Free Bone Cold by Debra Webb Page B

blame her. If he hadn’t seen the undeniable evidence in that small, quiet Tennessee town last year, he wouldn’t have believed it himself. But it was real. At least one cloned human had survived to adulthood. Unimaginable genetic experiments had been conducted on so many others.
    Paul Phillips and his family had barely escaped with their lives. Their secret was one the world could never know. Tom had ensured any files on Paul’s wife and sister-in-law vanished. As deep as his loyalty to the Bureau went, his loyalty to the people he cared about went much deeper. He just hoped Sarah would forgive him one day for what he’d done in his efforts to help her.
    “You need to be more specific, Mr. Schneider,” Sarah pressed. “What you’ve said so far is public knowledge. Avalon is one of the most renowned private hospitals in the country. The facility didn’t reach that status without world-class physicians. No law against being the best.”
    Schneider glanced around again. He was nervous. No doubt about it. He’d been waiting at the booth in the very back corner of the dining room when they arrived. His head hadn’t stopped oscillating since.
    “If they find out I looked at the charts…” His eyes went wide with fear. “They’ll kill me.”
    “What charts?” Tom asked, careful to keep his voice down. Though there was only one other couple in the restaurant, there were plenty of waitresses preparing for the morning rush.
    “The charts of certain patients.” Schneider cleared his throat. “Rich kids. The parents brought them there when nothing else worked.”
    “Were these children ill?” Sarah asked. There was a fine tremor in her hand as she reached for her coffee.
    She wasn’t as strong as she wanted Tom to believe. God almighty, he was worried about her. This case had consumed his existence for more than a year. Still, he should have made time to check on her. No wonder she was determined to go through with this divorce.
    Schneider nodded. “Most of them died.”
    “Doesn’t sound as if those award winning physicians did anything special if the children died anyway,” Sarah suggested.
    “I don’t know about that, but I know what I saw in those charts.”
    “What was that, Mr. Schneider?” Tom was ready to hear more than speculation. If the man had something concrete he needed to spit it out.
    “The kids weren’t listed as patients. They were listed by number as
test specimens
.”
    Tom looked toward the waitress. It was time to make this guy put up or shut up. “I don’t appreciate my time being wasted, Mr. Schneider.”
    Schneider surveyed the restaurant again to make sure the waitress wasn’t coming. “If I tell you more, I don’t want my name in it. I don’t trust these guys.”
    “Why?” Sarah asked. “Why would you be afraid of anyone at the hospital?”
    “Those kids were in a special unit at the hospital.” Schneider leaned across the table again, his voice getting lower with each word spoken. “None of the regular staff goes in there. The patients don’t go in the usual way. They don’t go out the usual way either. If someone dies in that unit an unmarked van takes the body away. And I don’t mean someone from one of the funeral homes. I know all those guys.” He looked from Sarah to Tom and back. “This is different.”
    “Why come forward with this information now?” Sarah asked. “You’ve worked there for a decade. What happened to prompt you to speak up now?”
    That would have been Tom’s next question. This guy wasn’t telling them everything he knew. He was holding back some relevant piece of information.
    “That missing kid, Myers, he was…” He moistened his lips. Cleared his throat again. “He was in the unit and his parents took him out. There was a big hubbub about it. The next thing I knew he was on the news.”
    Sarah glanced at Tom, and then asked, “You’re certain? Sean Myers?”
    Schneider nodded. “I swear to God. I don’t know about the