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contained: anthrax, ricin, botulinum toxin, HIV. All were deadly, none contagious. She sat up. Although the abrupt movement caused stars to dance in her eyes, she felt otherwise completely normal. Her stomach growled, but her head no longer pounded. The cell phone next to her bed rang, the persistent beeping getting louder the more she ignored it. She answered it to find Karen on the line.
    “I finished your sample. We were unable to find anything untoward or illegal. You tested clean.”
    Emma hadn’t expected a negative test. Whatever was pumped into her had increased her athletic ability tenfold. There was no way she could have run as fast as she did and still felt as good as she had without some sort of chemical boost.
    “That’s not possible. No trace of steroids? EPO for blood doping?”
    “Nothing. If you had won this race, no one would know you’d been on medication. Just how much of a boost did this injection give you?”
    “A huge one. I ran the last two hours faster than I’ve ever run. I reduced my split time by thirty minutes, and that’s after mile thirty-five.”
    “And you have no other symptoms?” Karen asked.
    “Only an extreme anxiety reaction bordering on paranoia.”
    “You were just blown off your feet in a blast. I would think it’s natural to have some anxiety after that. In fact, you’d be crazy not to be anxious. Umm, Emma?” Karen sounded hesitant. “Could you have imagined the injection? I mean, you told me you were dazed for a few minutes after you landed.”
    Emma considered Karen’s comment a moment.
    “Unfortunately, I don’t think I imagined him. And to be honest, if it weren’t for the increased ability, I might entertain the idea. But the race splits speak volumes. There is no way I could decrease my time so dramatically so late in the game without the boost that injection gave me. Especially considering the condition I was in right before the blast. My feet were failing, my head was pounding from the heat, and I could feel dehydration setting in, but I was having a terrible time keeping down the gel. Whatever he pumped into me was a miracle drug. Maybe I’ll run a few more extensive tests of my own. Can I have access to your temporary facilities here?”
    “Of course, but first, did you go to the police?”
    “Yes. I gave them a report. Do you have a key card for the lab?”
    “You’ll need to ask Mr. Stark for that. Do you have his number?”
    Richard Stark was the CEO of Price. Emma not only had his phone number, but she was placing the finishing touches on a report that Pure Chemistry had prepared for him regarding a Price drug. The report contained devastating news, and she had hoped to delay speaking with him until after they were back in the States. As it was, she needed his facility, so she had to run the risk that he’d take the opportunity to ask about the findings. She hung up and called him. He listened in silence while she tried to make light of the reason for her need to use the temporary facility. She didn’t want him to object and demand she go to a hospital, as Karen had.
    “I used some new supplements and had an outstanding race. Too outstanding, actually.” She told him that she’d given a urine sample that had tested negative.
    “A negative sample? I wouldn’t worry, then,” he said.
    “I just want to run down some ideas I have. Clarify a couple of things.”
    “Fine. I’m going there now before I take the corporate jet to Nairobi. Meet me in, say, an hour?”
    Emma got up and packed to go. She needed to figure out what had been pumped into her, and soon. Once she did, she wasn’t staying an extra minute in Pietermaritzburg if she could help it.
    She shrugged into a pair of jeans, pulled on a T-shirt, and covered that with a lightweight linen blazer. She slipped on soft-soled black athletic shoes. She’d expected to stay in Africa just long enough to run the race. As a result she’d brought only the bare minimum in a small