Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Agent Mike Ramirez was already waiting by the far glass door and offered a brisk nod. “Dr. Knowles. Come this way.”
He led her through the quiet hum of the field office, past cubicles and shut doors. The conference room stood open at the end of the hall. Tamara Singh was already there, seated at the table, sleeves rolled up.
Kathleen sat opposite and reached into her satchel. She placed the flash drive on the table. “This has everything,” she said. “The date, time, and access details for the auction. It’s happening Saturday night.”
Singh looked at her in surprise. “You have been busy.” She took the drive and plugged it into her terminal. When the screen lit up, she looked over at Kathleen. “You got this from your source?”
“I did.”
“Are they credible?”
“Yes,” Kathleen said firmly. “Very.”
Ramirez moved to the other side of the room, arms crossed, watching the screen.
Singh scrolled through files quickly, eyes narrowing at the names, the routing information, the hashed access keys, the time and place of the auction.
“This is… excellent. It’s extremely comprehensive,” she said already making notes.
“We’ll verify and escalate. We’ll intercept before it even begins. ”
Kathleen leaned forward. “Can you stop it?”
“If this intel checks out today,” Singh said, “we’ll get a warrant, freeze the accounts, and move in. We’ll take Hunt down for attempted sale of stolen intellectual property and conspiracy to traffic proprietary scientific material. She’ll have nowhere to hide.”
Kathleen sat back, relieved. “Then I’ve done my part.”
Singh looked at her. “You’ve done more than that. We’ll take it from here, Dr. Knowles. Stay reachable. When we have news, we’ll call.”
Kathleen stood. “There is one more thing you can do for me. Can Agent Ramirez be at the lab at ten o’clock? The real brains behind the theft works with me.”
Singh glanced at Ramiraz and nodded. “I guess we can arrange that.”
As she walked back out into the sunlight, the city noise hit her like a wave, but for once, it didn’t feel overwhelming. She’d done it. The law was in motion now.
Darlene Hunt’s empire was coming down around her ears. She couldn’t help feeling a little petty satisfaction that she was going to get her comeuppance after being such a bitch.
K athleen swiped her access card and pushed open the door to the lab. The blue-lit tanks glowed softly against the wall, and the low hum of equipment provided a steady backdrop. Veronica followed her inside, then stood back in the shadows in the corner while she approached Ted.
He looked up from his stool near the microscope, eyebrows lifting. “I didn’t think I’d see you today,” he said, setting down a pipette. “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” Kathleen replied, trying to sound casual. “I had some things to check on. I figured it was better to do it myself.”
He leaned back in the stool. “Right. Well, good timing. I’ve finished running the conductivity data on tank two. Numbers are up from last week.”
Kathleen gave a tight smile. “That’s good to hear.”
“Hey, look I’m sorry I snapped at you yesterday. We were both duped by her, so I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“I thought you were more annoyed that I hadn’t let you know I was publishing.”
He frowned at her. “Well, yeah. ‘Cause I was. I thought you’d let me help with that. We’re a team.”
“You’re a great assistant, Ted, but it’s my work we’re talking about. That paper was mine to write.”
He flushed red. “I guess. I thought—” He stopped abruptly when Veronica came into the light. “Fuck, Kathleen, what the hell is she doing here?”
“I invited her to come. There’s something we need to talk about.”
He shifted uneasily on the stool. “What’s this about?”
Kathleen folded her arms and stared down at the plants. “How long have you been working here now, Ted? Eighteen months?”
“A week over,” he said, with a shrug. “Why?”
“You’ve always been efficient,” she said. “Capable. You knew exactly what you were doing when you joined this project. I remember how detailed your application was. You referenced papers most people hadn’t even heard of.”
He smiled faintly. “I did my research.”
“Apparently,” Veronica said dryly. “Do you remember the interview?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I? You were impressed with my lab work.”
“I was,” Kathleen cut in. “You were the only applicant with a perfect understanding of what my project entailed.”
Ted smiled. “Thanks.”
Kathleen took a step closer. “I thought I was fortunate hiring someone so talented. Now I know I wasn’t so lucky.”
Ted crossed his arms. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you?” Veronica said lightly. “Come on, Ted. Someone submitted all my private notes to lodge a patent before I did. It could only have been you. You have the full access to the lab, but more importantly, you’re the only one who understood exactly what to submit.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“She’s talking about grand theft,” interrupted Veronica. “You took her life’s work and gave it to your mother to auction to the highest bidder.”
“My mother died when I was sixteen,” Ted snapped.
“Your stepmother did, you mean. Your father remarried when you were a young child. Your real mother is Darlene Hunt,” Kathleen said, voice steady.
“We found the records. Birth certificate. University archives. Marriage announcements. Your mother was Fay Darlene Winters, married to Alan Winters. You were born Edward Alan Winters.”
Ted gave a soft snort. “What does it matter who my mother is?”
“Because you and she are planning to sell my work, legally. You applied for the patent weeks ago,” said Kathleen bitterly.
“The sale would have gone through quietly without anyone knowing, but I published too soon. I lodged an application for a patent only to find one had already been applied for. She had to hurry up the sale.”
Ted’s jaw worked. “You’ve got no proof.”
Veronica stepped forward. “We do. Metadata tags on the stolen files match your account. You renamed the files and moved them onto an external device. It’s all traceable.”
He scoffed. “You’re bluffing.”
“We’re not,” Kathleen said quietly. “And the FBI isn’t either. I gave them Darlene’s name this morning.”
Now Ted’s tone hardened. “You think they’ll care I took it? You think some junior tech stealing from a half-finished experiment is going to be headline news?”
“I know they’ll care when it involves federal research theft and an attempt to auction the results to foreign investors,” Veronica replied. “You weren’t subtle.”
Kathleen stepped closer. “You didn’t only betray me; you betrayed the science. This is going to revolutionize world energy, and you treated it like currency.”
Ted laughed, bitter and sharp. “Please. You think anyone in that building gives a damn about algae that glows in the dark? You needed someone to believe in it enough to do something. I did.”
“No,” Kathleen said, her voice flat. “You saw dollar signs and your mother gave you a way to cash in.”
His expression darkened. “You always thought you were smarter than the rest of us.”
Kathleen didn’t blink. “No. I thought I could trust you.”
Silence settled between them.
Finally, Ted reached for his bag. “Guess that’s it, then.”
Veronica watched him coldly. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going home and I won’t be back.”
“Sorry to break the news, Ted,” Veronica said. “But you’re not going anywhere but jail.”
He glanced at her once more, then turned when the door opened. Ramiraz stepped inside and Kathleen pulled the recorder out of her pocket and handed it to him. “He’s all yours, Agent.”
Ramirez didn’t say a word. He stepped forward and took the recorder from Kathleen’s hand, his gaze flicking briefly to Ted.
Ted froze mid-step, panic flitting across his face.
“Edward Alan Winters,” Ramirez said calmly. “You’re under investigation for the theft and attempted trafficking of federally protected intellectual property. You’re going to need a lawyer.”
Ted made a small sound, a breath between disbelief and fury. “You set me up, Kathleen.”
“You did it to yourself,” she replied, her voice flat.
Ramirez gestured to the door. “Let’s go.”
Ted hesitated, staring at her for a beat longer, then at Veronica. His expression twisted with something she couldn’t quite name—anger, maybe, or the shock of being truly seen.
Then the agent took his arm and led him outside.
The lab was silent again. Only the soft thrum of the filtration units and the pale light of the tanks.
Kathleen exhaled. Her shoulders ached from tension she hadn’t even noticed. Veronica stepped beside her and didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to; her presence was enough to calm Kathleen’s fractured nerves.
They left the building side by side. Kathleen didn’t ask where they were going. She walked with her, down the quiet back staircase and into the street.
Neither of them spoke until they reached the car. When they slid inside, Veronica started the engine and eased them into the traffic.
Kathleen turned her head to the window, watching the city buildings roll by. After a few minutes, Veronica glanced over. “Are you okay?”
Kathleen nodded, then said quietly: “I will be.”
The car rumbled along Lexington, and turned north. They didn’t say much more. The silence between them was comfortable for the first time in days.
When they reached the apartment, Veronica parked and got out with Kathleen.
They rode the elevator together, and Veronica stood patiently at her door while she found her keys. It felt strange, returning to normal things like unlocking a door, flicking on a light, setting her bag down in the hallway.
Kathleen poured a glass of water in the kitchen, drank it in two long gulps, and then turned to find Veronica standing inside the living room, her coat still on.
“Are you staying?” Kathleen asked, with a flash of déjà vu.
“I am.”
Veronica shed her coat and walked toward her. They sat, side by side, on the edge of the couch.
Kathleen stared at her own hands for a while. “You know, when I told you to get out at the party, it wasn’t because of what you did.”
Veronica looked at her.
“It was because I knew you were going to Darlene’s. And I couldn’t bear it.”
Veronica nodded once, slowly. “I know.”
There was a long pause. Then Kathleen said, “You came back anyway.”
“Of course I did.”
Kathleen let out a tired chuckle. “You haven’t been through anything yet.”
Veronica raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
With a sly smile, Kathleen leaned back into the couch cushions. “Tomorrow, we are going to see my mother and I’ll leave you to explain to her why I’m in a relationship with a woman she thinks is a high-end escort.”
Veronica stretched out beside her, arms folded behind her head. “You want me to wear something sensible and not talk?”
Kathleen cracked one eye open. “Definitely don’t talk.”
They both smiled and Veronica leaned in for a kiss.