INTO THE TREES [5]

Laboratory, yes. Doctor there … he started this.'

"You're saying there's a laboratory in the jungle, and that the doctor there started this virus? This sickness?" said Sam.

Mowen nodded as if it was obvious.

"How do you know this?" said Purna.

Mowen grimaced as if she was being naïve. 'I know. Everyone knows.'

Purna stared at him. 'Wait a minute,' she said, holding up a hand. 'Don't move.'

She turned and walked a couple of dozen paces away from the group, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. The signal was not great, but hopefully it would be good enough. She keyed in the number Ryder White had texted them all a little earlier. After just one ring, White's clipped voice said, 'Yes?' As concisely as possible, Purna told him what Mowen had said.

Excitedly, White asked, 'Will he take you there?'

"He seems reluctant. He wants to know what's in it for him."

"Tell him I'll pay him whatever he wants. He's done jobs for me in the past, and he knows he can trust me to keep my word. Time may be running out, but money's something I'm not short of."

"It could be a dead end," said Purna.

"Or it could be exactly what I need – what we all need. It's just too good a lead to ignore, despite the extra time involved."

"OK," Purna said. "How is your wife, by the way?"

"Deteriorating. But stable enough for now. Listen, keep in touch, OK? Let me know what's going on."

"If I can," said Purna, and broke the connection.