Out of Sight Out of Mind by Evonne Wareham Page A

and out, depending on her.
    You are so screwed.

Chapter Seven
    Madison sat in her office, regarding the computer screen thoughtfully. She fiddled briefly with the chain at her throat, realised what she was doing and dropped her hand. She added a few lines to her proposal for her work programme with Jay, and pressed send, frowning as the machine stuttered before confirming that the e-mail had been dispatched to the Administration Office. With any luck the administrator wouldn’t get round to looking at it for a few days. With more luck, he wouldn’t look at it at all. He’d just file it. Madison crossed her fingers. She really didn’t want to share information on Jay.
Don’t want anyone telling me to put him back where I found him!
    She stood up, smiling. The new morning had calmed yesterday’s doubts. She could do this. Whatever there was to find, she’d find it. If Jay was conning her, a good investigator would uncover it – and she was going to get a good one.
    She looked at the clock. Time to go and stick more needles into a defenceless six-footer with a beautiful butt and a wicked smile. She’d noticed the smile.
And the butt.
    Nothing in the manual that said a woman couldn’t enjoy her work.
    Vic was leaning back dangerously in his chair, whistling and scratching his crotch when Alec opened the door. Alec’s grunt of disgust was quickly stifled, but Vic had hearing like a cat. He straightened the chair, feet to the floor, and held up a finger.
    ‘You too, buddy,’ Alec retaliated.
    Vic snickered. ‘You might want to get down from that friggin’ high horse if you want to see what I got for you.’
    ‘Give.’ Alec held out a peremptory hand.
    Vic moved a bundle of printouts into the safety of his lap. ‘Pretty please.’
    Alec sized up the situation. It wasn’t worth the hassle of an undignified scrap over a pile of paper. ‘Pretty. Fucking. Please.’
    Vic tutted and passed over the papers, spreading them with his fingers to illustrate. ‘E-mail to the voice analyst woman she uses. Asking her to work on a recording of a new subject she’ll be sending over.’
    ‘Subject A?’ Alec looked up.
    ‘Who else? Private deal, not through the lab.’
    ‘Clever girl. Kong said she was inventive.’ Alec shuffled further down the bundle and laughed.
    ‘What?’
    ‘The research programme she just filed from the lab for Jay Jackson.’ Abruptly his laughter died as he stared at the sheet. ‘For Christ’s sake – Jay? How the fuck did he remember that?’
    Vic wasn’t concerned. ‘You said there might be a small amount of leakage, even with the deterrents you built in.’
    ‘Yeah, but not something that basic.’ Alec could hear the alarm in his voice and cursed mentally.
    Surprisingly, Vic didn’t pounce. ‘Don’t sweat it. The guy is bound to be thinking – trying to figure out what the hell happened to him. Your name – it’s like part of you, isn’t it? Embedded? It’s not as if he’s remembered anything else that would be of use – and you said he was good.’
    ‘He thinks he is.’ Vic’s unexpected support, and the rest of the contents of the paper bundle, leached away the panic. Alec grinned
    Vic caught it. ‘Again – what’s funny?’
    ‘This list of drugs she’s planning to pump into him. She uses half of these, he’s going to feel like shit.’
    ‘And this amuses you?’ Vic rolled his eyes. ‘Christ! And you used to be a buddy to this guy! Remind me to watch my back.’
    ‘Buddy?’ Alec’s face hardened. ‘Yeah. Buddy. I’m the closest thing Jayston Creed ever had to a best friend.’

Chapter Eight
    Madison locked her car, turning quickly as a shiver went down her back. A young woman who was unloading flat-pack furniture from the car in front, while a small, blond boy looked on, shot her a startled glance. Madison pulled herself together.
    She’d had the creepy feeling that someone was watching her for a couple of days now. And it was getting stronger. She didn’t