"That explains why this was so simple." Kyli pulled up the clipboard. "Your target has high blood pressure, has had a serious stroke and a major heart attack. He takes nitroglycerin tablets for chest pain. It also looks like he's had several mini-strokes as well, which I'm willing to bet he doesn't even know he's had. So," Kyli picked up the pack of gum, "this is your lethal weapon. It will have a double whammy effect. Within a few minutes of ingestion, he'll have severe chest pains mimicking a heart attack and will grab his nitroglycerin pills and take them. But this formula is already packed with nitro, so he'll overdose but won't know it. Within seconds after ingesting the nitro, the other ingredients will kick in and he'll have a massive stroke that will render him unconscious. Total time from gum to loss of consciousness, four to five minutes. Total time to death, seven to eight."
"Wow. That fast?" Jake asked.
"He's no health club member. More like a walking time-bomb." Kyli pointed to the papers scattered on the table. "What'd he do to deserve this?"
Neither Jake nor Francesca answered her question.
"I know. I know. You can't tell me. And if you did, you'd have to kill me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah." Kyli frowned. "Heard it all before."
"Is it traceable?" Francesca asked.
"Good question," Jake added. "Our target has some powerful friends who will no doubt want to know how he died. They will suspect foul play and will certainly request an autopsy. Will your formula show up?"
"Nope. All they'll find is nitro." Kyli checked her watch. "How much longer before you're done here? It's getting time to eat."
"Kyli, you'll have to eat without Jake tonight," said Francesca. "We still have some logistical issues to work out."
"She's right, we may be here quite a while," Jake said.
"Anything I can help with? Knock out the security system? Take out the guards? Blueprints for the house?" Kyli looked at Jake. "I was hoping we could spend a little time together before you leave."
"Blueprints and security system we've taken care of." Jake said. "His P. A. could be a problem. He always has her with him. Got an alchemy for that?"
"P. A.? As in personal assistant?"
"Yes."
"How old is she?" Kyli asked.
"Mid to late thirties," Francesca said.
"Know if she's had a hysterectomy?"
Francesca answered. "No, but I can get that information for you."
"That would be great. You know their schedule?"
Francesca grabbed a piece of paper from the table and handed to Kyli. "As a matter of fact, we do."
"Thanks, Franny." Kyli studied the schedule for two minutes and then smiled. "I might know just the thing."
Three hours later, Jake and Francesca completed the planning phase of their mission. An analyst at Wiley's new Virginia office researched the medical history on Boden's P.A. and found no record of a hysterectomy. Kyli had been a big help and offered a solution to their problem with removing Boden's personal assistant from the equation.
"It is convenient that Boden's P.A. is a woman," Francesca said. "Kyli's solution should work like a charm."
After he heard the plan he thought the same thing. He knew he and Francesca could control the situation, avoid detection, and administer the compound to Senator Richard Boden. In theory, anyway. And that was the only thing bothering Jake at the moment. If the hit wasn't timed with precision, they might get busted. This was a personal favor for the President of the United States from Wiley. And on a personal level, a chance for Jake to seek revenge for past transgressions.
"I think that's it." Jake looked at Francesca who was already gathering all the paperwork in one pile. "We're a go for tomorrow night."
"I don't know, Jake. This mission still bothers me." Francesca looked at her watch. "When it appears easy, something has been overlooked."
Jake knew about Francesca's failed first mission, an attempt to capture an assassin that resulted in the loss of two of her team members, and that she'd been overly cautious ever since. He knew she was reminded of her failure every time she looked in the mirror and saw her scar. That demon in her past would never leave.
He knew about demons.
He had a few of his own.
"Relax. We've covered every angle and besides." Jake paused. "I've got your back."
The Hotel Carpinus was a short drive from the lab, just across the canal to the small village of Herent. Jake had spent many nights there on his numerous trips to Belgium and was on a first name basis with most of the hotel and dining room staff.
Jake grabbed his room key from Jordy at the front desk. Same room as always, number 7. And, as was standard protocol for him at the Hotel Carpinus, he knew the light would be on, his bag would be in his room, bed turned down, and a chocolate on the pillow.
When he opened the door, he realized he was wrong.
The only light in the room came from several candles flickering on the dresser. His bag was tossed on the floor, clothes scattered all over. The bed was turned down, but instead of a chocolate on his pillow, it was something much more appetizing.
Kyli.
6
Ashley Regan was an adrenaline junkie and her recent discovery kept her imagination stoked with possibilities. At first, her calls to the College of Charleston seemed a dead end but every junkie knows that persistence is the opposite of failure. She struck pay dirt with the third person she spoke to at the College. The librarian gave her the name of a local antiquary who not only collected antiquities, but also restored damaged documents in his home. The man had assisted several libraries and companies in Charleston with restoring documents and books water damaged as a result of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
Regan took the man's name and number and made an appointment to bring the book for an evaluation and restoration estimate.
One step closer to her goal.
The contents of the book had become her idée fixe. She had to know what was written inside. Her mind thought of dozens of possibilities for a bullet hole to be in the leather-bound book.
She studied the book one last time…touching it through the plastic bags. She used a bright light and magnifying glass to study the water-stained leather cover. The leather-bound book measured roughly 6 inches wide by 8.25 inches tall and was a little over an inch thick. The leather appeared to be cowhide, possibly stained dark, with a pattern tooled on the front.
Two patterns actually, initials tooled near the top and a small emblem or pattern centered an inch from the bottom. The patterns were worn flat. With the discoloration of the leather, the patterns were impossible to decipher through the sealed plastic bags. Moisture had visibly collected on the inside of all three bags so she didn't dare remove the book.
She grabbed a blank sheet of copy paper and a pencil then smoothed the plastic bags as much as possible over the front cover. Placing the blank paper on the cover, she gently rubbed the pencil lead across the book. With each pass of the lead across the paper, the patterns from the leather cover slowly appeared. The initials revealed themselves a small portion at a time until they were clear — W. F. It meant nothing to her. But as the smaller pattern emerged that changed.
A crest.
With a swastika in the center.
Now the book had an approximate age dating back to World War II — Nazi Germany.
A valuable piece to the puzzle.
The region made sense. Technically she'd found the book on German soil. The identity of the man remained a mystery. Perhaps the protector of the book was a German soldier. Could explain the bullet hole, if that's even what it was. She knew the bloodstains, the hole, and the swastika might arouse suspicion and prompt some questions — questions she was preparing herself to answer. She'd already devised a story, now she just had to make some minor alterations and she had her perfect lie.