Marise listened silently.
“Her background is in environmental chemistry,” Kathleen continued. “She pioneered some of the early hydro polymers used in ocean cleanup tech, a big deal in the eighties. She’s semi-retired now, but she still mentors some researchers withindependent funding. She read every draft I ever wrote. She gave me feedback right up until six months ago.”
“What happened then?”
Kathleen’s expression darkened. “I stopped sharing the sensitive data. I wanted to surprise her when it was all working. And… I was scared. I thought the less anyone knew, the safer it was.”
“But she had an access key?” Marise asked.
Kathleen nodded slowly. “Yes. She helped me set up the lab systems years ago. I never revoked her admin login.”
Marise swore under her breath.
“I need to believe this is a mistake,” Kathleen whispered. “That someone used her initials. She’d never…never do anything so unethical.”
“It sounds like her,” Marise said carefully. “But if it isn’t, you’ll need proof before confronting her. No accusations without something to back them up.”
Kathleen exhaled shakily and nodded. “Can we go after lunch?”
“Yeah. I’ll drive.”
Marise glanced once more at the patent document on the screen. EW Enterprises. It was a serious betrayal of trust, if that’s what it was. The kind that can’t be forgiven.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The drive back was quiet, the kind that wasn’t peaceful. Her mind in a whirl, Kathleen sat stiffly in the passenger seat, arms folded across her chest, eyes locked on the blur of the roadside trees. Veronica let her stew in silence. The tension in Kathleen had shifted, no longer feeling high-alert anxiety of being hunted, but now one of betrayal.
She couldn’t believe Edith would do this to her. All the afternoons she had spent helping Kathleen rehearse talks, going over data line by line until it made sense. The way she’d intervened once, gently but firmly, when a senior researcher dismissed Kathleen’s early ideas as impractical. She had always defended her, because sometimes Kathleen didn’t have the words to defend herself.
Edith had been like a second mother, the one who saw the strange shape of her mind and loved it anyway. Kathleen remembered the night that she had spent until midnight helping her before a major conference, printing slides, fixing a corrupted file, and ordering takeaway when Kathleen was too stressed to eat. She’d quietly pulled her out of a panic spiral in a hotel bathroom once, minutes before Kathleen’s first panelpresentation, simply by sitting beside her and reminding her she’d earned her place there.
When Kathleen got her first major grant, it was Edith who bought her a bouquet and a bottle of prosecco and left them outside her office door with a handwritten note:Told you so.
She forced back the tears that threatened to fall.
As they reached the heavy traffic, Veronica glanced over at her. “Are you all right.”
Kathleen sniffed. “Not really, but I’m getting on top of it.”
“We’ll be home soon. I’ll drop you off and keep going. There’re a few things I have to do. Shall I come over tonight?”
“I’ll have to see mom and dad. They’ll be waiting to hear all about my research now it’s published.”
Veronica reached over with one hand and squeezed her thigh. “Okay. If you have time, give me a ring to let me know how you got on with Edith.”
“I’ll make time,” Kathleen said, knowing she was going to need her support. Confrontation with Edith was going to be horrendous.
When they reached her building, Veronica pulled up outside. She leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’ll see you soon.”
Kathleen unclipped her seatbelt and opened the door, hating to leave her. “Bye,” she said and stepped out onto the pavement.
In her apartment, she unpacked and threw her dirty clothes in the washing machine. Then she showered, dressing in something that meant business—a dress and low boots, the kind of thing she used to wear when Edith took her to networking events and made her practice introductions. She dried her hair, left it loose, and put on a single pair of earrings.
Her hand trembled as she slipped her laptop into her bag.
When she arrived at Edith’s house, an elegant, white building with black trim, Kathleen hesitated at the door, steeling herselffor the emotional encounter. She stood there for nearly a full minute before pressing the bell.
It opened faster than she expected.
