“Absolutely not. I mentioned Montes before? Her handlers were in Cuba. She’d meet with them sometimes. They’d either come here or she’d go to them. But only periodically.”
“So Dabney, who undoubtedly traveled a lot for his business, would have had the means to go to her?”
“Yes. And use the cover of his business to do so.”
“And since we have no idea where Berkshire was thirty years ago, we can’t trace that. But—”
Brown said, “But we know where she was maybe ten years ago. And we could match that up with Dabney’s travel during that same period.”
“If she met him in the places where she lived. If not, we might be able to check where she traveled, if she went by train or plane or bus.”
“So you’re leaning to the conclusion that these two have worked together before.”
“Let’s put it this way, I can’t rule it out,” replied Decker.
“But we haven’t had any other instances of spying that we could connect to Dabney, other than the secrets sold to pay off the gambling debts.”
“But Dabney didn’t just work with DIA. He worked with the FBI, NSA, and at least a half dozen other government agencies.”
Brown’s features tightened. “If he stole from all of them, it’s a big problem.”
“I always thought this was a big problem,” retorted Decker.
“We can start checking out the travel angle to see if we can place these two in the same place at the same time.”
“I’ll have Bogart’s people get on it.”
“But Decker, if Dabney and Berkshire were working together all this time, why would he kill her on the street in front of the Hoover Building?”
“Regret? Some friction or falling-out we don’t know about?”
“Well, if they were working together, her contacts got him the ten million bucks to pay off his son-in-law’s gambling debt and save his daughter’s and granddaughter’s lives. You’d think he would have been grateful toward her, not homicidal.”
“It’s funny how the human mind works. It all depends on perspective.”
“And the third party you mentioned? The one who almost killed you and stole the flash drive you discovered?”
“They’re clearly still out there. They’re connected to this at a level I don’t understand yet, but that connection is deep. And I have a feeling we’re going to have to go face-to-face with them before we solve this thing.”
Brown took out her Beretta and laid it on the table. “Well, let’s hope they don’t get us before we get them,” she said.
CHAPTER
49
DECKER HAD COME HOME from Brown’s to find Jamison still asleep. He caught a few hours of sleep, showered, and changed. By the time he was done, Jamison was up and dressed and sitting at the kitchen table.
“You need some food,” said Decker. “And so do I. Let’s go.”
They drove to a nearby restaurant and ordered breakfast for lunch.
Thirty minutes later Jamison put a last mouthful of scrambled eggs in her mouth while Decker finished his third cup of coffee. He eyed her closely. “How are you really doing?”
“Better actually than I thought I would. Which makes me feel guilty.”
“Some people just have it coming, and the guy last night did, Alex. But then I’m biased since you saved my life in the process.”
She looked despondently over at him. “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this. I was thinking before that maybe I should just go do something else with my life.”
“Maybe you don’t need to think about that right now.”
“But I do, Decker. I mean, I’m not getting any younger, and I have to make decisions about my life.”
“You’re a good investigator. Ross would not have brought you on if he didn’t think that.”
“Come on, Decker, Bogart brought me on because of you.”
“Why would he have needed to do that? And you were the one who deduced that Dabney was maybe a longtime spy because of how quickly he found someone to buy his secrets. Even if it turns out not to be the case, I didn’t think of that, and neither did Ross or Todd.”
“I’m not saying I don’t have my moments.”
“You have more than moments, Alex. Look, if you want to bag it and go do something else, fine. But don’t do it because you think you’re not cut out for this, because you are.”
She looked at him hopefully. “Do you really think that? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“As you know better than most, that’s not how my mind works.”
“But I did kill a man,” she said, her expression turning dark again. “I’m not sure I could face doing that again.”
“This job doesn’t call for us to get into shootouts with people. Alvarez wasn’t tied to our work at the FBI. So that may very likely be the first and only time you have to draw your weapon.”
“Apparently not if I keep hanging around with you.”
“You need to get your mind off it. Luckily, we have a very complex case to solve.”
“Hey, do you want to call Melvin and have him come with us? He’s had some good ideas on this too.”
Decker hesitated long enough that she looked at him suspiciously. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on!”
“It’s nothing.”
“Decker, you’re a shitty liar.”
“I just think we need to let Melvin sleep in.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
“Decker!”
“He had a long night.”
“What do you mean by that? He went home the same—” She stopped and stared wide-eyed at him. “Holy shit. Are you not telling me what I think you’re not telling me?”
“Alex, I don’t even know how to begin to answer that question.”
“I’ll ask you a simpler one then. Did Melvin sleep with Harper Brown?” Her voice had risen to where people at two other tables stared over at them.
“Why do you think that?”
“Why do I think that? Hello, it couldn’t have been more obvious that she wanted him.”
“It couldn’t?”
“Oh, come on, for a guy who misses nothing, you really have a blind spot sometimes.”
Decker looked nervously around before focusing on her. “It’s none of our business what they did.”
“You need to tell me everything right now.”
“Why?”
“Because technically I work for Melvin.”
“So?”
“Decker, I swear to God if you don’t tell me I’m going to make such a scene right here and now.”
Decker sat up. “Okay, okay. Yes, they…spent time together at Melvin’s hotel.”
“And how do you know this?”
“I went over to Melvin’s hotel late last night. Well, it was really early this morning. You were asleep. I’d called him but he didn’t answer.”
She looked at him incredulously. “Oh, really? And what, you were worried?”
“All right, I deserved that.”
“And then what?”
“And then I saw Brown come out. I followed her to her house and we…talked.”
“You talked about what they did?”
“No. I mean, not really. It was mentioned, but it wasn’t like I wanted to hear details,” he said, flustered. “They’re both consenting adults. They can do what they want.”
“They had just met a few hours before!”
“Alex, what do you want me to say?”