Page 109 of Reveal

“Then what?” I ask in exasperation.

“The bill’s approval hinged on one vote.”

“Let me guess—Carter’s?”

“Yes,” Abel says. “And surprisingly, his yes became a no because he suddenly found his pro-life, stem-cells-are-humans belief when his entire political career he’s voted a different way.”

“I’m not following,” I state as my mind swims.

“We believe that Carter was paid the sum of two million dollars from a rival of Tecolote’s to tank the bill,” Noah says, connecting all the dots for me.

“Who is their rival?” I ask.

“Alpha Pharmaceuticals.” Again, both men study me for any kind of reaction, but I have none.

“But why would this Alpha company do that?”

“Because a bill and grant given to Tecolote would put Alpha out of business when they’ve created a new way to manipulate stem cells. Alpha had one more month until their trials were complete, and then they could push their own bill through Congress. They’ve spent a ton of money on this, and if Tecolote’s bill passed, it would all be thrown to waste.”

“But two million dollars is a ton of money,” I say.

“It’s a drop in the bucket in DC. Besides, two mil is pocket change to a company that stands to gain hundreds of millions.”

I stare at my water bottle, at the condensation ring forming on the table around its base, and try to process everything and understand it fully.

“So Carter took a bribe. Isn’t that enough to pull him in for questioning?”

“If only it were that easy,” Noah says. “We can’t originate where the money came from in Carter’s account, just that it showed up there a week before the vote. And then it left his account a few days after that.”

“Can’t you just ask him where it came from?” I ask.

“No. That’s not how this works. We don’t exactly have probable cause to be rooting through his bank accounts.”

“Then how do you know he did it?”

“Because another vote was bought that we caught. Small-time stuff. The senator wasn’t as crafty with their paper and wire trails on that one,” Noah explains.

“Can’t you get him on that incident?” I ask.

“Sure, but we’d rather get him on this one,” Noah says.

I draw in a deep breath and try to digest all I’ve heard. “Okay . . . so you think he took a bribe to throw a vote. You can’t pin it on him. I get all of that, but what does it have to do with me?”

“Everything.” Abel grins. “You couldn’t have played into our hands any better than you did to Carter. That bluff of yours is more than brilliant for what we have in mind.”

“You’re going to tell him you’ll give him everything he asked for during your conversation tonight. The pictures. The signed NDA. The ten-thousand-dollar refund. You’ll explain that you’ve seen the error of your ways and know the only fair way to settle this is to just get it over with,” Noah says. “Then when you meet with him, you’re going to let him know about your second piece of nonexistent blackmail. You’re going to question him on it. Push his buttons. And get him to tell the truth.”

I laugh out loud—part nerves, part incredulity. “You actually think he’s going to confess that he took a bribe? To me, of all people?”

“Yes.” Abel smiles.

“But—”

“There’s something about the way he is when he’s with you.”

“When he’s with me?” I ask, my skin crawling at the thought of them watching from afar somewhere. How they could see us interact but not hear a word. How they might assume what they want through the silence.

For some reason, that seems like more of an invasion of privacy than the phone tap.