The Escape (John Puller, #3)(92)

Carter said, “Timothy Daughtrey was the man who took your brother’s slot at ISR at Bolling Air Force Base. Robert Puller was being promoted to lieutenant colonel and would have been assigned to ISR. Instead he went to DB for life. I worked with Daughtrey at ISR. I would have worked with your brother if he hadn’t gone to prison.”

“So you’re saying he targeted Daughtrey because the man took a slot that he couldn’t fill because he was in prison?” said Knox skeptically.

“It could be more than that,” said Carter. “There could have been more between them. They were contemporaries, competitors in the military pecking order. I’m not saying it happened. I’m just saying it was a possibility. And the fact is, while Daughtrey was a rank ahead of your brother, Robert Puller had more gas in the tank. We’d had our eye on him for a long time. He would have passed Daughtrey at some point. Whether between the one- and two-star or the two- and three-star stage, it was only a matter of time. Daughtrey was going to hit the professional ceiling. He was quite talented, but not as exceptional as your brother.”

“But of course that all changed when Puller went to prison,” said Schindler.

“Maybe unfairly went to prison,” said Knox. “And it seems likely now that he was innocent.”

“I don’t see that,” said Rinehart. “Not yet. You’ve offered no proof of that, not a sliver. And what you have offered can be explained away. For example, if Macri was involved in helping your brother to escape, he might have promised her something in return.”

“He had nothing,” said Knox.

“That we know of,” countered Rinehart. “A smart guy like him might have had assets hidden in the electronic ether. He bribes her and gets away. You discover Macri was paid off, you don’t know by whom, and you have a deadly encounter with her. Now she’ll never be able to tell us who she was working with.”

“And the guys in the alley?” persisted Knox.

Rinehart shrugged. “If Robert Puller was a traitor and was selling secrets to our enemy, then those forces would still be out there. They have every incentive for the truth not to come out. And the fact that the dead man at DB has been identified as Ukrainian bolsters this theory. He might have been working for his country, or the Russians, or someone else, which in turn could be who Puller was selling secrets to.”

“So you think he’s guilty?” said Puller.

Rinehart bristled. “He was proven guilty at a court-martial. He escaped from prison. Until you or someone can refute or explain that, then yes, I think he’s guilty.”

“And Niles Robinson?” said Knox.

“He testified against Puller,” said Carter. “And there’s something else, something you may not be aware of.”

Knox and Puller looked at him expectantly.

“As you may know, Susan Reynolds works at the WMD Center. She also testified at Puller’s court-martial. She personally informed me that Robert Puller broke into her home, threatened her, and injected her with some poison to try to make her confess to some lie about falsely accusing him. But she was able to thwart him and reach a weapon. But he escaped before she could capture him.” He paused and added, “Or shoot him.”

Puller simply stared at the man for a few moments. “My brother was in Susan Reynolds’s home?”

He nodded. “And she showed us the injection mark. And her blood was tested. Luckily, there was no sign of poison. He must have been bluffing.”

Rinehart added, “Which means he’s on the East Coast. Or at least he was.”

Puller continued to stare at Carter. “When did you find out about this?’

“Just today.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“The appropriate parties. Those looking for Puller, yes.”

“Which includes me.”

“Which is why I’m telling you now.”

Puller said, “She told you he was trying to make her confess to lies?”

“Yes. Maybe he was recording her somehow and wanted to use that as some sort of bargaining chip. But if she did say anything incriminating it was because he threatened her and she was fearful for her life.”

Puller started to say something but Knox beat him to it. “What exactly did she say to him?” she asked.

“Between pleading for her life, she said whatever she thought he wanted to hear. He was a convicted traitor who had killed a man to get out of prison. I can’t imagine how frightened she was. We’ve given her protection at her home in case he comes back.”

Puller looked at Rinehart and Schindler. “Did you two know about this?”

“Donovan informed us right before you arrived,” said Schindler. “It does not paint a picture of an innocent man.”

“If it’s true,” said Puller.

Carter scoffed. “Why would she make something like that up? It would just bring her into this mess when she wasn’t involved at all. She would have no incentive to lie.”

“Incentives are in the eye of the beholder, at least that’s been my experience,” said Puller.

“And my experience, Mr. Puller, is to see things as they present themselves. And as opposed to your brother’s actions, Ms. Reynolds is by far the more reliable witness. She is a valuable employee and has faithfully served this country for many years.”