The Innocent (33 page)

R
OBIE WAS ON
the move with Julie. He’d had her pack up most of her stuff in her knapsack without really giving any explanations.

He glanced at her from time to time as he steered the Volvo through traffic. She caught him doing it more than once and said, “Why do you keep staring at me?”

Why
do
I keep staring at her?
wondered Robie. The answer was actually easy, if unwelcome.
I have somebody other than myself I’m responsible for and it’s driving me nuts.

His phone buzzed. It was Vance.

“Robie, you need to get down here,” she said.

“What’s up?”

“The eyewitness, Michele Cohen. She saw a man and a teenage girl get off the bus right before it blew up. She also said the man’s gun flew away and landed under a car. That’s the gun we found that ties into the Wind killing. So there is a definite connection. I was right.”

“Where was she while all of this was going down? And why is she only coming forward now?”

“She’s married and she was leaving a hotel in the area after spending some time with a man other than her husband.”

“Okay,” said Robie slowly.

“We’re having one of our techs put together a digital image based on her description of the man and girl. It should be ready shortly.”

“Did she see where they went?”

“They were knocked out for a few seconds. But then they fled into an alley.”

“And your witness just went home to her hubby?”

“Cohen was scared, disoriented. When she got home and thought about it, she finally decided to come forward.”

“What’s the background on her?”

“What does that matter?”

“We have to verify that what she’s saying is true.”

“Why would she lie about something like this?”

“I don’t know. But people do lie. All the time.”

“Just get down here. I want you to hear her story, and you might have some questions for her I haven’t thought of.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Robie!”

He had already clicked off. He slid his phone back into his pocket. It buzzed again, but he ignored it. He knew it was Vance calling back. And his answer would be the same.

“Problems?” asked Julie.

“A few.”

“Insurmountable?”

“We’ll see.”

Julie picked up the file folder that lay between them.

“What’s this?’

“Not something you want to look at.”

“Why not? Is it classified?”

“Not really. But it’s an autopsy report on a guy.”

“What guy?”

Robie glanced over at her. “What’s it to you?”

“Is it connected to what happened to my parents?”

“Doubtful.”

“But you’re not sure?”

“I’m not sure of anything right now.”

She flipped it open and looked at the glossies. “Gross. This is disgusting.”

“What did you expect? The guy’s dead.”

Julie’s hands began to shake.

Robie slowed. “Don’t get sick in the car. I’ll pull over.”

“It’s not that, Will.”

“What then?”

She held up a photo from the file. It was a full-on shot of Rick Wind’s right arm.

Robie was about to explain about the tattoo. But Julie broke the silence first.

In a quavering voice she said, “It’s a Spartan warrior in a hoplite battle stance.”

He looked at her in amazement. “How’d you know that?”

“Because my dad had a tattoo exactly like it.”

R
OBIE PULLED THE CAR
to the curb, slipped the Volvo into park, and turned in his seat to stare at her.

“You’re sure your dad had the same tattoo?”

She held the glossy up. “Look at it, Will. How many tattoos like this do you think I’ve seen in my life?”

Robie took the photo from her and studied it.

“Okay. His name is Rick Wind. That ring any bells with you?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Robie looked down at the photo again. What were the odds?

“Was your dad in the military?”

“I don’t think so.”

“But you don’t know for certain?”

“He never talked about being in the military. He didn’t have any medals or stuff like that around.”

“But he has that tattoo. Did you ever ask him where he got it?”

“Sure. It was really unusual. He said he was into ancient Greek history and mythology. That’s where it came from. He explained to me what it was.”

“When did your dad start using drugs?”

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.

“W
ILL, 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.