Once we were far enough away, I blindfolded Kamal and took him in to the interrogation wing of Division HQ, had someone bring him some food and water as well as a blanket, and then removed the blindfold.
He blinked hard and looked around the room before zeroing in on me. “Is she here?”
“I don’t know.” I didn’t want to give him any false hope of Marni’s whereabouts and left it at that. “But it shouldn’t be long before you know.” I sighed. “And, I think it only fair to tell you that I may not be able to come and see you again. I just might lose my job after this little stunt.” I slapped my hands on my thighs and stood up. “In any case, I wanted to thank you for helping me get the drive. You’re a good guy, Kamal. You’re set now, and I’m happy for you and Marni. I hope you have a great future together.”
He closed his eyes and curled his bottom lip over his teeth. I stood to go.
He reached out and took my wrist. “Thank you.”
I smiled at him, “I hope you never let desperation make you a criminal again. Many never get second chances in life.”
“No worries there.”
Once outside Kamal’s interrogation room, I took a deep breath and headed straight for Siron. No, I hadn’t retrieved the drive. It was gone forever, but I may have gotten something even better, right from the horse’s mouth. A confession in all its beauty. Siron would still probably be completely irate and send me to Division Central with a terrible ding to my record for insubordination, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was justice for Dufor, which I would get with this recording.
Siron was in her office on her phone. When she saw me, she waved me in and hung up. This was it.
“Shut the door, please,” Siron said.
I didn’t want to let Siron prevent me from telling her everything, so I started in before the door was even shut. “Kamal is in a holding cell. I told him he would get the money that would have gone to Dufor had he not been killed, for him and Marni to get set up somewhere safe.”
“All right,” Siron said in a much too calm voice. What was going on?
“I believe the Prime Minister is at a hospital somewhere.”
I held out my phone for Siron to take. “I recorded a full confession from him on my phone.”
“Keep it,” Siron said.
“But—”
“No!” Siron said, cutting me off. “It’s your turn to listen to me.”
I closed my mouth.
“We heard everything that happened. We used your phone.”
“Wait. What?” Then it occurred to me what they’d done.
“So, that was how Summer did it. She tapped my phone.”
She nodded. A myriad of feelings washed over me. I felt violated, but also glad and mad. But mostly relieved. Then I remembered what I’d said about Siron to Kamal and a furious blush hit my face. I was dead.
“Agent Hadden, while I would have done things differently, you showed remarkable skill and ingenuity and that must be commended. Especially considering all the obstacles you had to face. Paris owes you a lot. While the pickpockets won’t totally disappear, they will be severely crippled. Perhaps the police will have a chance of eradicating them.
“The Prime Minister will be taken care of by our men so there can be no chance of corruption. The connection between him and the President is also being scrutinized to see if the President knew about what the Prime Minister was doing. I’m hoping the public was confusing the Prime Minister’s corrupt actions for that of the President. Not only will the Prime Minister be finished with politics, but hopefully, he will be in jail for a very long time and everyone will know what he did.
“And, Paris will be a safer place for people to be. Maybe I’ll even be able to keep my belongings from now on.” She chuckled.
I’d never seen Siron laugh, let alone chuckle. It was nice.
“Rosabella has asked to be transferred back to Italy. I’ve known for some time that she wanted to go back home, but she’s so good, I didn’t want to lose her. She deserves it, though, don’t you think?”
I nodded.
“And, I’m sure you’ll be happy to know Summer has returned to her training in Germany. I know there’s more to the story of you two. Maybe one day you’ll trust me enough to tell it to me.” She raised her eyebrows. I said nothing. I wouldn’t even tell Jeremy this little secret.
“As for the rest of your team, it’s still being worked out. I hope you’ll be happy in the end. I know you are anxious to move on.”
“Thank you, Director.”
She nodded. “Now, I do believe you have a hospital full of team members who would love to see you and hear the latest.”
“Thank you, Director,” I said again, and left.
***
Finally, Halluis and Ace were getting their prize as we sat in a café in Montmartre near the Sacré-Cœur two days later. The view seemed to stretch on forever, the Eiffel tower appearing small in the distance.
“Wouldn’t you say this was worth it?” Halluis held out his eight-euro soda as he looked over the beautiful city.
I nodded. My rich dinner left me feeling satisfied and relaxed. “You were right. It is worth it. Nothing compares with this.
