The Discarded

CHAPTER 15

Gloria opened her eyes and reached for her phone. Her hand didn’t make it very far before a stab of pain reminded her about the wound on her back.

After the incident with Eli Becker, she and her team had left the scene in a hurry, not really caring who might find the body. Gloria’s main focus had been getting to a doctor. Nolan had called their point person back at McCrillis headquarters, who had arranged for them to meet up with a discreet physician in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

While the wound had only needed three stitches to close, the puncture itself had been deep, damaging the muscle nearly all the way down to her ribcage. According to the doctor, if Becker had stabbed her a half inch to the right, the blade would have plunged into her spinal cord.

Once they’d finished with the doctor, they had driven to Houston and checked into a hotel near the airport, in anticipation of their 6:45 a.m. flight to DC.

Gloria reached her phone on the second try and checked the time—5:17 a.m.

Shit.

Gritting her teeth, she swung her legs off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom, where a hot but rushed shower helped ease some of the pain. After drying her hair and applying her usual scant amount of makeup, she donned her best blouse and suit jacket, headed over to the desk, and turned on her laptop.

At exactly 5:30 a.m., a chime announced the incoming video call. A moment later, the image of McCrillis’s client — a woman with silver-streaked dark hair — filled the main part of Gloria’s screen.

“Good morning, ma’am,” Gloria said.

“Well?” the woman asked. “What has he told you?”

“Unfortunately, Eli Becker is dead.”

A twitch of the woman’s eyebrow. “And how did that happen?”

Gloria hated these calls. The woman’s question was a perfect example of how counterproductive they were. But she was the client, and since things on this project had started heating up again over the last couple of months, the woman had insisted on these occasional briefings. Ethan Boyer — Gloria’s boss — had acquiesced, with Gloria having no choice in the matter. It did not mean, however, she needed to go into detail about how things went down.

“It will be in the final report,” she said, knowing that the document would reflect a more company-flattering version of events. “The reality is, he is no longer an asset.”

The client glared from the monitor. “Were you able to get anything out of him? Is the girl alive or not? Please tell me he told you that much.”

Gloria hesitated, then said matter-of-factly, “I’m not sure he knew.”

“So that’s a no.”

Gloria felt no need to respond.

The woman sat back in her chair. “He didn’t even know who he was working with? Or why he was looking for her?”

“No, ma’am. I was in the pro—”

“The girl!” the woman shouted. “I need to know!”

“We feel it’s likely he left something behind. I’m going to have the items he had with him analyzed. In the meantime, my team and I are heading back to DC to search his place.”

For several seconds, the woman looked as if she were on the verge of another rant. Finally, teeth clenched, she said, “I expect better news the next time we talk.”

The screen went blank.