Текст книги "Заговор мечей"

Автор книги: Джейн Doy Press

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“But you’d think he wanted the guys as bad as we do.”

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” Teren tilted her head. “Did Davies know about the meeting? Did he know Wister was going to be there?”

“Yeah, Wister had to clear it with Davies, why?”

“Just a thought. Maybe we should ask Ken to check into where Davies was last night.”

“Why? You can’t be thinking he might be somehow involved.”

Teren shrugged. “All I know is I didn’t do it, and I don’t appreciate the railroading any more than you do.”

Alex nodded, and leaned forward. “So, what are we going to do about it.”

Teren grinned and dropped her eyes to her hands. “I’ve been thinking about that. I think I know where we need to go.”

“Where’s that?”

Teren reached inside her jacket and pulled out a couple of plane tickets. She nonchalantly handed them to Alex, then started whistling while looking at the ceiling.

Alex took the tickets in her hand, glancing at the destination. Her jaw dropped.

“Zurich?”

Teren nodded.

“Switzerland?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And who are these tickets for?”

“You and me.”

Alex sighed. “I had a bad feeling you were going to say that.” She tossed the tickets on the bed beside the CIA agent. “Want to share your reasoning with me?”

“Sure. Tell you what. Let’s clear this table, and bring in the one from your room. We can put them together and compare notes. Alright?”

“Okay. And you’re going to be honest with me, right, Teren?” Alex was standing up to move her tray of breakfast dishes when Teren reached out and touched her arm. She looked down at the woman still seated on the bed.

Teren’s blue eyes gazed intently at Alex. “I’ve never lied to you, Alex,” she said quietly. “I may have kept a few secrets, but I never lied. And if we’re going to do this, then there won’t be any more secrets either. If we go, we’re going undercover, and the only backup we’ll have is each other.” She hesitated a moment. “We’ve only known each other for eight days, and half of that we were only acquaintances. That’s a short amount of time to develop trust in a person, but we’re going to have to if we do this.”

Alex waited a moment before answering. She kept her gaze steady. “I trust you, Teren. I’d let you guard my back any day.” Then she winced, and looked down. “Though after last night, I guess I would understand if you weren’t sure about me guarding yours.”

Teren squeezed Alex’s arm gently, willing Alex to look at her again. When the blond woman did, Teren raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why wouldn’t I want someone at my back who could stay in control of a situation, and hold off three – no, four men, by herself.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ken said he never had a chance to reload his weapon, and he didn’t even think he fired all his bullets. When I was checking the scene, I looked at the weapons the others, Rick and David, had. Neither got off more than four rounds. One of the two other agents was the first to die, and the other never reloaded his weapon. So, the only one that was really keeping those guys from killing everyone there, was you. And you did a great job.”

“Great job. I was the only one to walk out of there without a gunshot wound.”

Teren purposely thumped a finger off Alex’s bandaged arm, and the smaller woman grimaced in pain.

“No, you didn’t walk out unscathed. That wound is on your shooting arm, Alex. Yes, two of your men died, and a few were injured, one seriously. But you had three men in front of you, and one coming in from the rear. You took out one guy, and put a bullet in another. You kept your attackers at bay until help could get there.” Teren shrugged. “Sometimes, that’s all you can do.”

Alex didn’t say anything. She gazed at Teren for several long moments.

“So, you’d trust me to protect your back?”

“Anytime.”

The blond woman nodded. “Then let’s get to work. We’ve got a lot to do before we leave.”

The two of them shared a smile.

Teren moved the table in from the other room while Alex got her briefcase and her laptop. The blond agent stopped for a moment, and watched the darker woman maneuver the awkward burden through the doorway.

“Teren?”

“Yeah?”

“At some point we’re going to have to talk about what happened last night.”

Teren stopped in her tracks, then started forward again, setting the table down gently.

“Yeah, I suppose we will.” She stood up and turned around. “But I gotta tell you, I don’t think I’m ready for it, Alex.”

Alex watched Teren’s blue eyes as they danced around the room, settling on anything but Alex. “Are you sorry it happened?”

The question finally brought Teren’s gaze to hers. “Are you?”

“No.”

“Me neither.” Teren sat on the bed once again. “But I don’t think I’m ready to think about why it happened or what it means. There’s too much going on right now.”

“True.” Alex took a seat next to her. “But I guess I kind of needed to know that – well, that for one thing, it wasn’t a dream.”

“Nope.”

“And that – that – it wasn’t just —”

“Me taking advantage of you?”

“No. Me taking advantage of you.” Alex turned to her. “Teren, I needed so much to be held, to know that I wasn’t alone. And you were there for me. I’m grateful.” She dropped her eyes. “But I’d hate to think that – it was– ” she stopped, her hands covering her eyes. “Maybe I’m not ready for this talk either.”

Teren chuckled, and gently reached up and ruffled Alex’s short hair. Then she got serious.

“Alex, I can admit that I find you attractive. That was the other reason I accepted the invitation from Sarah and Maggie.”

“Really?”

“Really. But we’re in the middle of this – this investigation. And who the hell knows what’s going to happen? As much as I’m going to try not to let it happen, we could both end up dead.” She saw Alex’s eyes widen. “You did know that, right?”

Alex swallowed and grimaced. “Well, yeah, I did. I just never said it out loud, or heard it put quite that way.”

“Sorry, but tact has never been my strong point.” They smiled at each other. “I just think that any attraction should maybe wait until we’re out of this mess.”

“I agree.” Alex nodded. “Besides, we’ve known each other less than two weeks.”

“That’s right. And I don’t think either of us is ready to think about the future right now.”

Alex grinned. “Speak for yourself.”

“What?”

“Tell you what. When this is all over with, I’ll take you to my favorite Italian restaurant, and we can have the conversation neither of us is ready for.”

Teren smiled and nodded. “I think I can handle that.”

“Good.” Alex stood up. “Now, before we get into any hard-core discussion, can I have an Ibuprofen? My arm’s killing me.”

Teren laughed, and reached for the bags she’d brought back.

Chapter Twenty-two

Teren and Alex faced each other across the table. Alex had opened her laptop and accessed all her files, while Teren had pulled the Washington printouts from her briefcase.

“Okay. Let’s start with a question: did Brogan say anything before the shooting began?”

Alex nodded. “He told us Mallory Gerlach was not involved. He said the whole operation was organized by a small group of men, Derek White among them.”

“Any other names?”

“He confirmed Martin Richmond and John Treville. He also said there was somebody named Jacob.”

“As in Jacob Dawkins.” Teren drummed her fingers on the table. “Anyone else?”

“Someone named C.J., from Washington. That’s all.”

“Have we run across anyone with that name?”

“I haven’t. You?”

Teren shook her head. “No, doesn’t sound familiar. But it’s something to keep in mind.” She took a sip from her coffee cup. “At least we know we were on the right track. And we have the names, at least the first names, of all the top conspirators. From the US at least.”

“Yeah, now we just have to prove it.” Alex nibbled absently on her pen cap. “You think there are more people from outside the country?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, where did the money come from to pay for these hits? Mather wasn’t working for free.”

“And I’m guessing you know the answer to this particular question.” Alex grinned.

“Yes and no. I can tell you what bank the money was kept in, what account it was, and all the other transactions that took place. I can even tell you when the account was opened, and where that money came from.”

“So, what part can’t you tell me?”

“Who the cash originally belonged to, and why they gave five and a half million dollars to John Treville.”

Alex dropped her pen. “Okay, I give. Where did you get this?”

“Well, I took the number of the Swiss account you gave me, and I checked with a friend of mine. He was able to access more of the bank records than you or I ever could.” Teren slid a couple of printouts over to Alex. “Look. This is the opening transaction for the account you found. You see the date, and the record number?” Alex nodded. “Well, this is where the money originally came from. It’s an account that’s so old there is no computer information, other than the account number itself, and the amount in the account.”

“Jeez, am I reading this right? This account that we don’t have anything else on has over a hundred and fifty million dollars in it?”

“That’s right.”

“So this five million to Treville and Richmond really wasn’t that much, was it? And we don’t have any idea why this person gave them the money.”

“No. I’ve got a feeling that if we find out who this parent account belongs to, we’ll know the reason for the gift.”

Alex nodded, but frowned. “Okay, I agree with you there. But we’ve still got the same problem we’ve had from the beginning. There’s no direct physical proof.” She reached for her coke. “I mean we’ve got White’s fingerprints on the dagger in Mather’s box, but that doesn’t really connect him to the killings. We’ve got Brogan’s wife, but all she can really testify to is that she saw this group of men together. She was never present for any of the meetings.”

“How solid is her testimony?”

Alex squinted, thinking about it. “Pretty good, I’d say. She comes across, to me at least, as believable. She can also confirm the connections between her husband, John Treville, and Mather and Wilford. She gave us the same names her husband did. Plus, Kyle told her that the group had hired Mather and Wilford to do some work for them.”

“So, the stories back each other up.” Teren nodded. “Good. I don’t know that this will ever come into a court room, but if so, the eyewitness connecting them will help.”

“You think it won’t go to court?”

“I don’t know. So far, everything points to someone wanting to keep this from being solved.” Teren smiled at Alex. ” But I’m hoping to change that.”

“How so?”

“Alex, do you realize that in today’s age, there isn’t anything you do that isn’t somehow recorded in a computer?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Well, you know when you send a package somewhere, especially if you send it through UPS or Fed Ex, your name is recorded, as well as the person the package is going to. Plus, the option is offered for you to insure a package that you send. That way if you send a valuable piece such as a statue, or a painting, or a —”

“Or a chalice.”

“I was going to say goblet.” Alex chuckled, and Teren grinned at her. “Anyway, records are kept, and all records kept on computers are vulnerable to the wrong people finding out.”

“Really. And who are these wrong people?”

“You and me.” Teren pulled out another sheet. “I thought about how our friend Halloran, out in Colorado, might have come into possesion of an item such as the silver cup we found. He probably didn’t take it out there with him, because he just opened the safe deposit box a few days earlier. So, I checked, and sure enough, his name was on a package delivered by Fed Ex.” Her eyes met Alex’s. “You’ll never guess who sent it.”

“Kyle Brogan.”

“Bzzzz. Wrong answer. Wanna try again?”

“No. Tell me.”

“John Treville.”

Alex nodded. “Good. There’s another link.” She thought for a moment. “I suppose Treville picked these items up while traveling in Europe, right?”

“Somehow, I doubt that. Customs might have had a problem with him bringing them into the country, and they’re too big for him to have smuggled them in easily. I’d say he had them sent, by Fed Ex, from Europe.”

“And I suppose you have the papers to prove that?”

Teren grinned again. “Sure do. Electronic copies of shipping invoices and Customs paperwork. He regularly receives packages from both Switzerland and Germany.”

“Where are these coming from, a business, or an individual?”

“Depends. The packages from Germany are from an individual, who happens to be a dealer in rare coins. Llast package from this guy was a couple of months ago, though. The ones from Switzerland come from a company called Altbusser Galerie, based in Zurich. They export fine art goods. Funny, though, I haven’t found any record of a payment from Treville to the company.”

“Have you checked out the company itself?”

“Yes. It’s fairly respectable, having done business with such places at the Louvre in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. They specialize in reproductions of famous artworks.”

“So, these items sent to Treville are listed in the shipping papers as reproductions, when they’re actually the real thing.”

“Exactly.”

Alex sighed. “But we can’t prove it, can we.”

“Not yet. That’s why we’re going to Switzerland.”

Alex shook her head. “Teren, are you sure about this? I mean, how are we going to use those tickets? My passport is in Washington, and Davies has probably put out some kind of check on the airlines, to watch for you. The haircut is good, but not that good.”

“Have you checked the names on those tickets?”

“The names?” Alex picked up the ticket envelopes from the corner of the bed. One ticket was for Theresa Wilcox, and the other was for Andrea Reed. Alex looked back up at her friend. “And just how are we going to pull this off, oh greatest of spies?”

“You and I are going to visit a friend of mine. He does the best forgeries I’ve ever seen.”

“I take it he’s CIA?”

“Nope. He’s better.”

“His work is better than that of the CIA?”

“About the same quality, actually. But he’s better because he’s strictly an underground guy.” Teren finished her coffee, and stood to pour another cup.

“What does that mean? He only works for spies and the like?”

“No. He only works for groups or individuals that he thinks are trying to overthrow the United States government.”

Alex let her chin drop. “And the CIA doesn’t close him down?”

“Close him down? Never. He has this thing about the revolutionaries he supports. They must be non-violent. If someone comes to him and says, ‘I need a fake ID because we’re renting a truck to blow up a building,’ he’ll make the ID, but he’ll make it a bad one. And as soon as the money has changed hands, he’ll call a contact at the CIA and the appropriate agency will be notified to pick the bombers up.” Teren sat back down, crossing one leg under her. “So, in exchange for his tips, which have been very accurate, he’s allowed to make his money, and continue his support of peaceful subversive revolutionaries.”

“But don’t the groups that get busted catch on that the guy turned them in?”

“I’ve found that most revolutionaries are extremely intelligent people. Terrorists, however, are not. If someone’s about to blow up a building and kill a lot of innocent people, they’re a terrorist. And from my experience, probably pretty dumb.”

Alex nodded. “And we’re going to go see him.”

“Right.”

“Does that mean we’re subversive, now?”

“Well, think about it. By going AWOL from the Bureau, they’ll probably mark you as a rogue agent, and if you’re found you could be arrested. You realize that, right, Alex?”

The blond agent nodded “Yes, Teren, I know. And before you ask, no, I’m not changing my mind.”

“Good. Now, since I’m trying to avoid questioning in the murder of two police officers, that makes me a fugitive. So, we’re both running from two government agencies that want to blame us for things we didn’t do. At the same time, we’re trying to find evidence to put the leaders of two of the biggest religious right groups in the country behind bars for a very long time.” She raised her cup in a mock salute. “Sounds pretty damn subversive to me.”

Alex thought about that, and raised her Coke can. “Then here’s to being a subversive.”

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

“Are you connected?”

“Yeah. Hotmail, coming up. Do you know what name you want to use?”

Teren came over to stand behind Alex, staring at the screen. “How about I choose the alias for the official stuff, and you choose the on-line name, hm?”

“Sounds good. Are you going to use Theresa, like on your ticket?”

“No, I don’t think so. If anyone catches on that it’s us emailing him, I don’t want them to be able to trace the tickets with that name. So,” she crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling, “use the name Cassandra Leitner.”

“Got it.” Alex typed in the name. “State?”

“Use Colorado. That’s where the ID is from. Make the zip 80014.”

“Birthdate?”

“Um, January 12, 1969. What else do you need?”

“Occupation. Computers?”

“No, customer service.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Cassandra was listed as an employee at a bookstore.”

“Oh. Okay. And the sign in name will be?”

“Your choice.”

Alex thought about that for a moment, then typed a word in. She looked over her head at Teren. “Is that okay?”

“Electricblu? I don’t get it.”

“It’s the color of your eyes. I think I told him that one time when he asked about you.”

“You think my eyes are electric blue?”

Alex nodded.

“Okay. Can I choose the password?”

“Sure. What do you want it to be?”

Teren leaned over and typed slowly with one hand: ontherun.

Alex grinned. “You have a wicked sense of humor.”

“Most people don’t think I have a sense of humor.”

“That’s because they can’t see past the wickedness.”

“Are you saying I’m evil?”

“Absolutely not, Teren. I said wicked. There’s a difference.”

They grinned at each other. Alex looked back at the screen. “They want us to give them a question that only we’d know the answer to, so if we forget our password they can ask us the question, and they’ll know it’s us if we answer it correctly.”

Teren snorted. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”

“I know, but we should still give them a question.”

“Fine, choose one.”

“How about this: Who is C.J.?”

“Good. Only we don’t know the answer to that question.”

“But they don’t know that. And it will remind us to think about it.”

“What would we use for an answer?”

Alex stared at the screen, then looked up again. “How about ‘unknown suspect?’”

Teren nodded. “Good one. So, we are Electricblu at hotmail-dot-com.”

“Right.”

“Okay, send Ken a quick note just saying hello, and then let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Alex was typing as she spoke.

“We’re off to see my friend Leo.”

“Oh. That’s the undergound guy, right?”

“Yes.And when we get there, remember your name.”

“My name?”

“Yeah, you’re Andrea, not Alex.”

“Right. And you’re Theresa?” Alex sent off the message to Ken, and ended the connection.

“No. He knows me by another name.”

“Which is?”

“Terry.”

Alex shut down the computer. “Short for Teren?”

“He doesn’t know Teren, so don’t call me that in front of him, okay?”

“Got it.” She closed the laptop, and stood. “Can I be like your underground friend, and call you Terry?”

“You do, and I’ll put you underground.”

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

Underground was a good way to describe where Teren’s contact lived. His small apartment was in the basement of a four story building. His windows were small and very high up on the wall. To complete the illusion, he had covered those small windows in tinfoil, effectively blocking sunlight from getting into the apartment.

Teren had parked in the alley behind the building, and she led Alex through the back door and down the stairs. She stopped at a door that was covered in peace signs, knocking three times, then twice more. A moment later they could hear bolts being pulled back, and the door opened just a fraction. Alex could see there were at least three chains on the door, and one of them was very thick.

“Who is it, and what do you want?” The voice asking was very gruff and low, between a whisper and a growl.

“Terry. Got a job for Leo.”

“Don’t know any Leo.”

“His last name’s Peacemonger.”

The door shut, and they could hear chains rattling. Then they were being ushered into a dark foyer, and into the apartment.

It was a one room place, with a small open kitchen at one end, and the door to the bathroom next to the front door. The walls were a dull off-white, and covered with newspaper clippings and covers of magazines. There were no book shelves, but there had to be at least a couple hundred books lining the walls under one of the covered windows.There was no couch, only a roll away bed that sat in one corner. There was no tv, nor any stereo, and only a few wooden chairs that looked like they had seen their best days several decades ago. There was one floor lamp, and the light it gave created shadows throughout the room.

The only place in the apartment that was well lit was a corner filled with computer equipment. Three large desks had been pulled together to create a small office, with the computer screens facing away from the door. There were three monitors, from what Alex could see, and several printers. A large flat bed scanner occupied the center of one desk, in between two large tower CPUs. A third tower sat on the floor underneath one of the desks. Alex could see a tripod with a mounted digital camera sitting behind the desks near the wall.

The sound of the man’s rough voice brought Alex’s attention back to Teren and her contact.

“Terry, it’s good to see you. Who’s your lovely friend?”

“This is Andrea. Andrea, this is Leo.”

Alex reached over to shake the man’s hand. “Hi, Leo. Nice to meet you.”

Leo took her hand and gently raised it to his lips. “Andrea, what a lovely name.”

Alex’s eyes went wide and she stuttered for a moment. Teren came to her aid, grinning.

“Cool it, Leo. She’s queer.”

“Aw, Terry —”

“She’s also taken.”

Alex raised her eyebrows at Teren who winked. Leo shrugged, and dropped her hand. “Well, nice to meet you anyway, Andrea. Either of you want a brew?”

“No, thanks.”

“Okay. What kind of job do you have for me, Terry?” Leo edged his way around to the back of the desk, and sat down in the office chair behind it.

“I need a full set of papers, for Andrea.”

“You got the cash?”

Teren smirked at him. “Don’t I always?”

He grinned back at her. “Simple enough. Can I ask why you need them?”

Teren shrugged. “I need to get her out of town.”

“Why?”

“She’s being blamed for something she didn’t do it.”

“How do you know she didn’t do it?”

“Cause when it happened, I was with her.”

Leo shrugged. “Fine with me. Okay, Andrea, step up to the camera.” He pulled the camera and tripod out and set it up facing the wall. When he had it positioned the way he wanted, he sat back down, making sure the connection was set. He nodded.

“Okay, just reach up there and pull that screen down.”

Alex reached up to the handle of what appeared to be a movie projector screen. When she pulled it down she found that it was a blue background.

“Fine. Now, put your back against that wall, and give me a smile.”

Alex did, and was blinded when the flash went off. She blinked.

“How real do you want this, Terry? I mean, you want her fingerprint, or someone else’s on the driver’s license?”

“Someone else’s, I think.”

“Fine. What year was she born?”

“1971. June seventeenth.”

“Where?”

“Um, surprise us. Just don’t make it anyplace too outlandish.”

“Where’s she living now?”

Alex jumped in with the answer. “Chicago.”

Leo looked up at Teren. “Okay?”

“Chicago’s fine. Her last name is Reed.”

“Middle initial?”

“E.”

Leo began typing, and switching from computer to computer. Alex began examining the walls, and the different articles Leo had pasted on them. She noticed that he had, in a protective sleeve, a copy of the Life Magazine with Lee Harvey Oswald on the cover. He also had a cover of Time Magazine featuring the riots in Chicago in 1968. That magazine was autographed by Abbie Hoffman.

“Hey, Andrea.”

It took Alex a moment to realize that was her, then she turned to Teren. “Hmm?”

“How tall are you?”

“Five foot six.”

“Weight?”

She grinned. “One-thirty-eight.”

“You’re kidding. No way.”

“Yep. Gotta remember, muscle weighs more than fat.” She thumped a fist against her stomach. “And I’ve got lots of muscles.”

For some reason, Teren turned red. “Make it one-thirty.”

Leo was grinning. “You’re cute when you blush, Terry.”

“Shut up, Leo, or you’ll be pulling your keyboard out of your ass.”

Leo chuckled but didn’t say anything more.

It didn’t really take long for the paperwork, and when it was finished, Alex had a new birth certificate, complete with the official seal of New York City, and a driver’s license from the State of Illinois. She also had a passport, a credit card, a gun permit, and a social security card with a totally new number.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say these were real. Nice job, Leo.”

“Thank you, Andrea. An artist always likes to get compliments on his work.” He grinned up at her. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“I think that’s it. Terry?”

Teren winked at Alex. “Yeah, that’s all. You did a great job as always.”

“Great. Now pay me.”

“I thought artists regarded compliments as their payment.”

“From her,” he nodded at Alex, “it’s payment. From you, it’s bullshit.”

Teren laughed, and pulled an envelope from her pocket. Alex watched as she counted out fifteen one hundred dollar bills, handing them to Leo.

“Nice doing business with you, Terry.”

“Same here, Leo. You take care, alright?”

“You, too.” He reached up to take Alex’s hand. “And you be careful and get out of town safe.” He winked at her and leered. “And good luck with her.”

Alex blushed, and smiled at him, then looked up to find Teren had turned red again.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, thanks. I appreciate your help, Leo.”

“No thanks necessary. Just keep an eye on the tall dark and gorgeous one.”

Alex laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, I will.”

Teren rolled her eyes. “Come on, Andrea,” she said, placing an emphasis on the false name. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”

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

Using Chris Fleming’s credit card, Alex and Teren spent an hour at the mall, making sure they had enough supplies for their trip. Alex had only those clothes she’d taken to Colorado, and one set had so many bloodstains she decided to toss them. Alex began to add up the bills in her head, and wondered who would ultimately pay for the purchases.

“Teren, did you inherit a few million dollars or something?”

Teren looked puzzled, and she glanced across the car. “No. Why?”

Alex shifted her position, trying to find a comfortable spot for her arm. “I mean, who’s going to pay for the clothes? Theresa Wilcox doesn’t exist.”

“Oh. Well, each operative has a certain amount for expenses every month. Anything over that amount is pulled from the salary. I’m not listed as a current field operative, but I still get a certain amount for expenses.”

“Okay, but wouldn’t that have been taken up by the tickets to Colorado, and then here to Philadelphia?”

“No. I paid for those myself.”

“And the identification?”

“Mine.”

Alex bit her lip. “Um, that’s quite a bit of money. Especially when you add in the tickets to Switzerland.”

Teren was silent. Alex waited a moment, then looked at the dark agent.

“Teren?”

Teren sighed. “Alex, are you sure you want to know?”

“Well, yeah, I think so.”

“You remember when you asked me about Mather and how he got the rifle? I told you that looting was not discouraged?”

“I remember.”

“Let’s just say there aren’t many agents who can consistently resist temptation.”

Alex turned back towards her own window. “So, it was, what, loot from —”

“Alex, just drop it. You really don’t want to know the whole truth.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t. Believe me, you really don’t.”

There was silence again, and this time, Alex didn’t break it.

Instead, she just stared out the window, wondering again about the woman she’d entrusted herself to.

Teren’s clenched jaw began to ache from tension. She wished that Alex hadn’t asked her about the money. It wasn’t a pleasant part of her memories, nor was she proud of where the funds had come from. But she also was glad she had it, since that was what the two of them would be relying on while working on this case.

“Is this part of that trust you were talking about, Teren?”

The question felt like a blow, and Teren winced.

“All right. You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Two and a half years ago, Perry and I were in South America. We were supposed to observe one of the leaders of an opposition force, and report whether or not we felt he could be dealt with through diplomatic means. What that actually meant was, we had to decide whether or not we could control him if he got in office. Both of us agreed that the guy was going to cause major trouble for the government he was opposing, and that if he won the next election, he would be willing to negotiate with the US, but probably would not be open to manipulation.”

She was silent again, and Alex waited. Finally, without turning from her window, Alex asked her to continue.

“Right after we sent our report, we were contacted by a representative of the government in power. He offered us a contract to kill the guy we were observing. We contacted the agency, who said we should take the contract. Two days later the man collapsed from food poisoning and was taken to a hospital. He never recovered. Perry and I each received a large bonus for our work.”

Alex swallowed. “So, you killed him.”

Teren stared straight ahead, and quietly said, “Yes.”

Neither of them spoke until they reached the hotel parking lot. Teren reached to the shut off the car, and Alex placed her hand over Teren’s.

“You were right, I really didn’t want to know.” She waited until Teren met her eyes. “But I needed to.”

Teren nodded. “Come on. We’ve got suitcases to pack, and we need to check that email. Maybe Ken’s already cleared our names.”

“You think?”

“Not really.”

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

Teren ordered an early dinner for the two of them, while Alex checked their new email account. Ken had been busy, and there were several messages, including a list of the men that had been their attackers.