But I guess it might be worth a quick look, to see if the choice of locations can tell us anything. Maybe throw some light on the killer’s training, background, or whatever.”
“OK,” Varley said. “Get someone on it. What about witnesses?”
“None came forward,” Lavine said. “But it sounds like the stakes are higher now. Maybe we should think about a reward?”
“Not yet,” Varley said. “That would bring out too many cranks. We’ll save it for a last resort. Just get the local PDs to go with a straight recanvass for now. So, Kyle? Over to you.”
“I was thinking about these planted IDs,” Weston said. “Especially the Ukrainian ones. Where did they come from? Are they real, or fake? Did they make them, or steal them? And when?”
“Good angle,” Varley said. “Could definitely lead somewhere.”
“And don’t forget the basics-follow the dollar,” Weston said. “These guys had just been paid off. Three months’ money. Their line of work that could be, what, fifty grand each? Three hundred thousand dollars? That’s a decent motive right there. And no one looked at it before, ’cause we thought they were bums.”
“You’re right,” Varley said. “Get the full financials on all of them. Including the company they worked for.”
“Good call,” Weston said. “Must be people there who knew about the payoff.”
“We’re moving on that already,” Lavine said.
“I’d focus on the employer, if it was up to me,” Tanya said. “Not so much on the money. I’m not sure the payoff’s all that relevant.”
“Three hundred grand isn’t relevant?” Weston said.
“You have to understand how it works, over there,” Tanya said. “I’ve been thinking. Something about how the people were moved around between jobs sounds fishy to me.”
“What’s your problem with it?” Varley said.
“When my brother first went back, he was on convoy protection,” Tanya said. “The others were, too. My brother’s still doing it.”
“What kind of convoy?” Lavine said.
“Captured ammunition,” Tanya said. “On its way for destruction.”
“Ouch,” Lavine said. “Rather them than me.”
“Exactly,” Tanya said. “They get all sorts of bonuses, because of the risks. And because it’s so critical to keep the ammo out of the insurgents’ hands.”
“And yet Redford and Mansell were pulled off these ammo convoys to guard some hospital?” Varley said.
“Right,” Tanya said. “So what does that tell us about the hospital work?”
“It was more important than protecting the convoys,” Varley said.
“Exactly,” Tanya said. “And the whole team was pulled out of the hospital under some bogus cover story. Then they were fired. And a few days later, they started being killed.”
“I see where you’re going,” Varley said. “It doesn’t sound like a coincidence.”
“No, it can’t be,” Tanya said. “That’s why I think the company holds the key. Someone there knows something.”
“Did your brother give you the name of the company?”
“He did. Tungsten Security.”
“Contact details?”
“Kelvin Taylor. Chief operating officer.”
“We need to run his background, pronto.”
“I ran it already,” Lavine said. “Nothing stands out.”
“So who is he?” Varley said.
“Ex-military. Served in Iraq during the first Gulf War. And Kuwait. Mustered out shortly after. Went back to do charity work. Set up some kind of humanitarian project. It’s still running. The only U.S. program to survive. He may have got married over there as well, but his wife never surfaced Stateside if he did.”
“What’s his involvement with Tungsten?”
“He set that up, too. It’s basically your garden-variety private security contractor. Current climate, they can’t make money fast enough. Balance sheet’s more than healthy. They’re awash with cash. List of government contracts as long as your arm. No employees with criminal records. No red flags on file. Nothing to help on any systems. It’s going to take a coordinated effort to unravel.”
I listened to Lavine’s words in disbelief. In a literal sense I knew how we’d got to this point. Stumbling across Lesley’s victim dragged me into her scheme; finding that the body belonged to an agent bounced me into the railroad case; the connection with the security firm suggested something larger was going on. But what I couldn’t comprehend was how I’d been plucked from the departure lounge at JFK and dumped on the verge of a full-scale FBI frolic. Staying on to help Tanya fight her demons was one thing. I was thinking about time spent in restaurants. And bars. And other, more secluded places. Not in offices. Not sitting through endless meetings. Talk of corporations was a bad sign. Any mention of conspiracies and government contractors was worse. Interagency cooperation was only a sentence away. Task forces would be proposed. I knew how it would end up. If I let the FBI go down that road I’d never get away. I’d be stuck here for months, and at the end I’d have absolutely nothing to show for it. I needed to head them off at the pass. Something more direct was called for. It was time to shake the tree.
“So the whodunitometer isn’t working,” I said. “What a surprise. Tanya, how do we contact this guy?”
“I have his cell number,” she said. “My brother knew it.”
“Perfect. I’ll give him a call. Pop around, have a chat.”
“No,” Varley said.
“Yes,” I said. “You guys stick to your paper trails. Leave the infiltration to me. I’m the only one who’s trained for it.”
“We’re not going to infiltrate,” Varley said.
“You’re not,” I said. “Not with your track record.”
“We can’t, because everyone at Tungsten is a suspect. We may need to arrest people.”
“We may need to do more than that.”
“Absolutely not. Anything we find needs to hold up in court. No way are you going in on your own. If you go, all four of you go. Keep an eye on each other. This one stays above the line. No exceptions.”
I sighed and pulled out the phone Lesley had given me.
“What’s his number, Tanya?” I said.
“You’re a bit gung ho,” Weston said. “Somewhere you’d rather be?”
“Yeah,” I said. “The other side of the world.”
TWENTY-TWO
The navy loves to use role-play in its training exercises.
That can be embarrassing at first. Pretending to be a businessman or a plumber or a traffic warden in front of twenty other people makes you feel like you’re back in grade school. But after a while the awkwardness wears off and the value starts to show through. Doing something is always better than being told how, and seeing other people perform gives you plenty of food for thought.
The first time we tried it we were given a clear scenario. We worked for a company that wanted to build a new refrigerator factory in one the ex-Soviet republics. We had to meet a group of their government officials at a hotel in London to haggle over state subsidies. We were suspicious that they had offered our competitors a better package, so we were sent with a list of questions to test the theory. And at the same time, we had to avoid revealing any details about ourselves that would strengthen their hand. To make the exercise realistic we were told to bring our suits and briefcases. Then we were taken to a location in the City and sent on our way.
Everything that happened in the hotel was videoed, and reviewed afterward. All of us did a pretty good job. Evil communist schemes were revealed, our lips remained tight. We were ready to pat ourselves on the back when
