Peyton did a double take. She turned quickly, trying to hide her shock. “Sorry, I forgot something. Be right back.”

She grabbed her father’s arm, guided him back down the hall to the medical exam room, and shut the door.

“Peyton, I really am fine—”

“I know her.”

“What?”

“That woman. I recognize her. I can’t believe it.”

Chapter 98

Chapter 98

When Peyton and her father returned to Charlotte’s office, Desmond was laying the folder on her desk.

“These are the shipping manifests we found in Kazakhstan.”

Charlotte scanned the pages. “They look accurate.”

“There was no sender name, just the shipping company.”

Charlotte was still reading through the pages. “They were paid for by the Zeno Foundation.”

The name caught Peyton’s interest. According to Avery’s story, Zeno was the Greek philosopher who had founded the Citium over two thousand years ago.

“What do you know about the foundation?” Desmond asked.

“Not much. They’re very generous. They had a website where I could request supplies, food, water, even money.”

“Who was your contact there?”

“Tanner Goodwyn.”

The name meant nothing to Peyton.

“Did they ever ask you to do anything—to conduct trials on experimental vaccines or medicines?”

Charlotte looked disturbed by the idea. “No. And I would have refused, no matter how badly we needed the help.”

The four of them questioned Charlotte at length, exploring a number of possible ways she might be tied to the outbreak, but found no common thread. As best they could tell, the Citium seemed to genuinely want to support her work.

“It’s possible that I sent the supplies,” Desmond said. “Though I don’t know why I would have done it in secret.”

“A good point,” William said. “Charlotte, I wonder if you’d excuse us for a moment.”

“Of course. I’ll just wait outside.”

When she closed the door behind her, William said, “We’re getting nowhere here. And we’re running out of time.”

“There’s still the location near here,” Desmond said. “My childhood home. The second backup from the Labyrinth Reality app.”

“I think it’s our next move.” William nodded to Avery. “The two of you should check it out. We’ll continue questioning Charlotte.”

Ten minutes later, Peyton, William, and Charlotte stood on the loading dock watching the Land Rover drive down the dusty dirt road that led out of the camp.

“Charlotte, could we trouble you with a few more questions?” William asked.

“Of course.” She held her arm out, motioning them back into her office.

William closed the door after they entered. “Perhaps learning more about you might help us understand how you’re connected.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh. All right then.”

“Desmond told us you were a relief worker in the early eighties.”

“I was. Well, I was at university then, but I volunteered as much as I could.”

“And after uni?”

“Med school.”

“Specialty?”