Expectation (Ghost Targets, #2) (23 page)

That stopped her, and Theresa crumpled. Meg did, too. The strength went out of her and she collapsed against Katie's legs. "I only did what I had to do."

Katie considered them both for a moment, measuring, then her eyes went to the clock on the wall and she sighed. "Are we going to do this, then?"

Theresa looked up to meet her eyes, curious, and Katie said more strongly, "Are we going to keep the secret?" She held Theresa's eye and said, "It's up to you."

"We have to!" Meg wailed. "If you don't, it was all for nothing! How can you even ask—"

"Stop." Katie said sternly, hauling Meg to her feet. She tangled two fists in the girl's shirt and pulled her nose-to-nose. "You don't have a say in this," she growled. "You gave it up when you started poisoning people."

"I had to," Meg said. "You know that. You know what Ellie almost did."

"We stopped her," Katie said. She pushed Meg back against the wall, probably a little harder than necessary. "We found her buyers, Meg, and they're going to go to jail. We found where she went to hide, based on nothing but a suspicion. If you had come to us in the first place, we could have shut her down."

"I couldn't trust an outsider to understand," she said fiercely. "I still don't, for that matter." The fury still burned in her eyes. Katie shook her head.

"You just don't get it," she said. "I'd almost like to walk outside and tell the whole world what was going on here, just to hurt you." She glanced back to Theresa, and shook her head. "But I can't. Because you're right."

"But—"

"So here's what we're going to do," Katie said, cutting her off. Her eyes darted to the clock again, and she spoke quickly. "You're going to confess to murdering Ellie Cohn out of jealousy."

Meg's eyes grew wide. "No...."

Katie nodded. "Yes. And you're going to tell the police you brought Mrs. Barnes here to kill her, too, for the same reason. Because you were in love."

Tears slipped from Meg's eyes. "I can't," she said, but Katie had no pity for her.

"You will," she said. "Because if you don't, if we have to take this to trial, I stand ready to take you down. I have no sympathy for what you've done." She touched her headset. "But I have everything I need to send you away forever, Meg. And Gevia would die in the process."

Katie saw the war raging behind Meg's eyes, and after a moment the girl nodded—a single, desperate jerk of the head. "Okay," she gasped. "Okay. Yes. It's my sacrifice." She took a deep breath. "I'll do it."

"It's still not up to you," Katie said, and Meg turned terrified eyes to Theresa. Katie looked over, too, and after a moment Theresa nodded solemnly.

"It's the right thing to do," she said.

Just then the door at the other end of the lab burst open. Reed was the first one through it, with Hart's police officers flooding in behind him. Katie put her hands up and called out, "It's all right. Situation's under control." Then she stepped closer to Meg while the police crossed the room and said, "You're going away somewhere real quiet, for a very long time. We're the secret keepers now."

Reed rushed to Katie as she stepped back. He turned her to face him, and searched her eyes with concern in his. "What's going on?" he said. Chief Hart stepped up behind her to cuff the girl. "We had you on Hathor, somehow..." he trailed off, looking around, and then shook his head, "and then you were gone."

"Call it a miracle," Katie said. "You got what you needed, right?"

He nodded, and she smiled. "Good. How's Ellie?"

Reed shook his head, not meeting Katie's eyes, and she felt her stomach sink with dread. "That bad?"

"She's at the hospital now, but she's in bad shape. That place was wrecked."

"She went there to die," Katie said. The full force of that struck her, and she looked down. "She didn't go home. She didn't go to a hospital. She knew what to expect—she'd seen what happened to Barnes—and she went to that fleabag motel—"

"Where she'd been happy," Reed said quietly. "I talked to Drake. I reviewed footage of the two of them together. I think she found some comfort there."

Katie shook her head. "What a mess." She looked up and found Theresa watching them. A blush rose into her cheeks, but the other woman pretended she hadn't heard their conversation.

She came clumsily to Katie, a bit unsure, then flung her arms around Katie's neck and squeezed her in a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," Katie said. "I just did what I had to." The unintentional echo of Meg's words seemed to strike them both at the same time, and Theresa stepped away.

She smiled. "I'm amazed what you were able to accomplish, what you were able to uncover, with so little information. You...you saved my life." Katie shrugged, her blush back, and Theresa turned to Reed. "She deserves a promotion."

"She's a fine agent," Reed agreed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Barnes, but could you excuse us for just a moment?"

"Of course," Theresa said. She withdrew to the corner, where she took Eric's hand and in a moment all her attention was on her husband.

Katie watched her, fascinated. "She knows," she said absently. "She knows about everything that happened, and yet...."

"She's in love, Katie. Simple as that." He shook his head. "How did you know?"

Katie glanced around, checking that none of the police officers was close enough to overhear, then she leaned forward with a shrug. "It was Martin," she said quietly. "You knew all along. Without him, we could not have finished this investigation."

He held her eyes for some time, measuring her, and then he shook his head. "Not as quickly anyway." He sighed, and then let slip a smile. "I see what you're doing," he said, "but Martin's not operating within the law."

"He's helping us," Katie said. "Everything we've asked of him—"

Reed clapped Katie on the shoulder and shook his head. "It's not up to me," he said. "You're arguing with the wrong person. But, for what it's worth, I'm just as much a fan as you are." He turned to watch Hart march Meg down the room and out into chill darkness beyond. "You did good work, Katie."

"Thank you, sir."

"We've still got to get this sorted out, to the satisfaction of Drake and Dora, but it shouldn't take too long. I'll have Craig book us a flight home. You want tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight!" She said it almost before he could finish the question, and he chuckled.

"You got it." He glanced back over his shoulder, toward Eric's corner, and then nodded that direction. "I think your grateful citizen has a few more words for you." He saw the hesitation in Katie's eyes, and his smile broadened. "Okay, people," he called out in a bellow that filled the room, "let's clear it out. We'll put this place under lock-down, and you can come back for any evidence you need later. Move it!" He started walking slowly toward the door, shepherding the police ahead of him, chiding them along more through personality than real authority. Katie watched him with a smile.

Then, as the door fell shut, she turned back to Theresa, and felt her smile fade.

The sound of the door's locks engaging echoed in the room's sudden silence. Theresa stood by Eric's side, some ten steps away from Katie, and they stood with eyes locked for a long moment, in total silence.

Theresa broke the moment with a brief embarrassed smile as she looked down. Katie quickly crossed the distance and caught Theresa's hands, earning her another smile.

"You did it," Theresa said without looking up. Her voice held quiet awe. "You broke through all the silence, all the secrecy."

"I had help," Katie said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "It wasn't all me—"

"It was you," Theresa said earnestly. "It was you who came through that door, Katie. It was you who faced her down, all by yourself."

"I couldn't bring a crowd," Katie said, and Theresa finally met her eyes with a laughing grin.

"That's exactly what I mean," she said. "You didn't give up, you didn't back down in pursuit of justice for Eric...." A sigh escaped her, but she shook it off. "And then you did so much more to protect his legacy."

Katie blushed. "I'm not a hero Mrs. Barnes. I understand the importance of Gevia."

Theresa's lips quirked up, and she shrugged. "It's more important to us than most." She stepped back and took Eric's hand. Katie had to fight the urge to look away.

She didn't hide it is as well as she'd hoped, because Theresa cocked her head in curiosity then gasped a tiny, "Oh!" She went back to Katie and caught her eyes. "How long has it been?"

Katie said, "I don't know what you mean." She gave herself the lie, though, by wiping tears from her eyes. She blinked them away then forced a brave smile.

Theresa took Katie's hands now. "Where is your father?"

"He's in Boston," Katie said with a sniffle. "It's a very good facility...."

"Good," Theresa said. "That's great." She paused, then asked again. "How long has it been since you went to see him?"

"I haven't...." Katie had to wipe her eyes again. "I talk to him. I call and tell him about my life. Almost every day."

"Over Hathor?" she asked, and Katie nodded. Theresa said, "Then you never get to see him, to hold his hand...."

"I
can't
!" Katie said. "I don't understand how you do it." She sniffed. "I don't understand how my mom does it either."

"It's love," Theresa said, with a sad smile for Katie. "The same thing that makes it hard for you, actually. He needs me now, more than ever." She turned tender eyes on her stricken husband. "And I still need him. All the time." She brushed his face gently with her fingertips, reminding Katie of her mom at her father's bedside.

"Eight...eight years," Katie said. When Theresa looked back Katie looked away. "It's been a long time."

"And yet he's still there," Theresa said. "He can still be in your life, Katie."

"No." Katie wiped her eyes. "I walked away. I moved on."

"You didn't," Theresa tilted Katie's chin up to meet her eyes. "Not if you still call him. Not if you still care this much." She smiled. "You've been there for him, all this time, without taking the comfort of seeing him still alive—"

"But he's not," Katie said, more harshly than she meant to. "He won't ever be again. It hurts too much to pretend. I'm sorry." She looked at Eric and shook her head. "I don't mean to be cruel, but that's all it is. Pretending."

Katie expected anger or hurt, but all she saw in the other woman's eyes was sympathy. The silence stretched, and then Theresa gave Katie a quick, tight hug. She stepped away afterward, clearly embarrassed, and fixed her eyes on Eric. "He taught me a lot of things," she said, then chuckled. "A lot of things. But one of the most important things I've learned in all these years is not to underestimate the
power
 of human expectation." She squeezed Katie's hand, unashamed now, and smiled with sincerity as her eyes roamed the dark tables of the lab. "We can work miracles, Katie. I've seen it."

Katie had no answer for that, and Theresa seemed to understand. She turned away again, leaving Katie some time to compose herself. Katie dried her eyes and caught her breath, but she still felt out of order. She straightened her clothes and adjusted her hair. At last she couldn't put it off any longer. She went to stand by Theresa's side and forced herself to look at Eric's serene face. The machines hummed and glowed, eerie guardian angels in the scientist's strange tomb. Katie's heart beat faster but it didn't race. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no need to run. There was just a man, asleep in his bed.

"I know you're right," Katie said at last. "I should...I mean, I ought to—"

"Hush, now," Theresa said, her voice comforting. "We've said enough about that." She sighed. "I guess you need to go."

"No," Katie said, then she sighed too. "Well, yes. I do." She looked over her shoulder at the exit, imagining all the hubbub in the grounds outside. "It's just so quiet here."

Theresa nodded. "It's peaceful here. It's a nice place to rest." She sighed. "I...I don't know what will happen now."

"We'll take care of it," Katie said, making a promise on Martin's behalf. "After everything you've given—"

"Enough about that, too," she said. "Whatever happens, we gave our best."

Katie nodded. "He changed the world."

The other woman smiled, and Katie knew she wasn't thinking about Gevia—about the lies and the secrets, about sacrifices and mistakes. She was thinking about a young man in a cramped apartment, asleep on their couch with all the wisdom of the age spread out in the pages around him, and a new idea blooming in his dreams. She was thinking about the man who cured cancer. "He changed the world," she said, pride rich in her voice. "And he loved me."

Katie squeezed her hand. She drew away, then stopped. "I really should go—"

"Of course!" she said earnestly. "Don't let me keep you."

"But we'll be in touch," Katie said. She withdrew another step. "If you need anything...."

Theresa met her eyes, that smile still there, and said softly, "Go. Live your life."

Katie went. Her footsteps rang loud in the cavernous silence and the room behind her felt empty. Alone. The feeling of a tomb came to her again, and she shivered. She had an urge to look back, to make sure the man and woman in the corner were really there, but she couldn't make herself do it. She couldn't quite catch her breath, either, until the door fell heavily shut behind her.

A police officer stood waiting in the lobby, one of Dora's with the look of a rookie about him. He glanced up as soon as Katie came through the door, and then rushed to her. "Agent Pratt," he said, "I'm supposed to tell you Agent Reed is in the administrative building and—"

"Take him a message," Katie said, cutting him off. "Tell him I'll see him at the airport. I'm done here."

The officer blinked in surprise, but Katie didn't give any more explanation. She pushed through the door and past the knot of other officers—police and military alike—arguing with Dora Hart about some matter of policy on the lawn. There were onlookers, too. There were always onlookers. This time it was a crowd of researchers and medical staff, gathered at a respectful distance, pointing and whispering among themselves, and Katie took a moment to consider how strange that building must be to all of them. Until she and Reed had come, the laboratory doors had only ever opened for three other people. These men and women had the clearance necessary to work in one of the last restricted areas in the nation, and yet this building right next door to theirs was a complete mystery to them. Katie could only imagine the rumors tonight would spawn.