David Baldacci - The Innocent

Julie shrugged. “As long as I can remember.”

“You’re fourteen. How old was he?”

“I saw his driver’s license once. He was forty-five.”

“So thirty-one or so when you arrived on the scene. Lot of time before that he could have been doing something else. How long were he and your mom married?”

“I’m not sure. They never talked about it.”

“They never celebrated anniversaries?”

“No. Just birthdays. In fact, just mine.”

“But they were married?”

“They had wedding bands they wore. They signed stuff ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ Other than that I don’t know.”

“Never saw any wedding photos? Never talked to any of your other family members?”

“No and no. They didn’t have any family around. At least that they told me about. Both of them were from California-at least that’s what they told me.”

“When did they move to D.C.?”

Julie didn’t answer. She gazed out the window.

“What’s the matter?” Robie asked.

“Your questions made me realize I knew shit about my parents.”

“Lots of kids don’t know much about their parents.”

“Don’t lie to try and make me feel better.”

“I’m not,” Robie said evenly. “I didn’t even know my parents.”

She looked over at him. “So you were adopted?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you said-”

“So you don’t know if your dad was in the military or not? I need to find out for certain.”

“Why?”

“If he was in the military and has the same tattoo as Rick Wind it might be that they served together. Lots of grunts from the same unit did similar body art. If we can track that down, things might start making sense.”

Julie said, “Can you find out if my dad was in the military?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. The Pentagon is great at keeping track of who served.”

Robie slid his phone out, hit a speed-dial key, and was soon talking to Blue Man. He relayed his request and clicked off.

“We’ll know soon enough,” he told Julie.

“Why did you ask me when my dad started doing drugs?”

“No reason.”

“That’s crap. You have a reason for everything you do.”

“Okay, he might have started using drugs in the military.”

“Why? Do all soldiers use drugs?”

“Of course not, but some of them do. While they’re in the military, and they keep it up after they leave. And if he served abroad, he might have had access to them more readily.”

“So this is all about drugs?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You’re not making much sense,” she said irritably.

“Do you know how your parents met?”

“At a party. In San Francisco. And, no, I don’t think it was a drug party,” she added bitterly.

Robie put the car back in gear and continued driving. His phone buzzed again. He glanced at the screen. It was Vance.

Julie saw it too. “Sounds like super agent Vance really wants you to go and see her.”

“Well, super agent Vance will just have to wait,” replied Robie.

“An eyewitness to the bus explosion?”

Robie shot her a questioning glance.

Julie said, “Super agent Vance has a loud voice. Pretty easy for me to overhear.”

“Yeah, that I got.”

“Did the eyewitness see us?”

“Would seem so.”

“I don’t remember seeing anybody around that night.”

“I didn’t either.”

“You think the person is lying?”

“It’s possible.”

“But if the person sees you? Big problem.”

“That’s right,” replied Robie.

“How are you going to get around that?”

“I’ll get around it.”

Julie looked away from him and rested her chin on top of her knapsack. “If my dad was in the military why wouldn’t he have talked about it?”

“Lots of people don’t talk about their military service.”

“I bet heroes do.”

“No. A pretty accurate rule of thumb is the people who did the most talk about it the least. The blowhards are the ones who did squat.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that. There would be no reason to.”

“To make me feel better.”

“Would it make you feel better if I lied to you?”

“I guess not.”

He glanced over to see her staring at him.

“How’s your calculus coming? I guess you’re falling behind on your homework.”

“I used the phone you gave me to go online and get my assignments. The teachers post them each day. I downloaded some files I needed and texted two of my teachers with some questions I had. And I emailed the school office and told them I have the flu, that I’ll be out for a few days, but I’ll email in my homework assignments and keep on top of things that way.”

“You did all that online with a phone?”

“Of course. No big deal. I have a laptop, but I don’t have Internet service on it. That costs money.”

“In my school days we still used erasers and hard-line phones.”

They drove in silence for a few more miles.

“If my dad was in the military, do you think he was maybe a hero or something?” Julie asked quietly.

This time Robie didn’t look at her. He knew the answer she wanted by her wistful tone.

“Maybe he was,” Robie said.

“Will, where are we going?” Julie asked.

They had driven across Memorial Bridge and were in northern Virginia. The day was crisp and clear. The sun drenched the area in a wash of intense light.

“Change of location for you.”

“Why?”

“Never a good idea to stay in one place too long.”

He peered in the rearview mirror just as he had been doing every sixty seconds.

There’s no way anyone could have followed me. And if they have it won’t do them any good.

He turned off after driving a few more miles and reached a gate. A man in uniform holding an MP-5 on a leather strap strode toward the car. Behind him Robie could make out another man, similarly armed, who was covering his partner.

Robie rolled down his window and held out his cred pack. He told the guard, “I’m on the list.” The guard checked on this statement using his cell phone.

While they waited, two other armed men came forward. One looked inside the car. Next, the trunk of the car was searched and the underside examined. Julie’s bag was looked through and a machine that could detect pulses behind metal and leather gave the Volvo the once-over. It confirmed that only two beating hearts were in the car.

The gate rose and Robie pulled forward, drove down a straightaway, and slipped into an empty parking spot.

He unbuckled his seat belt, but Julie just sat there.

“Come on,” he prompted.

“Where?” she said. “What is this place?”

“Safe. For you. That’s all you need to know.”

“Is this like the CIA?”

“Did you see a sign saying that it is?”

“They wouldn’t have a sign, would they? I mean, it’s secret.”

“If they didn’t have a sign, how are the spies supposed to be able to find it?”

“You’re not funny,” she snapped.

“No, this is not the CIA. I wouldn’t have brought you to Langley. In fact, I couldn’t have brought you to Langley without getting into a lot of trouble. This place is a couple steps down but it’s secure.”

“So you’re just going to drop me here?”

“Come on,” he said again. “We need to do this, Julie.”

She followed him across the parking lot and they were buzzed through the glass doors of a two-story building. They were met in the lobby by an armed guard and led back to a long, narrow conference room.

Julie sat while Robie paced.