Formula for Danger. Camy Tang

your greenhouse?”

      “Actually…” Edward’s face vacillated between pale and red. He placed his hands on Rachel’s shoulders as if to brace her. “I, uh, was going to talk to you about that before…”

      Yes, he had wanted to speak to her when they first drove up to the house. She tried to answer, but her throat had dried. She swallowed painfully. “Well?” she croaked.

      His eyes were pained—for her. “There are three plants missing.”

      “Three? Are you sure?” Detective Carter asked.

      “Alex and I cleaned out greenhouse four, and counted all the plants several times. We checked the grounds around the greenhouses, in case the plants were dropped by the intruders or by one of us.” His thumbs rubbed her skin once, twice. “There are three plants gone.”

      As the shock wore off, Rachel became aware of a rising sense of hope. “They stole three plants. They needed to steal three plants.” Her breath started to come quickly. “That means they didn’t know what strain of basil it was. That means…”

      Edward caught on. “We thought they only intended to sabotage your product launch. They shouldn’t have needed to take samples.”

      “If they already had my research notes, they’d already have known the basil strain. Edward, that means they don’t know. That means they might not have stolen my research yet.” Rachel’s hands flew up to grip his forearms. “We still have a chance to save this product launch.”