SECRET IDENTITY (15 page)

Not even first base.

The memory of her in his lap sent a resurgence of desire
shooting through him. Even though he was upwind of her, he could still smell
her rich, womanly scent, which dove straight into his crotch. He shifted his
stance, hoping it would ease the tightness in his pants. The movement must have
alerted her of his presence. Seeing him standing near the sterilization tent,
Brenda stopped and stared at him in surprise. Lorne wasted no time for
niceties.

“Miss McKay, I need to ask you a few questions,” he bluntly
greeted her.

She nodded. “Okay. Now?”

Lorne held out a hand, suggesting they simply move a few
yards beyond the setup where they could talk in relative privacy. He noticed
how she kept sweeping her eyes over him, probably remembering fragments of her
dream from last night. Smiling slightly, he made a note to be his most gracious
and enigmatic self, knowing how much Brenda enjoyed mysteries.

Once he figured they were out of earshot, he turned to face
her. “Miss McKay, tell me what you know of unguindene.”

Her face paled slightly, but she didn’t seem upset that he
knew about it. Meanwhile, Lorne knew Luke would be monitoring everything about
the woman to check for any sign of deception. He crossed his arms over his
chest to await her response.

“It’s a highly top secret experimental explosive,” she
answered without hesitation.

He had to give her credit for not trying to evade the issue.

“Tell me all about it.”

“Dobbling holds the patent. It’s unique in that a very tiny
amount is needed to create an explosion big enough…” Her voice trailed off and
her eyes widened. “Is that what destroyed the lab?”

“We’ve found traces of it, yes. Who funded unguindene?”

“Dobbling Enterprises, as far as I know. I was told it was
initially created for mining use, and for companies who specialize in blowing
up old buildings. That sort of thing. But I wasn’t surprised to hear rumors
that the government had handed over a large wad of cash to use it for military
purposes.”

“A large wad of cash? How large? Did rumor say?”

“At least a billion dollars.”

Damn!

Luke’s shocked exclamation echoed his own.

“Okay. Now tell me the real purpose of this lab.”

“It’s actually one of three labs. You see, there are three
components needed to create unguindene. Each factory manufactures one of the
components, then ships it off to a specially designed bunker our company has
located in New Mexico where the three parts are mixed to make the explosive.”

Which was the exact story the city had been told when
Dobbling first arrived and broke ground. The same story Luke related to him
when he was investigating the cause of the explosion, right when the second
blast occurred.

“The only problem with your story, Miss McKay, is that all
three components were here at this lab. Those two blasts were caused by
unguindene.”

“That’s not possible,” she quickly argued, then paused. “The
other day, when I saw you flying away with something in your hands, was that—”

“Yes. It was unguindene. I had to take it to the bomb
disposal facility outside the city limits so they could test it.”

He saw her nod slowly as she softly muttered, “So
that’s
where
¼
”

“You said one of those components were to be manufactured
here?” he asked.

“Umm, yes. Bicamphorate sulfide. Please don’t ask me what it
is, what it does, or how it’s made. I had a hard enough time learning how to
pronounce all of it.”

She tried to smile, but failed. It was clear she was
worried.

“Would you happen to know what forms those components are
in?”

“It’s easy. They’re the three states of matter. Liquid,
solid, or in this case, a powder, and a gel.”

The unguindene has the consistency of a gel. Take liquid
and a powder, and they become a paste. Add a gel, and you have something that’ll
stick to whatever you slather it on. No container needed. Now all we have to
figure out is how the other two substances got here. Find out that out, Lorne,
and we’ll have several more pieces of our puzzle in place.

“Miss McKay, where are the other two labs located where
these other two substances are manufactured?”

“Bisentrope, North Dakota, and Flemming Town, Utah.”

“And the components to make these substances, how are they
delivered to the labs?”

“Usually by truck. Special haulers specializing in hazardous
materials, hired by the company. Of course, the components alone aren’t
hazardous, but Dobbling doesn’t take chances.”

“Of course not,” Lorne replied sans sarcasm. “Do these
special haulers also transport the finished products, like the bicamphorate
sulfide, to the bunker in New Mexico?”

“Yes.” Brenda nodded. “In tankers. All three compounds. Each
truck is also specifically rigged with a satellite GPS location tracker, so
that at all times we know where each shipment is en route.”

In tankers?
“Let’s say there are no tankers
available. Let’s say I personally have to take the sulfide to New Mexico. Let’s
say I have to fly it there. What sort of containment unit would I be needing?”

Her eyes narrowed as she thought. “You mean, to carry a
small amount? Like a couple of pounds or so?”

“Exactly.”

Brenda shrugged as she slowly shook her head. “I have no
idea.”

She’s being one hundred percent truthful, Lo.

I already knew that.

He started to ask her another question when he caught sight
of Agent Dees and his men, plus the other Fed officials, exiting their vehicles
and making their way over to the tent. Seeing where his gaze was directed,
Brenda turned around to await their arrival.

“Miss McKay, is it?” Dees asked, bypassing the tent and
striding up to them, along with the others.

“Yes.”

Dees produced his credentials even though he wore his
shield. “I’m with the Fullerton Police Department. Miss McKay, we just got a
phone call from Dobbling Enterprises, letting us know that several ounces of
two highly dangerous substances have been discovered missing from their
containment center in Ocean City. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

Lorne immediately felt her go on the defensive.

“No, I don’t,” Brenda told them in a strong voice.

Truth,
Luke whispered in his head.

Agent Queens pointed back toward the parking lot. “Miss
McKay, I’m Agent Queens with the ATF. Is that your little blue car parked over
there?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Mind if we take a look inside it?”

“Whoa.” Lorne stepped forward to intervene. “For what
purpose?”

It was Dees who said, “We were told the last person to check
out of the containment area right before the substances were discovered missing
was Brenda McKay. The OCPD has put out an APB listing her as a person of
interest.” Giving Brenda a small smile, he repeated, “May we take a look inside
your car?”

“Okay,” she relented. She dug inside her small purse she’d
slung diagonally across her neck and shoulder, and pulled out her keys to
unlock the doors.

“The trunk and hood, too, please,” the Agent named Trail
requested.

Lorne watched as all four men snapped on latex gloves.

Brenda moved closer to him, and for the first time he sensed
her nervousness. “I don’t like this,” she whispered to him.

“If you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about.” It
was an old cliché, but it was true.

“Well, I’m innocent, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying.”

I’m with her,
Luke admitted.
She’s been honest
with you, but my sixth sense is telling me something’s not adding up here.

I agree with you, bro,
Lorne agreed
. But what can
we do, other than watch and see what happens?

He didn’t get an answer. He hadn’t expected one. As the
government agents and Dees brought out their cases to examine the car, all he
and Brenda could do was stand by and watch what developed.

Chapter 19

Evidence

With four of them searching, it didn’t take long to do a
relatively thorough search of the interior of her car. At Trail’s request,
Brenda popped the trunk, and Agent Queen opened the hood to finish the
bumper-to-bumper investigation. Almost immediately, Betts pulled a small silver
case from the trunk. Handling it gingerly, he took it over to the curb and set
it on the grass.

“Can you tell us what this is?” Dees asked her.

“It’s my makeup kit.”

“Your makeup kit?” Lorne repeated. “Why is it still in the
car?”

“Because I’d forgotten I had packed a small makeup bag and
left it in my suitcase,” she explained. “I wasn’t thinking straight when I left
my apartment to come back here, and I threw the case in the back.”

He could understand. He wasn’t sure he would be thinking
straight, either, when he’d just learned his parent had died suddenly, and he
had to hurry out of town to make funeral arrangements.

Betts carefully unlatched the two fasteners and lifted the
top. It opened on a hinge, bringing an upper tray along with it. The inside of
the case was lined in black velveteen. He reached inside and slowly extracted a
cylinder approximately eight inches long and a couple of inches in diameter.
The cylinder was semiopaque, but there was no mistaking the blueish fluid
inside it.

“Miss McKay, can you tell us what this is?”

Brenda stood staring at the cylinder in open-mouthed
astonishment. “I…I…I think that’s biphuromethanene. But that’s impossible!”

Methinks the lady is correct,
Luke corroborated.

Dees pulled out his handcuffs as he approached her. “Miss
McKay, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you into custody.” He gestured for
her to turn around.

Brenda glanced up at Lorne, who stood watching with equal
surprise. “I don’t know how the gel got there. I swear, Defender!”

And the lady is correct again.

Lorne frowned. “Let me look further into this. There could
be a very good reason why the substance is in her possession.”

“Whatever,” Agent Queens replied. “We’re impounding the case
and her car, and having them sent over to the lab for further analysis.”

“Listen, Defender.” Agent Trail walked up as he removed his
gloves. “We’re thankful for all your help. Have you had a chance to go back
over the blast area?”

“No, not yet. I was about to question Miss McKay when you
showed up.” It was a white lie, but Lorne was hesitant to tell the agent he had
already been grilling her for answers. “I’ll go now and see what I can find.”

He lifted from the ground as the agent yelled back, “Thanks
again! If you find something, bring it right over to the station!”

Racing over to the site, Lorne continued to watch as Dees
left the parking lot with Brenda in the backseat. Betts left with the makeup
case and cylinder, and the other two agents waited around the car for the tow
truck to show up.

Luke, she was set up to take the fall.

Damn right she was. It’s the who and the why that has me
stumped.

And this blast is tied to it,
Lorne added as he
stared down at the rubble that used to be a building.

Luke gave him a mental raspberry.
You think?

Lorne landed in an area he hadn’t gone over yet. Hunkering
down, he ran a gloved hand through some of the bits and pieces. Nothing about
it was discernable or identifiable.
There’s not a lot of charring. The
explosions pulverized it all. It’s more dust and slivers than anything else.

Keep your eye open for anything that may look like a
piece of another cylinder,
Luke said.

That gel came in a cylinder, but what about the other
stuff? The liquid?

The acetal-diphilate prorestilyme?

Lorne grinned.
Show off. Yeah. That stuff. Would it be
transported in a cylinder, too?

It might. But then again, common sense would preclude it
would be shipped in a different sort of container, so that people wouldn’t
mistake the contents at first glance.

In other words, no.

That’s what I said.

Lorne chuckled. Luke had a dry sense of humor, but sometimes
his astounding thought processes prevented him from showing it.

Standing, he surveyed the resulting damage. It was obvious
from the few walls that remained standing that both blasts had a discernable
radius of equal distance from the center, meaning the force was only restricted
by the floor, and the explosive went directly upward and outward. There was no
point in trying to find anything at ground zero. However, something might have
survived further away.

Pulling off a glove, Lorne spread his fingers and held out
his hand, palm down. He began to systematically sweep the area in front of him,
slowly moving about the room in a grid pattern, fine-tuning his sixth sense.
But as time dragged on, the hope of finding some small shred of evidence
diminished.

I’m getting nothing,
he admitted to his brother.

Tough break, bro,
Luke replied
. It would have been
nice to have something concrete in Brenda’s defense.

Now what?

Now we break Brenda out of jail.

Lorne paused, startled.
We’re what?

Actually, I’ve just made arrangements to pay her bail.

They actually booked her?

Yeah, and get this. She called Dobbling Enterprises for
legal representation, and she was turned down cold. They said it would be a
conflict of interest to represent both her and the company, since Dobbling just
filed charges against her.