Дэвид Балдаччи - The Fix

She pursed her lips, took a few moments to marshal her thoughts, and plunged ahead. “Walter Dabney was apparently not the patriotic citizen that people believed he was.”

“What does that mean?” asked Bogart.

“That means that he was selling secrets to our enemies.”

Jamison glanced at Decker, whose gaze held steadfastly on Brown.

She continued, “We don’t believe that he was a true spy in the sense that he wanted to bring America down.”

“Then what was his motivation?” asked Milligan.

“Gambling debts. They were enormous.”

“We don’t have any record of him being a gambler,” said Bogart. “Trips to Vegas, or—”

Brown cut in, “There are many ways to gamble, Agent Bogart. Nowadays you don’t have to get on a plane and fly to Vegas or go out to the racetrack. All you need is an Internet connection. And the losses can be staggering. And he had to pay them off.”

“By selling secrets,” said Jamison.

“Yes.”

“What sorts of secrets?” asked Decker.

She looked at him. “ Classified secrets. But I can tell you that they involve multiple contracts that his firm was working on across a half dozen DOD and civilian agency platforms.”

“So serious matters,” said Bogart.

“Very serious.”

“Did anyone else at his firm know about this?” asked Bogart.

“We don’t believe so, but we’re still looking into it.”

“So why kill himself?” asked Jamison.

“We were closing in,” she replied. “He saw it coming.”

“You took a while to come forward on this,” said Decker.

“This has been a very sensitive and long-running investigation. But after assessing the situation, the decision was made to send me here to convey certain information. We didn’t want you to be spinning your wheels unnecessarily.”

“And why kill Anne Berkshire?” asked Decker.

She scrutinized him. “I understand that you have hyperthymesia. And synesthesia. From a football injury.”

“And does that somehow explain why he killed Anne Berkshire?” Decker said impassively.

“No, just making an observation. As to Berkshire, we believe that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“And so why kill her if he was going to kill himself?” asked Decker. “What was she in the wrong place for? Him going nuts?”

“It’s difficult to fully understand what’s going through the mind of a person who’s about to lose everything. Dabney was under enormous pressure. It’s highly possible that he just snapped. Or he thought she might be with the FBI, since they were right outside the Hoover Building. He may have been paranoid at that point.”

“And it’s also possible that you’re wrong,” said Decker.

“He was stealing secrets and he did it because of gambling debts,” retorted Brown.

“Granted, that might be the case. But you could still be wrong about why he killed Berkshire.”

“Do you have a theory?”

“No. But when I do you can be pretty certain it’ll be the correct one.”

“You seem very sure of yourself, Mr. Decker.”

“Well, if I can’t be, who can?”

“Right,” said Bogart suddenly. “We appreciate the information, Agent Brown. Where do we go from here?”

She slowly turned to him. “I think, for you, nowhere. This is an active DIA case. We’re pursuing all possible leads. This is a national security matter and thus anyone investigating it must have the proper security clearances.” She glanced at Decker. “Which, unfortunately, leaves you out.”

Decker ignored this and said, “What do you know about Berkshire?”

“What?”

“You must have investigated her. We found some curious elements about her past. You must have done the same.”

“What we have found or not is an internal DIA matter. I only came here today as a courtesy to a sister agency.”

“And to tell us we’re off the case,” added Decker.

She looked directly at him. “Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you that the secrets that Dabney stole compromise strategic assets of this country. If certain of our enemies gain access to this information it could be 9/11 again, only far worse.”

“That’s a big statement,” said Bogart, staring at her in amazement. “If things are that dire, our agencies cooperating may be the best strategy.”

Brown rose. “Thank you for your time. I would appreciate any files you have collected be sent over to my office, Agent Bogart. You can use the contact information I’ve already provided.”

She had turned to leave when Decker spoke.

“I saw Walter Dabney shoot Berkshire. And I saw him try to blow his head off.”

She turned back to look at him. “And your point?”

“I’m not sure you’re cleared for it.”

She gave him a tight smile, pivoted on her heels, and walked out.

Bogart looked over at him. “We might need to give you a refresher course in interagency etiquette.”

Decker said, “Then make sure Agent Brown attends it too. So what’s our next step?”

“Next step in what?”

“The Dabney case.”

“Decker, didn’t you just hear the woman? We’re off the case.”

“I heard someone from DIA come here and tell the FBI that they’re off the case. I haven’t heard anyone from the FBI tell us that.”

Bogart started to say something but remained silent.

Milligan said, “I think Decker has a point, Ross. And far worse than 9/11? Our mission is to protect the United States. If the Bureau’s not going to be involved in something potentially this big, then what the hell are we doing?”

Jamison added, “I think so too. And can I just say that I do not like that woman one teeny little bit.”

Bogart stirred. “I can’t say I much like her or getting thrown off a case that happened right on Bureau territory. If the stakes are this big we can keep going, but we have to do so cautiously. Any misstep and we could get in trouble. And that won’t help anything.”

Decker rose.

Bogart said, “Where are you going?”

“To find a beat-up Honda.”

“I’ll always have your back too, Amos.”

He and Jamison were in her car.

His knees jammed against the dashboard, he turned to look at her. “I know you will. Have you talked to Melvin yet?”

“I left a message. I haven’t heard back yet. What did you think of this Harper Brown?”

“She’s apparently good at what she does.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“Bullshitting.”

“So you don’t believe what she said?”

“She works in the intelligence field. They’re trained to lie and sell it like the truth. They obviously undergo the same indoctrination as politicians.”

“So if she’s lying, that complicates an already complicated situation.”

“Yes, it does.”

“But why would she lie?”

“She may not be entirely lying. Dabney might have been selling secrets. Maybe he had a gambling habit. But the reason for killing Berkshire doesn’t make sense.”

“But he was terminal. Maybe he was on meds. Maybe the cancer messed with his brain.”

“And maybe , Alex, the truth lies in another direction.”

A frustrated Jamison refocused on the road. “How are we going to find her Honda?” she said tersely.

“We’ve only heard one person mention the Honda. So that means we’re going back to school.”

“You mean Virginia Cole, the principal.”

“Yes.”

“But she basically just saw her drive in one day, she said. Do you really think she got the license plate number?”

“I doubt she did.”

“Okay, then what’s your idea?”

“I plan to consult an eyewitness.”