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revealing her worry.
    â€œShe, uh, didn’t really elaborate. How long has she been sick?”
    â€œOnly a few days.”
    â€œAnybody else sick in the house?” asked Jack.
    â€œNo, thank the Lord,” replied Gabriel.
    â€œJack,” said Laura, “I don’t think we should wait for Connie to take a statement if Natasha said —”
    Jack put up his hand, signalling for Laura to stop and turned to Gabriel and said, “Does Faith have her own bedroom?”
    â€œYes,” replied Gabriel, sounding puzzled.
    â€œI would like to see it,” replied Jack. “Would you mind?”
    â€œI haven’t cleaned it,” replied Gabriel. “With her being sick … the bed isn’t made.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” replied Jack. “We’re not with Good Housekeeping .”
    â€œOkay … I’ll show you,” replied Gabriel. She carried Faith down the hall as Jack and Laura followed. As they reached the bedroom door Gabriel asked, “What are you looking for?”
    â€œExamining if Faith could be sick from an environmental cause,” replied Jack.
    â€œI told you I hadn’t cleaned for a few days,” responded Gabriel nervously, “but I am sure that my housekeeping is not such as to make anyone sick. If you are thinking …”
    â€œFrom what I can see, your home is impeccable,” replied Jack, entering the bedroom. “I’m more concerned with fumes coming up from the basement.”
    â€œOh, that,” said Gabriel, sounding relieved. “I’m used to it and don’t smell it anymore. What you’re smelling is cleaning fluids that the men downstairs sometimes mix up for different cleaning solutions. They told me that different types of floors and rugs require different types of cleaning agents.”
    Jack spotted a discoloration on the wallpaper alongside Faith’s bed. He got on his knees and looked under the bed. What he saw made him want to retch. It was a cold-air return vent coming up from the basement. He was conscious of Laura getting down on her knees and looking. Their eyes met and he saw her mouth drop open in shock as their eyes met.
    â€œI found him!” yelled Noah, from the kitchen. “This is one of them!”
    The excitement of Noah’s discovery caused Jack and Laura to temporarily suspend their thoughts on the cold-air return. Seconds later, everyone huddled around Noah at the kitchen table as he proudly pointed to a picture.
    â€œSee?” said Noah, pointing at the picture with his finger. “That’s Joe.”
    â€œOh, no, honey,” said Gabriel, while ruffling Noah’s hair. “Joe doesn’t have a beard. This man looks —”
    â€œNo, Mom,” said Noah, sounding exasperated. “His hair is the same colour.”
    â€œReddish-blond,” said Gabriel. “Honey, lots of people have hair that colour.”
    â€œNo,” said Noah adamantly. “You never believe me. You’re so dense sometimes,” he muttered.
    â€œNoah Parsons, you don’t talk that way with me,” replied Gabriel crossly.
    â€œMom, look closer at his eyes,” pleaded Noah. “He even has the same freckles on his nose.”
    Gabriel looked again and after a few seconds she brought her face closer to the screen. “Good heavens, you’re right,” she said in amazement. “It is him!” She looked at Jack and added, “But his hair is short now and he is clean shaven.”
    â€œTold you so,” said Noah, looking pleased with himself.
    Jack knew the man in the photo. Herman Varrick. A year and a half ago Varrick ran one of seven labs on which Jack orchestrated raids after receiving information from an informant inside Satans Wrath. An informant he no longer had.
    To make matters worse, Satans Wrath had an informant of their own. Someone working in Drug Section had tipped off some of the labs prior to the raid.