The Edge

Chapter 37

Later that day, after spending time in his room going over the case notes and his briefing book, and pondering how all of this tied together with what he had found out so far, Devine drove through the wind and rain to the spot where Jenny’s body had been found, and where Alex had also been attacked. As he stared out over the rugged terrain, Devine concluded that the events had to be connected in some way, which meant that the killer of Jenny Silkwell might have also attacked Alex, or at least knew something about it.

But what explained the men who had abducted him? And the woman he had heard? Fuss was right. They were foreigners, most likely, and while they might have reason to kill Jenny because of her ties to CIA, they almost certainly could not have been involved in what happened to Alex fifteen years ago.

He instinctively looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was trying to get a bead on him. That had been a way of life in the Middle East, because there someone was always trying to sneak up and kill you.

This case really came down to one linchpin.

Earl Palmer. He was lying about finding the body, of that Devine was convinced. And the police seemed to have no interest in following that up. Were they being loyal to a local, just equal parts incompetent or stupid, or were they complicit in whatever cover-up was going on?

But the thing was, Palmer didn’t strike Devine as a liar. He seemed just like everyone described him: salt of the earth, nursing perhaps the most painful loss any person can endure.

So why lie under those circumstances?

Is someone making you lie, Earl?

He drove off while the rain continued to pour down, and then abruptly transformed to sleet. And then, just as swiftly, it all stopped and the skies began to clear. The weather really was crazy up here, thought Devine.

He turned onto the main road as his phone buzzed.

It was Campbell. Devine hit the speaker function.

“First things first, Agents Saxon and Mann have made a partial trace of the men who kidnapped you.”

“What did they find out?”

“They arrived in the country the same day they came after you. Flew in from London. Before that we traced them to Brussels. They are a known quantity, killers for hire.”

“Like the guys on the Geneva train?”

“Yes, but at a higher level. You did well to survive, Devine.”

“Any idea who hired them?”

“Not yet. The organization you went after in Geneva has many resources. And while we hit them with a debilitating shot, we obviously didn’t knock them out. Now we’re doing a deep internal security audit here, trying to compartmentalize who knew about your assignment in Maine.”

“Must be a fairly short list.”

“It is, Devine, but we need proof. If we have a mole we’ll find the person and deal with them accordingly.”

“I hope I’m around to see it,” replied Devine. “Anything on the woman on the train? She might have been the one in the house that night.”

“Apparently a woman of many identities, a number of which we are currently running down. It seems most likely that she was engaged by the Geneva folks to deal with you after what you did to them.”

“So she’s a freelancer, then?”

“That’s the prelim at least, but it has not been confirmed. There’s been talk of a new talent out in the mercenary field, but we don’t know if it’s her or not. Now, what’s new on your end?”

Devine went over his suspicions about Earl Palmer and the possible connection of Jenny Silkwell’s murder to the assault on her sister years earlier.

“My God. Curt never mentioned anything like that happening to Alex.”

“They apparently hushed it all up. Why, I don’t know.”

“Then what’s your take on the Norma casing being found at Jenny’s crime scene, but a NATO round being the one that nearly killed you?” asked Campbell.

“I don’t really have a take, sir. Yet. It could be someone from the military, or a civilian trying to throw suspicion that way. And we don’t know for sure Jenny was killed with the Norma round, since it was never found.”

“You have anyone that’s giving you certain vibes?”

“Dak Silkwell is an aspiring mini-mogul who will make even more millions off the sale of the old homestead now that Jenny is gone. He says he was in Boston at the time, but he could have paid someone to do it. That much money is a prime motive.”

“That’s the other thing I meant to share with you. I spoke today with the Silkwell estate lawyers about the trust that left the house and property to the children,” said Campbell. “So it might be Dak had even more motive than you thought.”

“How do you mean?”

“According to the trust terms there has to be a unanimous vote to sell the property. So if Jenny didn’t want to sell, Dak was not getting his millions. And if Alex doesn’t want to sell, Dak has the same problem that he might have had with Jenny.”

“I gotta go.” Devine ended the call and punched the gas.