Chapter 14 - Blood and Ink
A sudden rustle outside the greenhouse door made the hair on my arms stand upright. I killed the flashlight instantly, ducking behind a row of concrete planters as the heavy rain roared against the glass above.
Through the gaps between the foliage, two sweeping beams of light cut across the muddy garden path.
"Check the perimeter," a gruff voice shouted over the wind. "Ethan said the motion sensor on the west terrace tripped three minutes ago."
"She’s supposed to be unconscious in the master suite," another voice replied—this one unmistakably belonging to Dr. Vance. "If she swallowed the full dose, she shouldn't be able to lift her head off the pillow."
"Then who tore the lock off the greenhouse?"
Heavy boots crunched on the broken glass by the entrance. Flashlight beams swept over the workbench, illuminating the empty space where the aluminum case had rested.
I was crouching three feet away in the shadow of the brick foundation, holding the briefcase against my chest, scarcely daring to breathe. My heart hammered with such force I was certain they could hear it above the rain.
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"The case is gone," the first man hissed, drawing a suppressed semi-automatic pistol from beneath his coat. "She knows. Find her. Do not let her reach the main road."
***
