The Kasari Nexus by Richard Phillips

Author:Richard Phillips
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781503933538
Published: 2016-04-05T06:00:00+00:00

Eileen pulled her collar up, slammed the car door, and led Jamal and Denise through the swirling snow. She’d taken a few minutes on the way over to do some research before they pulled up to the quaint old house in western Annapolis. Mary Beth Kincaid had met Jonathan Riles while he was a midshipman at the Naval Academy and they’d fallen madly in love, getting married immediately after graduation. Her father had been a navy captain and she’d married another one. After Admiral Riles’s reported suicide, she had moved back to her old family home. This house looked like something an old sea dog would be comfortable in.

Walking up the three freshly shoveled steps, Eileen stepped onto the open front porch and raised the brass knocker. The sound of a piano drifted out, but stopped when Eileen gave three sharp raps. A gray-haired woman cracked open the door. Her cheeks looked tugged down by the weight of the world, yet her pale blue eyes held a spark of curiosity.

“Mrs. Riles?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Dr. Eileen Wu of the NSA.” She gestured at her two companions. “This is Jamal Glover and this is Dr. Denise Jennings, both of whom worked for your husband.”

Mrs. Riles studied them for several seconds. Then, with a questioning look, she opened the door further.

“Please come in and hang up your coats. May I pour you some tea?”

“I’d love some,” Eileen said, and the others nodded.

As Mrs. Riles walked to the kitchen, Eileen hung up her coat and moved to the mantle, studying the photos in their frames, neatly arranged from left to right in chronological order. Mary and Jonathan, arm in arm at a Naval Academy formal, cutting their wedding cake, a kiss at a promotion party, the two of them standing on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, and finally the photo from the admiral’s change of command ceremony.

The tinkle of fine china caused her to turn to see Mrs. Riles setting a tray of cups and saucers and a teapot on the coffee table. As the others gathered on the couch, the old woman poured the tea and then set the pot down. Taking up her cup, she dropped in two lumps of sugar and walked to the mantle.

“We were a lovely couple, wouldn’t you say?”

Eileen and the other two murmured their agreement.

Mrs. Riles smiled, then moved to a chair, sat down, and took a sip from her cup. When she raised her eyes, Eileen was surprised to see them glistening with moisture.

“From your introduction, I take it this concerns my Jonny.”

Eileen took a sip of the hot tea, letting it linger on her tongue for a moment as she set her cup down on the table.

“Yes, but it also concerns you.”

Mrs. Riles made no response so Eileen continued, laying out everything she knew and suspected. And as the story unfolded, Denise and Jamal chimed in. All the while, Mary Beth Riles sipped her tea and listened, her expression intense but unreadable.

When their tale was finished, Mrs.

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