The Escape (John Puller, #3)(68)

Puller glanced at Knox and said, “She answered my questions while we were putting away groceries. So I think that’s it.” He turned back to Reynolds. “Obviously, if you notice anything suspicious, please give us a call.” He handed her one of his cards.

She looked at the card and then glanced up at Puller. “Just so you know, I can take care of myself. If I had competed in the Olympics I was a lock for a bronze and with a bit of luck the gold was not out of reach. I have lots of guns and I know how to use them. In fact, I would go down to the FBI’s shooting range with Adam and take on all comers. I never lost. And at my age, I’ve never needed glasses of any kind. The doctors say it’s remarkable. I say it’s just good fortune. So if someone breaks into my home, I doubt they’ll be walking out of here. I always stand my ground. And I don’t miss.”

Puller gave her a long stare and then nodded. “I’m sure. Have a good day.” He and Knox left and climbed into their car. But Puller didn’t start it up. He sat there staring up at the house.

“You find anything while I had her in the kitchen?”

“A forty-five Smith and Wesson hidden in the bookcase. The windows are alarmed too. She has motion detectors all over the place. And there’s a large floor safe in her bedroom, which is the first door on the right off the main hall. It’s locked, but I’m guessing she keeps her long guns and other pistols in there. And maybe all her cool shooting trophies.”

“You covered a lot of ground in a short time.”

“I do my best.”

“Anything else?”

“No smoking gun, no pun intended.”

“Maybe we’re looking at it,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“She came from KC,” he said. “Went to Bolling in Anacostia.”

“Right.”

“Sticker shock. Cost of living in Kansas is a lot lower than here. How much you figure that house cost?”

Knox studied the place and then looked at the homes around it.

“Million-plus.”

“That’s what I was thinking. And a late-model top-of-the-line Lexus sedan probably set her back about seventy thousand or more.”

“And she has two kids and a husband who was killed when they were still young. So that meant she was the sole breadwinner.”

“You saw her file. What was she making, say, twenty years ago?”

“About thirty thousand a year,” replied Knox.

“And college and law school aren’t cheap. Even if they took out loans. She probably had to foot part of the bill somehow.”

“But if she was paid off because of your brother, that was only a little over two years ago.”

“Right, but I wonder how much of her debt is still out there? Maybe none?”

“And now she lives in a million-dollar home and drives a luxury car.”

“What’s her salary now?”

“I figure a little over a hundred thousand a year plus benefits.”

“Just doesn’t add up.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“But I assume the government checks up on these things.”

“Maybe not. Look at the CIA and Aldrich Ames. Big house, luxury cars, none of which he could afford on his salary.” She paused. “Maybe she inherited.”

“You saw how she practically threatened us at the end there? She has guns and she knows how to use them? You walk in but you won’t walk out? I think she knew that you were searching the place while we were in the kitchen. And she was smooth, way too smooth for a visit like ours. It was like she was expecting us.”

“I swear I didn’t tell anyone, Puller.”

“I know. So if she’s been warned, then so has the other witness.”

“You still want to go see him?”

“Hell yes. He might not be as prepared as Reynolds was.”

Puller’s phone dinged not once but twice. He checked the emails.

“Anything useful?” asked Knox.

“Maybe the Holy Grail.”

“What is it?”

“The court-martial transcript. Schindler seems to really have a lot of juice. And that’s not all.”

“What else?”

“The ME at Leavenworth. He got back the toxicology results on our dead guy.”

“And?”

“And he’s Ukrainian. Or at least he was there recently.”

“I didn’t think they’d done isotope mapping over there.”

“He said we lucked out.”

“How?”

“The guy was from Chernobyl. Apparently because of the nuclear disaster they had there all those years ago, the toxicology signature is absolutely unique due to the water and air contamination.”

“Lucky for us. Not so lucky for the poor bastards who have to live there. So, Ukrainian? Aided by an officer from Croatia named Ivo Mesic?”

“Not such a stretch. Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. And Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, which was a communist regime.”

“So the big red monster is rearing its ugly head again?”

“Did you expect them to go quietly into the night? Especially with the guy running the show now. He has more testosterone than Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Terminator days.”