Janine sits up straight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I take a deep breath. “Because it’s Giselle.”
Her eyes widen. “Giselle? Our Giselle?”
“Exactly,” I say, feeling validated by her reaction. “Your Giselle. Which is why I didn’t say anything in the first place. I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“That’s not fair,” Janine says. “Of course I believe you. It’s just that it’s extremely unusual for Sekhem to turn like that—I can’t remember a single case in all of my lifetimes. You caught me off guard, is all. Did you sense that she knows more about this than she’s letting on?”
I struggle to find the right words, because I’m not sure what I know. “All I sensed was something dark in her essence. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like a shadow over the sun, a place that she doesn’t want anyone to see.”
Janine considers this. “She did volunteer to go with you to the party.” She looks me in the eyes. “Do you remember her trying to steer you into or out of conversation with anyone? Did she do anything that would have made you suspicious?”
“I don’t think so,” I shake my head. “She mostly stayed out of the way, on the other side of the room, the whole time. I sort of . . . spilled wine on her, and it was when I was helping with the stain that I felt that she was hiding something.”
Janine studies me. “Do you think that you could read her better if you had more time? If she’s involved in any of this, we have to know. It’s been a week since Veronique was killed, and every second the trail gets colder.”
I remember the look in Giselle’s eyes when I saw her at Veronique’s lab that day. Was it guilt? Did she know I sensed something? “If I do, I’ll have to be careful how deep I go, because if I get sick like last time, she’ll figure it out. She saw how I was after connecting with Rayne.”
“Is it something you can control?”
I was able to at Drew’s party, but that was with a room full of people. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out.” Janine takes out her phone and sends a quick text. She waits, then looks up at me. “She’ll be here in an hour.”
“Why do Griffon and Sue have to be here?” I ask, pacing her office. I’m nervous enough about this without him in the room.
“Because otherwise it’ll look suspicious,” Janine answers. “This way, it’ll just be like I called another meeting, and these are the people who could come on short notice. Don’t worry—I’ll back you up if you go too deep and start to get sick. Just do your best.”
There’s a knock on the door, and Janine motions to the couch. “Sit over there, and I’ll make sure Giselle is sitting next to you.”
I try to sit back and look casual, but my heart is beating out of my chest. What if Giselle figures this out? Nobody actually came out and said it, but if she’s head of security, then I’m sure she’s got a weapon on her. I have to trust that Janine knows what she’s doing.
Sue walks into the room, and I can see the strain of the past few days on her face. “I’ve only got about half an hour,” she says, checking her watch. “I’ve got another meeting in the city—our intelligence says that there are some deals going down that might have to do with the theft at the lab.” She collapses next to me on the couch and pats my knee. “How are you doing, dear?”
“Fine,” I say, wondering what to do next. If Giselle isn’t next to me, then this whole thing’s a bust.
“Sue, why don’t you take my chair?” Janine says, getting up from the chair she usually sits in. “It’s so much more comfortable.”
“If I get any more comfortable, I’m going to fall asleep.” Her laugh is brittle. “I haven’t been getting much rest lately.”
“Even more reason.” Janine gives her a hand to help her up.
“If you insist,” Sue says, settling into the chair while Janine perches on the edge of her desk. As I suspected, Griffon takes the chair farthest away from me when he comes in, leaving Giselle to take the seat next to me when she shows up a few minutes later.
“So, what’s this about?” Giselle asks. “I thought we had a good update last night.”
“I wanted to include Cole in our meeting,” Janine says. “Let her in on where things stand.”
“She’s not part of the Sekhem,” Griffon says. His tone is angry, dismissive. “Not officially.” I can’t look at him because I’m afraid my anger will overflow, and I need to concentrate and not blow this opportunity.
“True,” Janine says in a calming tone. “But she’s helping us in a way that nobody else can.”
“Like I was saying, there has been some interesting movement with some of the players from North Korea,” Sue says. “I don’t know if it’s about the Akhet formula specifically, but there’s more activity in that sector since the break-in. We’re checking it out now.”
As Sue talks, I cross my arms so that my elbow is just barely brushing Giselle’s. I take some deep breaths like Janine showed me and try to block out everything that’s going on around me. Giselle moves a little bit, but not enough to break the connection. I try to focus on where our bodies meet. It takes a few frustrating moments, but soon I can sense the same darkness that I felt before, as if there’s something she’s trying consciously to hide. I can hear people talking in the room, and I feel Giselle’s heart rate speed up and familiar emotions wash over me. They’re coming from the place she doesn’t want anyone to see, a place that she’s pushed as far from the surface as she can. She shifts in her seat and pulls her arm away from mine, breaking our physical connection, but I think I have my answer.
“Do we have someone watching customs?”
I pull my awareness away from Giselle and see that it’s Griffon speaking. I watch her eyes as she studies him, her pupils large and her breathing shallow. I know without a doubt that this is what she’s been trying to suppress all this time. Giselle isn’t hiding a connection to whoever broke into the lab and killed Veronique—she’s been trying to hide the fact that she’s in love with Griffon.
“Of course,” Sue says. She turns to Giselle. “What’s going on with the analysis of what was left in the lab?”
I can see Giselle pull her attention away from Griffon. “We’ve been able to isolate the mycotoxin,” she says, her voice steadier than I’d thought it would be. “And it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It has similarities to the standard forms of ergo-toxins, but the makeup is different. What we haven’t been able to do is figure out exactly how she did it. There are still some pieces missing.”
“So you can’t replicate it?” Sue asks.
Giselle shakes her head. “Not with what we have.”
“It doesn’t matter what’s in it,” Griffon insists. “What matters is who has it.”
“We know,” Sue says. “Trust me, I’ve got every available detail working on it. I’ve called in everyone with ties to the most likely suspects.”
“But what if it’s someone we don’t suspect?” he asks, his frustration visible. “What if it’s someone who’s flying completely under the radar?”
“We’re using profilers and surveillance everywhere we can,” Janine says. “It’s not like there’s going to be an entire generation of evil Akhet in the next few weeks. It’s going to take decades for the formula to be administered and for the abilities to take effect.”
“By then it’ll be far too late,” Griffon says quietly.
The meeting breaks up quickly after that; there are no good answers to the questions everyone has.
“I’m going back to the South Bay—do you need a ride?” Giselle asks Griffon. Her voice is casual, but now I’m aware of the intent behind the words.