Cruz sat on her haunches. “Doctor, we thought Joanna was dead, murdered by…”
Kimmler shook his head. “She is. I met someone…a year ago. We’re getting married in June. I came home one day and she was gone. I got a call, telling me if I did what they said, they wouldn’t harm her.” He wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffed.
Cruz pointed at Hardy’s pocket and held out her hand. A moment later, she gave Kimmler a handkerchief. “What do they want from you?”
He ran the cotton cloth over his face and nose. “During my experiments with the new strain of Anthrax from Russia,” he motioned toward Dahlia and Charity, “the one I told you about, I ended up creating a giant virus. Somehow, these people found out. It was shortly after that that Denise, my fiancée, went missing and I got the call. They wanted me to recreate my experiment. They set up a lab in London and provided everything. I only needed the viruses.” Kimmler cleaned out his nose, folded the handkerchief and held it out.
Cruz peeked at Hardy, who pursed his lips and slowly rotated his head back and forth. She waved her hand. “You keep it, doctor.” She waited a beat. “Tell us. Why are you in Spain? We saw the lab in London…or rather what was left.”
“Where is the giant virus now?” said Hardy.
Kimmler showed his palms. “They have it, everything. I went back to Munich to get one last component. That’s why I’m here…to turn it over to them. They said, once I gave it to them they’d release Denise. I’m flying to Liverpool to pick her up.”
The four agents gawked at each other before Cruz whipped her head back toward Kimmler. “Doctor, have you handed it over yet, the final component?”
He nodded. “I met them last night, somewhere north of the city.”
Charity turned away, and Dahlia bent over and put hands on knees, hanging her head.
Hardy rubbed the back of his neck. A split-second later, he thrust a finger at Kimmler. “Don’t move.” He cranked his head. “Ladies, over here.” They stepped away and huddled. “I know where you stand on this, Cruz. Dahlia, what’s your take? Is he telling the truth?”
She let out a puff of air. “Don’t ask me. I’m skeptical of everyone.”
Hardy scowled. “But, that’s what I’m doing.”
“Let me put it this way. The things I wanted to do to him five minutes ago, they don’t seem like fun anymore.”
“I’ll take that as a yes—you believe him. Cherry?”
She extended a flat hand toward the doctor. “He’s a broken man. I don’t think he’s stringing us along.”
“I agree,” said Hardy before striding up to Kimmler and squatting. “Doctor, listen to me. When you gave these people what they wanted, they had no reason to keep…” his mind raced for the name, “…Denise alive anymore. I’m going to level with you. She might already be dead.”
Kimmler sat erect. “No, that’s not what they said. We had a deal.”
“Quite frankly, I’m surprised you’re still alive. Think about it. If these animals are willing to murder thousands for their cause, then what is one woman?”
Kimmler covered his ears and started to stand.
His hand meeting the man’s chest, Hardy pushed him back into the SUV. “You have one sliver of hope left. Tell her,” he glanced over his shoulder and motioned toward Charity, “everything you know about Denise…every minute detail…in the next ten minutes, and we’ll do everything we can to find your fiancée.” Hardy grabbed the man’s chin and stared at him. “Trust me, doctor. I have powerful connections. If she’s still alive, and we have a modicum of time on our side, we can find her. But, you have to tell Charity everything.”
Kimmler glimpsed Charity, came back to Hardy and nodded. “Okay, thank you.”
Hardy stood and jutted his chin at Charity. “Contact Hamilton and give her the information about Denise. She’ll take the ball from there.”
“I will.” Charity gathered Kimmler’s clothing and put the crumpled ball on his lap. “Let’s go, Dr. Kimmler. We have to hurry.”
Hardy clamped a hand around the man’s upper arm and helped him stand. “When you’re done, we need the same detailed description of what you created, who you gave it to, what they—”
“Yes, yes, of course,” said Kimmler. “I’ll tell you everything.” Following Charity, he stopped and turned his head toward Dahlia. “I never sent anyone to harm you. They had people working at the company. They monitored everything I did, everyone I spoke to. You have to believe me.”
Dahlia’s lips thinned. For a brief moment, she felt sorry for the man, his nakedness adding to her pity. He did what he did to save the woman he loved. Scared and alone, anyone in his position would have done the same thing. “I know. We’re square.” She tipped her head toward Charity. “Go…make this right.”