Дэвид Балдаччи - The Fix

“Cecilia Randall also told me that Dabney bought a yellow Porsche around the same time as they closed on the house. And she said that she thought Mrs. Dabney came from money, the way she dressed and conducted herself. Now, Jules did tell me that Ellie’s parents were killed in a mudslide and she was sent to an orphanage. Maybe she got compensation from that. But if that were the case, why would you be working as a waitress to put yourself through college?”

“You wouldn’t,” replied Milligan.

“So if we can find out the source of the money maybe we can figure out what happened all these years later.”

“You think they’re connected?”

“I think they have to be.”

“Dabney was at NSA. He certainly would have had access to classified material. And then he starts his own firm. I know we were speculating that he only recently committed espionage to help Natalie. But do you think he might have been spying all these years?”

“Hard to say. He might have worked with Berkshire over three decades ago and then quit spying for some reason. And somehow turned back to her all these years later to sell the secrets and get the payoff to help his daughter. That might solve the question of why we could show no connection between them. We didn’t look back three decades.”

“I think you might be on the right track, Decker.”

“On the other hand, Dabney couldn’t have killed Cecilia Randall. He was already dead.”

“We don’t know for sure that her murder is connected. It might just be a random killing.”

Decker shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“If he has been a spy all this time, it’s not going to be easy for his family to learn this, not after everything else they’ve been through.”

“Nothing about this case has been easy,” replied Decker.

He left Milligan and walked down the hall to an office he was sharing with Jamison. He filled her in on his discussion with Milligan.

“That theory does fill in some holes,” she said.

“But it doesn’t get us any closer to who’s behind this. Or where they might be planning to strike. And that’s what we really need to find out.”

“I spoke with Bogart a few minutes ago. They found nothing helpful at the Gorskis’ home.”

Decker sat down across from her and stared at the ceiling.

“But you’re not satisfied with your own theory?”

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“Because I know you. I can tell.”

He turned his head to look at her. “Okay, you’re right. I’m not satisfied.”

“What would make you satisfied?”

“Something that makes total sense, not piecemeal.”

“You might not get that.”

“I’m coming around to that possibility.” He put his size fourteens up on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

“Heard from Harper Brown?” asked Jamison.

“Not a word.”

“She and Melvin saw each other again.”

“How do you know that?”

“I talked to Melvin just now. They went to lunch, well, a picnic really at Roosevelt Island. He said they had a great time.”

“I’m glad she can find time for pleasure while working a case involving the fate of the country.”

“Everybody needs to take a break now and then,” said Jamison.

“So now you’re defending her,” said Decker with a snort.

“Hey, I’m a progressive. We’re always moving forward, not backward.”

Decker stood. “Well, I’m looking to make some progress too, so I better get to it.”

“Where are you going?”

“Not sure, but I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

“Hey, Decker?”

He turned back. “What?”

“Why did you stick up for me with the Secret Service and insist I go to the meeting at the White House too?”

“I’m surprised you have to ask.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what I meant when I said I had your back, Alex.”

He turned and walked out.

“Ever think you’re looking at a case ass-backwards?”

Harper Brown stared across the width of the café table at Decker. “In this case, how so?”

He had called her on the way out of the WFO and they had arranged to meet here.

“Dabney kills Berkshire and then himself. The case starts from there and we proceed linearly.”

“Right, but there are back stories we have to check out too. And we have been. This didn’t start with him killing her.”

“Granted, that was the result . But as we’ve been checking out the histories, it seems that we’ve been focusing mainly on Dabney.”

“Well, we can’t find out jack shit on Berkshire, except that she was definitely a spy. We have nothing else to go on.”

In response, Decker pulled the doll out of the backpack he’d brought and set it on the table between them.

“We have this.”

She stared at it momentarily before looking up at him in disbelief. “This? A doll? We already know it was probably used to transfer stolen secrets in the hidden compartment. But so what?”

“Why a doll?”

“Why not?”

“Let’s play this out logically. You steal secrets, put them in the doll, and carry it to another person, presumably Berkshire.”

“Right.”

“So, again, why a doll?”

“Why not? It’s innocuous, most people wouldn’t give it a second look.”

“Well, they might if a guy was carrying it around. It’s too large to put in your pocket. And a bag might be searched.”

“So you’re saying the other person was probably a woman?”

“Either a woman, or maybe a man with a little girl.”

“Wait, do you mean Walter Dabney?”

“It’s possible. The doll might have belonged to one of his daughters. The Bureau determined that this doll was manufactured about thirty years ago. So the Dabney girls are the right age for that. And like you said, it’s innocuous. Who would suspect a little girl with a doll of transporting secrets? And these people seem to like using kids as cover. Look at Joey Scott and the book.”

Brown looked thoughtful. “That’s true. So do we ask the daughters directly about the doll?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Where did you get that?” asked a stunned Jules.

Decker and Brown were seated in the living room with Jules, her mother, and her two sisters.

Ellie exclaimed, “Jules, isn’t that your doll, Missy?”

Jules took it from Decker and held it.

“You’re sure it’s yours?” said Brown.

In response Jules sniffed the hair and then looked at the doll’s left foot.

“See the red dots on the shoe? I spilled paint on it when I was little. It wouldn’t come out. And I recognize the smell of her hair. Where did you get it?”

“During the course of the investigation,” answered Decker, taking the doll back. “When do you remember having it last?”

Jules sat back. “I... I don’t know. I didn’t take it to college.” Her cheeks reddened. “I actually wanted to but changed my mind. I didn’t think to check on it since I got here.”

“So the doll stayed here, in the house?” said Brown.

Ellie said, “We’ve kept the girls’ bedrooms exactly as they left them for when they come back. They all had dolls. I thought they were all still there. Cissy keeps—” Her voice broke off. “Cissy kept every room neat and organized.”

“Can we see them?” asked Decker.

Jules led them up to the bedrooms. After she left them, Decker and Brown found three dolls with the same secret compartments behind the batteries.

“Shit,” said Brown. “This was spy central, apparently. Four daughters and four dolls with secret compartments.”

“This confirms that Walter Dabney must’ve known Berkshire. They were working together.”