Stephen Coonts' Deep Black: Conspiracy: Conspiracy by Stephen Coonts

Author:Stephen Coonts
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-10-19T18:28:20.119089+00:00

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since he was in town anyway, Jackson decided that he would stop at Amanda Rauci’s condo and ask her if Forester had mentioned anything about Gordon. Jackson got to her home just before five; no one answered when he rang the bell.

Back in his car, he realized she would probably be back at work by now, so he called her work number. The call was immediately forwarded to her superior.

“She’s on suspension,” said the man after Jackson explained who he was. “She missed a meeting with our personnel people the other day. We’re looking for her, actually.

One of the hairs found on Forester’s clothes looks like it was hers, and we’d like to ask her about it.” 8 5

lia heard about the hair sample from Mandarin at roughly the same time Jackson did. She was packing in her hotel room, getting ready to go back to Crypto City. Now that the Vietnam connection appeared to be a bust, Rubens had ordered her home.

“So Amanda Rauci was with Forester when he killed himself?” Lia asked Mandarin when he told her about the hair.

“Whoa, hold on,” said Mandarin. “A strand or two of hair could easily have been on his clothes without her being there. They were having an affair, remember?”

“I remember.”

“No way she killed him. No way.”

Lia thought of Amanda Rauci the day she and Jackson had spoken to her. Could she have killed her lover?

No.

What if he’d told her he was going back to his wife?

Lia didn’t think so even then.

“I was hoping you might do me a favor,” said Mandarin.

“What’s that?”

“She used her credit card at an animal hospital and vet-erinary clinic a few miles from Danbury on the New York and Connecticut border the other day. We want to check it out in person, but most of my people have already left with McSweeney. The soonest I can get someone up there will be late tomorrow afternoon.”

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S T E P H E N C O O N T S AND J I M D e F E L I C E

“Animal hospital? Did she have a pet?”

“No idea. We’re wondering why she’s up here in the first place. It may be a glitch—possibly she made the charge when she was

here with Forester and they only put it through now. But I’d like to check it sooner rather than later.”

“Sure, I’ll do it,” said Lia.

“Good. I’ll fax you a copy of the transaction.” it was going on six o’clock when Lia finally got to the animal hospital. The only one left in the office was a pimple-faced geek who started breathing hard as soon as she walked in the door.

Which really annoyed her, though she tried to ignore it.

“I’m looking for a woman named Amanda Rauci, who may have been in here yesterday,” Lia told him after she flashed her federal marshal credentials. “She hasn’t been seen since then. She’s a Secret Ser vice agent, and we’re worried about her.”

“Secret Ser vice?”

“That’s right.”

“She was a Secret Ser vice agent.

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