The Fix

Chapter 26

It wasn’t the cliché of the lady in red.

It wasn’t even a lady. At least it didn’t appear to be, but it was impossible to tell.

Decker sat there and stared at the person holding a giant lollipop while wearing a clown suit.

“You really think that’s it, the signal?” asked Bogart.

“We looked at six days’ worth of film,” said Decker. “Did you ever see a clown in any of the others at that location at that time of day? And we made inquiries and no one could account for why the clown was there. No circus or other show in town. The clown had no sign advertising an upcoming event. I think the probabilities are the clown was the signal.”

Bogart glanced at Milligan. They were once more at the WFO, in a small room where an enormous TV screen dominated one wall.

“You’re probably right,” Bogart admitted.

Jamison said, “And the clown disappeared around the building only after he had a clear sight line of Dabney — in other words, after it was confirmed that Dabney had gotten the signal and was on his way to kill Berkshire.”

Bogart sighed. “And the clown was wearing makeup and a floppy hat and bulky clothes and gloves. I couldn’t even tell if he was black or white. I couldn’t say for sure whether he was actually a male.”

Milligan said, “And we’ve checked other cameras from the areas where the clown was headed. He or she is on some of them, but then there’s a gap and the person’s gone.”

“The clown obviously knew where the cameras and the gaps were,” opined Bogart. “A well-thought-out plan.”

“So there’s a conspiracy going on here,” said Jamison. “These people got Dabney to kill Berkshire. And since he was already dying he killed himself.”

Bogart said, “But how did they get him to do that? According to Agent Brown, the gambling debts were paid off. The Russians or whoever it was had no incentive to do this. And Brown also said that she didn’t think the mob would be involved in this. They just wanted the money. And having worked on some of those cases, I agree with her.”

Milligan said, “So, again, how did whoever it was get him to do it?”

Jamison looked at Decker. “Do you know?”

Decker didn’t say anything right away. His mind was whirring and facts and suspicions were crowding in on one another, threatening to cancel each other out.

He said, “Dabney stole secrets from military projects he was working on. DIA found that out.” He paused. “If they found it out, others could have too.”

Bogart said, “And you mean blackmailed him with evidence of his treason? To kill Berkshire?”

“It would help explain the fact that we have as yet been unable to establish a link between Dabney and Berkshire. They may have no connection.”

“It’s sort of like Strangers on a Train,” said Milligan. “But just one way. They blackmail Dabney to kill someone they want done away with for their own reasons.”

“But why would he do it?” asked Jamison. “The guy was dying. Why would he care if what he did came out?”

“He might’ve been dying, but his family wasn’t,” replied Decker. “And from the interactions we’ve had with his wife and daughters, it’s quite clear that they thought the man walked on water. The fact that he was dying might’ve made it easier for him. He knew he’d never go to trial on this. And he might’ve hoped that his actions would be blamed on his illness.”

“But if he were unmasked as a spy?” said Bogart.

“Then he would have no way around that,” said Decker. “His career would end in disgrace. And he might take his daughter down with him. If he kills Berkshire and then himself, maybe he hoped everyone would focus on that. He might not have known the DIA was on to him. But if someone was blackmailing him, they would have him dead to rights. That might have been enough for him to take the deal.”

“But how could Dabney be sure if he carried out the killing that they’d live up to their part of the bargain and not reveal the espionage part?” asked Milligan.

“I’m not sure he had much of a choice. But if they did try to reveal that information, it might somehow draw focus on them. And why would they care if the espionage ever came to light? Dabney was already dead. And people who blackmail other people to murder aren’t necessarily altruistic. For all we know they’re actually enemies of this country. No, they would have every incentive to keep mum so that our side wouldn’t even know the theft had occurred. Dabney probably figured the same thing.”

Milligan said, “So he kills Berkshire and himself. That means the blackmailer is out there still.”

Jamison said, “Other things being equal it might be someone Dabney was working with. Otherwise, how would they know he was stealing secrets?”

“Could be,” said Bogart. “But there are also lots of ways someone he wasn’t working with might have gained access to that knowledge.”

Decker said, “Which leads us to the question of why this ‘third party’ would want Anne Berkshire dead in the first place.”

“So now instead of a connection between Dabney and Berkshire, we need to try to find one between Dabney and this unknown blackmailing third party?” said Milligan, frowning. “But the third party must have some connection to Berkshire too, since they wanted her dead.”

Decker nodded. “That’s exactly right.”

Bogart said, “Where do we start?”

“Well, as Alex and Todd suggested, the blackmailer had to have some connection to Dabney and Berkshire, however extenuated, even if Dabney and Berkshire didn’t know each other. The ‘third party’ would be the conduit between them. They had to know about the theft of secrets and they had to communicate with Dabney. They hopefully left enough of a trail for us to follow.”

“So we have to go back to square one,” said Milligan wearily.

“There are a couple of ways to attack this,” said Decker. “One is the Berkshire angle. If someone wanted her dead, there’s a good reason. That reason may lie in her exceptionally sketchy past. So we may be able to track down the blackmailer by digging more deeply into Berkshire’s history.”

“And the other way?” asked Jamison.

“Dabney. You’re not going to agree to kill someone without persuasion. And that sort of persuasion isn’t going to come in a tweet, text, or email, because I doubt anyone would write something like that down. So there had to be meetings with Dabney. We just have to find who they were with.”

Bogart said, “Why don’t Todd and I run that angle down. You and Jamison can hit it from the Berkshire end.”

Jamison nodded. “And we can compare notes along the way to see where we stand. Sound like a good plan, Decker?”

Decker sat there staring off.

“Amos, I said does that sound like a good plan?”

Decker finally stirred and looked at her as though he had just realized she was in the room. He said slowly, “I don’t know, Alex. I don’t know if anything sounds like a good plan right now.”