Chapter 20
Todd’s blood turned cold as Sadie’s message blazed across his screen.
His fingers flew over the keyboard with desperate urgency, establishing the connection to LSIMT while his heart hammered against his ribs like a caged animal.
The bare hotel room suddenly felt suffocating, separating him from the woman who might be walking into a trap with no backup but her own wits.
An investigative reporter? Contacting Sadie? Jesus Christ. The implications crashed over him in waves. The idea of a blown cover and Sadie’s compromised mission hit him.
The notification from the compound appeared with speed, confirming audio and visual connection.
Todd positioned himself inches from the screen, every muscle in his body coiled tight as he waited for Sadie’s voice to cut through the digital static.
When it finally came through his speakers, clear and controlled despite the chaos that must be churning in her mind, relief flooded through him.
“Okay, Melinda. Here’s another cold washcloth to make you feel better. So you just said that you’re an investigative reporter, and because you feel ill, you want me to know what’s going on. Right?”
Even through the camera’s limited field of view, Todd could see Sadie moving toward another woman who was sitting in the chair. Watching Sadie work sent currents of both pride and terror through his chest.
“I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.” Melinda’s voice carried a tremor. “You’re not like these other women here. You seem smart and observant. And if you’re here for rejuvenation, I want to warn you to be on guard. This place is not what it seems.”
Smart choice, Todd thought grimly, his hands clenched into fists on the desk surface. The irony was bitter since Melinda had no way of knowing she’d just confessed to a security operative whose cover could be blown by a single wrong word.
“Okay. You can trust me. Tell me anything you want me to know.” Sadie’s response was warm enough to encourage confidence but neutral enough to avoid raising suspicions. Todd found himself leaning closer to the screen, as if proximity to her image could somehow bridge the miles between them.
“My editor had a friend. An old college roommate who had married well. Her husband died a year ago, and with no children, she was the epitome of a wealthy widow.”
Todd focused as Melinda’s story unfolded. Wealthy widow. A woman with money but no family to ask questions. The profile was so precise it couldn’t be coincidental. Serenity Dunes was selecting its clients with a certain type in mind.
“She heard about this spa and the mental rejuvenation… the anti-aging brain. She’s not a stupid woman, according to my editor, and she’d done her research.
It all seems aboveboard. Everything talks about vitamins and minerals, and it’s a very homeopathic way of helping to keep the brain healthy.
The reviews were good, and she thought ten days at this resort spa would be just the thing to help lift her from some of the sadness she felt as a widow. ”
Todd’s mind automatically cataloged the parallels to their own case. Natalia Benedetto was also a woman of means, isolated, and seeking healing in the Arizona desert. He had no doubt that Sadie was making the same conclusion.
Melinda paused, pressing the washcloth to her perspiring face, and Todd watched Sadie lean forward with the perfect balance of concern and curiosity.
Even through the limited camera angle, he could see the subtle tension in her shoulders, the way her body remained poised for action despite her relaxed posture.
“Would you like a glass of water?” Sadie’s offer came at exactly the right moment, giving Melinda time to gather her strength.
Todd held his breath as Sadie moved toward the nightstand, then exhaled in silent approval as she bypassed the provided water pitcher.
She was smart to trust nothing that hadn’t come directly from a sealed source.
She filled the glass from the bathroom tap, another calculated choice that spoke to her instincts.
Melinda drank with desperate thirst, then continued her revelation.
“My editor didn’t hear from her friend until after she got back home.
But she didn’t feel well, and my editor quizzed her about what all went on here.
She told her about the spa treatments, which all sounded normal.
She told her about the supplements and the way she felt ill after every massage.
She laughed it off, according to my editor, saying that maybe the rejuvenation techniques just weren’t for her. ”
Todd’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. The supplements Sadie had risked her life to obtain, the ones currently being analyzed in Phoenix labs, were clearly just the beginning. If they could be administered through massage oils, every treatment became a potential problem.
“Anyway, a week later, she died.”
One week. That was all the time between a luxury spa vacation and death. His hands gripped the edge of the desk, every protective instinct screaming at him to storm into that facility and extract Sadie immediately.
“She wasn’t alone since her housekeeper was with her, but there were no relatives, and the funeral was very small. My editor asked the housekeeper if there had been an autopsy, but there hadn’t. But my editor felt like something had happened here. Something her friend was given or exposed to.”
No autopsy. The detail hit Todd. Without relatives to demand answers, without suspicious circumstances officially recorded, a death could disappear into statistical noise. Just another wealthy woman who’d succumbed to natural causes after a period of declining health.
“And your editor started investigating?” Sadie’s prompting was masterful, drawing out information without appearing overly eager.
“Yes, but she knew I had the skills to do some digging. I found a tenuous connection between Dr. Patel and a small pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. He did an internship there many years ago, and they claimed to be on the cutting edge of Alzheimer’s treatment.”
Todd’s fingers flew over his laptop keyboard, opening new windows and cross-referencing databases. Dr. Patel was another name to add to their growing list of suspects. Switzerland, Alzheimer’s research, cutting-edge treatments that might include experimental drugs with unknown side effects.
“That’s not a lot to go on,” Sadie observed, her voice carrying just the right note of skepticism.
“I know, and I agree. But my editor is now like a dog with a bone. She wants to know what happened, but, of course, has no legal right to pursue anything. So she and I put our heads together and came up with me coming in here, trying to figure out what was in the supplements.”
The admission sent terror racing through Todd’s veins like liquid fire. Melinda wasn’t just an innocent bystander who’d stumbled onto something suspicious. She was an active investigator who’d deliberately entered a dangerous environment with nothing but journalistic instincts to protect her.
Todd found himself holding his breath, waiting for Sadie’s response.
This was the moment where everything could go wrong.
She might feel compelled to reveal her own cover, to offer an alliance with someone who could compromise the entire mission.
His hands trembled slightly as he watched her face on the screen, seeing the careful calculation behind her compassionate expression.
“I can understand your desire for your editor to have the truth.” Sadie’s response was flawless, acknowledging Melinda’s motivation without revealing anything about her own.
Then, with a subtle tilt of her head that Todd recognized as her analytical mode engaging, she added, “Why are you telling me this?”
Perfect question. Todd’s admiration for her instincts sent warmth flooding through his chest despite the circumstances. She was gathering intelligence while maintaining plausible deniability, every word chosen to extract maximum information while preserving operational security.
“Because if anything happens to me, I want someone else who was here to know. I’m not allowed to talk to my editor while I’m here, but at least if I talk to you, then I know someone can ask the questions.
Look, you spoke to me that first day and just that contact gave me the idea that you were someone I can trust.”
“I don’t know what the best advice is,” Sadie said carefully, her tone striking the perfect balance between helpful and cautious.
“But if you tell them that you’re not feeling well, they will probably take you off any of the supplements, whether oral or transdermal.
That way, you’ll feel better, they’ll have another happy guest, and no one will be the wiser that you think there was anything wrong. ”
Todd nodded unconsciously at his screen, recognizing the tactical brilliance of her suggestion. Give Melinda a survival strategy that didn’t require revealing suspicious knowledge, while simultaneously gathering intelligence about the spa’s operational procedures.
“You’re right,” Melinda agreed, relief evident in her voice.
“That makes the best sense. Not everyone who comes here can possibly feel great.” She hesitated, then confessed, “I did sneak out the pills they tried to give me the first time after our blood work. I have them hidden in my room, and I’m going to take them to be analyzed once I get out of here. ”
Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place, and Todd found himself grinning despite the gravity of the situation.
Melinda might be untrained, but her investigative instincts were solid.
If her pills contained the same compounds as Sadie’s samples, they’d have corroborating evidence from multiple sources.
Movement on the screen caught his attention as Melinda stood and began moving toward the bathroom.
Todd froze while watching. The camera was concealed innocuously on the counter, but even the hint of discovery would blow Sadie’s cover.
Don’t let her in there, he thought desperately, his hands hovering uselessly over the keyboard as if he could somehow reach through the screen to intervene.
But Sadie moved with fluid instincts, intercepting Melinda’s path with casual efficiency. “Here, I’ll take the washcloth. I’m glad you talked to me, and I truly hope you feel better.”
Todd’s exhale came out as a shuddering sigh of relief.
He watched through the camera as Sadie checked the hallway with practiced caution before allowing Melinda to slip past her into the corridor.
Even in the limited view, her movements spoke of someone who understood that every moment of exposure was a moment of vulnerability.
The door closed with a soft click, and Sadie moved immediately toward the bathroom. Todd’s phone was already ringing by the time she appeared in frame, reaching for the hidden camera with steady hands.
“Did you get all of that?” Her voice carried the controlled adrenaline of someone who’d just successfully navigated a minefield.
“That was perfect, Sadie!” The words poured out of him, admiration and relief making his voice rough with emotion. “We got visual and auditory. We’ll start looking at the connection between the pharmaceutical company and the heads of the spa.”
Her smile blazed across the screen, and Todd felt his heart stutter in response. Even exhausted, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. But that smile also highlighted the possible danger she was in.
“Suddenly, this seems more real,” she said.
“And that terrifies me,” he admitted, unable to keep the fear from bleeding into his voice.
Every protective instinct demanded he get her away from danger.
The thought of her becoming ill, making her a liability to the clinic, was unbearable.
“Do not do anything risky. I’m getting ready to talk to Logan and the others.
The lab in Phoenix has sent its report to Landon. I’ll call you early in the morning.”
“And now we know they have something that can be used in massage oils. I wonder if I can get some of that to be analyzed?” she asked.
The casual way she mentioned obtaining potentially lethal substances made Todd’s heart stop completely.
“For now, don’t let them know you aren’t taking the pills,” he said urgently, fighting to keep desperation from bleeding into his voice.
“The last thing we want them to do is to add it to the massage oil or put it in your drink.”
Her promise came immediately, but when she whispered, “Good night, Todd,” with that soft intimacy that reminded him of whispered endearments in hotel room darkness, his chest ached with the weight of all he wanted to say to her.
“Good night.” The words felt inadequate, carrying none of the desperate feelings that churned in his chest.
As the call ended, leaving him alone in the silence of his hotel room, Todd stared at the black screen and felt the other piece of his soul settling into place.
Somewhere in that dangerous facility, surrounded by people who might be planning her death, was the woman who completed him in ways he was only beginning to understand.
Now he was counting down the hours until he could see her again, until he could verify with his own eyes that she was safe and whole. But more than that, he was determined to keep her that way.