“I think it might be possible. But I thought the Dremov was on the list of banned weapons. I want to check with Mikey, in ballistics.”
David frowned as someone cut sharply in front of him. “How would Mather get a banned weapon?”
“Come on, Dave. He’s CIA remember?”
“Oh, right. Thanks for clearing that up for me, partner.”
“No problem.”
*******************************************************
It was just past one o’clock when they got back the office. As the two of them stepped off the elevator, Mark Garnett came around the corner.
“Hey, you’re back. Anything?”
“Yeah, we’ll tell you later. Would you spread the word that we need to see everyone in the control room at about three thirty?”
“Sure, Alex, I can do that.” Mark started to walk away, then snapped his fingers and turned back. “Damn, I almost forgot. Two things for you, Alex. First, Cliff wants to see you pronto. Something about a meeting last night?”
“I figured he’d want me to stop in. What else?”
“I contacted Price in Philly. He said he’d get samples of the two coats from the police, and send them up with a courier. Matter of fact, they should be arriving at the lab this afternoon. I don’t know if you were right, but …”
David grinned at him. “For some reason, Mark, I think she was dead on.”
“Why’s that?”
“Later.” Alex glared at her partner. “Just tell everyone that they really want to be at the meeting. I’m heading to Cliff’s office, and then down to ballistics. I’ll meet you all at the control center.”
“Right. I’m gonna give a call to some of the jobs listed on Wilford’s application.”
“Wait, who’s Wilford?”
Alex patted Mark on the back. “Don’t worry, Mark. All will be revealed.”
She headed down the hall to see Cliff Jackson.
*******************************************************
Alex found Cliff in his office, eating a late lunch. He asked her what Teren had said, and ate his french fries as he listened. The more she told him, the slower he ate. When she told him about Clymes’ confirmation, he stopped eating altogether.
“Let me get this straight, Reis. First, Mather screws his comrades over in Europe, getting Watson killed in the process. After that, he comes back to the states, somehow getting in without alerting the agency. He gets the assignment to kill Dabir, and gets his brother-in-law to drive the car. They then get blown to hell because they like making money more than they like the cause. Is this correct?”
“Well, I’m not sure about the timeline, exactly, but I think it’s a possibility. Only one thing you missed.”
“What’s that?”
“Teren hinted that Mather might have killed Fletcher in New York.”
“Shit. How does she know?”
“She didn’t say. But she said he was in New York at the time, and he owns this rifle that uses the right kind of ammo. I’m heading down to ballistics to talk to Mikey and ask him what he thinks.”
“Any other leads you’re following?”
“Yeah, I’ve asked Research for financial records on all our players. Maybe we’ll shake something loose from the money tree. After all, assassins have to get paid.”
“Right. What’s David up to?”
“He’s following up on Wilford, trying to find out about his past. I’m hoping that if we can fill in a little more of the history, then we can find out who they had contact with. It’s going to be tougher with Mather, obviously, but I’m thinking we should try.”
“Okay.” Cliff was nodding. “I think you’ve done a good job. But I gotta tell you, you look like shit.”
Alex felt her cheeks get hot. “Thanks, Cliff.”
“No problem. You haven’t been getting much sleep, huh?”
“No. I was thinking of sneaking away after the meeting this afternoon. Would you kill me if I did?”
“Only if you did anything other than get sleep. You keep driving yourself, Alex, and you’re gonna end up with ulcers.”
“I fully intend to spend the evening sleeping, sir.”
“Good. Now, why did you want to call this meeting?”
“Well, number one, I think everyone ought to hear about Mather and Wilford. Two, I think we need to find out where these two were during each of the other killings. Once we do that, we can re-work the timeline, and trace their movements. My gut tells me we’ll find one or both in each location at the right time.”
“You think the two of them were responsible for all the deaths?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, since they’re dead, does that mean the killings are over?”
Alex clenched her jaw. “I have a feeling they aren’t, Cliff. I mean, we don’t know who hired these guys, or who blew up their car. Until we answer those questions, I got a feeling the killings won’t stop.”
Cliff stared at his desk, a faraway look in his eyes as he nodded at her. Then he raised his head and looked at her. “By the way, I got a message from Deputy Director Bishop.”
“Really.”
“Yes. He said that he and the director had every confidence in our team, and since they were also short on manpower, there would be no additions to our staff. The task force will continue as is for at least another two months.”
Alex shook her head. “That sucks, Cliff.”
Cliff had to grin at her. “Hey, chin up. You already found the guys that killed Dabir. You even have their names.”
“Yeah, because Teren gave them to me.”
“Ah, but remember, you and David planned the trip to the store before you met Teren. So, even without her, you would have gotten one name, and had the other in the folder. All she did was verify what you would have found out.”
“I suppose that’s true. Clymes would have still identified that photo, and told us he hung out with Wilford. You’re right.”
“Of course I am. That’s why I’m the head of this task force. Now, go talk to Mikey, and let me finish my lunch.”
“Right. Sure you wouldn’t like a few fries with that side of ketchup, Cliff?”
“Out, Reis.”
*******************************************************
It wasn’t hard to find Mikey Clarin. All you had to do was follow the smell of gunpowder that wafted down the hall from the ballistics lab. As soon as you entered the lab itself, Mikey’s office was immediately to the left, behind a row of file cabinets. Everyone knew that if Mikey wasn’t in his office he was probably in the testing well.
Alex found the man she was looking for as they each approached his office from different directions.
“Mike, you got a minute or two to spare?”
“For you, Alex, I got three, but not much more than that. I got people crying for test results.” Mike Clarin, called Mikey because of his babyish good looks, slid neatly behind his desk and put his feet up on the stack of papers on the corner. Alex grinned at the sight of his tennis shoes.
“Those aren’t regulation, Mikey.”
“So report me. The only thing they’ll do is send out a memo telling me to follow the regs. I’ll tell them no, and they’ll ignore me ‘til someone else reports me, and then the whole thing will start all over again.” The two agents smiled at each other. “So, what’s on your mind, Alex?”
“What can you tell me about the Romanian Dremov rifle?”
Mike stretched his arms out, then clasped his hands on top of his head. “Good rifle. The Dremov is just one of a series of rifles the Romanians came out with. When it was legal to import them to the U.S., they’d go for as much as twelve hundred dollars apiece. And that was before you added a scope.”
“So, it would make a good sniper’s rifle?”
“Absolutely. The predecessor of the Dremov was developed by the Soviet Army for use as a sniper’s gun.” He grinned at her. “But of course it’s illegal to bring them into the country. They were still fairly new when the ban went into effect, so the number of collectors that have them legally is pretty small. I’d say there are less than a hundred and fifty legal Dremovs in the states.”
“What about illegal Dremovs?”
He snorted. “Who knows.”