The Innocent (30 page)

“I wish I did, actually.”

She sat in a chair across from him. “Find out anything?”

“Yes. But not much makes sense.”

“Tell me the part that does.”

“I think I was the target of the bomb, not you.”

“That’s comforting. So I only had one person trying to kill me?”

“Leo Broome works for the Department of Agriculture.”

“Any spies work there?”

“Doubtful. While lucrative, corn subsidies don’t really get bad guys all that excited.”

“So what’s the connection?”

“Might not be any. Then again, there might.”

Robie held his phone screen up. “Broome was also in the army. Gulf One.”

“So?”

“The woman and child who were killed? Her ex-husband was also found murdered. He was in the military as well. Maybe he and Broome knew each other.”

“And if they did, what would they know that would get them killed? And how does that tie into my parents being murdered?”

“I don’t know. I’m still working on the possible theories.”

“And whoever blew up the bus, you said they wanted to kill you. Why?”

“For things I can’t talk about with you.”

She sat there looking at him. Robie wasn’t sure what her next question would be, but he doubted he could answer it truthfully.
He glanced around the confines of the room. For a long moment he felt acutely claustrophobic.

“What do you think they did with my parents’ bodies?”

This was not one of the questions Robie had been anticipating, but it was certainly an understandable one. He studied Julie, trying to read something deeper in her question than was probably there. She was still just a kid, despite the street cred, despite the brains. She was grieving for her parents. She wanted to know where they were. He got that.

“Probably in a place we’ll never find,” said Robie. “Remember them as you knew them. Don’t think about where they are now, okay? It won’t do you any good.”

“Easy to say.”

“Yes, it is easy to say, but I think it needed to be said.”

Robie waited for her to break down and cry. Kids were supposed to do that, or so he’d been told. He had never done it when he was a child. But his childhood had not been normal in any possible way.

But Julie did not break down. She did not sniffle. She did not cry. She glanced up at him and the look on her face was cold.

“I want to kill whoever did this.”

“The guy who did it was on that bus. He’s just ash. Stop worrying about him. He’s over.”

“I’m not talking about him and you know it.”

“Killing someone is not as simple as it sounds.”

“It would be for me.”

“You kill someone you leave a piece of you with them.”

“That sounds like a line from some stupid movie.”

“It may sound like it, but that’s exactly how you feel.”

“You know a lot about that?”

“What do you think?” he said stiffly.

She glanced away and rubbed her hands nervously together.

She said, “Could it be that this Wind guy told something to the Broomes, who told something to my parents?”

“Yes, it could. In fact, that’s my most promising line of investigation.”

“And you’re doing this part with super agent Vance?”

Robie didn’t answer her.

“So you’re not working with her on this?”

“I’m working with her on
part
of this.”

“Okay, I get that.”

“Do you?” Robie asked.

“I want to be part of it too.”

“You are. You’ve been helping me.”

“But I want to help more.”

“You mean you want to find the people responsible and kill them?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“Maybe. But you have to think it through.”

“Will you help me kill them? I know you can.”

“You need to go back to bed,” he said quietly.

“The kid gets in the way, right? That’s what you’re figuring, isn’t it? Put me in that box?”

“I’m not going to be a part of putting you in any box, least of all a coffin.”

Julie visibly stiffened at this comment.

He said slowly, “What you have to get is that this is not a game, Julie. It’s not a movie, TV show, or PlayStation crap. You want to kill them. Fine, I get that. It’s natural. But you’re not a killer. You hate them, but you won’t be able to kill them when it comes to it. But keep one thing in mind.”

“What’s that?” she asked in a strained voice.

“They want you dead. And when they get the chance, they won’t hesitate for a second. You’ll be dead. And there’s no reset button to hit.”

“What if I told you I don’t care?”

“I’d say you’re young and think you’re immortal.”

“I know I’m going to die one day. The only question is when and how.”

“And the answers should be eight decades from now and peacefully in your sleep.”

“That’s not how life works. At least not my life.”

“It’s not smart to be thinking that way.”

“Look who’s talking. You don’t exactly lead a cautious life.”

“My choice.”

“That’s my point. It is a choice.
My
choice.”

She got up and walked back to her room.

Robie just sat there, staring at the spot where she’d been.

I
T WAS TWO A.M.
and Robie had been asleep for exactly one hour and then his eyes opened. He knew from long experience that it was useless to just lie there. He got up, padded into the living room of his home away from home, and went over to the window. D.C. was asleep now, at least the ordinary citizens of the city. However, there was a vast world here that never slept. They were highly trained, highly motivated people who rose to the occasion during the nighttime to keep their fellow citizens safe from harm.

Robie knew this because he happened to be one of those folks. It was not always so. He’d grown into the job over the years. That did not mean he liked it.

He put his eye to the telescope. The building across the street came into tight focus. He maneuvered the scope up to his floor. There were no lights on except for one.

Annie Lambert was on the move. Robie watched as she walked from her bedroom to the kitchen. She was dressed in black tights and a football jersey that came down to her mid-thighs. A New England Patriots jersey, he noted. That would not be too popular in D.C., where the Redskins were the favorite NFL team. But she was from Connecticut and the woman was in the privacy of her own home.

Some privacy, he thought guiltily. But he continued to watch.

She pulled out a book from a shelf against the wall, sat down, and opened it. She read and spooned yogurt into her mouth.

He was not the only one tonight with insomnia.

He felt embarrassed to be watching her again. He told himself it was for professional reasons. But that wasn’t true.

He pulled out the business card she had given him. Before he could reconsider his decision he called her cell phone. He watched through the telescope as she put the book down, reached over, and snagged her phone off a table.

“Hello?”

“It’s Will.”

He watched as she sat up straighter and put the spoon down. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Can’t sleep. Hope I didn’t wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep. I’m just sitting here eating yogurt.”

“Fast metabolism? Cheeseburger’s already worn off?”

“Something like that.”

Robie paused and gazed at her through the scope. She was twisting one strand of hair with her finger, her feet curled up under her. He felt his palms moisten and his throat get crusty. He felt like he was back in high school about to talk with the girl he had a crush on.

He said, “You know, there’s a nice view from the top of our building. Ever been up there?”

“I didn’t think you could get up there. Isn’t it locked or something?”

“No problems with locks if you have a key.”

“You have a key?” she asked. Her voice was tinged with the girlish glee of having been told a cool secret.

“How about I meet you at the stairwell in ten minutes?”

“Really? You’re serious?”

“I don’t call people at two a.m. unless I’m serious.”

“You’re on.”

She clicked off and Robie watched in amusement as she leapt up and raced down the hall, presumably to change her clothes.

Nine minutes later he was standing at the entrance to the stairwell when she hurried up to him.

She had changed into a knee-length skirt and blouse and sandals. She had brought a sweater too, because it was a little chilly outside.

She said, “Reporting for duty, sir.”

“Let’s do it,” replied Robie.

He led her up the stairs. When they came to the locked door to the roof he pulled out his pick tools and in a short time the door swung open.

“That wasn’t a key,” she said, smiling in admiration at his skill. “You just picked the lock.”

“A pick is a key by another name. That’s as close to poetic as I’ll ever get.”

She followed him up a short flight of stairs and through another doorway. The rooftop was flat and coated with a sealed asphalt top coat. It radiated a slight warmth.

Robie pulled out a bottle of wine from under his jacket.

“Hope you like red.”

“I love red. Are we going to take turns chugging from the bottle?”

From his pocket he produced two plastic wineglasses.

He uncorked the bottle and poured out the wine.

They stood by the edge of the roof and rested their arms and glasses on the chest-high wall of the building.

“It is a beautiful view,” said Lambert. “I guess I never thought about there being one from here. I just look out my window and see the building across the street.”

Robie felt a pang of guilt as he thought about his vantage point from that building into her apartment. “Every place has a view,” he said hesitantly. “Some are just better than others.”

“Hey, that was poetic,” she said nudging him with her elbow.

The wind blew gently across them as they sipped their wine and talked. The conversation was innocuous and yet helped to deliver a bit of a respite, of peace, to Robie. He had no time to be doing something like this, which was one reason why it was so important
to
do it.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Lambert.

“I’ve come up here before, but not with anyone else.”

“I feel honored, then,” she said. She looked out once more at the surrounding area. “It seems like this would be a good place to come and think.”

“I can show you how to pick a lock,” he said.

She smiled. “That might come in handy, actually. I’m always forgetting my keys.”

Another thirty minutes passed and Robie said, “Well, I guess we should call it a night.” He looked at his watch. “And you might as well shower and get ready for work. I guess you don’t need much sleep.”

“Look who’s talking.”

He walked her back to her apartment. She turned and said, “I really enjoyed this.”

“So did I.”

“I haven’t met many people since I’ve been here.”

“It’ll happen. Just takes time.”

“I meant that I’m really glad I met you.”

She kissed him on the lips, letting her fingers linger against his chest.

“Good night,” she said.

After she went inside Robie stood there. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Well, maybe he only hadn’t felt it in a really long time.

Finally, he turned and walked off, more confused and unsure of himself than ever.

R
OBIE GOT BACK
to the other building a few minutes later. Part of him wanted to look at Lambert through the telescope, to see what her reaction had been to tonight. Although her kiss probably told him all he needed to know. He imagined her showering and getting ready for work. But maybe she would think about him today too as she went about the important work of the country.

And after that thought Robie refocused on what lay ahead for him. It was time for him to go back to work too.

He checked on Julie and found her sound asleep.

He showered, dressed, and left, setting the alarm.

He drove through the empty streets. His wandering was not aimless. He had places to go, more things to think through.