Without remorse - Tom Clancy [300]
That, MacKenzie thought, was worth a whistle. 'Must be rather a cool customer.'
'Better than that,' Ritter said quietly. 'On the way out he bagged the Russian who was talking to our people, and the camp commander. We have them in Winchester. Alive,' Ritter added with a smile.
'That's how you got the dispatch? I figured SigInt,' MacKenzie said, meaning signals intelligence. 'How'd he manage that?'
'As you said, a cool customer.' Ritter smiled. 'That's the good news.'
'I'm not sure I want to hear the bad news.'
'We have an indicator that the other side might want to eliminate the camp and everyone in it.'
'Jesus... Henry is over in Paris right now,' MacKenzie said.
'Wrong approach. If he brings this up, even in one of the informal sessions, they'll just deny, and it might spook them so much that they'll try to make sure they can deny it.' It was well known that the real work at such conferences was done during the breaks, not when people had to address the issues formally over the conference table, the very shape of which had taken so much time.
'True. What then?'
'We're working through the Russians. We have a pipeline for that. I initiated the contact myself.'
'Let me know how it turns out?'
'You bet.'
'Thanks for letting me talk to you,' Lieutenant Ryan said.
'What's this all about?' Sam Rosen asked. They were in his office - not a large one, and the room was crowded with four people in it. Sarah and Sandy were there, too.
'It's about your former patient - John Кеllу.' That news didn't come as much of a surprise, Ryan saw. 'I need to talk to him.'
'What's stopping you?' Sam asked.
'I don't know where he is. I was kind of hoping you folks might.'
'About what?' Sarah asked.
'About a series of killings,' Ryan answered at once, in the hope of shocking them.
'Killing who?' This question came from the nurse.
'Doris Brown, for one, and several others.'
'John didn't hurt her -' Sandy said before Sarah Rosen was able to touch her hand.
'Then you know who Doris Brown is,' the detective observed, just a little too quickly.
'John and I have become ... friends,' Sandy said. 'He's been out of the country for the past couple of weeks. He couldn't have killed anybody.'
Ouch, Ryan thought. That was both good and bad news. He'd over-played his hand on Doris Brown, though the nurse's reaction to the accusation had resulted in a little too much emotional response. He'd also just had a speculation confirmed as fact, however. 'Out of the country? Where? How do you know?-'
'I don't think I'm supposed to say where. I'm not supposed to know that.'
'What do you mean by that?' the cop asked in surprise.
'I don't think I'm supposed to say, sorry.' The way she answered the question showed sincerity rather than evasion.
What the hell did that mean? There was no answering that one, and Ryan decided to go on. 'Someone named Sandy called the Brown house in Pittsburgh. It was you, wasn't it?'
'Officer,' Sarah said, 'I'm not sure I understand why you're asking all these questions.'
'I'm trying to develop some information, and I want you to tell your friend that he needs to talk with me.'
'This is a criminal investigation?'
'Yes, it is.'
'And you're asking us questions,' Sarah observed. 'My brother is a lawyer. Should I ask him to come here? You seem to be asking us what we know about some murders. You're making me nervous. I have a question - are any of us under suspicion of anything?'
'No, but your friend is.' If there was anything Ryan didn't need now, it was to have an attorney present.
'Wait a minute,' Sam said. 'If you think John might have done something wrong, and you want us to find him for you, you're saying that you think we know where he is, right? Doesn't that make us possible ... helpers, accessories is the word, isn't it?'
Are you? Ryan would have liked to ask. He decided on, 'Did I say that?'
'I've never had questions like this