I zoomed in on the rear of the SUV and almost cheered—the number plate was crisp and clear. We finally had something that might help us track the bastard down.

I shoved her phone into my back pocket and returned to the bedroom. Janice was asleep, so I shook her roughly. Her response was sleepy and somewhat colorful.

I grinned and glanced at my watch. I probably had another five minutes or so before the ambulance arrived, so I decided to use that time to see what other information I could uncover.

“Janice, what can you tell me about the inverter device the company was developing?”

“I’ve already answered that question,” she said, her voice holding a hint of annoyance.

Not to me, she hadn’t. And if that was one of the questions Amanda had been asking, then it meant Rinaldo hadn’t yet gotten his hands on the device. “I know, but tell me again anyway.”

She yawned hugely. “We had prototypes up and running, but some official government department came in a few weeks ago and secured the whole project. It was all very dramatic.”

A few weeks ago meant it had happened before Rosen had been murdered. Which meant—hopefully—that they were government officials rather than sindicati goons or rats in disguise. As the wail of an approaching siren got louder, I said, “What can you tell me about the project Professor Wilson was working on?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. It was all very hush-hush.”

“And Wilson himself? Do you know much about him?”

“Not really. Rosen called him into the office a couple of times, but I can’t tell you why.”

She couldn’t really tell me much about anything, it seemed, and it made me wonder why Amanda—and therefore Rinaldo—had made the attempt to kill her. Unless, of course, he was simply making sure no one else could pull any information out of her.

The sound of the approaching siren was so close now, the ambulance could only be a street or so away. I pulled Janice’s cell from my pocket, then dug out my phone to grab the inspector’s number and called her.

“Chief Inspector Henrietta Richmond speaking.” Her tone was cool and somewhat reserved—no doubt because I was calling her from an unknown number. And undoubtedly it was already being traced. “How may I assist you?”

“Inspector, it’s Emberly. Amanda Wilson just made an attempt on Janice Green’s life after apparently pumping her for information over the last couple of weeks.”

There was a slight pause. “Interesting. I take it Janice is still alive?”

“Yes, but she’s been drugged with who knows what. I’ve called an ambulance.”

“Yes, I can hear it. What happened to Amanda?”

“Jackson’s following her. We’re hoping she might lead us to Rinaldo’s location.”

“We weren’t aware Amanda was working for him.”