Solomon's Gold

CHAPTER 48

Elizabeth was in her office, on the phone with Hood at Langley.

"It was sarin," Hood said. "It was supposed to release into the ventilation system. There was enough gas to kill everyone in the conference, including the President and the prime minister. I think you just renewed your lease with the White House. Corrigan knows it was your team that found the device and deactivated it."

"It won't make any difference, if his Chief of Staff has anything to say about it."

"She won't be there forever. As far as the public knows, it was a conventional bomb, not poison gas. That device wasn't manufactured in somebody's basement. Your average terrorist doesn't have access to the kind of machinery necessary to manufacture that cylinder, not to mention the gas. We think Tehran is behind this, but we can't prove it."

"Were not out of the woods yet," Elizabeth said. "Those three are still out there somewhere. They may try something else."

"I'm going to send something to you," Hood said. "One of the agents who was killed at the van was documenting the search with a video. His phone was destroyed, but he was streaming images back to headquarters. I'd like you to look at it. That, and the video from the garage that led them there in the first place."

"Do we have a visual on any of the terrorists? Something we can use to help identify them?"

"You can see someone sitting in front as the van enters the garage, but his face isn't visible."

"Send everything over," Elizabeth said. "We'll take a look at it."

"Check your inbox. It should be there now."

Elizabeth looked at the screen on her computer, entered a command, and saw the files.

"Got it."

"I've got to run."

Hood disconnected. Elizabeth looked at the phone and set it down. It seemed like every phone conversation she had with Hood ended like that. She wasn't sure that boded well for the future of a relationship between them.

The team was back in Virginia. Elizabeth decided that everyone needed to watch the video. Six pairs of eyes were better than one. Stephanie was down in the computer room. Nick and the others were either in the gym or on the range.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was settled on the couch, looking at the blank monitor behind Elizabeth's desk.

"I have two videos I want you to watch," Elizabeth said. "The first one shows the van used by the terrorists entering the garage where it was found. The second was taken by one of the FBI agents as they examined it."

"What are we looking for?" Ronnie asked.

"Anything that might give us a clue about who these people are, help us track them down, or ID them. It's a slim chance, but these videos are all we have. That, and FBI drawings based on Kowalski's descriptions. This is what they came up with."

Artist drawings of the three men appeared on the monitor.

"Those are pretty generic," Nick said. "Could be any three men from anywhere in the Middle East."

"They're better than nothing. Sometimes they get it right," Elizabeth said. "Watch the videos and tell me what you think."

"We got any popcorn?"

Elizabeth gave Lamont one of her looks.

"Sorry," he said.

"We'll start with the garage," Elizabeth said. "I'll run it in slow motion."

They watched as the white van came into view. The video was grainy and badly lit. The camera was angled to capture the license plate as the vehicle passed. You couldn't see who was sitting in the front, only someone sitting on the passenger side as the van passed the camera. The license plate was clearly visible as it went past the camera and into the garage. The video clip came to an end.

"That's it?" Nick asked.

"The next one is longer," Elizabeth said.

The video from Silverton's phone began playing on the monitor. The image panned over three of the agents. The audio quality was poor, but they could make out what was being said.

"The tall one is Matthews," Elizabeth said. "He was in charge."

The video zoomed in on the license plate and then swiveled to follow Matthews as he walked to the driver side door. They saw him take disposable gloves from his pocket and put them on before he tried the door.

"Locked. It figures."

"How about the back?"

"That's Dodge speaking," Elizabeth said.

On screen, Matthews walked to the back of the truck and tried the handle.

"We're in luck," Matthews said.

He moved to open the door. The screen went white.

"Some luck," Lamont said.

"Let's see those videos again," Nick said. "Something's off."

Elizabeth ran them again.

"You see it?" Nick asked.

"Where's the sign?" Ronnie said. "When it came into the garage, it had a sign on it."

"I'll be damned," Elizabeth said. "You're right."

"No one's commented on the sign?" Selena asked.

"No," Elizabeth said. "If they had, I would've heard about it. I can't believe I didn't see that."

"How do you get rid of a sign painted on the side of a truck?" Nick asked.

"Maybe it was one of those magnetic signs," Ronnie said. "People use them all the time to advertise their business. It's cheaper, and if you change vehicles you can take it with you."

"A magnetic sign would make sense," Selena said. "They wouldn't risk taking a rental to a painter."

"How many people make those kinds of signs?" Ronnie asked.

"You can buy them at a lot of places," Nick said. "But most of those don't manufacture them. They have to be ordered."

"Someone had to make it and they'll have a record of who ordered it," Elizabeth said. "It's a lead. I'll let Clarence know."