InSight

trait of all, since Carlotta Gentry controls almost every one in the city. If this is our last correspondence, call him. His personal email address is: [email protected] . He wouldn’t want anything going through the department.
    I have a meeting tonight that might supply the proof I need to wrap this up, but I wanted to get this off to you, in case.
    Sorry we three never got a chance to meet. If I’m wrong about all this, dinner’s on me. Best regards to Abby. Good luck, and please be careful.
    Matt

    Luke stared at the computer screen until Abby finished typing. He hadn’t known what to expect when he enlisted Matt’s help, but the story had far-reaching implications, and he didn’t have a clue where it would take him.
    “Type out the next disk,” he said.
    Abby’s expression as she listened to the tape conveyed the frightened words of Russian émigré, Dr. Valentina Kosov . She finished typing and leaned back in her chair.
    “I thought these scenarios only happened in Robert Ludlum books. But this is real life. We’re talking secret labs, experimental therapies, lurking mercenaries, disguised threats.” Abby reached across and found Luke’s arm. “What are you going to do?” When he didn’t respond, she got his attention and asked again. He’d seen her, but he didn’t have an answer.
    Luke felt the heavy burden of Matt’s death. It wasn’t so much what he could do, but what he couldn’t. He couldn’t hear.
    “I don’t know, but I can’t do it alone. Right now I feel about as miserable as I’ve felt in a long time. I’ll get in touch with this Charleston cop, Archer, because a deaf cop outside his jurisdiction isn’t going to cut it. But before I drag someone else into this, I need my facts straight.
    “Standard practice in Russia might account for Dr. Kozov’s susceptibility to intimidation by the likes of a creep like Collyer, and it explains her being hired in the first place. She’s conditioned not to ask questions. Perfect. Well, almost perfect.”
    “I guess they miscalculated. I wonder how many others they have working in that lab trained not to ask questions.”
    “Probably all of them. These people aren’t going to rock the boat. Clever. Hire scientists from countries where questions are discouraged and intimidation is business as usual. Or more perfect, they’re in the country illegally.”
    “I bet you’re right. We can’t do this alone. Email Archer.”
    “I don’t like the we part, Abby. Every time I get someone involved, I put them at risk, just like I hung Matt out to dry.”
    “You didn’t do that. Besides, I’m already involved. This is a we thing. They think I have something they want, which is why they tore my house apart and stole my hard drive. Damn if I know what it is, but the more we learn, the more Stewart seems like a pawn in this, maybe even a victim. I wish he’d show himself.”
    “Stewart, a victim? Knowing what he did, I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. And if he’s still taking those drugs, he’s a loose cannon. Even if Kozov is alive and we find her, she’ll deny everything. Archer will laugh at Matt’s theory because that’s all it is. I need time to think.”
    Abby got up and felt her way around the back of Luke’s chair. She massaged the tense muscles in his neck and shoulders.
    “This feels great,” he said, “but I don’t know if it’ll do the trick. I feel like a rubber band stretched to the limit.”
    “I know how to fix that. Best remedy in the world for thinking.”
    * * * * *
    A fter a few laps around the track, Abby said, “You sneak. You’ve been practicing. When have you had time?”
    “Lunch hour,” Luke said, with a chuckle.
    Until today, he’d never run more than eight laps without resting. Then he’d run some more. When Jackie ran with them, he’d catch his wind while Abby switched guides to do her five miles. Today, after four miles he hadn’t broken a sweat.
    Abby feigned a fighting stance and pummeled his stomach, which he tightened into a knot. He grabbed her hands, pulled her close, and kissed her, their laughs lost as their lips touched.
    “Everyone’s watching.” she managed to say.
    “How would you know, and who cares? I want to kiss you. Let them all watch.”
    “You’re right. Who cares?”
    Luke took her hand and walked to the bleachers where they’d left their warm-up jackets. Abby’s was pinned to the seat with a small, very sharp knife. Shit. How could he have let that