Blood Lines by Demille Nelson & Demille Alex

Author:Demille, Nelson & Demille, Alex [Demille, Nelson & Demille, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Mystery, Crime, Suspense
ISBN: 9781501101816
Amazon: 1501101811
Goodreads: 101124391
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2023-10-10T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor strode in silence across Pariser Platz. Finally Taylor said, “Well, they turned out to be assholes.”

“Comes with the territory.” He added, “Not excusing them, but working in a foreign country is a balancing act.”

“I’m sure they were assholes back in the States.”

“Maybe we bring out the worst in people.”

“Speak for yourself.” She added, “Actually, you’re an asshole.”

“Only when I work with you.”

They both got a smile out of that.

Taylor said, “More importantly, we’re about to be relieved of our duties.”

“That’s what happens when you show personal initiative in government work.”

She glanced at him as they walked. “Dombroski will go to bat for us.”

“He used all his goodwill with General Hackett to get us on this case, and I don’t think he’s got much left to go against the recommendation of the legal attaché.”

“Call him.”

“He’ll call us when he’s ready to pull the plug on us. No reason to hasten the inevitable.”

She looked at him. “You’re just accepting this?”

“I’m acknowledging the situation. It’s up to us how we respond, but I guarantee you that whining to the boss will do nothing.” He added, “Dombroski is worried about his own ass by now.”

Taylor said, “He stuck his neck out to get us this assignment.”

“He should have known better.”

They exited the square and walked east along tree-lined Unter den Linden. A light dusting of snow was settling over the city beneath a rolling gray sky.

Taylor looked deep in thought. “The bombing seems to have answered the question of who killed Harry Vance, but the proposed motive sounds vague and I’m not sure I buy it.” She looked at him. “What do you think?”

“I think that Mark Jenkins and David Kim both gave us some compelling reasons as to why Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias might have had a hand in killing Harry. And now suddenly we’re dealing with Syrian bomb-makers who might have a connection to al Qaeda. Plus there’s Qasim, a former Saddam loyalist and WMD officer whose last-known affiliation was helping us hunt down and kill al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. Never mind the whole Stasi business with Anna. It’s like we keep finding puzzle pieces, but they’re all for different puzzles.”

Taylor considered that. “We need to stay focused on motive. Not just of the killers, but of the victim. Harry was looking for Odin, and he was also looking for Tariq Qasim. We don’t know if those two things are linked, but one of them has got to be connected to his murder.”

“Right. And if locating Tariq Qasim—or other Iraqi military Intel people—was part of an official counterterrorism investigation, Mark Jenkins would have been looped in. There’s something else going on.”

Taylor gestured at her satchel. “Maybe the Stasi report from Ms. Albrecht or the law enforcement reports we received from Whitmore will give us some answers.”

“Save the reading for the flight home. I think we’ve got a few hours at most before Hackett tells Dombroski to yank us. Meanwhile, we have time for maybe one more play.

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