Ilona Andrews - Wildfire

Truth. Off to a good start.

“Are you concerned for your brother’s well-being?”

“Yes.”

Lie. Spoke too soon.

“I’m concerned for Rynda,” he volunteered. “And the children.”

Truth.

The path brought us to the curve of the koi pond. Three plain wooden benches, the kind you could find in every home improvement store, waited, arranged in a rough circle. A trellis wove above each, bearing a spray of clematis flowers. Crimson, white, burgundy, blue, the big mixed blossoms sent a subtle, complicated aroma into the air.

“Please.” Edward invited me to the bench.

I sat. Cornelius took a spot next to me. Edward chose the bench across from us.

It was so tranquil here. I could sit and read a book in this spot for hours, smelling the clematis, glancing at the pond, and feeling the soft silken grass under my feet. And that was exactly why he brought me here. This was his piece of the kingdom. He was comfortable here, and he counted on the soothing surroundings to soften the conversation.

“When Brian was a young child, he didn’t like to be in trouble,” Edward said. “No child does, but my brother would become easily overwhelmed. Our father had a harsh view of child-rearing. He was a product of his generation. When my brother did something he knew would put him into our father’s crosshairs, he disappeared. He would hide for hours and he was very good at it. At first, everyone would wait for him to come out. Then, a few hours into his disappearance, my mother would panic, sure that this time something bad must have happened. The entire household would look for him, sometimes until morning, and when he was finally found, everyone would be too tired and too relieved for discipline.”

“Do you feel that Brian is hiding?”

“Yes.”

True.

“Why?”

He leaned back. “BioCore is engaged in high-profile antibiotic research. The average person rarely pays attention to how much we owe antibiotics. They simply take for granted that few people die from infection following surgeries. Strep throat, pneumonia, and UTIs are unpleasant inconveniences, but rarely a cause for panic. Despite extensive travel, we no longer have plagues and epidemics. We’ve gotten comfortable. It’s a mistake.”

“Nature always finds a way,” Cornelius said.

Edward nodded. “We’re facing a sharp rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Our miracle drugs no longer work. This is happening right now, today, this minute. We’re losing the battle. MDR-TB, the bacterial strain responsible for tuberculosis, is resistant to a multitude of antibiotics. MRSA, VRE, KPC, the list goes on. I could give you more scary acronyms, which all amount to the same thing. Soon a routine visit to the hospital for a respiratory infection or a relatively safe surgery, like appendix removal, may end your life. The race to find new and better drugs is on. Brian was on the forefront of that. He used his magic to facilitate rapid mutation of the fungi in response to bacterial threats. He was trying to develop new antibacterial agents. It’s a dangerous and lucrative field of study.”

“Competitive?” I guessed.

“Very. I promised to be candid. Olivia’s involvement in Senator Garza’s death and the resulting avalanche of negative publicity hurt us. Badly. Brian married Rynda for her mother’s business contacts. Right now those contacts are running for cover.”

It was as if Rynda had the plague. Everything connected to her mother was tainted.

“Two of our major investors pulled their money. The sum was not insignificant. A large contract, which was all but signed and delivered, went to our major competitor instead. We’re having difficulties obtaining necessary virus samples.”

“Are you facing a financial crisis?” I asked.

“Yes.” He seemed strangely casual about it. “We will survive. These are temporary setbacks. We’ll find other investors, and there will be other contracts. But meanwhile things are very tense. More tense than Rynda was aware.”

That didn’t line up with Rynda telling me that Brian was calm, but Edward wasn’t lying. “Did Brian know about these problems?”

A flicker of something passed in Edward’s eyes. Contempt or exasperation? It was too quick for me to nail it down.

“Brian is a genius. His realm is science and research. Financial issues and the day-to-day operations of the company are my responsibility. I made him aware of the situation a couple of days ago. I also let him know that our situation wasn’t hopeless. However, as I’ve mentioned, Brian does become overwhelmed. It wouldn’t be out of character for him to disappear and return when the problem has resolved itself. Like I said, he’s excellent at hiding.”

Brian sounded more and more like a real piece of work.

“Does he have access to cash other than his bank accounts?” Cornelius asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Edward said. “He likes to put things away for a rainy day.”

“Are you aware of any marital issues between Brian and Rynda?” I asked.

“Rynda works very hard at being an ideal spouse for my brother. She anticipates his needs, and Brian isn’t given to emotional outbursts. My brother is quiet and easily hurt, so he prefers calm and routine.”

He didn’t answer the question.

“Has Brian expressed any dissatisfaction with his marriage?” Cornelius asked.

“Everyone expresses some dissatisfaction with their marriage once in a while,” Edward said. “He hadn’t said anything lately.”

“Could you define lately?” I asked.

“Last couple of years.”

True.

“Do you believe that Brian would permanently abandon his wife?” I asked.

“No.”

A true statement again. “Does BioCore view Rynda as a liability?”

Edward leaned forward, his gaze suddenly focused. “Rynda is never a liability. She’s a woman of grace, kindness, and incredible patience. She’s compassionate and intelligent. We are fortunate to know her. She has the full support of House Sherwood.”

The real Edward Sherwood finally made an appearance. I’d touched a nerve. He wasn’t worried about his brother, but the moment I tried to bring up Rynda, he was ready to bite my head off. Interesting.

“Did you kidnap your brother, Mr. Sherwood?”

His eyes blazed. “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”

“Mr. Sherwood,” I said. “Rynda is extremely upset. She came to me because everyone else had turned her down. I want to resolve this as quickly as possible to minimize her emotional distress. The sooner I can eliminate you from the pool of possible suspects, the sooner we can move on to finding out what actually happened to your brother.”

“What makes you think I would tell you the truth? I could be lying.”

“I’m an excellent judge of character,” I said. “Did you kidnap your brother?”

“No.” Muscles played along his jaw.

Truth.

“Did you kill him or otherwise cause him harm?”

“No.”

“Did you order or hire someone to make Brian disappear?”

“No!”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No.”

“Do you know where he might be?”

“No.”

“Has he tried to contact you since his disappearance?”

“No.”

Not a single lie in the bunch. I rose. “Thank you, Mr. Sherwood.”

Edward got to his feet. He was furious, but his anger was tightly controlled, squeezed by his will like a fist. “Are we done?”

“We are.”

He flicked his phone and raised it to his ear. “Margaret, I need you to show some people out.”

Margaret escorted us to the exit. On our way, Cornelius had paused by a large tree, the first one we saw as Edward had led us into the inner sanctum. It stood by the entrance, supporting thick clusters of yellow mushrooms with wet glistening caps. Cornelius looked at it for a few seconds, called Talon to him, and we exited the building.