“She’s doing great. We’re here with something else. Thanks to Kevin’s digging: Ovax. It doesn’t exist. It’s solely a domain name.”
“How come tech missed it?” Kip’s tone sharpened.
“That’s not quite true; Ovax is a lamb company out of New Zealand. They sell free-range, organic lambs. They’ve never done any pharmaceutical work. Whoever is perpetuating the name bought a dot-net version and changed the metadata. At first glance, anyone looking would think it was a real company,” Kevin said.
“They’re supposed to do more than a glance! Elin, I want Fabiana up here.” Kip gnashed his teeth.
“I called the FDA.” Hunt cringed. “They have no trial on record for a drug called Ovarix.”
Kip slapped his hands on his desktop. “How the hell did we miss all of this?”
Elin escorted the New Orleans head of technical analysis into Kip’s office. Flames danced in his eyes. “Kevin discovered some things. I’d like your thoughts on this,” he asked.
Fabiana read through the information. Her lips pressed together tightly, and sweat broke out on her forehead. She looked through Kevin’s notes again.
“Looking at them again is not going to change the wording. This is a big miss. What is it? You’re overwhelmed? You’re incompetent? Or you’re involved?” Kip managed to stay even-toned, surprising himself.
Fabiana’s head dropped to her chest. “In college, I did some freelance work creating websites for extra cash. One of my clients extended me some credit—they paid for my master’s degree. I went on to the FBI, then came to work here. And then I got a phone call and a visit. I owed a favor. They called in their marker.”
“Who?” Kip asked. Fabiana didn’t respond. “Who, damn it?!” His temper exploded.
“A consortium of investors in Louisiana,” she said.
“Who? Names?” Kip roared.
“I can’t. My family,” she cried.
“What else did you sabotage?” Kyle shifted the subject, his anger threatening.
“Damn it, Fabiana, what more did you do? How much blood do you want on your hands?”
Again, she shook her head. She ran a hand through her hair and across her lips. Suddenly, she began to seize and foam at the mouth. Falling to the floor, she went into cardiac arrest.
“Fuck.” Hunt dropped to his knees beside her, checking her breathing. He leaned up abruptly. “Damn it. Bitter almonds—can only be cyanide. She’s gone.”
“And she took everything she knew with her.” Kip hated loss of life, but he worried how many more lives would be lost because of her. “Elin, I need a team with a body bag in my office. Also have senior staff report forthwith.” He took his jacket off and covered her head and chest. “Hunt, report it, please.”
Kyle and Kevin sat, both with their heads in their hands. Hunt stared out the window.
Tobey made it to the door first. “What happened?”
When the rest of the group arrived, Kip explained and gave orders. “Rich, start a full systems run. Find out if she screwed with anything else. Mia, do a deep dive on Fabiana Trehan. I want to know every one of her college clients.”
“Kip, that’s a tough order if she did it for cash,” Mia warned.
“She said someone called in a marker. Dig.” Kip ground his teeth.
A team came in with a stretcher and a body bag. Another team came in to clean and sanitize his office.
Kip sank into his desk chair. “We have a problem.”
* * *
Her head layagainst a soft pillow as she rested on the ambulance stretcher. “Harper, are you comfortable?” Tim Holland double-checked the stretcher straps.
“I’m okay. Has the wind started?” She worried her lip. She was feeling good, considering, but her stomach was tied in a knot, afraid for Kip.
“A little. No big deal yet,” Tim assured her.
