Walk the Wire (Amos Decker #6)(88)

“They’re going to bury it all like they told us,” replied Decker. “And so long as the people behind it are punished, I’m okay with that. We have enough to deal with as a country without having this added to the pile.”

“I suppose,” said Jamison doubtfully. “But what about the truth coming out being the cornerstone of democracy?”

He glanced at her. “Your old journalist’s antennae tingling for the truth to come out again?”

“But that’s in the past. I follow orders now.”

“No, it’s not in the past, Alex. It’s why we’re here. To find the truth.”

She smiled. “I knew I liked you for a very good reason.”

“If they did work on chemical and biological weapons, it must have been down here somewhere.” He eyed twin corridors that went off to the left and right.

“Do you think this place might be contaminated?” asked Jamison suddenly. “I mean some of that stuff can hang around a long time.”

Decker stiffened. “I didn’t really think about that. But people have been working here for decades. If the place had been contaminated, they would have shut it down. At least they should have.”

“Let’s hope you’re right. I’m not as confident.”

He led the way down the corridor on the right. After taking flights of steps down they reached a cavernous room nearly as large as the one containing the PARCS system above them.

“We went down several sets of long steps to get to this point,” noted Jamison. “So this space must be well underground. A hundred feet or more.”

Decker nodded in agreement as he gazed around. “Doesn’t look like they used this when they were running the prison. And it smells moldy, too.” He walked the perimeter of the room, examining the walls and floor. In one place the wall was lighter than the other sections. Decker looked this over and then kept moving.

He stopped abruptly and turned to Jamison. “Wait a minute. How did Ben Purdy even know that something like that had happened here? That there were chemical and biological weapons produced here.”

“I don’t know. But we saw the research he’d done on those pages.” She tensed. “Wait a minute. What would prompt him to even do that research?”

“That’s what I was talking about. And I think the answer is Brad Daniels.”

“No, Daniels was the catalyst for Cramer’s coming here. He had nothing to do with Purdy.”

“Why do you think that?” asked Decker.

“Your cardinal rule: There are no coincidences.”

“Well, for every rule there is an exception. In fact, I think he did learn about it from Brad Daniels.”

“Based on what?” she asked.

Decker pulled out Daniels’s hat and pointed to another pin on there.

Jamison examined it. “An anniversary event the Air Force held?”

“Two years ago, at Minot Air Force Base, right here in North Dakota.”

“But how can we know they both attended, even with that pin on his hat?”

“I know they did, because it was noted in Purdy’s service record that he attended that very same event.”

“But we still can’t be sure that they met there.”

“Which is why I’m going to call the nursing home in Williston and have it out with Brad Daniels once and for all.”

“Go easy on him, Decker. He’s an old man.”

“That ‘old man’ is tougher than just about any son of a bitch I’ve ever met,” Decker groused.

“But he wouldn’t tell us anything before. Why would he now?”

He held up the hat and smiled. “Because now I’ve got a bargaining chip.”





“MR. DANIELS, IT’S AMOS DECKER with the FBI.”

Decker held the phone away from his ear as the old man started screaming at him.

“You son of a bitch. You give me back my hat. You’re a thief!”

“So you noticed it was gone? I take it your eyesight is better than you let on.”

“If I were forty years younger, I’d kick your ass.”

“But you’re not, so let’s make a deal, Mr. Daniels. You answer my questions and I guarantee that you’ll get your hat back intact.”

“What questions?” Daniels barked. “I told you I can’t answer nothing. It’s classified. Do you know what ‘classified’ means, moron?”

“What I’m going to ask you has nothing to do with classified information. I just want to ask if you met someone at the anniversary event you attended at Minot Air Force Base.”

“How the hell did you know about that?” Daniels barked.

“You have a pin about it on your hat.”

“A hat you stole. That’s a felony.”

“At most it’s a misdemeanor. And like I said, you’ll get your hat back. I promise.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

“Because, like you, I took an oath to serve this country. And that oath means a lot to me, like it did to you.”

“Go on,” said a suddenly calmer Daniels.

“Was there someone there you met named Ben Purdy, he was a sergeant with the Air Force?”