Текст книги "Заговор мечей"

Автор книги: Джейн Doy Press

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 40 страниц)

“Sounds great. How will you send it?”

“I’ll make sure to give a call, and get a security box set up for you. You’ll be let in, I promise. The stuff will be waiting in the box.”

“Good. That’ll give me time in the morning to see your friend, and in the afternoon I can pick up the material.”

“Okay.” He held out a hand. “It’s been great to see you, girl.”

“Same here, Carl. One of these days you’ve got to come back East and spend some time with me.”

He shook his head. “Not a chance. I love these here mountains. Even when everything gets crazy, I know they’ll be there, steady on as always.” He looked at her. “Don’t you ever miss them, Teren?”

She nodded. “All the time, Carl.”

And now, she was once again on a plane leaving those mountains. Heading back into a case where her involvement had started out unintentional. Even now, she wasn’t really sure how that had happened.

Sure, Graves had gotten her over to FBI Headquarters by telling her about Perry’s badge. And she had wanted to see if Alex could lead her to the men who paid Mather. But how did she become a part of that search, she wondered?

She could blame it on Sarah and Maggie, she supposed. After all, they had invited her to their house to meet Alex, who had talked her into helping. But that wasn’t fair because she had had every intention, and even the opportunity, to say she couldn’t make it. Instead, she had agreed, shown up, and even agreed to drive the blond agent back to her apartment. After that, there was no way to stay out of the investigation.

So, Teren thought, it’s Alex’s fault. She’s the reason I’m involved in this mess.

Teren smiled to herself. Involved. Ann had put a whole new meaning on that word.

She and her former lover had a short but affectionate conversation after Alex left them alone. It had started with Ann’s question about how she knew the blond FBI agent, and Teren’s story of being on loan from the Agency.

“So, you are still with the Agency. I had wondered. Even worried.” Ann was holding Teren’s hand. “How is Perry?”

Teren bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood, but managed to finally say it. “He’s dead, Ann. He died about six months ago.”

“Oh, Teren, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She stroked Teren’s cheek, trying to get the woman to look into her eyes. “I know how close you and he were.”

Teren lowered her head and nodded. “We were.”

“How did he die, can you tell me? Or was it —” She broke off.

“Yes, it was in the line of duty, Ann. The two of us had our cover blown in Eastern Europe. I got out. He didn’t.”

Teren said all of this without raising her head.

“Goddess, Teren, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” Ann tried to put her arms around Teren’s shoulders, but the sling and the IV got in the way. She had to settle for holding even tighter to her hand. “I’m grateful you got out at least. And I know Perry would feel the same.”

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, he told me that. He said if he was going to die, he didn’t want me to be there beside him, and I should get my ass to the helicopter.”

“And you did?”

“Yeah. I almost made it, too.”

Ann’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean, almost?”

“Just before I got there, somebody shot me.”

“What did you do?”

Teren grinned. “I got back up and dragged my ass to the chopper. Wasn’t any way I was going to the afterlife then, just to have Perry pound on me for not making it another four feet.”

That brought a smile to Ann’s face. “So, you’re okay?”

“Yeah. A couple of scars, but I’m fine.”

“Uh-huh,” Ann sounded doubtful. “You’re fine? Right. Why don’t I believe that, Teren?”

“Hey, it’s true, I’m okay. Really.”

Ann nodded. “So, tell me how you got involved with Agent Reis?”

“We’re not involved, Ann, we’re just working on the case together.”

A smile slid across Ann’s lips. “I never meant anything else, Teren. Was that a Freudian slip?”

Teren chuckled and shook her head. “Nice try. No, it wasn’t.” Was it?

Here in the plane Teren was reminded of that little afterthought. She had time now, to look at it again. No, she hadn’t meant involvement with Alex, that was absurd. Sure, Maggie and Sarah had tried to set them up, but the two of them were just working together. Yes, she was involved in this for Alex, but it wasn’t the only reason. She really did care about this case.

As for being involved with Alex, it was a preposterous idea.

*******************************************************

David had dropped his seat all the way back, and was snoring softly. Alex, sitting by the window, wished she could get some sleep. She needed to be able to function tomorrow, but at this rate would probably not even be awake.

It would have been easier to fall asleep if she could get the voices out of her head. It wasn’t that they were really loud,but they were very persistent. The voices were actually from memories, from her day, and everything that had happened. Especially the last conversation with Teren before she left.

The former spy had business back in Washington, and had returned to the capitol as planned. Her plane left twenty minutes before the flight for Philadelphia, and Alex and David had stayed with her at the gate until it was time for her to board.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us? This is an area we could probably use your expertise in.”

“I’ll meet you guys up there, David. But first I have to check with some contacts in DC. It’s important.”

He shook his head. “Be careful, Teren. From the way you and Alex were talking in the car, this Treville might try to make you our next victim. I’d rather not see them put you in a body bag.”

She smirked. “That’s not what you would have said Friday night.”

He grinned “I know. Amazing what forty-eight hours can do, huh?”

Alex wasn’t happy about the situation either.

“Can you tell me what’s so important about meeting these contacts?”

Teren glanced up at Dave who had wandered away for the moment. Then she met Alex’s eyes.

“I might have a lead on the money angle. I know Treville spent time in Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, and Germany, before returning to the states. Ostensibly, he was touring right wing Christan groups in those countries. But as you know, that wasn’t his only reason for being there.”

“You think he found, what, a treasure trove, and brought it back to the States?”

“No. I think someone else has been guarding this treasure trove, and simply allowed Treville access to it.”

“How can we prove that?”

“We probably can’t. But I might be able to at least uncover the source of his funds.”

Alex nodded. “But that brings us back to those bank accounts, doesn’t it. If that’s part of his funding, and you mess with those —”

“Look, Alex, one problem at a time, alright? First, you find Brogan, and I’ll try to find the link between Treville and the treasure. Once we get those out of the way, we’ll worry about the rest.”

Alex let her chin slump to her chest. When she raised her head again, she looked at Teren with deadly seriousness.

“You be careful, understand? Don’t go putting yourself in the line of fire. You may not believe it yet, but this team needs you.” I need you.

Teren smiled and nodded. “I promise.”

“Besides, if you get yourself killed, Maggie and Sarah will never forgive me.” I’ll never forgive myself.

Teren laughed at that.She placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

“Alright, I have to board. You and David take care. As soon as I can, I’ll be calling Cliff for your location so I can meet you. Stay in touch with him, okay?”

“You won’t be available on your cell phone?”

“No, or at least not consistently. There are places inside the building that you’re not allowed to bring things like a phone into. Since I need to get into one of those places, I won’t always have my phone with me.”

“Will they let you in, even though you’re supposed to still be on leave?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. Just remember to stay in touch with Cliff, alright?”

“Got it.” Alex leaned forward to hug the taller woman, but stopped at the last moment, not sure if Teren would accept the physical touch. Instead, she held out her hand. She was surprised when Teren grasped it and pulled her into an awkard hug.

Then Teren was gone down the ramp.

David and Alex waited until she had turned the corner before picking up their own bags and heading to their gate for the flight to Philadelphia.

Now, as she thought about it, Alex wondered about the whole scene. She couldn’t remember ever being worried about Teren before. It was obvious the woman was an excellent fighter and could probably handle herself no matter what the danger. So why was she still so worried?

Plus, Alex couldn’t remember the last time she ‘needed’ someone. The only one she’d ever said she needed was her father, but even then it was the kind of needing that all children have for their parents. She had always felt the need for her father, and his presence had been sorely missed since his death. But how did that compare to this ‘need’ she thought about towards Teren?

She could admit that the investigation definitely needed the former spy. After all, without her, they might have taken forever to find half their evidence, and they’d still be unaware of many of the connections they were now looking into. The task force really did need her, and that, she argued to herself, could be taken to mean that Alex, as a part of the team, needed Teren.

Alex thought she could live with that explanation. She did need Teren, but only as a teammate. Finally, the voices inside began to fade as they gave in to her body’s demand for sleep.

She was beginning to float peacefully away, when a stray thought drifted through.

If she only needed Teren as a teammate, then why had she been jealous to learn of Teren’s relationship with Ann Seffren?

As much as she wanted to play with that question, her exhaustion won out, and she finally fell asleep.

Chapter Eighteen

Alex actually found herself awake early in the morning. This was a good thing, she decided, since she had an eight o’clock meeting with Rick Price and Ken Thomas, as well as the head of the Philadelphia office. She and David wanted a few minutes with Ken before the meeting, so Alex found herself in the car by 7:15, and shaking Ken’s hand by 7:45.

“Thanks for meeting us at the airport, Ken. We were so tired we probably would have taken a taxi and been asleep before we could tell the driver the name of the hotel.”

“No problem. I’m glad you’re here. It’s been a hell of a mess.”

“Anything we should know before we go into this meeting?”

Ken sighed. “Well, for one thing, we’re getting very little in the way of police help. Davies said he doesn’t believe Brogan had anything to do with this, so he’s been in to see Agent Harnisch, who’s the Agent in Charge up here. Last time we met, Harnisch wanted to know why we were harrassing a man who’d had his car stolen. We showed him everything we had on Brogan.”

“And what did he say?” David asked.

“He didn’t say anything, except that he’d look it over. We never heard back from him, but Davies called. Said Brogan was calling him claiming harrassment, and wanted to know who to talk to about filing suit. Davies said he’d back him, because there was no evidence that Kyle Brogan was involved in the commission of a crime.”

Alex shook her head. “Damn. I knew that man would come back to haunt me.”

David eyed her ruefully. “If Teren was here, we could sic her on him.”

They shared a laugh, while Ken looked on.

“Um, who’s Teren again?”

“Teren’s —”

“Hard to explain,” Alex interrupted his partner. “Let’s just say she’s an unofficial part of our team, courtesy of Cliff.”

“And the CIA,” David had to say.

“Oh, so Teren’s the assassin, right?”

David ducked and Alex groaned. “Look, Ken, don’t call her that, okay? She was an operative, and now she’s not, and that’s all you have to know.”

Ken nodded. “Right. So, David why were you ducking a moment ago?”

“Alex threatened to let Teren shoot me the next time I call her – that. So, I didn’t want to be in the way of any stray bullets.”

“But I thought she wasn’t here?”

Alex glared at David. “She’s not, Ken, right, David?”

“With Teren, you never know.”

Jeffrey Harnisch was not a bad leader, Alex decided after the meeting. He was just slow to make decisions, which practically guaranteed he’d never make Assistant Deputy Director on the national level.

But when he did make decisions, they were usually very good ones. First, he had decided to release Rick Price to the assassination task force. Secondly, he had agreed to hold Janet Brogan and her two kids in protective custody until they could be placed in a witness protection program. Thirdly, and most importantly to Alex, he had told Police Captain Anson Davies to kiss his ass.

Davies had shown up at the meeting blaming the FBI for the bombing of Kyle Brogan’s house. He ranted about harrassment, and screamed at Alex that it was her fault, despite the fact that she hadn’t been in the city. Harnisch had told Davies to get out of his office, and that if he ever saw Davies again, he’d trump up so many charges against the man that he’d still be in Federal Court in the year 2050. Then, for the final insult, he had security escort the police captain from the building.

“Stupid, arrogant, self-righteous son-of-a-bitch.”

Alex couldn’t hide the grin. She’d called Davies that same thing, many times, but never out loud.

“Alright, Agent Reis. What do you need from me?”

“We need to find Brogan, fast. This is your city, Sir, so as far as a search, I’ll let you make the call.”

“Okay. First off, we know we’re not going to get a lot of help from the local PD.” He gave them a sheepish grin. “And I suppose I just guaranteed that, huh?”

Everyone chuckled.

“Rick, you and Ken have been watching this guy for a couple days. Any ideas where he might go?”

“I doubt he’d go to any of his regular places. Too much of a chance for the wrong person to spot him.”

“Good point.”

“He’s got a little black car, a hatchback, but it doesn’t have a license plate yet, so that’s out. Even if he swiped a set of plates off another vehicle we’d have almost no way of tracing it.”

Alex turned. “Hey, Rick, I thought he asked where he might go, not why we haven’t found him.”

“I know, Alex, but I’m not sure. I mean, we have people covering all the stations, bus, train, plane, even boat. We sent out warnings to hotels in the area, saying they should call the FBI if someone by his name checks in, but that’s not gonna help if he’s using fake ID.”

Ken leaned forward from his position against the wall. “I doubt he’d have a fake. I mean, he was out when the bombing occurred, and had no need to carry a phony license or anything. And if he didn’t have one before, he certainly isn’t going to go to his buddies and ask for one.”

“So, where does that leave us, Ken?” Harnisch asked.

“Well, I think it means he’s either left the city in his car, or he’s living rough.”

Rick nodded, rubbing a hand across his chin. “Yeah, or he could be staying in one of those ratty motels by the strip. They don’t ask for ID.”

“Good. I’ll have a couple agents go through those places, and I’ll have someone else check our street contacts. If he’s living rough, chances are he’s gonna stand out like a sore thumb, and somebody’s gonna notice.” Harnisch looked at Alex and David. “Can you two think of anything I’m forgetting?”

David shook his head, no. Alex tapped her nose, and looked up at the ceiling.

“Couple. For one, I think we should check all the hospitals and morgues for John Doe’s matching Brogan’s general description, or anyone brought in sometime in the last twelve hours. We need to be realistic – he could already be dead.”

“Alex, I can do that while you and Rick are interrogating Brogan’s wife.”

“Thanks, Dave. The other thing is this. Does Brogan have a cell phone? Did he have it with him? And do we have the number for it. I know it’s difficult, but if we can get him to answer the phone, and it’s on a GPS, —”

“We can get a position on him. Good thinking, Reis.”

Rick was flipping back through his notes. “Yeah, he has a cellular. As for whether or not it’s with him, I would presume he took it with him in the car, but I can’t say for sure.” He folded his notebook. “As for the number, I don’t have a clue.” He grinned. “But I’ll bet his wife does.”

Alex smiled back at him. “Yeah, I bet she does. Why don’t you and I go ask her, huh?”

“Good idea.”

“Um, could I just ask why it’s going to be you two?” Harnisch asked. “I mean, I know Ken wanted Alex and David down here, but I’m still not real sure as to why.”

Ken nodded. “Well, Rick and I, we played good cop,bad cop, and I think we played it well. Janet Brogan knows him and me, and knows he’s the good guy, so it should be easier for her to open up without me in the room. Then again, Alex is female, so she’ll be even less of a threat.” David laughed at that, and Ken grinned at him. “Theoretically, Dave, theoretically.”

Harnisch nodded. “Good thinking. Very good. You think you can ask questions nicely, Alex?”

“Sure. And if I don’t get the answers I want, then …”

“She’ll wait for Teren to get here, and have Teren ask nicely.” David smirked at his partner.

“Right. And who’s Teren?”

The four agents looked at each other, and David said, “Well, Teren is, um —” he stopped for a moment, then he, Alex and Ken finished the sentence.

“Hard to explain.”

Harnisch raised his eyebrows. “Right. Hard to explain.” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to know.” He waved at them. “Get out of here.”

The four agents shared a grin and left.

*******************************************************

Teren pressed the buzzer on the mailbox marked with the name ‘Stuart Mouskevitz.’ A moment later the door buzzed back at her, and she entered the building. She took the elevator up to the fourth floor, and followed the directions she’d been given. She found 415 at the end of the hall, right next to a fire stairwell.

When she knocked, a voice called out, and she pushed the door open carefully. She found herself in a small foyer attached to a living room. Facing the window, was a young man typing on a keyboard. He didn’t even look up.

“Come on in. Close the door, would you?”

Teren did so, gently closing the door behind her. As she made her way further into the apartment, she noticed first its sparseness, and secondly, the owner obviously loved to read. Every wall had bookshelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, and all of them were filled with books, or magazines, or pamphlets.The only exception was the area immediately in front of the window, where a table with the computer sat. Beside the computer, and scattered across sections of the table, the couch, and the armchair, were stacks of papers and journals. Teren took her time looking at the books, waiting for the young man to turn around.

When he did, he looked up at her and grinned. “So, you’re the spy Carl said he was sending to me. I’m Stu.” He offered his hand and she shook it.

“Teren. Nice to meet you.”

“Jeez, Carl said you were beautiful, but I thought he was just being nice.” The grin widened. “After all, the only beautiful women spies are in James Bond movies, and most of them are bad guys!”

Teren laughed with him. He invited her to sit, and moved a stack of papers off the armchair so she could do so. After looking around for another empty surface, he shrugged and put the stack on the floor next to a book shelf. He returned to his seat, and looked at her.

“Okay, what do you need to know?”

“Well, Carl said you could tell me a little about the leadership of the right wing.”

“What part of the right wing? I mean, are we talking far-right, near right, Republican right, religious right, patriot right —”

“Lets start with the religious right, and see where it leads us, okay?”

“Okay.” He got up. “Personally, I think it’ll lead us in a great big circle.”

“What do you mean?”

Stu scratched his head, as he looked among a group of folders in one of his many stacks. “Well, it’s kind of like one group leads to another, you know? Religious right, patriots, klan – ah, here we go.”

He pulled out a folder and handed it to her. It was labeled ‘Leadership Diagram.’ She opened it to find a folded sheet within. She unfolded the sheet to find a group of names, both of people and organizations, with arrows and lines and circles around and through them.

“Um, Stuart, can you explain this to me?”

“Only if you promise not to call me Stuart again.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s Stu, or guy, or jerk, but not Stuart.”

Teren looked at him, amused. “Fine.” She motioned to the diagram. “Care to interpret this for me, Stu?”

“Sure. It’s simple really. Look here. This is Stephen Radcliffe. You know him, right?”

“Yeah, leader of Christians Unite.”

“Right. But did you know he’s also on the board of directors for the Christian History Foundation?”

“No.”

“Okay, here’s the head of the History Foundation, Melvin Stevens. Now, he sits on the Board for Christians Unite, as well as the board for the Christian Men’s Front. Which brings us to Martin Richmond. Now, Richmond is the head of the CMF, and he’s also on the board of Christians Unite, and the Religious Families Association, whose leader is Jacob Dawkins. Dawkins is on the board of CMF, as well as being a board member, and a Fellow of the Christian History Foundation.”

“What’s a Fellow?”

“It’s a title they give people. It means he gave them a whole shitload of cash.”

“Gotcha.” Teren examined the sheet again, noting many of the titles and positions held by these men. A name caught her eye, and she pointed to it. “Who’s she?”

“Oh, yes, Ellen Maguire, Christian Women’s Forum. You know, she’s the one that said feminists are all witches and baby killers and dykes.”

“When was this?”

“A couple years ago. By the way, she also is a Fellow at the History Foundation, as well as being on the board of RFA, and the board of Rescue Missions International.”

“That’s the group that blockades abortion clinics, right?”

“Correct. It’s run by Harvey Richardson. He, get this, is on the board for CMF, RFA, and CU, as well as being a Fellow at?”

“The Christian History Foundation.”

“Correctamundo! You get a prize!”

“What’s that?”

“Another diagram.” He placed another document on top of the one she held. “Okay, here is Steven Radcliffe, right? And here is John Treville. Know him?”

Teren gritted her teeth and nodded.

“Okay. The two of them traveled together in Europe several months ago. Steven would appear at all these religious functions, since they were supposedly touring all the right wing Christian groups in Europe. Treville would be with him most of the time, but not all.” He pointed to the line from Treville to a capitol ‘N.’ “Treville was seen, and photographed, on the stand at a Nazi parade in Lithuania . The parade was in honor of Adolph Hitler. I can’t remember what it was about, maybe his birthday, or when he took power, or something. It really doesn’t matter what the reason was, these guys just love parades.”

Teren’s eyes narrowed. “Treville was photographed on the platform? What was he doing there?”

“Reviewing the troops. The guy’s a Nazi, right down to his goose stepping little toes.”

Teren took a minute and reviewed both papers Stu had shown her. “Okay, now can you tell me how anyone on here connects to Derek White?”

He snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me. These people? They’re too self-righteous to admit any kind of connection to the far-right.”

“But the connections are there, aren’t they?”

Stu grinned. “You betcha.” He got up to get another file, and Teren slid her coat off thinking it was going to be a long morning.

*******************************************************

Rick led Alex into the basement of the Philadelphia FBI building, where there were a number of rooms meant for people they had to keep in hiding. This was the place Janet Brogan and her two kids had been brought after the explosion in their home. It wasn’t nearly as nice as their house, but there was a television, a stereo, and a small collection of books to read. It wasn’t the Waldorf, but they weren’t dead either.

Janet Brogan answered Rick’s knock on the door, leaving it open for the two of them to follow her into the small kitchenette. The oldest child, Brogan’s daughter, was watching the TV when Alex and Rick entered. She looked up at them with wide eyes, and quickly looked back at the screen. Alex winced at the shock on the girl’s face.

Janet had white blond hair, that was swept around her face in waves. She was a few inches taller than Alex, with a heavier body. She appeared to be about forty-five, though Alex knew from the file that she was only thirty-eight. The woman looked like she hadn’t slept any more than Alex, and Alex noticed that her hands shook as she poured coffee for the three of them. Alex took a sip of hers, thinking she needed the caffeine. She grimaced at the taste.

“Is something wrong, Agent Reis?”

“Call me Alex, and, no, not at all.” She gave the woman a smile. “I’m just not a coffee person. Never liked the taste.”

“Then why did you say you’d like some?”

Alex shrugged. “Didn’t get a lot of sleep, and I need the caffeine.”

Janet chuckled and sat down, folding her hands around her own mug. “I know about no sleep. I didn’t get a wink last night, and neither did the kids.” She shook her head. “They don’t understand what’s going on. They both had nightmares all night. I finally just got Eric down for his nap.”

“I’m sorry. I know this whole situation must be hell for you.”

“It’s no party, that’s for sure.” Janet rested her arms on the table, leaning onto them. “Rick says you have questions for me, is that right?”

“Yes. I know this is difficult, but I need you to be as honest as you can.”

“I have been. I’ve told Rick everything I know.”

“Okay. I’ve seen Rick’s notes about the bombing, and the last few days, so I’ll try not to ask the same questions he did. I might though, so bear with me, alright?”

Janet nodded.

“Great. So, just to recap, you and the kids were out shopping, is that correct? And when you came home from the grocery store, the explosion occurred while you were still outside.”

“Yes.”

“And Kyle wasn’t home, you’re sure about that.”

“Yes. He was supposed to be, but his car was gone. I noticed that when I got home.”

“Okay. Now you told Rick that you hadn’t seen anyone suspicious in the neighborhood recently. I know Rick, and Agent Thomas visited your house a few times to talk to Kyle. Were there any other visitors?”

“Just a few friends of ours. They came over, oh, last Monday, I guess, because it was right after our other car was stolen.”

“And who are these friends?”

“John and Karen. We go to the same church as they do.”

Alex jotted the names on her pad. “And John’s last name is?”

“Oh, don’t drag them into this. They’re such good people.”

“Janet, we won’t talk to them unless we have to, but I need to know their last name.”

The older woman sighed. “Treville. John and Karen Treville. Karen and I have worked together on several charity drives, and John is a deacon in our church. He also works at East Penn Telecom, where Kyle works.”

“I see.” Alex traded glances with Rick. “And the last time you saw or spoke to John or Karen was last Monday?”

“Yes – no, wait. That’s right, John called, a couple of days ago. He wanted to talk to Kyle, but Kyle was in with Rick, and that other man. John said Kyle should call him back.”

“That was a couple days ago? Did Kyle return the call?”

“I think so.”

Alex folded her arms and looked across the table at Janet. “Okay. I need to know when was the last time that Kyle saw his cousins, Mallory and Derek.”

Janet shook her head. “Not that again. Like I told Rick, it’s been months since we saw Derek, and even longer since Kyle has even spoken to Mallory. The two of them had an argument over something, two years ago. They haven’t spoken since.”

“And Derek White? I know you told Rick he was there six months ago. Was it just him, or his family?”

“Just him. There was a meeting, a prayer meeting.”

“A prayer meeting?”

“Yes. Derek may have some tendencies toward discrimination, which I don’t like, but he is a Christian. He met with my husband and several of his friends to pray.”

“Were you there for the meeting? Did you hear them praying?”

“No. Kyle said they wanted the house to themselves. I took the kids and went over to Karen’s house. I got home a few minutes before everyone left.”

“So, they were praying when you came in?”

Janet looked down at her coffee cup. “Well, no. They were talking, but it was obvious the meeting was over. They were laughing a lot, and they’d had a few beers.”

“Is that usual at a prayer meeting?”

Janet didn’t raise her head, but she shook it, slowly. “I’d never seen it before, except when Kyle and his friends gathered. He said it helped them relax after praying so hard.”

Alex again glanced at Rick, but the younger man was busily taking notes. She turned back to Janet. “Can you tell me who exactly attended this meeting?”

“Well, there were Kyle and Derek, of course, and John Treville. And someone named Jake, but I never heard his last name.” She thought about it. “There was also a C.J., and Marty. Marty was a good friend of John’s it seemed, because they always came together to the meetings.”

“Meetings? There was more than one?”

“Yes. It started about a year ago. For a while they had meetings every six weeks or so. Then, I couldn’t tell you when, but just before the last meeting, John invited these other two men.” Janet grimaced. “I didn’t like them at all, and I told Kyle that. He laughed and said they probably wouldn’t be back. I asked him who they were, and he said the group had hired them for something, to take care of some church business.”

“Do you remember their names?”

“Yes. Well, kind of. The one guy’s name started with a ‘D’ I think. I’m not sure. But the other one, him I remember. He was really jumpy, nervous like. His name was George.”

“George? No last name?”

“I’m sorry, I never asked anybody for their last name. Kyle said it wasn’t important.” Janet paused, staring down into her coffee cup. “Alex, what does all this have to do with my house being blown up?”

Alex sighed, and reached out to touch the other woman’s hand. “Janet, we think that your husband may have been involved with several men, including his cousin, who were part of a much larger conspiracy. We think they may have planted the bomb at the house.”