The Right Man For Revenge
Page 9
Moss nodded.
“Was she your only contract?”
Moss smiled, glanced at the SUV in the middle of the room.
“That was quite the entrance,” he said.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Two days after the shootout at the cabin, Tallon and Pauling sat with Moss at the same coffee shop where Tallon had been sitting when he’d gotten the message from Grace that she had Pauling.
“Doctors say Maria’s going to be okay,” Pauling said, and put her phone away. “It didn’t look like they’d gotten to her yet.”
Tallon nodded. “Her father is flying out this morning to bring her back to Minnesota. He’s very glad she’s okay, considering what happened to Nate.”
Moss shook his head. “Nate was a good guy.” He paused. “Zurich gave me the background information, if you want to hear it,” Moss said.
“Who’s Zurich?” Pauling asked
“Probably better if you don’t know,” Tallon said. “A small group of people over in Europe who run The Department, which is what we called ourselves. At least, when I was still in it.” He glanced at Moss. “You guys still call yourselves that?”
Moss shrugged. “Unofficially.”
“So tell us,” Pauling said.
“The operation to take out Alberto Sica was a success, but they also killed his daughter.”
Moss paused, giving Tallon the opportunity to chime in.
He stayed silent.
“Alberto’s brother, Archibald, was here, in Seattle. When he found out about his brother and niece, he hired Grace to kill a Reacher lookalike and send word to Pauling. They figured by bringing her out here, they could lure you in.”
“So who was the guy they killed?”
“A bare knuckle brawler known to some folks in the underground. So when word was sent out looking for people who matched Reacher’s description, his name came up.”
“So I’m guessing when the people in Europe found out Grace was freelancing, that’s when they sent for you,” Pauling said to Moss.
“Grace was off the reservation. Had been going that way for a long time, apparently. She shot the senator because apparently he was threatening to expose one of the people in Europe. That person then hired Grace, who not only took on the job of the senator, but also Sica’s highly lucrative contract. Same general area. Two birds with one shot, kind of thing.”
“So they found out they had two people off the reservation. Grace, and someone on the inside,” Tallon said.
“That’s when Zurich sent me in,” Moss said. “They already knew where Grace was. So they sent me the coordinates. That’s how I got there about the same time you did.”
“How did people in Zurich know?” Pauling asked.
Tallon glanced at Moss, then back at Pauling. “They know everything. Their resources are unmatched.”
Moss glanced at his watch. “Speaking of resources,” he said. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”
He stuck out his hand to Pauling and then to Tallon. “Any time you want to come back to The Department, we can always use the help,” he said.
Tallon held up his hands.
“I’m retired,” he said.
Moss laughed and left.
Pauling looked at Tallon.
“Department of what?” she asked.
Tallon shrugged his shoulders. “Murder.”
He drained the rest of his coffee.
“Now what?” Pauling said.
“My room is paid through tomorrow,” he said with a grin. “Why don’t we put it to good use?”
Pauling smiled, finished her coffee.
“Took you long enough to ask.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
* * *
The body had been in the chilly waters of Lake Zurich for at least twenty-four hours before a visiting investment banker in a water taxi spotted it floating a hundred yards from shore.
A call was made and the police arrived. They promptly loaded the body onto their boat where it was decided there was no need to call a medical examiner to the scene because the cause of death was obvious.
Two bullet holes in the center of the dead man’s forehead told the story.
From her perch high above Lake Zurich in the Collective’s conference room, Gunnella Bohm watched the police boat motor away with the body of her former colleague.
Gregory had made several mistakes.
The fact was, his first lapse in judgment had already earned him a death sentence, the errors that followed simply provided additional support, albeit that evidence was completely unnecessary.
Once the decision to remove an individual from the Collective had been made, there was no going back.
Gunnella Bohm was well aware of Gregory’s impending fate long before she officially ordered his removal from the Collective. It was both an instinctive sense that the man was not going to last, as well as a decision based on fact. Every member of the Collective was under various levels of surveillance, depending upon their experience, risk level and Bohm’s ongoing assessment.
Gregory had been a holdover from her father’s regime. A mistake that she never would have made.
The sins of the father, she thought.
Now, the sun was setting and the police boat was out of sight. The sky above the water took on the color of amber as the arrival of another crisp evening took shape over Lake Zurich.
Gunnella Bohm stepped back and pressed a nearly invisible button recessed along the edge of the large window. A white metal screen silently rolled down from above and covered the window, leaving the conference room as black as night.
By then, Gunnella Bohm was already gone.
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About the Author
Dan Ames is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author and winner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.
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Also by Dan Ames
DEAD WOOD (John Rockne Mystery #1)
HARD ROCK (John Rockne Mystery #2)
COLD JADE (John Rockne Mystery #3)
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EASY PREY (John Rockne Mystery #5)
BODY BLOW (John Rockne Mystery #6)
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THE KILLING LEAGUE (Wallace Mack Thriller #1)
THE MURDER STORE (Wallace Mack Thriller #2)
FINDERS KILLERS (Wallace Mack Thriller #3)
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DEATH BY SARCASM (Mary Cooper Mystery #1)
MURDER WITH SARCASTIC INTENT (Mary Cooper Mystery #2)
GROSS SARCASTIC HOMICIDE (Mary Cooper Mystery #3)
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KILLER GROOVE (Rockne & Cooper Mystery #1)
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BEER MONEY (Burr Ashland Mystery #1)
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THE CIRCUIT RIDER (Circuit Rider #1)
KILLER’S DRAW (Circuit Rider #2)
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TO FIND A MOUNTAIN (A WWII Thriller)
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THE RECRUITER
KILLING THE RAT
HEAD SHOT
THE BUTCHER
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BOX SETS:
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AMES TO KILL
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