Read Online And Then You Die by Iris Johansen - Free Book Online Page A

it off. They'll see it,” she said frantically.
    He shook his head. “It's okay. We're far enough into the cave.” He shoved aside the metal briefcase at the bottom of the pack, pulled out a white T-shirt, and tossed it to her. “How's this?”
    “It will have to do.” She glanced at him as she tore the shirt in two. “Do you have any food?”
    “Field rations.”
    “Get it out and open it. I'll try to feed her.” She knelt and changed Josie's diaper. “How did you find me here?”
    “I tracked you.”
    “So did the soldiers. They didn't find me.”
    “They almost did this afternoon. In the grove.”
    She went still. “How did you know that?”
    “I was tracking them at that point. I was pretty sure they were on the right scent.”
    “I didn't see you in the grove.”
    “I saw you.”
    “And you tracked me to this cave without my seeing you? How? When I saw Esteban's soldiers?”
    “Maybe I'm better than they are,” he said simply.
    “Why are you better? Have you done this for a living?”
    “Sometimes. My profession often calls for hunting skills.” He watched as she sat Josie on her lap and began feeding her. “You do that very well.”
    “Anyone can feed a baby. Talk to me. I'm listening.”
    “You shouldn't have run away from me. I'm trying to help you.”
    “As I recall, when you weren't ordering me around, you were threatening me. I was in your way.”
    “That didn't mean I wouldn't get you safely away from Esteban. I never had any other intention.”
    She studied him. It was difficult to read the expression on that face, but instinct told her he was telling the truth. “I couldn't know that. You wouldn't talk to me.”
    He shrugged. “I made a mistake. I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary. I'll talk to you now.”
    “What happened at Tenajo?”
    “Are you sure you want to know?”
    “Don't be stupid. You're damn right I do.” Her voice vibrated with feeling. “You
listen
to me. I don't give a damn about your damage control. All I care about is what's happened to Emily and me in the last week. I have a right to know. Now, you tell me.”
    He was silent a moment. “Okay. Ask me questions. I'll answer what I can.”
    “How did those people die?”
    “I'm not entirely sure. I think it may have been an artificially produced disease.”
    She stared at him in shock. “Some kind of germ-canister foul-up?”
    He smiled sardonically. “You keep thinking it's an accident.”
    “Are you saying that the Mexican government purposely loosed that sickness on Tenajo?”
    “The Mexican government has nothing to do with it.”
    “Isn't Esteban a colonel in the Mexican army?”
    “A convenience that allows him a certain amount of power and freedom. It also allowed him to neatly cover up the results of the experiment.”
    “Experiment?”
    “They had to see if the biological agent worked. Tenajo was a testing ground.”
    A little boy lying on the floor of the store with chocolate smeared on his palms.
    Tears stung her eyes. “Damn you to hell.”
    “I didn't know,” he said roughly.
    “You had to know. You worked for him.”
    “I knew something was going on at Tenajo, but I didn't suspect what it was until the night it happened. For the past few months there were some cases of minor illness in the Tenajo area. Nothing fatal. I think Esteban must have been practicing. I thought it was going to be the same thing––Esteban didn't let anyone––” He stopped in mid-sentence. “I didn't know.”
    “Why did––” She tried to steady her voice. “Why would they do this?”
    “When a test takes place on a limited plane it's usually meant to be applied on a larger scale somewhere else.”
    “Where?”
    “I don't know.”
    She felt dazed. It was difficult to think. “You said the public health department did a sweep. Why didn't they pick up on something?”
    “Esteban didn't call them in until after the cleanup and the cholera was planted. He has his own doctors in the Mexico City