rate.”

“He wants vengeance.”

“Yes, and he’s very good at getting what he wants. Five years ago he joined the rather benign Knights and slowly but surely began to recruit brilliant sociopaths like himself. Eventually they took over the group and changed the name to the Black Knights, with a different goal. They don’t want to protect the environment but to destroy mankind’s destructive technological progress.”

Sassa pressed a hand to her forehead. In spite of her determination, her overworked mind was beginning to spin. “But they neglected to change their web page and include that little piece of information. That’s why Sam thought they were safe.”

“Chekhov believed he’d found another conversion with Dr. Kruger. He wasn’t happy when he found out he was wrong about the good doctor’s intentions...and Chekhov doesn’t like to be wrong. He sent his right-hand man to watch over the professor.”

He pulled out another photo and handed it to her. “My people spotted him on security film in and around the campus.”

Sassa stared at the agent, unable to move. At last, she looked at the picture of a stocky man with a long black beard and a ponytail. She had to work hard to get her eyes to focus. Finally, her blurred vision cleared. She closed her eyes, dropped her forehead to her hand and shook her head. “I don’t recognize him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him. Sam developed the formula and I didn’t know... Men have been watching us on campus and following us...around the world, and I’m clueless. I’m sorry, Agent Kopack, but I’m useless to you.”

She was no longer able to fight the familiar feeling of failure, and it moved over her in a wave that dragged her body down. Tears came again. She couldn’t stop them this time and didn’t try. She covered her eyes with one hand and let them fall. “I just want to go home and hold my baby.”

After a short pause, Kopack cleared his throat. “I think we’re finished for now. Let’s—”

“Hold on.” Officer De Luca interrupted whatever Kopack meant to say. “You said Sam told you his ID bracelet was yours.”

Surprised, Sassa wiped the tears from her cheeks, sat up and opened her hand. She’d forgotten Sam’s gift. She’d clutched it so tightly during this interrogation that deep imprints grooved her skin. In fact, a small, slightly bloody spot showed where the latch had pierced the inside of her palm.

“May I see it?”

Officer De Luca’s request jarred her. Numb, she handed it to him with a jerky motion.

He ran his fingers across the numbers engraved on the face of the ID plate. “These numbers look like they could be a code of some sort, or maybe a combination.”

Sassa shook her head and lowered her forehead back onto her hand. “No. It’s nothing like that. Sam’s grandfather was a pastor in Germany during World War Two. Like many other Christian leaders, he protested the treatment of the disabled and the mentally ill so loudly, he ended up in a concentration camp. That’s the number assigned to him. Sam was very proud of his grandfather’s actions. He put the number on that bracelet to honor him. He meant to give it to Christopher. After his son died, Sam told me he wanted me to have it. It has nothing to do with the formula. I’m sorry. Like I said, I’m no help.”

She looked up and tried to focus on Agent Kopack. “Can I go home now?”

The agent nodded. “Yes. We’ve arranged for transportation. You’re in no shape to make the three-hour drive back to Fresno.”

She sighed with relief. “Kingsburg. My home is in Kingsburg.”

Now Kopack looked blank.

“It’s a small town a short drive out of Fresno.” Officer De Luca supplied the information. “I’ll take her there.”

“My agents are perfectly capable—”

“I’m taking her.” De Luca’s tone allowed for no arguments. He came around to her side of the table and assisted Sassa from her chair. She wasn’t certain she wanted him to make sure she got home safely but the grip on her arm was steady. In fact, his big, broad-shouldered body seemed to be the only thing holding her up. Her legs refused to work. She leaned on him as he half carried her out the door.