“I know she was in on it somehow. I’m convinced. I can always tell when they’re lying.”
Bill was convinced, too, and he’d never even seen the woman. “But why did she scare you so much?” He’d heard Maddux refer to the woman in the past tense.
“I killed her son right in front of her. I sliced the boy’s neck wide open while she watched.”
Bill grimaced and glanced at the cement floor. How had the world come to this? How could a civilized man kill a small child, even in the name of protecting a country?
His eyes raced back to Maddux, aware that he’d let down his guard for a split second, and that was all it would take. But Maddux hadn’t moved. A wave of relief rushed through him.
“Imelda didn’t blink. I gave her a lot of chances to open up, Bill, but she didn’t.”
“Maybe you were wrong. I know how good you are at interrogation, but maybe this once you had it—”
“Imelda recognized Jack’s name when I said it. When I said Jack Jensen, she showed me her hand. She couldn’t hide it.”
Bill nodded. “That makes sense,” he muttered, thinking about what the woman had said when she’d first contacted him. “How did you get in that basement in North Carolina?” he asked. “Troy and Travers swore you weren’t down there when they cased the place initially. Travers said it was like you appeared out of thin air.”
Maddux grinned. “I’m a ghost, Bill. You know that.”
“Come on, Shane.”
“One of the fireplaces down there isn’t a working fireplace. The chimney is really a tiny elevator, big enough for one small person. There’s an entrance to the chimney from the house’s porch. I’d used it before.”
Bill stared at Maddux for a long time, then, against his better judgment, stood up and moved close. “Do you have a tape of Rita Hayes and me?”
Maddux stared back. “Did you have her killed?”
“Was she your mole, Shane?”
Maddux nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you have a tape of Rita and me?” Bill asked again.
“Protect the peak, Bill.”
“Yes, yes, protect the—”
“Which one is it?”
“Which one is what?”
“I know you know, Bill. Where is the Executive Order that Nixon signed? What peak is it hidden on?”
“I have no idea.”
“Carlson told you. He swore to me he did. We must move it. The enemies are closing in.”
Bill stared at Maddux. He hated and loved this man at the same time. How could that be?
“Let me go, Bill. Let me do what I do best. Let me protect this country.”
“I–I can’t.”
“More people were killed today.”
How could he know that? Bill wondered as he glanced at Maddux’s knuckles, which were milky white because they were gripping the bars so tightly. The attacks had started a few hours ago. Maddux had been in here the entire time.
“I must be allowed to stop them. Please, Bill. I’ll get you the tape Rita made. No one but you will ever see it again. I promise.” Maddux hesitated. “Decus septum.”
Bill stared hard at Maddux, trying to decide. Ending a promise with “decus septum” was tantamount to taking an oath. Shane Maddux would never break an RCS oath. Would he?
“There’s a deal here, Bill.”
Bill’s head was pounding. He absolutely could not have that tape out in the ether. He cringed and nearly vomited at the thought of it being played on some Internet site. At the thought of his business associates watching the intimate things he and Rita had done over the last few years. He put his hands to his face and shut his eyes tightly as he thought about Cheryl watching it, after he’d promised her he’d be faithful to her forever so long ago. He was close to the bars, and he wasn’t watching Maddux, but he didn’t care. For a few seconds, he hoped Maddux would do something. But what would that get Shane? Nothing at all, which meant he was safe.
“If I don’t check in by noon, that tape of you and Rita goes viral,” Maddux spoke up, his tone turning nasty. “That’s the agreement I have with one of my people. You don’t want that, Bill.”
“No, I don’t,” he whispered.
“Set me free,” Maddux pushed, “and tell me which peak it is. Tell me where that original of the Executive Order is hidden. You do, and you get your tape.” He shook his head. “Do I really need to describe all the ways she pleases you in the recording, Bill? Do you need me to remind you that in the opening scene you use your tie to secure her to the bed while you—”
“Stop it,” Bill hissed. Why had he been so damn weak? “No more, Shane.”
“And tell me where Kaashif is,” Maddux demanded. “I swear to God if you don’t tell me that right away, your video will grow wings and fly. Everyone from Washington to Wall Street to Greenwich will see it. Do you really want that? Above all, do you really want Cheryl to see it?”
Bill swallowed hard. He’d never before considered suicide. He’d always called people who took that route weak and cowardly. He’d always sworn to himself that no matter how bad anything got, he would never take his own life. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
CHAPTER 28
“That young woman likes you,” Travers said as they hustled through the Tysons One Mall together. It was the first day the mall had been open since the attack, and it was like a ghost town in there when it should have been jammed.
“What woman?” Troy asked.
They were almost to the cell phone store. They’d been inside the cavernous building for thirty seconds, and he’d counted a grand total of nine shoppers, none of whom looked comfortable being here. This morning’s attacks obviously had the majority of the population barricaded inside their homes for good, terrorized. No one was coming out now, not until they were convinced the insanity had been stopped and the bloodshed was over.
Travers snickered. “What woman? You know what woman — the woman in the hospital. Jennie Perez.”
“Give me a break.”
“Give me a break. I saw the way she was looking at you. I saw how you took her hand, and the way she squeezed yours back.”
Troy grinned as they headed inside the store. He couldn’t help it. She’d definitely snagged his interest — which made all of this so much more difficult. “How long were you standing there, Major?”
“Long enough to see sparks, Captain.”
“Hey,” Troy called loudly as he approached the first salesperson he saw inside the store.
“Hello, sir,” the young man answered in a deliberate, bored tone. He glanced up from the People magazine he’d been flipping through. “How can I help you?”
The kid was probably wondering what in the hell he was doing here today, Troy figured as he pulled a heavy gold badge from his pocket and held it up. He probably wasn’t afraid of the place being attacked again — why would he be? There was no one here to kill.
“I’m a federal agent, and I’m investigating the Holiday Mall Attacks.”
The kid had been leaning on the glass counter, which was filled with different phones, but he stood straight up to look at the badge when he heard that. “Yes, sir.”
The badge was fake, but it looked heavy and real, and the kid bought in to its authenticity immediately. “I want to know who in here helped this woman,” Troy said, stowing the badge before pulling out his cell phone and showing the kid the picture of Jennie he’d taken during his first visit to the hospital.
“Wow,” the young guy murmured as he glanced at the picture, “she’s pretty.”
“She was in a few days ago,” Troy continued, “a few minutes before the attack here went down. I have her credit card receipt. She bought a phone in this store. And according to those credit card records, your company is her service provider as well.”