Free The Lost Key by Catherine Coulter Page B

straighter, to intimidate, and said very quietly, the threat clear in his voice, “Would you like to tell me what your father is doing with classified material on this SD card?”
    Sophie Pearce smiled for the first time, not much of one, but still a smile. “It’s not what you think, Agent Drummond. My father’s not a criminal, he’s an expert in military history. He has friends who perhaps share things they shouldn’t, because he’s known for his discretion. He could write a book with all the stuff people send him.”
    â€œYou’re telling me his
friends
send him classified material that could be used against the United States if it were to be discovered by the wrong people?”
    Narrowed eyes replaced the smile. “Yes. What are you implying?”
    â€œI’m saying a civilian having access to these plans violateshundreds of laws. And the
friend
you speak of, the one who e-mailed these plans? He masked the e-mail address, bouncing it through about forty servers all over the world, so it’s virtually untraceable.”
    He stopped, reached down and clicked the mouse, closing the image on the screen. That was enough for now—the satellite image didn’t even scratch the surface of what Nicholas had seen, but she didn’t need to know that.
    â€œMy father would never do anything to hurt this country.”
    Mike paused in the doorway, listening. She saw Nicholas was towering over Sophie, but Sophie hadn’t moved. She looked mad, ready to square off with him. Mike had the distinct impression Sophie Pearce was more than the sum of her parts. Like the Fox, she thought, who’d very nearly brought them down, Sophie had that same feel to her—softness covering steel. She knew more than she was saying, a lot more. How to make her level with them?
    Mike stepped into the office. “Excuse me. Nicholas, can I speak with you a moment?”
    He shot her a look, nodded. Mike said to Sophie, “Do you have other family here in town? Someone who can come be with you?”
    Sophie shook her head. “It’s only us.” Her voice cracked, and they knew the fact of her father’s death was sinking in now.
    â€œWho is ‘us’?” Nicholas asked.
    â€œMy . . . my brother.”
    â€œWhat is his name?”
    â€œAdam.” Her voice shook. “Please, where is my dad? I mean, where is his—body?”
    Mike said, “At the morgue. There will be an autopsy. We need to be one hundred percent sure about how he died.”
    Sophie swallowed hard. “Someone shoving a knife in his back isn’t clear enough?”
    Mike touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I truly am. Are you sure there’s no one we can call for you? Your brother, Adam?”
    Sophie said, “No, Adam’s not here. I forgot—I have a meeting this afternoon and I need to call and cancel. Tell them what’s happened.”
    Mike said, “All right. Go ahead, we’ll be out in a moment,” and watched Sophie pull her cell from her pocket as she stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
    â€œYou think it’s safe to leave her alone?”
    Mike said, “Worry not, crime scene’s here. They’ll watch her, see if she does anything hinky. We’re in here, so she can’t hop on this computer and delete anything.”
    â€œWouldn’t matter,” Nicholas said. “I’ve already copied his hard drive and downloaded the files from the SD card.” He held up a small thumb drive. “I also encrypted the drive with my own program so no one can tamper with the files now.”
    Mike grinned at him. “I knew I asked to partner with you for a reason. I listened to some of your conversation with Sophie. Do you think she’s clean in all this?”
    â€œMike, she works for the UN. She’s a translator.”
    She nodded. “Yes, and that means international