Page 79 of Deep Blue Sea

‘We didn’t need him anyway. Laura’s confirmed the affair.’

There was a knock at the door. When Rachel opened it, a hotel employee in a smart dark suit handed her an envelope.

‘What is it?’ asked Ross when she had shut the door.

Rachel sliced open the envelope and flicked through the pages inside.

‘Information about Rheladrex, by the looks of it,’ she muttered. ‘Thank you, Megan Hill.’

She lay back down on the bed, propping two pillows behind her head, and started to read.

‘I’m hungry,’ said Ross, getting up from his chair. ‘There’s a diner a few blocks away if you fancy it. Want me to go and get some takeout?’

‘Sod that. Let’s call up room service.’

‘Are you sure? I mean, your sister is paying for all this and I’m sure she would much rather see you at the youth hostel than whooping it up at the Seasons. What if she refuses to pay the bill?’

‘She’s already given me cash. Besides, she knows I need the right conditions to work.’ She grinned at him but secretly thought he might have a point. But remembering her sister’s hard slap across the face at the Lake House, Rachel figured the least Diana owed her was a club sandwich on expenses.

‘You take half of these pages,’ she ordered. ‘It’s details of the late-stage development trials for Rheladrex.’

‘Conducted by Rassalle Inc. Who are they?’ queried Ross, scanning the top sheet.

‘I read about this on the internet. Obviously for a drug to get passed by the FDA they have to go through layers of testing. The bulk of it used to be done on home turf – in this case America – but in the past few years pharmaceutical companies have been doing a lot of their clinical trials overseas, often farming the job out to companies who specialise in it. They go all over the place: Africa, eastern Europe . . .’

‘Cheap places, basically.’

‘Life is cheap where there’s money to be made,’ replied Rachel cynically. ‘Critics say that in some of the Third World c

ountries used for testing there is also less regulation.’

‘Look at this. Bristol, Jamaica.’ Ross was already on Google Maps. ‘It’s about ten miles from Montego Bay. Bucharest is also listed.’

‘So both of the places that Julian and Madison flew to had Rheladrex trials going on there.’

She took a swig of Coke from the bedside cabinet.

‘Fancy a holiday?’

‘What, now?’ queried Ross.

‘A working holiday. Which would you prefer? Montego Bay or Romania?’

‘I think Montego Bay has better beaches,’ smiled Ross.

‘The words needle and haystack spring to mind, but if anyone can find out why Maddie and Julian were there and what they found, it’s you, McKiney.’

Her mobile phone was buzzing furiously.

‘Unknown number,’ she tutted. ‘They always make me nervous.’

When the caller spoke, Rachel almost fell back with shock. A smart, rich baritone; a voice from the grave.

‘Rachel, it’s Adam Denver.’

Her pulse slowed with relief. ‘Adam, how are you?’

Ross pointed at the door. ‘I’ll be in my room,’ he mouthed as she gave a thumbs-up.