Julia O’Connell got off the elevator and crossed the hall, Todd trailing right behind her, as Hardy and one of his people marched Rockingham’s daughter, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs, out of Treadwell’s office.
Julia stepped aside as they passed.
“I can blow the lid off the entire fucking deal!” Heather shouted, spittle flying from her lips. “The flash drive with the antidote. The missing girl and her friend.” Her eyes locked with Julia’s for a moment. “Your boss banging me! It’s all recorded. Every bit of it.”
Hardy and the woman cop dragged Heather onto the elevator, and then they were gone, the sudden silence on the floor almost deafening.
Treadwell motioned for Julia to come into his office.
“I’ll handle this,” she said to Todd, who handed her a cell phone he’d gotten from one of the ITs downstairs.
“Show him this.”
“You have pictures from downstairs?”
Todd grinned. “It’s already starting to go viral on Instagram and Facebook.”
Julia patted him on the shoulder, then went into Treadwell’s office, closed the door, and sat down across from him. “That was quite a show.”
“The woman is certifiable,” he said.
“Yes, but she apparently has a pretty good idea what’s going on,” Julia said. Her gut was on fire. “Just how much does she know, for God’s sake?”
“Not enough to cause anything more than a nuisance.”
“Well, you have another nuisance you’ll have to deal with,” Julia said. She brought up a video on the phone and shoved it across to Treadwell, who watched it with a stony face.
“Jesus,” he said, looking up.
“What are you going to do about Clyde? Talk about certifiable. The man is an animal who needs to be put into a cage.”
“I’ll talk to him, but in the meantime we have to keep this among ourselves.”
“It’s on the internet already.”
Treadwell sat back. “My God,” he said softly. “Now of all times, Julia?”
“I didn’t start it.”
“You did by meeting with Betty.”
“We talked about family, damnit.”
“Why didn’t you let me know you and she are cousins?”
“Because you and Betty hate each other’s guts, and I don’t want to be a part of that mess,” Julia said. “But it brings us right back to the … situation. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to stay the course. Less than twenty-four hours.”
“What about Cassy?”
“She’s gone,” Treadwell said. “Permanently.”
Julia looked away for a moment. “Fraud is one thing, Reid, but murder is another.”
“She was kidnapped, and all I know is that she is no longer a problem. Our hands are clean. Your hands are clean.”
“In the meantime, what about Clyde? The bastard assaulted me, and you need to do something about it.”
“Your call. All I ask is that you wait until the dust settles. After opening bell tomorrow, we’re all going to be busy around here.”
Julia was mollified, but just barely. “I want an apology,” she said. “A public apology in front of my staff.”
“Done,” Treadwell said.
After a long moment, Julia nodded. “In the meantime, keep him out of my hair.”
“What about Abacus? If Cassy really had the antidote, could it be used by someone?”
“Not off-site. Everything that goes out of here has a BP marker. Somebody would have to be on the premises to make it work.”
“Are you sure?” Treadwell asked.
“Absolutely,” Julia said.