Page 61 of Airborne
Rivera handed him his phone with a pic of the couple.
“No clue. How are they connected to the virus?”
“They were on the plane and now on Adam’s Island.” He stared into Chad’s eyes. “Are you certain they aren’t familiar?”
“Positive. You’ve given me the names of two people who haven’tbeen infected by the virus. Have they accused me? Stated I know them?”
Rivera finished his coffee, as calm as if they were discussing the summer heat. “My questions are part of the investigation.”
Chad concentrated on what Rivera didn’t say. “They have implicated me, but so has half the world. The FBI works in pairs. Where’s Agent Tobias?”
“At the office.”
Chad knew protocol. “Were you sent to secure my trust in hopes I’d unload evidence?”
“I’m not convinced you’re at fault. If you’re connected in any way, tell me now.”
“Are you reading my body language for signs of deceit? Did you expect me to crack under the pressure of losing my career and facing prosecution?”
“I have other reasons to work this case than my job. I told you at the FBI office my sister died of flu. While my instincts point to your innocence, the investigation’s not over.”
Discouragement weighed on Chad’s shoulders as though he wore a five-hundred-pound yoke. He prided himself in his achievements—performance meant everything to him, and the FBI had snatched it away. He wanted to throw another stool. How could he convince the idiots at the FBI he was on their side? Heather interpreted how much a person knew by what they displayed in their body language. Was Rivera blind?
“Agent Rivera, I have no knowledge of the virus. I’ve read and heard the accusations. All lies. I swear I’m not your man.”
Rivera’s scrutiny offered no indication of his conclusions. “I’ll contact you later with the determination of your lab.”
Once Rivera left and Chad bolted the door, reality strutted across his thoughts as though someone had bannered it across the sky. The Kareys and Heather were in quarantine together. Had she gained their sympathies? Did she believe Chad tried to kill her?He’d walked away from her, and she hadn’t taken it well. Some rejected women turned to a new man. Some chose vengeance, a way to get even in the worst way. And she was pregnant...
Neither sounded like the woman he’d known for ten years.
If the virus hadn’t taken over his life, he’d be packing for Atlanta.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAD PURSUED EXONERATIONfrom all charges, suspicions, and gossip of H9N15. If the FBI couldn’t find the responsible person, he’d proceed with his own investigation.
He pulled a hardbound journal and smart pen from inside his computer case and sat at the kitchen counter. Some termed his method of note taking as old-school, but his preference fit into hisbrain’s method of operation. Later he’d download his thoughts to his laptop and review them.
He wrote every detail since the first of the year. With the same mind-set he examined medical data, he read and reread his copiously written recollections.
He’d never threatened Heather.
He’d never looked at another woman.
He loved his wife more than his work, but no one understood his actions.
He’d made it known that fatherhood was not for him.
He’d asked Heather to stop the God nonsense.
He’d told no one about his CDC application and acceptance.
Had someone else applied for the position at the CDC and regretted Chad’s appointment? Out to get him? He crossed that off his list. The organization recruited those who were committed to helping others, not stabbing competition in the back.
Chad jotted down meetings, phone conversations, and text messages from every contact since February, when Jordan told him his application had been accepted. He backed up minutes of the day and who was with him. His life didn’t prompt a diabolical plot to kill his wife or the many people affected by the virus. How could he smuggle the virus on the aircraft without an accomplice?
Braden Taversty provided the means, and the man’s terrorist affiliations made it all feasible. Were investigators working on the theory that Chad developed the virus and ensured Taversty would die when it was released?
