I’m saved from examining my feelings when Slate rings. “How is she?”
“She’s fine, I’m the one who’s fucked. I want to find whoever’s behind this and take him out.”
“I’m with you, bro.”
“Yeah, she did good but she saw faces. You think they’ll let it go?” I swirl the ice cubes in my empty drink, contemplating another. “What the hell?”
“I know it looks bad but in the morning, we’ll put her with a sketch artist and have her check out some mug shots.”
I stick another fake pine branch into the Christmas tree’s trunk wondering if she’ll mind if I trash it. “Did you get anything on a whistleblower named Philip.”
“Nada.”
“That’s weird. This whole hoax thing? You buying it?” Again, I check the tree directions and decide they were written by a Korean with no English skills.
“The flu shot fake? Now that would be a secret worth killing for. No vaccine would mean a lot of people out of work. Chemists, drug manufacturers, nurses… hell, it’s a billion-dollar industry.”
Wondering if the tree is going to be worth the effort, I plug it in, and it smokes.Shit.Quickly, I pull on the cord while Slate ponders in my ear. “The Chinese have a lot to lose but this is out of character. They’re much more likely to fight with tariffs and negotiations. Strong arming and kidnapping aren’t their usual MO.”
The tree now toast, I begin pacing again, drink in hand. “Did you figure out how they got access to the NYC water system?”
“The FBI is cross-referencing delivery guys, employees, and so on. We should hear more by morning. Is Lucky there?”
“Yeah, he’s outside in the hall. Ate almost all my cinnamon buns, too.”
He chuckles. “Sounds about right. You should sleep. You’re no good to her, exhausted.”
I’ll sleep when I find the bastards who kidnapped her. Somehow this all ties back to McAlister. “By the way, who’s watching him?”
“Secret Service.”
Where were they a few days ago?
Blake calls out from the bedroom, “Jack? Come to bed.”
“Got to go. Thanks. Talk soon.” I hang up, set down my drink, and head toward heaven.
