She bent over him. “Please don’t move.” Tears fell onto his wrist and the bracelet, tears she didn’t even know she was shedding.
Sam shook his head again and tried to form a word. She leaned forward to hear him whisper, “Yours.”
Then his head fell back against the cement floor with a jarring thud.
Jared De Luca stood in a corner of the interrogation room while FBI Special Investigator Daniel Kopack put Sassa Nilsson through the ringer. Jared kept his promise to remain silent, but crossed his arms tightly to hold in his frustration. He was fortunate they’d even let him in the room. Speaking up would get him tossed out.
All the while his mind ran through one refrain: if only... If only he’d convinced his superiors at the border patrol to take the threats against Dr. Kruger seriously when he’d contacted Jared a year ago. If only he hadn’t taken leave, been away from his office when Sam had tried to reach him during the China trip. Sam and Sassa were three days into the conference before Jared learned that June Kruger was missing.
If only there hadn’t been a struggle over jurisdiction before anyone had taken action. Was it the border patrol, the FBI or Homeland Security’s job to investigate Sam’s claims? Well, now that he’d been murdered, the job obviously fell under the FBI’s rule and the capable hands of Agent Kopack. In spite of all Jared’s words to the contrary, the man continued to assume Sassa knew about Sam’s involvement with the Black Knights.
She didn’t. Over the months and the multiple phone conversations he and Sam had shared, the good doctor had assured Jared time and again that Sassa knew nothing. Absolutely nothing. Sam couldn’t keep the fact that he was being harassed by the environmental terrorist group from his wife, but he’d done everything he could to keep Sassa and her “precious Keri” safe. Sam had always referred to Sassa’s baby as “precious Keri.”
Sam had also stated that Sassa should have been called Sassy instead. She had spark and fire. She wouldn’t have sat by silently, waiting for the Black Knights to act. Those were the instructions issued to Sam by Jared’s superiors. The doctor had assured Jared that Sassa would have made something happen. Another reason he’d kept the information from her. He didn’t want her getting into trouble with the authorities. All to no purpose.
Now she was right in the middle of this disaster and definitely didn’t look sassy.
Her round face seemed hollowed out. Dark circles, leftovers from a twelve-hour flight, rimmed her eyes. Tears had washed all her mascara into smudges beneath. Add to all that a red nose, puffy lips and long blond hair tied in a messy knot on top. The woman was bedraggled, exhausted and in shock. She didn’t deserve what Kopack was putting her through and it was all Jared could do to keep silent. He couldn’t give them a reason to kick him out.
The entire situation was beyond frustrating. Not to mention the fact that Kopack asked all the wrong questions. No wonder Sassa appeared to have mentally checked out.
In her hand, she clutched an ID bracelet. Sam’s, of course. He’d seen it on the man’s wrist many times during their phone/video chats. When had Sassa unhooked it from her boss’s wrist? Why was she clutching it so tightly her knuckles turned white and her fingers red? Those were the important questions, not the accusatory ones Kopack kept throwing at her.
The agent leaned back in his chair. His self-assured manner grated Jared’s nerves. He stared at Sassa for a long time before leaning forward. “What do you know about the Black Knights?”
For the first time life came into Sassa’s blue eyes. She studied Kopack awhile before she drew her tongue over chapped lips. “I know they’re not what they say they are.”
“How’s that?”
Now a real spark came into her gaze. “They say they’re an environmental group, concerned with the future of the planet. But they’re really environmental terrorists.”
Kopack nodded. “What connection did Dr. Kruger have with the Black Knights?”
Another spark flashed in that blue gaze. Sassy Sassa had finally showed up but Jared feared her timing was all wrong. “He contacted them with questions about their organization, but he had no long-term connection with them.”
“I beg to differ. We have emails. He exchanged emails with the group’s leader for several months.”
She nodded. “He did, a long time ago. Right after his son died in Afghanistan. Sam went through a rough patch. He was angry at the government...at the world. He wanted to do something, be part of a change. But as soon as he discovered the group’s real goals, he broke contact with them.”
“Not true. We have emails from two months ago.”
“They were harassing him. He promised me he’d report them. Surely you know that.”
Kopack shrugged. “They wanted the formula.”
Sassa’s lips parted and her gaze widened even more. Smart girl. She caught on faster than most. Sam had said she was one of his brightest students.
“There is no formula.” Her tone hardened like bronzed steel.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded again. “Yes, I’m sure. I helped Sam destroy all our notes and information after the accident. We were working in a closed container. Sam was so cautious—he always insisted on closed containers. We had a strain of Xylella Fastidiosa and he was attempting to apply another strain of staph—” She halted and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Our equipment failed. The arm broke, dropped a large quantity of one strain onto the virus plate then the arm fell to the bottom of the container. Sam sealed off the arm, then went back to sterilize the plate. The virus had multiplied so fast you could see it with the naked eye. It scared us.”
“Why?”
Kopack was playing dumb. He knew exactly why.
Sassa’s sigh sounded frustrated. “It was a pathogen. A virus that kills plants. It had multiplied with nothing to feed on.” Kopack’s blank look frustrated her more. “Don’t you understand? The virus was growing, even without a host or a carrier. That meant it could attach to any plant, any crop and destroy it in hours or days. Airborne, it could travel the world and kill every living plant in its path. Sam tried to eradicate it. Nothing worked. Finally, he was forced to fry the equipment, everything in the container, with a blowtorch. It frightened him so much, he ordered me to wipe out all of our files so it couldn’t be repeated. We hadn’t recorded much, but I personally wiped most of what was there off the computer systems in the lab.”
She leveled her gaze on Kopack. “I know there’s no formula because it was an accident. We couldn’t repeat it because we shredded what info we wrote down and what was online, we deleted. I did it myself.”
Kopack shook his head. “Oh, there’s a formula...and the Black Knights knew your mentor had found it. That’s what they were after when they killed him. They stole his computer bag. Didn’t you wonder why, Ms. Nilsson? By the way, what is your real name? Up until a year ago you were known as Sassa Larsen.”
Her jaw stiffened and Jared winced.
Don’t lose your cool now, Sassa. Don’t you see he’s baiting you?
“I’m divorced. I preferred to go back to my maiden name.”
“Where is Mr. Larsen?”
“I haven’t a clue. Probably at the closest casino. He’s not my problem anymore.”
“On the contrary, he might be your biggest problem. As you noted, your ex is always looking for money. Is it possible he offered to get the formula for the Black Knights for a price?”
Her lips parted. “I haven’t