Family Ties (John Taylor Book 5)

by Travis Starnes

  The man’s accent was thick and pronounced. His accent was not to the Colonel Klink level, but it was noticeable enough that he would have made a fair bond villain.

  “Yes, we’ve worked on several cases together.”

  “My understanding is your connection goes deeper than that.”

  “We were engaged for a short time.”

  “You are no longer engaged?”

  “Not at the moment. What is this about?”

  “Have you been in contact with her?”

  Taylor looked at Joe. He was all for cooperating with other law enforcement agencies, but clearly, something was going on that involved Whitaker and estrangement or no, he wanted to know what that was.

  “There’s been an incident in Berlin,” Joe said in response to Taylor’s look.

  “What kind of incident? Is Whitaker ok?”

  “We don’t know, that’s the problem,” Graf said. “I take it from your response that you haven’t heard from her.”

  “No, we aren’t on the best of terms at the moment. I knew she was going to Europe, but not specifically where, and I didn’t get a number for where she’d be. Someone needs to tell me what’s going on. What kind of incident.”

  “Three days ago, an older woman was murdered in her apartment in Berlin. This picture was taken a few minutes before the woman’s time of death.”

  Graf pulled a picture out of a leather folio he’d been holding and handed it to Taylor. The picture was dark, and Whitaker was lit from the open doorway. He could tell it was her, but she was mostly obscured, head down, walking with purpose.

  “This picture was taken about fifteen minutes later. No one else was seen entering or leaving the building for several hours before or after, only Agent Whitaker.”

  Graf pulled out a second picture and handed it to Taylor. Whitaker’s face was turned up in this picture. Taylor could clearly see an expression of concern on her face. She was not turned to look at the camera and seemed to be looking around her. There was a small smudge on her neck that could have been blood, but the quality was not good enough to be sure.

  “Who was the woman?”

  “Her name was Frieda Wissler. She apparently was a distant relative of Agent Whitaker from an old and very rich German family. Frau Wissler was from a lesser branch of the family, but she was still worth millions.”

  “I can tell you now, without a doubt in my mind, that Whitaker had nothing to do with this woman’s death.”

  “While I’d like nothing more than to believe that, we still need to talk to her. At the moment, she’s only considered a witness, but that could change. We’ve been able to track her movements before Frau Wissler’s death. After the murder, your agent Whitaker - how do you say - dropped off the radar? Going into hiding does not seem like the actions of an innocent woman.”

  “I’m sure there’s a good reason for it.”

  “Which is one of the things we will be asking her about; once we find her. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, again as a material witness in the case and not as a suspect. If she remains in hiding, however, that may change.”

  “John,” Solomon said, “Inspector Graf would like for you to accompany him back to Berlin and assist in finding agent Whitaker.”

  “I have been told you are talented at finding people who do not wish to be found, and I read in your papers about the events with you and the terrorist. While I normally would not allow a member of a foreign law enforcement agency to work on an active case, your personal connection to agent Whitaker, her ability to remain hidden, and my superiors' desire for progress in the case has left me with little choice.”

  “As I said before,” Director Solomon said, “John is as non-law enforcement as you’re going to get inside the Bureau. While events pushed the Attorney General to want him working for us, he still remains largely outside the chain of command.”

  The statement made Taylor wonder just what the two men had discussed before he arrived. Taylor had no illusions of what Solomon thought of him and was certain the director had tried to convince Graf to not take Taylor. He did not particularly like Taylor operating inside the US. Taylor was sure his representing US law enforcement in a foreign country was not something Solomon would have allowed if he had the choice.

  Graf did not seem to be giving him a choice, at least not without denying the German government US assistance when it was requested. Solomon was too much of a political animal to allow his personal reservations to get in the way of diplomacy.

  “I appreciate your concern, but agent Taylor not being a typical representative of your agency makes his assisting us easier.”

  “Special Assistant Taylor.”

  Graf looked at Solomon with a questioning expression.

  “I didn’t go through the academy or get promoted to the position of agent. To find a place for me, they created a position called Special Assistant. People like Joe here, who came up through the ranks, take the title 'Agent' very seriously. Please just call me Taylor, that’s what everyone else does.”

  “Fine,” Graf said, looking from Taylor back to Solomon. “I’ve heard your concerns, but I still request Taylor’s assistance in this matter.”

  Taylor looked at Joe. If the decision had been up to him he would have said no, gotten on a plane to Berlin, and found Whitaker on his own. He was certain she had not murdered anyone, but he did not know Graf or the German police force. Even if they were operating in complete good faith, a benefit of the doubt he rarely gave to any government organization, they could still put the murder on her just to close the case.

  The flip side was that he would have an easier time finding Whitaker with the resources of the Berlin police than on his own. Working through official channels would also allow him to see some of their cards and would keep him from getting blindsided by them.

  In the end, his mental tug of war ended on the side of hoping Solomon gave in to Graf.

  “Fine. I won’t lie, I’m not crazy about Taylor becoming involved in this. I think you’re going to find you regret his presence once he goes off the reservation, and I promise you at some point he will, but I can’t think of an official reason to deny you the request.”

  “I’m sure we won’t have any issues. Thank you, Director Solomon,” Graf said, standing and extending his hand.

  Joe shook the offered hand and said, “Give me a moment with Taylor, please.”

  “Certainly.”

  Graf gave a slight head bow and turned crisply, walking out into the reception area.

  “While I was honest when I said I wasn’t crazy about you going over there, the idea that Whitaker was involved in something like this doesn’t feel right to me. Find our girl and bring her home.”

  “I will,” Taylor said, standing and turning to follow Graf out.

  Chapter 2

  Taylor made plans with Graf at seven-thirty, for the red-eye flight to Germany. He left the German officer to take care of the details, so Taylor could take care of things before he had to go out of town. While the Germans had agreed to pick up Taylor’s tab for the time he was on loan to them, he had been warned that they had a much lower budget than the FBI when it came to travel. The idea of flying coach all the way to Germany did not sit all that well with Taylor, who had managed to get rides on one of the FBI’s private planes several times over the last few years and found himself spoiled.

  His displeasure over the upcoming trip and his preparations to get any urgent cases he was currently working on transferred over to other agents were both displaced by his worry for Whitaker. Everything about this situation smelled bad to Taylor. Whitaker’s belief in following both the letter and the spirit of the rules was the biggest source of tension they had, and the ultimate cause of the current hold placed on their engagement.

  The very idea that the same woman would walk into a murder scene, and then, a few minutes later, turn and walk away from it did not sit well with Taylor at all. Her going into hiding, or at least operating enough be
low the radar that the German authorities could not find her, was just icing on the top of a, particularly disturbing, cake.

  The problem was those were the very actions Whitaker had taken. The Germans had very convincing video of her entering and then leaving the crime scene and no one had been able to get ahold of her since, including Solomon, who had been trying to reach her since word of the incident hit him, yesterday.

  To the Germans, and possibly Solomon to a lesser degree, that said she had done something wrong, or at least had something to hide. To Taylor, her actions meant something was very wrong, and she was most likely in danger.

  All that together made it hard to keep his mind focused on clearing his schedule for a few weeks. He did manage to get it done, though. Taylor was not the ideal hire for the FBI by any length, but he was conscientious about making sure his cases were handled properly. Taylor wished that he had been the type of person to just take all the files and make them someone else’s problems, but it just was not how his brain was wired.

  Taylor picked up his cell phone as soon as he finished the last file to take care of one more responsibility he had to push off.

  “Senator Caldwell’s office,” Loren, the Senators trusty if someone priggish assistant said.

  “Loren, its Taylor. Is the Senator free to speak for a moment?”

  “May I ask what this is regarding?”

  Taylor resisted the urge to sigh. He had the Senators' personal cell number if he really needed it, but he knew she was always busy and did not want to bother her if she was actively busy. He also knew that calling her official number meant he would have to deal with Loren. While the man did not seem to actively hate Taylor, he clearly thought of him as some kind of throwback Neanderthal and also disliked anyone stepping around him to get to the Senator directly.

  What that meant was that, even when the Senator was not actually busy, Loren always made Taylor jump through hoops to talk to her.

  “I need to cancel my appearance at tonight’s event.”

  “I’ll let her know.”

  “I’d like to tell her myself, Loren. I’d like the chance to offer her an explanation and apology since I’d promised I’d be able to do the event.”

  “I’d be happy to pass those along.”

  Taylor did let out a sigh at that.

  “Loren, if she’s in the office, please let me talk to her. Otherwise, let her know I called but that I’ll be on a plane early tomorrow morning.”

  Taylor thought that one day, Loren would decide he had enough of dealing with Taylor and actively pretend to give a message he never planned on passing along. Thankfully today was not that day.

  “No need,” Loren said, sighing in return. “I will patch you through now.”

  Taylor once again resisted the urge to complain about Loren when the Senator picked up the phone.

  “Is everything alright, John? Loren says you have to cancel for tonight.”

  “Joe called me into his office this morning. The great-Aunt that Whitaker went to see was murdered a few days ago, and Whitaker’s gone missing.”

  “Oh, god! Do they think something’s happened to her too?”

  “No, they have video of her leaving the scene and they want to talk to her. For whatever reason, Whitaker’s dropped completely off the radar and no one knows where she is. A German police officer asked for me to go back with them and help find her.”

  “They don’t seriously think Loretta was involved with her aunt’s death, do they? Joe should know her well enough to know that isn’t who she is.”

  “No, he doesn’t, but the Germans don’t seem sure. They made it a point to tell me she was only a witness, but the whole thing smells bad. Whitaker had a good reason to go dark. I’ll help them as long as it keeps me in the loop, but that’s it.”

  “Please let me know what’s happening. I know the Chancellor a bit and might have some pull.”

  “I think it’s best if I don’t go straight to the big guns, but I’ll keep that in mind. Besides, you have a race to run, and you don’t need me getting you involved in another scandal, especially this close to the election.”

  “While your last big splash pushed me five points ahead in the polls, you know me well enough to know that isn’t a consideration. I still owe you for that business in Russia and I consider both you and Loretta friends. Even if I think it’ll cost me, I’ll still be there to help.”

  Taylor had no doubt she would also think of a way to turn the facts to benefit her no matter what they were, but he knew she meant what she said. Senator Caldwell was nothing if not a believer that loyalty was a two-way street.

  “Do you want me to look in on Kara while you’re in Europe?”

  “Please. I’m calling her next, but I’d appreciate you keeping an eye on them. I’m nervous enough about her living on her own, even if it is officially under Mary Jane’s supervision. If this wasn’t about Whitaker being in trouble, I’d find a way to put it off or let someone else handle it.”

  “I understand completely. Don’t worry, the girls will be in good hands, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Senator.”

  “Of course. Okay, I have to run. Please keep me updated on what’s happening over there.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Taylor said.

  His next call was to Kara, who surprisingly picked up just after the first ring.

  “What, are you sitting beside the phone waiting for me to call?”

  “Besides phone, yes. Waiting for you, no.”

  “Who are you waiting for, then?”

  “No one, I am just next to phone. I did bet Mary Jane that you would call me today. I tell her you worry like old woman.”

  “Only about you and Whitaker.”

  Taylor could see her expression in his head. The way she hung her head down to let her curly red hair cover her face to hide her embarrassment, but which didn’t quite hide the smile she couldn’t suppress. Over the last several months, their relationship had only strengthened. The first month after Whitaker left had been really tough on both of them. Not that Whitaker had pulled away from Kara the way she had with him. She had worked hard to maintain a good relationship with Kara, trying to limit the damage her and Taylor’s separation would do to the teenager.

  While Kara might not have lost Whitaker, she did have to deal with seeing the pain Taylor was in. He had tried to hide it from her, but she knew him well enough now to see past the brave face he tried to maintain.

  Kara still did not like for most people to touch her. She had pushed past that completely with Taylor making sure to give him hugs every time they were forced to be apart. Her shrink said that was a manifestation of her own fears that this new life was temporary and she would end up back in the hell he had pulled her out of and that Whitaker’s leaving had intensified those fears. She had said Kara’s desire for physical contact was a way of reassuring herself that Taylor would not leave her too.

  While he felt ashamed that the impasse he and Whitaker had ended up at had caused Kara more pain, he was glad that her way of coping with it helped him over his own pain. He had made sure to spend as much time as he could with her even with his busy schedule and talk to her every day regardless.

  Which made him worry a little bit about how the latest news would hit her.

  “Are you checking to make sure we have no big parties?”

  “No, although now I am.”

  “I joke. Mary Jane say no parties.”

  “Good. No, I wanted to let you know that I have to fly to Germany today. Senator Caldwell has agreed to look in on you two while I’m gone.”

  “You have job?”

  Taylor thought for a moment of not telling Kara what was actually happening, but that moment passed quickly. He had made it a point to never lie to her. Trust was the one thing Kara had lost the most of over the years, and Taylor planned on never giving her a reason to not trust him. He wanted to avoid that even if the lie came with the best of intentions.

  “Someth
ing’s happened with Whitaker. She might be in trouble.”

  “Is she hurt?”

  “I don’t know. She’s missing. I’m going over there to find her and bring her back.”

  “Good. I know you will find her.”

  The total confidence with which she said that worried Taylor a little. She rarely asked details about the cases he worked, just assuming whatever it was he would be successful at. He had assumed that, since this involved Whitaker possibly being in danger, she would want to know more, but apparently not. He loved that Kara had that much faith in him, but he knew one day he would not live up to the expectations that faith set, no matter how hard he tried.