by Cat Connor
Sense? None.
No criminal record, not even a speeding or parking ticket. Nice. No reason for her to be where I saw her.
The little yellow duck waddled across the floor and quacked furiously. Lost? Hell, yes.
“Okay, again we have something that makes no sense,” I muttered. “First, the other women appeared to have secret lives and now Danni is three people.” My mind spun for a moment but got nowhere. “Sandra, Danni Lane is also Caro Clancy and Caroline Clancy. Caroline Clancy is a resident of Virginia. Whoever is behind this is really having some fun.”
“Okay, I’ll get as much background on all of Danni’s identities,” Sandra said.
Kurt nodded. “But what was she doing in that car? You saw her, yes, Conway?”
“I did.”
“So it’s her car.” Kurt said.
Sandra joined in. “Just working on Danni right now. There is no record of her leaving the country, only entering. Yet, according to our searches, there is a record of her living here.”
“She holds a Virginia driver’s license, has an address, a job, a social security number, a car …” Kurt said.
I struggled as much as Kurt to make sense of what was happening.
“Yes. According to us, Danni Lane was born here and according to New Zealand she was born there,” Sandra said. “This is an interesting situation. Do you want me to pursue the Caroline Clancy link? Because I’m seeing a Secret Service flag on her. They’re investigating that angle.”
“Leave that to them,” I replied. It’ll make them feel useful.
“We need to find her. We also need to go to the Hard Rock and talk to management,” Kurt said. “Field trip, boys and girls.”
“I need to see Caine first,” I said. “I think Misha is in town and he might know what’s up with Kennedy. I’m looking at the bug read-out and that man is all over D.C. He’s looking for someone. I want to know who.”
Sucking up pain and pretending it didn’t hurt like a sonofabitch to move was my new thing. I dropped into the temporary Delta bullpen. Empty. Next stop, Caine’s office. I rapped lightly on his half-open door. Mitch and Kurt hung back.
“Caine?”
“Ellie?” he replied, beckoning me in.
I sidled through the door and over to his desk. “Have you heard from Misha?”
“Yes, he flew in last night.”
“Uh huh.” As I thought. But why was he here now? This week? With Kennedy in town? “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Caine. Just tell me what’s going on with Misha.”
The corner of Caine’s mouth twitched twice. “This is to do with the explosive cards.”
“Oh, you mean the card Doug told me about?”
“Yes.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t want you looking into the cards. You received two, or you and Delta did. You’re off the bombings.”
“Fucking what?”
Caine’s eyes opened wider. “Language!”
“You can’t take us off the bombings. That’s ours.”
“Not now. You and Delta A have the Czech woman and the three New Zealanders. The D.C. bombings are Delta B and C.”
“Why?” I was not impressed.
“The Chief, assistant Directors and Director O’Hare and I are of the opinion that you were right and that Delta A is a target and you in particular.”
“Did O’Hare pull us?”
“It was a combined decision.”
“See that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I muttered.
“The bombings are nothing to do with you. You got that, right?” Caine reiterated his position and ours. “I want you to hand over everything you have regarding the terror attacks to the other teams.”
“Absolutely.” Sure. I’m just a target. I have nothing they haven’t seen except Alexandra and no one is getting her. Related? Not proven. My gut says yes but that could be wrong.
A duck quacked and another one joined it. Maybe not wrong then.
“I have nothing that they don’t already know.”
Caine’s lip twitched. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it or not, your choice. I’ve been in hospital, what I could I possibly know?”
He shook his head a little. “I don’t know, but I know you.”
Time to leave.
“I’ll see you later.” I rejoined Kurt and Mitch.
Lee rang my cell. “I found Danni. I just saw her talking to Misha Praskovya.”
“She’s what now?”
“With Misha at Fair Oaks Mall.”
“This is driving me crazy.”
“Tell me about it.”
We hung up. Mitch and Kurt both heard the conversation.
“What does it mean?” Mitch asked.
“That she’s definitely not who she says she is. I’m starting to get why Trudi and Susan are so protective. They could be a freaking protection detail. Danni is somebody.”
The scene I saw when I first heard about the New Zealand case slid across my internal screen. I’d seen both Alexandra and Anastazia – or at least I thought I did – two young women who looked very much alike. Armed men. But no explosives. The younger woman was forced to sign something; that couldn’t be good.
“I need to talk to Alexandra again. I remember something I saw.”
“She’s still here. It’s too dangerous for her anywhere else,” Kurt said. “Although this isn’t terribly comfortable. We should look at getting her moved to a hotel.”
We walked down the hallway to the interview room where Maryann still kept Alexandra company.
“Stay,” I said to Maryann. “I have one question for Alexandra.”
“The men who held you captive, they forced your sister to sign a piece of paper. What was the paper?”
She took a deep breath, anger flashing in her eyes.
“It said she was a virgin.”
As I thought, not good.
I placed my hand on Alexandra’s shoulder. “I’m going to find her.”
I left the room and made a call to Caine. I asked him to check her into the Marriott at Metro. Alexandra would be comfortable there. I also requested that Maryann and two other female agents stay with her, with no one stationed outside the door. It wasn’t in anyone’s best interests to arouse hotel guests’ curiosity.
The phone in my hand gave me an idea. Sure I’d technically need a warrant to carry out my sneaky idea if Kennedy were a suspect and if I was intending to use anything I found to make a case against him. Aware I was walking a fine line I scrolled through some apps on my phone until I found one that I could use. Kennedy was here for a reason and I wanted to know what that reason was. I opened the app and added the phone number I found on the box at Kennedy’s home. The number turned from red to blue. It was current and in use. On the next screen I tapped an icon that looked like an envelope in a fishing net. A smile found my lips.
Two taps later, installation of a cunning little program on what I hoped was Kennedy’s phone was complete. I could now download copies of any incoming and outgoing email. I closed the email app.
“Okay?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah. I am,” I replied with a smile.
My phone chirped. The GPS tracker told me Kennedy was moving again. I wanted eyes on him. He wasn’t far away.
“Let’s see if we can get close to Kennedy and find out what he’s doing. Bug says he’s nearby.”
“Where?” Kurt asked.
“By the carousel in the Mall.”
“You’re not walking. We’ll take the car.”
“Okay.” As long as we go. I don’t care how we get there. Although maybe I’d think twice about a helicopter trip.
Lee and Sam had eyes on Danni while she met with Misha. That didn’t thrill me but as long as I knew where she was, I wasn’t about to worry about her, feeling she could take care of herself.
Kennedy, however, was a different kettle of fish; my curiosity now piqued and knowing where he was did nothing to allay my fears that he had
something to do with the current climate in Washington. What was he up to?
Kurt parked as close as he could to where we needed to be.
“Mitch and I can get closer than you and I can,” I said to Kurt.
“True. Especially if you’re acting like lovers,” Kurt replied.
“That’s the plan,” Mitch said. “Think I can handle this job.”
We climbed out of the car. Such a simple thing that I’d never take for granted again. Pain coursed freely for a few seconds as I caught my breath.
“Take it easy, Conway,” Kurt said as Mitch closed the door. We walked slowly, arm in arm toward the silent carousel. No children having rides today. Washington was no place for children at the moment. I could see Kennedy. He wasn’t alone. Mitch and I walked parallel to the carousel and Jefferson Drive. I recognized the men with Kennedy, confirming my suspicions: definitely the Quasi-UN. Tim Jones, Colin Holmes and Seamus Kennedy.
I wanted to know why an Irishman, an Englishman, and an American met in a park.
As I walked scenarios popped into, my mind but they all sounded like those dreadful old jokes. Before I knew it, there was a joke.
An Englishman, American, and Irishman, all walk into a bar and order a beer. The bartender hands them their beers. However, there are flies in each mug of beer.
The Englishman pushes the beer aside and says, “That’s disgusting.”
The American pulls the fly out and starts drinking the beer.
The Irishman pulls the fly out, sets it on the counter and shouts, “Spit it out, you bastard.”
I doubted the reason they were in D.C. was amusing or in the least bit funny. There was no way around it, the whole meeting in the park thing was enthralling. Meeting in the open. Probably didn’t want to be overheard. That was working well for them.
I opened the app and listened.
“They’re talking in code,” I muttered. “I don’t have time to crack their codes.”
Plan B. I turned around, Mitch stayed with me.
“What are you doing?”
“Confronting the dragon.”
As we approached, Holmes made eye contact. They scattered and there was no way I was running anywhere.
Crap.
“They’re definitely up to something,” I grumbled. “And now they know I’m onto them.”
Well, they’ll think I am.
I so wasn’t. I had no idea what they were doing in D.C. at the worst possible time. My thoughts turned to Misha and the mysterious Danni Lane.
If Misha knew Danni, then they probably did too, I needed to know why and how Danni was involved with whatever they were here for.
I called Sam. “You still got eyes on Danni?”
“Yes, Chicky Babe.”
“I’m coming.”
We walked back to the car and Kurt. Mitch opened the front passenger door for me.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He closed it firmly after passing the seatbelt to me. Twisting wasn’t good.
“What happened?” Kurt asked.
“They scattered. They were talking in code. I went over. They took off. I couldn’t pursue anyone.”
A smile crossed his lips. “Very restrained of you. Now what?”
“Danni?”
“Yep.”
I leaned back. “Change of plan. Let’s not go talk to Danni. Let’s let her think we don’t know anything about her. I want to do some digging.”
“You all right?”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m taking you home. You can pack a bag and we’ll all check into a hotel in the city until this is over.”
Yeah, sure, let’s all stay in the same place and make it easy for the bomber.
“Really?”
“Yes. We need to be central. Come on, Conway, you know this.”
I knew that. I also knew we’d be checking into the Marriott at the Metro until this was over. Central we would be. Also felt like we should be close to Alexandra.
“Home then. Do you need to go home?” I asked Kurt.
“No, have my go-bag, I’m set.”
“Rachel?”
“I sent her and Olivia out state to her parents until this is over.”
Good.
“Mitch do you need to go home?” Kurt asked.
“Nope. Everything I need is at Ellie’s.”
The last rays of evening sun streamed through the window, catching the prisms and sending rainbows beaming onto the living room walls. I stood in the middle of the room and tried to remember what I was doing. Packing. Didn’t explain what I was doing in the living room.
A rainbow captured my attention as it played over the bullet hole in the wall. Maybe it was time to fix that.
“All right?” Mitch asked from the doorway.
“Yep, can’t remember why I came in here.”
He laughed. “Your phone charger, it’s on the coffee table.”
“Ah.” That’ll be it.
“You packed?”
“I think so,” I replied, bending down and picking up the charger. Straightening up hurt.
“Got your laptop?”
I shook my head. My brain sloshed. That wasn’t good. “It’s where ever you left it.”
He smiled. “I’ll get it. It’s in your home office.”
I watched the rainbow dance across the wall. It smudged, like a watercolor pencil drawing. I turned around. The room flattened. Edges sharpened. Black lines appeared. I held my breath. Chance sauntered through the open door.
“Hey, Ellie. How’s it going?”
“Not awesome.”
“Yeah, I can tell. Nice toy,” he said, tapping the pulse oximeter on my wrist. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah.” I’m great. “You’re here why?”
“Like being around you …”
I laughed. “Not likely. Waiting …”
“The author. She is actually an author, and her main character is the fictional image of you, but she’s also Interpol. Check it out.”
If she was Interpol that might explain how she knows so much about the FBI and it sure would be helpful research-wise to be Interpol. It’s possible that she could also get information about me via contacts in Interpol. Could also explain the other identities.
“Interpol. Why wouldn’t we be notified that an Interpol agent is here?”
“She might not be here officially.”
“And if she was here unofficially, what would that be about?”
“The smart money is on something to do with Justin Troy and Senator Robinson,” Chance replied with a wink.
“You think Troy knows Robinson?”
“It’s D.C. Who doesn’t know a senator or two?”
True. But not much help.
“A straight answer, Chance.”
“Troy knows Robinson. Robinson is not a nice guy.”
“Is Robinson the guy my CI was trying to tell me about?”
“What do you think?” Chance replied, leaning closer. “It’s a helluva coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
Yes. And Chance knew how I felt about coincidences.
One more question. “Is this about the Czech girls?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. You have to prove the link between Troy and Robinson and dig into his world. I wouldn’t thank me.” Chance looked disgusted. That didn’t thrill me. I had a feeling Robinson’s world was not somewhere I wanted to be.
I watched as a pencil drew a can of worms. Worms wriggled and slid out of the can onto the floor. A little yellow duck waddled over and ate the worms. The duck quacked.
“Now I know where to look. So thank you.”
A big fluffy gray cloud blocked out the rainbow. There was a cloud in my living room. Rain poured from the cloud, washing the drawings away.
Chance grinned and waved as he ran for the door. He just got through before the door melted into a puddle.
My head reeled. Cold rain stung
my face. I wiped my hand over my face. It wasn’t wet. Odd.
A voice penetrated my brain. “You all right?”
Mitch.
“I think so.”
“Let’s get going. Kurt is waiting in the car.”
I looked at Mitch. He was real. He had my bag, his bag and my laptop case and still held a hand out to me. In my hand was my phone charger. Mitch took it and slipped it into the laptop case.
Thirty-Three
Pull Me Under
From the car, I called Sam. “Marriott at the Metro. I’ll reserve rooms for all of us.”
“We’ll see you there.”
I hung up.
“I need to talk to those women,” I said.
“Not now,” Kurt replied. “They’re in custody. You need to rest first. Then you can talk to them.”
“It’s important.”
“Yes, I know. Rest. Then talk.”
He wasn’t going to be swayed.
“What if Danni is Interpol?”
“What?”
“You heard.”
“Left field!”
“Not at all. Remember how I said Chance is back … what if she’s Interpol?”
“Then this is more gripping than the storyline of a daytime soap.” He glanced at me.
I rolled with the crazy. “And what if Senator Robinson is the Rob Arnie tried to tell us about?”
“Then this is going to get very very messy,” Kurt replied. “It’s hard to believe the only thing on your head CT was a skull fracture.”
“What no brain?” I smiled.
“Most certainly a brain. But I half expected to see a mini movie with a colorful supporting cast.”
“Disappointed?”
“Maybe a little bit.”
Mitch laughed. Probably because a lot of the time he could see the mini movie. He just hadn’t seen Chance yet.