Заговор мечей

“The rest of Je

“Anything interesting?”

“Not really. General background. I didn’t think we’d get anything important.”

“Anything there to suggest she’s in on this stuff, or does her story check out?”

“All I know is she got shot, and lost a kidney because of it. Doesn’t say how.”

“So, what do you think? Is she on the level?”

Alex thought about that. “I think she is. I can’t say I trust her; I mean how do you trust someone who you know is a killer?”

“Right.”

“But, I don’t think she’s involved in whatever Mather and Wilford were up to. I believed her when she said she wanted to be the one to kill Mather.”

“I would, too. But the other morning you said you thought she knew something she wasn’t telling. Still get that feeling?”

“Well, I haven’t talked to her since then, so I don’t know. What I do know is that she thinks the same men are behind both these killings, and her partner’s death. Now, she was pretty cryptic about it, but she said there was something that made her think they were co

“Hm.” Cliff put his elbow up on the desk, and rested his chin on his fist. “So, do you think, if we offer to share resources with her, she’d share her knowledge with us?”

Alex blinked. “Well, I suppose so. She said she had a line on the place Mather was staying, and if she got the info, she’d call me.”

“That would be nice. Wilford’s place was a bust.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He lived there months ago, but moved out. Somebody else rented it, and Wilford was paying them to collect his mail. He’d drop by every other week and pick it up. We picked it up for him last night. Nothing interesting.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.” Cliff was quiet. “You know, Mylos worked Mark over pretty good.”

“You mean in that class?”

“Yep.”

“I told him not to mess around in there.”

“I know. He said he didn’t, that she must have just not liked him. She first paired him with another student who was having trouble, and the next thing he knew he was being used as a punching bag in a demonstration. His eye is go

“He must have done something. I mean, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to beat up on someone for no reason.”

“Well, he says he didn’t. But he did say she’s one hell of an instructor. Said he learned more about hand-to-hand last night than he did in his training at the academy.”

“From what I saw yesterday morning I wouldn’t be surprised.”

The two of them were silent for a few moments, then Cliff stood. “Well, I just wanted to check in. See how you were feeling.”

“I’m good.”

He nodded. “Good. You know, that was a brilliant piece of deduction yesterday. On the photo, I mean.”

“Aw, hell, Cliff, I studied those pictures so often, I sometimes see them in my sleep.”

“Yeah?”

“Not often, though. But seriously, I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to make the co

“Don’t worry about it. I’m still not sure how you did it, anyway.”

“I guess the question now is, what are we going to do about it? I mean, Cliff, we know Mather and Wilford were at a rifle tournament sponsored by Whites for America. We know that Derek White was there. It’s a co

“Sure, but it’s a start. Remember, Alex, we’ve been working on this for a long time, and suddenly all the breaks are coming. It may take us a while longer, but we’ll get it.”

“Yeah, but who else is going to die before we do?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone will. These two guys were their assassins, and they killed them when they were finished with them. I think that’s about it.”

Alex shook her head. “I hope you’re right, Cliff, but I have a bad feeling about it.”

Cliff scratched his head. “You know, for the first time ever, I hope you’re wrong.” He winked at her and she gri

“Well, first I’m go

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Well, Je

“Good idea.”

Alex frowned. “One more thing, Cliff, and I think I might ask David to do this for me. I keep thinking back to when David and I interviewed Mr. Clymes, at Whitley’s? He said he inherited a special deal with the Kittredge company. Wilford set it up. Something about that deal bothers me, and I was thinking we should at least check on it.”

“Do you really think it’s important? I mean, I know the coat gave us our first lead, but what good would it do to check the company?”

“It makes me suspicious that Wilford set up the deal. I want to know who he dealt with, and why they felt it was best to do it this way. I mean, to me it makes more sense to either have the store sell their clothes, or be strictly mail order. But they pay the store to let customers pick up their purchases. Purchases that have already been paid for in some other way.”

Cliff nodded. “I understand what you mean, it does sound fishy. Yeah, have Dave check into it. If nothing else we may get a little more on Wilford.” He pointed at the half-eaten donut on Alex’s desk. “That’s not breakfast is it?”

“Well, kind of. I had two others, but they’re gone already.”

“Alex, that’s not healthy.”

“I’ll make sure I have a proper lunch.”

“You better.” He glared at her, and left.

“Yeesh,” Alex told herself, “What is this? First my friends, now my boss. Do I look sick or something?”

*******************************************************

The rest of Je

Wilford, on the other hand, had consistent deposits of five thousand dollars, in cash. What was even more interesting to Alex was that there were no withdrawals. Wilford made several large purchases, buying a motorcycle and several guns, and he paid cash for them. Since he didn’t ever withdraw the cash, Alex wondered just how much money the man had — and where it had come from.

There were a few items on George Mather, including his marriage date, his wife’s death, and his graduation from Pe

David finally got there a little after ten o’clock.

“You know, Alex, I was so tempted to ride the Metro in today. I could have parked at the station, and hopped the train. It would have taken far less time.”

“So, why didn’t you?”

“Miri told me she’d make me sleep on the couch.”

Alex laughed for a moment, then sobered. “She’s really afraid of it, isn’t she, Dave?”

“Yeah. The second attack in New York was pretty bad. She was nearly raped.”

His partner stared at him. “You never told me that.”

He nodded. “She doesn’t like to talk about it. Hell, she didn’t even tell me that part until a month after it happened.” David shrugged. “But you can understand why she gets scared.”