No one could blame the State boys for simply doing their job, though. It was just an unfortunate sequence of events. "I don't suppose you recognized the voice?"
Stephan shook his head. "Voice scanning was in progress, but the system just didn't have long enough before it all went to hell."
Had the call come from the woman supposedly impersonating Lyssa? Or perhaps even Mary, using some form of voice modulator? Though why would either of them warn Stephan if they were involved with Sethanon or Kazdan? It didn't make any sense. But nothing about this situation made any sense.
And with the computer network down, and who knew what information destroyed, any chance of a crosscheck of the woman's voice against Lyssa's or Mary's was gone. His only option now was checking whether either woman had left their safe houses near the time of the warning. "Any idea who might be behind the bombing?"
"It's probably Sethanon."
He frowned. If Sethanon could get a shapeshifter into the labs to lock away Sam's files, he could easily have arranged to have a car drive into the side of the building and explode. What didn't make sense was the why. In the past, he'd tended to be a little more subtle. "I think he's smart enough to realize bombing the SIU will only make it stronger — past efforts to destroy us have certainly proven that."
"What are you saying? That it could be any one of the hundreds of people who have a gripe against the SIU? None of them have gone this far for revenge before."
"No. Personally, I think it's Kazdan."
Stephan opened an eye and regarded him steadily. "Why?"
He told Stephan of the conversation he'd overheard between Kazdan and the blond shapechanger. "I think Kazdan's getting tired of the middle management yoke. I think he wants more. I think he's intending to use Sam to get it. And Eddie Wyatt is working for him, not Sethanon."
"The SIU bomb certainly had Eddie's style. And if Kazdan intends using Sam in his overthrow plot, it suggests he knows more about these abilities she seems to have."
He nodded. "It also suggests Sethanon knows. He arranged for Kazdan to be her partner, after all. Maybe he wanted to keep an eye on her."
"That would suggest she's somehow linked to Sethanon."
It seemed that way, but gut instinct said she wasn't involved with him. Not yet, anyway. "Sethanon wanted her watched but otherwise left alone. I think we need to find out why."
"Where is she now?"
"With Karl."
Stephan frowned. "He seemed a little tense last time we met. Has he got family problems or something?"
He frowned, remembering the tension around Karl's eyes. "Not that I know of."
"Odd." Stephan's gaze drifted shut again. "He kept glancing at his watch and checking to see if his cell phone was on. When I asked what the matter was, he said his wife had gone to visit relatives in New South Wales and was due to call at six. He said he had to catch the call or she'd kill him."
New South Wales. Not to Jan's parents, who lived on a farm half an hour's drive away from Karl's.
Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Did you tell Karl that Hanrahan was your alter identity?"
"There was no need to tell him."
And yet Karl had known. He could only have found out from one of three people — three people he shouldn't even know. Gabriel pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed Karl's number. The phone rang several times. Either no one was home or no one was in the position to answer it. He swore and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
"What's wrong?"
He stared at his brother bleakly. "I think I've just handed Sam over to the enemy."
Chapter Twelve
Sam stirred, vaguely aware of movement. Rough vibrations ran through the metal floor beneath her, bruising her back and rattling her teeth. Darkness encased her. She couldn't see.
Old fears rose, threatening to overwhelm her. She swallowed and forced them back. Now was not the time to panic. Not until she knew what was going on, anyway. It was obvious she was no longer in bed at Karl's place. Not unless it had suddenly converted to a car.
Two men were speaking close by. One voice seemed familiar, though she couldn't exactly place where she'd heard it before. Beyond that, music, though it was barely audible above the throaty roar of the engine. She frowned. It sounded like Ennui's latest hit, Silence. Jack's favorite tune.
Her heart began to beat a little faster. Maybe she'd done the right thing in following her instincts, and hiding the disks at Karl's.