Текст книги "Заговор мечей"
Автор книги: Джейн Doy Press
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Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 40 страниц)
“Hey, Teren, they identified the guy who shot David, and who I killed.” She stopped for a moment, the shock of that statement making her clench her teeth. Then she shook her head, and started again. “Supposedly he’s a salesman for the Kittredge Clothes Company.”
“Really. What a surprise.”
“Yeah. One of the other guys was a local, and a known skinhead.”
Teren leaned over to read the screen from behind Alex. “I can believe that. One of them definitely had the look”
“The other two were identified as a couple of guys from Montana, who were both wanted for questioning in a couple of murders in that state. They disappeared from their hometown six months ago.”
“So, three known racists, and someone connected to our favorite clothes maker. Anything else?”
“Yep. Derek White has gone missing.”
Teren dropped her forehead to Alex’s shoulder. “Great. How much do you want to bet he’s on the run just like Brogan was?”
“Question is, will he end up as dead as Brogan, or will we get to him first?”
There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it. Find out if Ken knows what’s up with Davies, would you?”
“Right.”
Alex read the rest of Ken’s email, becoming more and more frustrated as she did so. It appeared that, other than the identities of the men who attacked the agents, nothing more had been done to determine exactly what happened. The materials that Alex had ordered collected from the scene and taken to Bureau headquarters had been turned over to the Philadelphia police without even being inventoried. The only good news was that Jeff Harnisch had insisted all ballistics be handled by the FBI. Because of this, Ken was certain that, in this area at least, there had been no tampering with the evidence. It was, however, the only thing he was certain of.
Teren came back with dinner. Rather than order from room service, the two of them had ordered a pizza from a nearby restaurant. Alex moved her computer to one side, giving Teren the room to put the pizza box on the table.
“Anything else interesting?”
“Well, Davies put out an APB for you as of this afternoon. He’s demanding that Harnisch do the same for me.”
“Great.”
“Tomorrow morning he’s releasing your description to the press.”
“Even better. Good thing we’ll be gone by then.”
“What time is our flight tonight?”
“Eight-thirty. We’ll fly first to Heathrow, and then switch planes and continue on to Zurich.”
“Great. Do we have a long layover?”
“No, just under two hours.”
“So, what time will we reach Switzerland?”
“We land a little before one in the afternoon.”
“Hm.”
They were both quiet for a while, concentrating on the pizza in front of them.
“Teren, what are you doing?”
“What?”
“You’re pulling off the green peppers.”
“Yeah, so?” Teren pulled another off and added it to the growing pile on her napkin.
“You don’t like them?”
“No.”
“Then why did we order them?”
“You wanted them. I don’t mind pulling them off.”
“We could have gotten peppers only on half.”
Teren nodded while still chewing. She swallowed, then looked at Alex. “I didn’t think of it. So shoot me.”
Alex laughed. “To quote David, don’t say shoot right now, Teren.”
Teren grinned, and waited a moment. “Hey, Alex, how are you doing with that? I mean, with David being hurt and all.”
Alex leaned back in her chair and sipped her soda. After a moment, she put the can down. “I don’t know. I’m trying not to think about it too much. If I do, I get this ache inside.” She looked up at Teren. “I miss him. He’s my partner. But he’s more than that, he’s my friend. You know?”
Teren nodded. “I know.” She pulled another pepper off her pizza. “Listen, um. I know I’m not the most open person, but – well, if you need to vent, or just talk about it,” Teren ran her hand across her nose, “I’ll listen.”
The dark woman made the offer in a soft voice, and her face was so sad that it reminded Alex of a spanked puppy. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Thanks, Teren. It’s nice to know that.”
“I wish I could have gotten there sooner.”
“Wouldn’t have mattered if you had. You came up from the behind those guys. The guy who shot David came from behind us. I’m betting he killed Wister as well.”
“Wister?”
“Lieutenant Wister. He was in the police car.”
“Oh.” She thought about it. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Why not? Oh, that’s right, you think it was someone Wister may have known.”
“Right. Besides, the gun was wrong. You’re talking about the guy you shot, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, he was holding a .32 caliber, with no silencer. I don’t think that’s the gun that killed the two cops, and unless the gun was thrown away in the vicinity, there’s no place for him to have hidden it.”
Alex frowned, and moved her pizza aside. She pulled her computer back, and opened one of the emails from Ken.
“Yeah, okay, you’re right. Ken says it was a .22 that killed the two cops. It didn’t match any of the guns found at the scene.”
“Makes sense.”
“Why?”
“Cause if Wister knew the person, there’s always the possibility someone else on the scene would know them as well. If anything went wrong, and he was recognized, it could be trouble.” Teren shrugged. “Makes sense to me that someone Wister knew killed him and his fellow officer, and then left the scene.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Is that the way you would have done it, Teren?”
Teren froze, her pizza halfway to her mouth. After a second it reversed direction, and ended up back on the table.
“Yes. That’s what I would have done, Alex.”
Neither spoke for a moment. Then Alex pushed her computer away. “After we finish dinner, would you help me change the bandage on my arm?”
Teren nodded. “Sure.”
*******************************************************
Alex and Teren left the hotel at six-thirty. They turned in the rental car, and then checked their luggage.The only thing left to do was wait.
Taking Teren up on her offer of her cell phone, Alex found a semi-private corner from which to call Sarah. She got the machine, and waited, hoping someone was actually home.
“Sarah, Maggie, it’s Alex. If you’re there, please —”
The sound of the phone being picked up interrupted her.
“Alex?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Christ, Alex, where are you? Miri said that you could be in trouble.”
“Well, yeah, that’s a good possibilitiy. When did you talk to Miri?”
“A few hours ago. She called Maggie and I very early this morning and asked us to watch Arlea. She said David had been shot.”
Alex sighed. “He was. But from what I understand, he’s going to be all right.”
“Have you been to see him yet?”
“No, and it doesn’t look like I will. Things are pretty messed up right now.”
“I guess so. This morning, Miri was cursing your name, and this afternoon, she said if I spoke to you I should tell you she loves you, and to be safe. Alex, what is going on?”
“Well, I can’t tell you everything, but I’ll try and explain the basics. First, though, it doesn’t look like I’m gonna make it home anytime soon. Can you keep an eye on Appleby for me?”
“Of course. Miri said it might be a few days, and Maggie and I decided to bring Appleby over here. Is that okay?”
“Fine. Might even be better because your book cases aren’t as tall.”
“Ha ha. Now, tell me what’s happening.”
Alex took a deep breath. “Okay, short version. David and I, along with several other agents, were ambushed while meeting with a suspect. Two of our agents were killed, as was the suspect. David was shot in the chest, and two other agents had fairly minor wounds.”
“Ken Thomas was one of them, right?”
“Yes. You remember him?”
“Sure, he and David played basketball at that picnic last summer.”
“Right. Well, after the ambush, the police captain, along with someone in the Bureau, decided I was at fault. They’re trying to take my badge, and unless I can clear my name, they’ll be able to do it.”
“Jeez. What are you going to do?”
“Well, Teren and I are —”
“Wait, Teren?”
“Yeah. Teren Mylos.”
“What’s Teren got to do with this?”
Alex sighed again, and closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to have this conversation over the phone. “Sarah, Teren’s from the CIA. She was injured during an assignment six months ago. It turns out that assignment is somehow connected to our case, so Teren has been helping. She got here just in time to save our asses. If she hadn’t shown up, none of us would have made it out alive.”
There was silence from the other end of the phone, then the sound of someone swallowing.
“Did you two know each other before that dinner at our house?”
“Kind of. We’d met, but only once. Teren accepted the invitation because she needed to talk to me, outside the office.”
Alex could sense Sarah’s confusion. She wished there was an easier way to have done this.
“So what you told Maggie, about maybe asking her out, that was a lie, right?”
“No. I would never lie to you two. If we didn’t have this case, and all these problems, I would ask her out. But right now, it’s just impossible.”
She could hear Sarah taking a deep breath. “Okay. I understand. So, you’re what, going underground?”
Alex smiled, thinking of Leo. “I guess you could say that.”
“Alone? How are you going to clear your name without help?”
“I’m not alone. Teren’s going with me.”
Another silence. This time it stretched out.
“Sarah? You still there?”
“Yeah. Teren’s going with you?”
“Yes. And I’m sorry, but I need to go.”
“Okay. So what should I tell the agent who’s been asking if I’ve seen or heard from you?”
Alex froze. “What agent has been asking about me?”
“I didn’t catch his full name. He was pretty rude. Maggie said he called her at work, and he’s called the house twice. His first name is Tim, or Tom, or something like that.”
“Okay. If he calls again, tell him you heard from me, but only to ask you to watch my cat for a while longer. You don’t know where I am, or where I’m going.”
“That’ll be easy to say, since it’s true.”
“Exactly. Now, I have to go.”
“Be careful, Alex. We love you.”
“I know. I love you, too. Give Maggie my love, and if you talk to Miri —” she stopped. “If you talk to Miri, tell her I’m sorry.”
“Goodbye, Alex.”
“Take care, Sarah.”
Alex turned the phone off, and wiped her eyes before walking back to the seat where Teren waited.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, fine, great. Someone from the Bureau’s already been harrassing Sarah in order to find me.”
“Do you think she’s in any danger?”
“I don’t believe so. I didn’t tell her where we were, or where we’re going, so she can’t tell them anything.”
“Good. Anything else going on up there?”
“Not really. But,” she bit her lip, “I had to tell her you were with me. And I told her you were CIA.”
“Shit.” Teren rubbed a hand across her forehead. “Was she angry?”
“I don’t think so. If she is, it’s at me for not telling her sooner. Her and Maggie were really hoping their matchmaking had paid off this time, but I don’t think this is how they imagined our relationship.”
“We have a relationship?”
“We’ve got something, don’t we?”
“Yeah, something. I don’t really think there’s a name for it, though.”
Alex smiled.
Teren pulled a folder out of her briefcase, and handed it to Alex.
“Here. Reading material for you.”
“What’s this?”
“I got these in Washington. There’s this guy who keeps an eye on the right wing, and all he does is research. It was suggested that I talk with him, and he gave me a lot to think about. None of it is proof of anything, but it’s definitely interesting.”
Alex flipped through it. “Can you give me a short version?”
“Sure. In a nutshell, it lists the leadership of the religious right, outlines how the leaders of each group are intertwined with each other, and how the religious right is connected to the far right, including the klan, the neo-nazi’s, skinheads, and white supremacy groups.”
Alex stared at her. “Like we didn’t already know that?”
“Well, yeah, we knew they were involved with each other, but this gives a detailed outline. Plus, it goes a little further.”
“Like how?”
Teren snapped her fingers. “What was the name of that guy, the one you told us about when we were opening Mather’s security box? The Nazi.”
“Umm. You mean Ernst Remer?”
“Yeah, that’s him. He’s listed in there, along with people here in the states who were involved with him.”
“You mean, Mallory Gerlach.”
“Well, yeah, but not just Gerlach. There were others. One guy was supposed to be the point man in the states for the Odessa operation.”
Alex nodded. “I read about that. They thought Remer was one of the conduits for money to help escaped Nazi’s.”
“Yes. And speaking of money, do you remember the theory you gave us in the van in Colorado?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“What if part of that money, or treasure, as you put it, came from the Odessa operation? After all, as more Nazi’s die, there’s less need for Odessa. That brings up the question of what happens to the money set aside for Odessa? Where does it go?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Good question. That’s a really good question.”
“Yeah. Now we just have to prove that Odessa, which most people don’t believe in, really did exist.”
“Hah. That’s not any harder than trying to convince people that the leaders of two of the most popular religious right groups are involved in murder conspiracy.”
Teren smiled. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds easy.”
They shared a grin, and then sat down to wait for their flight to be called.
Chapter Twenty-three
The flight to London was only half full. Teren was grateful because it meant she could stretch out her long frame without worrying about inconveniencing anyone else. Alex was happy about it, too, but for a different reason. Less people meant that she could spread out the file that Teren had given her.
The papers weren’t really in any kind of logical order. Teren readily admitted that she had never been very good at organizing papers.
“That’s why I’m not a secretary,” she said.
“Yeah, right.” Alex rolled her eyes.
Teren settled into a seat one row behind Alex. In minutes she had settled into a light sleep. Alex almost envied her – she wasn’t sure she wanted to sleep.
Instead, she focused on the papers. Using the extra space she separated them into diagrams and text, then separated the text pile into subject matter.
She found the diagrams interesting. They traced connections from group to group, and from individual to individual. Many of the team’s suspicions were confirmed, as she followed the lines between their top suspects. Martin Richmond, Jacob Dawkins, and John Treville were all represented.
The only one missing was C.J.
The text files turned out to be in-depth reports detailing connections between the religious right and the far right. As Teren had told her, Ernst Remer was one of the people mentioned, and Alex began her reading with him.
Remer’s former position as a bodyguard to Hitler had secured him status as an icon to all neo-nazi groups, especially, it seemed, in Germany and the United States. He had only traveled to the U.S. once, but had received frequent visits from American Robert Werner. Werner had arranged Remer’s single American visit, playing host and tour guide while escorting Remer from rally to rally, where young neo-nazis listened with rapt attention to Remer’s speeches.
Werner had also publicly proclaimed his position as North American point man for the Odessa network, which had assisted many Nazis in their flight from justice. Werner claimed he had personally given aid to as many as a hundred nazis since becoming a part of the network in 1963.
One of the things that caught Alex’s eye was that Werner’s trips to Germany did not end with Remer’s death. Instead, he began visiting not only known Nazi strongholds, but also several enclaves of Fundamentalist Christians. Interestingly, he had visited a group in Munich, calledSt. Luther’s Evangelical Church, at the same time as Steven Radcliffe and John Treville, just seven months earlier.
The current leader of the group in Munich was Franz Eisenbein. He had taken the reins of leadership three years previously after the founder, Jurgen von Odbert, had retired. Odbert had led the group for almost thirty years. It was noted that no record of Odbert existed from before 1950, when he was 32 years old.
During his tenure as leader of St. Luther Evangelicals Odbert had been invited to the United States to speak at a California church. The invitation had been made by Jacob Dawkins, leader of the Religious Families Association. At that time the RFA was still based in San Diego. It wasn’t until 1991, when California declared that religious organizations could be taxed, that Dawkins and company left the west coast for the Colorado mountains, where there was no tax.
Once set up in their Colorado offices, the RFA had spawned a new group called the Colorado Values Guardians. The Guardians had become a political group, pushing for Christian values in the laws of Colorado. They viewed homosexuals as abominations, and claimed that affirmative action was wrong. Their political activities had resulted in battles over hate-crime laws, and “special rights’ for homosexuals. The Guardians, whose original office was in the RFA building, had organized seminars across the state. Using churches as their focal point, the seminars instructed people on how to battle against the “special rights” that the Guardians, and the RFA, claimed homosexuals wanted. The skinheads of Colorado tried to show up at several of these meetings, but were publicly rebuffed by the participants and the seminar leaders. However, privately, the Guardians had held separate training sessions for the skinheads, allowing them to take part in the seminars without causing the Guardians a public relations problem.
Alex had always been aware that there was some kind of connection between the far right and the religious right, but these papers spelled out in detail the “back door” relationship that existed. Donations seemed to go back and forth between hate groups and fundamentalist groups. Attorneys that worked for Christian right wing organizations would show up to bail out and defend right wingers who had been accused of hate crimes. One of the most interesting areas of assistance, Alex noted, was that members of far right wing groups would show up at leftist rallies to harass the crowd. The Christian right would show up as well, but they would bring cameras, and wait until someone from the left took a swing at someone from the right. Then they would film the fight, making sure to properly edit the tape.
Disgusted by many of the facts revealed in these papers, Alex skimmed through the rest of them, looking for more information on their suspects. There wasn’t much, so she took notes on everything she found, then typed them into her computer.
When she was finished, she pulled the papers back together, and stuck them into the file folder, this time in some semblance of order. Then she turned off her computer, and leaned back.
She didn’t want to go to sleep, even though she was tired. Instead, she let her mind wander, trying to follow the connections in her mind.
Okay, so, it looks like Kittredge really isn’t that important in the short scheme of things. After this is over, I’m going to take a microscope to them, but at the moment, it doesn’t look like more than a way of showing the connections. What do we know? We know that John Treville, Jacob Dawkins, Kyle Brogan, Derek White, and someone named C.J. planned the executions of the left wingers, hoping to blame the murders on some far out group. We also know that Treville was involved, in Europe, with drug dealers and gun runners – Teren saw him there.
This group hired George Mather and Darryl Wilford to carry out the executions, but decided to kill Mather– why?
Wait a minute, Brogan said Mather had been trying to sell something. I wonder if that’s the reason? But if so, what was he trying to sell?
Okay, let’s ignore that. We know that the money that financed this operation came from an account in Switzerland, which is owned by Richmond and Treville. The money in that account came from another Swiss bank account, which we know nothing about – which is why we’re going to Zurich.
We know that Derek White is missing, Kyle Brogan is dead, and possibly someone from the FBI office is involved.
Now, what can we prove?
Her mind went blank. There really wasn’t any hard proof of anything. They had White and Brogan’s fingerprints on a goblet, and the record of Treville sending another one to Halloran out in Colorado. They had an idea that these goblets, and other items, had been sent to Treville from Switzerland – which was another good reason for their trip. But other than these few things, there was not physical proof of anything, much less a murder conspiracy.
Well, at least we have Janet Brogan. Her testimony proves that the men knew each other, and they hired Mather and Wilford for something – though she didn’t know what. I wish Teren could testify about Treville’s part in her partner’s death, but I doubt the agency would let her. We’ll just have to find a way to get him.
But who the hell is C.J.?
With that question in her mind, Alex finally succumbed, and drifted off into sleep.
*******************************************************
Teren awoke to a darkened cabin. She was leaning back in her seat on the plane, her long legs kicked out as far as possible. She knew exactly where she was, and a glance at her watch told her they were barely two hours into their trip. As she looked around, she wondered just what had awakened her.
After a moment she realized there were soft whimpers coming from the row in front of her. The seat that Alex was in seemed to be moving, and Teren could see, in the space between the seats, that Alex’s shoulder was twitching under her blanket.
Quietly, she moved up to Alex’s row, slipping into the seat next to the blonde agent. From this angle she could see the lines that creased Alex’s brow, and the way her closed eyes darted back and forth behind their lids.
Teren was no stranger to nightmares, and for a moment images from her own bad dreams flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she pushed the visions away and reached for Alex’s hand.
“Alex?”
The younger woman continued to twitch and tried to pull away from Teren’s touch.
“Alex, wake up.” Teren gently touched her friend’s shoulder, then jerked it away as Alex surged forward, her green eyes wide and staring. Alex gasped as she fought her way to consciousness. Without thinking, Teren put an arm around Alex’s shoulders and pulled the blonde towards her. Alex curled her hands in Teren’s shirt and clung to her.
“It’s alright, Alex.” Teren turned to face her companion, and fully embraced her. “It’s okay. It’s just a nightmare. Let it go, Alex.”
Alex cried quietly, the only sound her hiccups as she fought to get her breathing under control. Slowly the horror from her dream passed over her. Teren held the crying woman, stroking a hand up and down her back, and whispering in her ear.
A stewardess approached, looking concerned. Teren quietly asked for a cup of hot chocolate for her friend. After another moment Alex pushed herself away from Teren, and sat up. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and tried to smile.
“Hot chocolate, huh? You learn fast, Teren.”
Teren gave her a half grin. “I try.” She put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “You okay?”
Alex nodded, still wiping her eyes. “Yeah. No problem.”
Teren frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t,” Teren lied. “I wasn’t really sleeping, just resting my eyes.”
Alex looked up at her friend. Teren’s blue gaze was caught in Alex’s green one.
“You’re such a bad liar, Mylos.”
Teren’s response was a sheepish grin. “Yeah, well, you’re not any better, Reis.”
Alex’s halfhearted grin faded away. Teren slipped an arm back around her.
“No kidding, Alex. If you need to talk about it, I’ll listen.”
Her first instinct was to shrug off Teren’s arm, but Alex couldn’t do it. She found her body unconsciously leaning toward the dark woman, craving the feel of those arms about her.
“It’s just a dream,” Alex said. “A stupid dream. I’ll get over it.”
“Yeah, but it may help if you tell someone about it.”
Alex couldn’t resist tweaking her friend. “You’re right. I’ll ask the stewardess if she’s got a minute.”
Teren didn’t laugh, but she didn’t pull away either.
“If she doesn’t, you know I’m available, right?” The smile she got from Alex made her throat close up.
“I know.”
Unconsciously, Teren reached up with her free hand and touched Alex’s cheek. They leaned toward each other, and Alex’s eyes closed in anticipation.
Teren pulled back at the approach of the stewardess.
“Here we go, some hot chocolate.” The woman crouched down, letting Alex take the cup with a smile. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little bad dream. Long flights don’t agree with me.”
The stewardess nodded, but her eyes were on Teren. “I understand. Took me a few months before I could get used to the overseas flights. And I’ve been flying for years.” She placed her hand on Teren’s knee and smiled at her. “Can I get anything, or do anything for you?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine. Can you tell us how long until we land?”
“I think we’re still about three hours out. Shall I check for you?”
“No, that’s alright. Can you just make sure you wake us at least a half hour before we land? I think we’re gonna try and get some more sleep.”
“No problem, I’ll make sure you’re up on time.” The stewardess smiled once more at Teren and winked before she left.
Teren turned toward Alex and found a frown on her face.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing.” Alex sipped her cocoa, but the frown didn’t change.
“Come on, Alex. You look like you just bit into a lemon. What’s the problem?”
Alex couldn’t look at her. “She was flirting with you.”
Teren stared at the younger woman. “She was not.”
“She was too. When she smiled it was always at you, and she touched your leg.”
“So she smiled and she put her hand on my knee. So what?”
“So she was flirting with you.”
Teren leaned back and sighed. “Who cares?” She cocked her head. “What’s wrong, Alex? Are you jealous?”
Alex stared out the window into the darkness. She sipped her chocolate, but didn’t answer Teren’s question.
Teren smiled in amazement. “You are, aren’t you?”
Alex shrugged.
The smile stretched into a grin, and Teren reached over to her smaller companion. She gave a gentle tug on Alex’s shoulders, pulling her back until she was leaning against Teren’s body. Alex snuggled up to Teren, and handed her the empty cup.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Well, you could call the stewardess back to take it. After all, it would give her another chance to wink at you.”
Teren chuckled. “I’ve got a better idea.” She pulled the air sickness bag out of the seat flap in front of them, and used it to dispose of the paper cup.
“Okay?”
“What, you didn’t want to get fawned over?”
Teren put two fingers under Alex’s chin and raised her head so that their gazes met.
“I’ve never liked being fawned over. It’s too fake.” She gently kissed Alex’s lips. “I prefer the direct approach. Got it?”
Alex nodded.
Then she snuggled closer to Teren and sighed. Teren pulled the blanket up over both of them, and made sure Alex was comfortably settled on her shoulder. She kissed the blonde woman’s head, and closed her eyes.
A moment later, Alex took hold of Teren’s hand under the blanket. Teren smiled as she drifted back to sleep.
*******************************************************
They landed in London on schedule, and Teren led them to their next gate for the flight to Zurich. She had to lead them, because Alex was still rubbing her eyes and trying to wake up.
With Alex drinking a cup of hot tea, and still looking like a zombie, Teren set up the computer and plugged into her cellular. She checked their email, noting that there was little extra information from Ken. Only the fact that she was now wanted in the state of Pennsylvania, and Alex had been named as a renegade by the Bureau.
“That was fast,” she muttered to herself. “Normally an agent has two weeks to clear their name. Alex got less than three days.”
That bothered her, and she shook her head in frustration. If they couldn’t figure out the connection to the FBI, it would still be difficult to get Alex’s career back. The Agency would protect her, but not Alex. Teren could only hope they were on the right track.
“Teren?” Alex’s voice was low and held a note of jetlag.
“Yes?”
“There’s a file on the desktop of the computer. It’s called ‘notesT.’ It contains all the stuff I pulled out of those files last night. Not the diagrams, but the text stuff.”
“Can I look?”
“Sure.”
Teren opened the file, and began reading. Alex had done a good job of organizing the sheets that Teren had gotten from Stu. Her notes were easy to follow and they answered a few minor questions Teren had been wondering about.
She noticed a name near the end of the file. “Hey, Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure this name’s right? von Odbert?”
“Yeah. First name Jurgen, I believe.”
Teren frowned and reached for her own briefcase. “Son of a bitch.” She pulled out the CIA printouts, and scanned them, looking for the name.
“I was right. Jurgen von Odbert has a bank account in Germany, and there have been several deposits into it from the Treville account.”
“Really? Great. I suppose you’re going to want to go to Germany now?”
“Maybe. This might be another key.”
“Wonderful,” Alex said in a lifeless voice.
Teren peered up at her. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Yeah. It just kind of hit me that I’m on the run, and I may not be able to go home. But I’m fine. Yep. Just great. Yep, yep, yep.”
Alex leaned her head back on the seat. Teren shut down the computer, and closed it. She slid it back into its case, and locked the briefcase. She placed it next to her own, which she also closed and locked, and then she sat down in the seat next to Alex.
“Excuse me.” Alex looked up as Teren spoke. “I’m looking for a friend of mine. She looks a lot like you, but when I saw her last she was smiling.”
“Funny. Really funny.”
Teren stretched an arm across the back of the seat. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Nothing. I think I’m just feeling the jetlag.”
The darker woman bit her lip. “Are you sure that’s it?”
