‘Five slips, one sent each year for the past five years. We didn’t receive anything this year.’ Grace’s fingers trembled as they held up the scraps of paper one by one, ‘maybe we’ll still receive one.’
Meghan took one of the scraps and examined it closely. The paper was of the kind that could be found in thousands of stationery or big box stores in the country. All of them were a quarter of a letter-sized sheet, the cut was clean. There wasn’t anything special about the printing. There were no marks, nothing to indicate the slips had traveled thousands of miles.
Beth fingered one and smelled it. No odor, she indicated to her sister. ‘You reported this to the police?’
‘No,’ Jack Minter answered. ‘We were used to these threats, we didn’t see anything special. Azzi had demonstrated that he could reach out to us in any country, but other than that incident in Vienna…’ he trailed off.
‘You are wrong,’ he told Grace softly and when she looked at him in confusion, he explained. ‘We got a letter this year, I hid it from you.’
He went to an inner room and returned with a similar scrap of paper. On it was a single line.
Are you suffering? Yusri Azzi.
Grace’s face collapsed when she read the line, her head rose and she looked at her husband accusingly. ‘How could you hide this from me?’ she started softly and ended screaming.
‘WHY? HE MIGHT HAVE OUR DAUGHTER ALL ALONG.’
She crossed over to him in a single stride and hammered his chest. ‘YOU,’ pound, ‘RISKED,’ pound, ‘OUR,’ pound, ‘DAUGHTER,’ pound.
He caught her flailing arms and held her close and buried her head in his shoulder when the fierce rage gave way to sobbing.
‘He doesn’t have Cali. I’ve checked with our investigators. They’ve made enquiries. I trust them. Our investigators are good.’ He spoke above the sound of her weeping, his face distraught. ‘I hid this slip because I wanted to spare both of you. I know how his evil mind works. He probably heard of Cali’s disappearance and wanted to rub it in.’
He turned to his daughter, a look of pleading in his eyes, for forgiveness, for understanding. Percy’s face was a storm of emotion, anger, and shock warring with each other.
She didn’t meet his eyes; she scowled in the direction of her mom’s tear-sodden face and challenged her dad. ‘You could be wrong, dad. All these years she’s missing, the clues could be right in our home.’
‘No. I trust my investigators better than the cops. Don’t you think I care for Cali? Don’t you think I would’ve moved Heaven and Earth to find her?’
Zeb, who had been silent all along, who hadn’t been noticed by the Minters, shifted his weight to another foot.
‘We can ask him,’ he said, breaking the verbal impasse.
All heads turned to him.
‘I know Yusri Azzi.’
They were still at the Minters' when Chang and Pizaka arrived along with their forensic team, all of who had been summoned by Beth. Sarah Burke arrived along with a fellow agent, Kowalski, one that the twins and Zeb knew.
The living room became crowded, but no one minded. Percy offered refreshments, no one took her up. The air in the room was charged, finally there was something to do, somewhere to go, some person to ask about Cali. The law enforcement agencies commenced their routine of taking fresh statements from the family, wisely refraining from making any accusations of hiding or tampering with evidence.
The forensic team confirmed what Beth had suspected. Standard paper. Standard typing. Computer typing, not typewriter. More importantly, a white-coated technician confirmed that the slips didn’t look like they had traveled across national borders. More tests were needed, he said, in a standard disclaimer.
Grace Minter wrung her hands nervously at those statements. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Ma’am, if Azzi’s behind these, he’s got a network in this country that’s helping him. There could be prints, we have some clever people who look into paper and prints. There could be clues where these slips came from.’
‘You said something about knowing Azzi?’ Kowalski finished whispering instructions into his phone and directed his words at Zeb.
‘Yeah.’
‘We’ll talk to him,’ Beth half rose and sat down again when Jack Minter took a step forward.
'You can set that up?' he asked Zeb, hope lighting his face and sharpening his eyes.
'Yes, sir.'
The usual sidewalk conference followed their exit from the townhome; the twins in deep discussion with Burke and Kowalski, Chang and Pizaka, Percy Minter hanging on to their every word, Zeb impassive.
‘His location in Baghdad is well known to our intelligence agencies,’ Kowalski was saying. ‘We’ll need clearances, from State Department, from our own people. I’ll organize those.’
It was a given that the two FBI agents would head out to Baghdad to interview Azzi; Cali had been their agent, after all. Kowalski was Burke’s trusted agent. He was smart, sharp, and crackled with energy. His black hair ruffled in the breeze, his coat tails fluttered around him, and his tie went flying around his neck. He brushed back his unruly hair, it defied him. He gave up.
‘It might take a few days, security has to be arranged, State will have to be looped in, a case has to be presented, but we’ll get there.’ Traveling to Baghdad, a city besieged by terrorist violence wasn’t easy to set up. The State Department had warned against all travel to the country, however, Beth had put forward an idea for their travel, one that Burke had liked and had latched on to.
Jack and Grace Minter had wanted to accompany the Feds to Baghdad to question Azzi. Burke had shot that down immediately. Baghdad wasn’t safe, the Minters’ presence would pose a security risk. The NYPD cops had wanted to come along. Burke had turned them down too, they’d have to settle for the interview transcripts.
A video interview had been discussed at length and had finally been rejected. Baghdad wasn’t known for high-speed internet. Explosions had a habit of going off in many neighborhoods. The twins would accompany the two FBI agents. Burke had tried dissuading them and hadn’t gotten far.
‘It was Zeb's idea and in any case you can't keep us away. We’re the family's representatives,’ Meghan had grinned wickedly. ‘We can take care of our own security…and we won’t cost you.’
‘Who’s that man,’ Jack Minter had whispered, loudly, inadvertently, at Percy, as everyone was filing out of their living room.
‘He’s their driver,’ Percy had replied.
Pizaka didn't let up. Once they were outside the Minters' residence, he turned on Burke and demanded that Chang and he accompany them to Baghdad. Burke blew a hair out of her face impatiently, ‘We’ve been through that, Pizaka. Let’s not start a turf war. You might not have noticed it, but that’s a country torn apart by war.’
‘She’s right,’ Chang blinked his sleepy eyes, calming his partner, ‘we’ve the Chinese gang angle to cover. Cain is dead, but his kill room is still unknown. We can get some real work done while these folks are away.’
Burke’s eyes flashed a smile of thanks at him and then turned and pierced Zeb. ‘You’re quiet. Too quiet. That makes me nervous. Anything to add?’
‘I can arrange your clearances. You can go tomorrow,’ came the laconic reply.
Burke was aware her mouth was hanging open in amazement. She snapped it shut with an audible click of her teeth and erased the incredulous expression on her face. ‘Just like that?’ she asked, hoping her voice was as bored as his.
‘Just like that, ma’am.’
‘How do you know Azzi? You never explained that.’
Zeb turned his back on her and held the door open for Beth to climb in their vehicle. ‘No I didn’t, ma’am.’
Burke watched him drive away, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips. Ever since she and Broker had become a couple, she had come to know all the operatives better and to her surprise, had found she liked them all. They had become friends. Family. Even Zeb, though he still hadn’t lost his ability to infuriate her.
Kowalski stood next to her and polished his sunglasses. ‘You like him, don’t you, boss?’
‘Get to work, Kowalski. Chase Carter for those clearances. Let’s see if he can really deliver.’
‘Aye, Aye, ma’am.’
Broker wandered around aimlessly in Burke’s apartment in DC his phone jammed between his ear and his neck, flicking through channels on the muted TV.
He grunted in acknowledgement occasionally as Burke outlined her day to him. It had become a habit very early on in their relationship, and while many of the FBI agent’s days weren’t as exciting as his, he never tired of hearing her voice.
‘You’re going tomorrow?’
‘Yeah, Zeb came through with the papers in just a few hours. Clare’s doing?’
‘No one else’s got that much juice.’
‘He said there would be security for us. We’d be as safe as we were in New York, were his words,’ she laughed.
They chatted for a few more minutes and when she’d hung up, he paced the room, thinking. He was busy with the NSA, working on a few prototype counter surveillance devices that the Agency would use too. Otherwise I’d be in New York, with all of them.
He peered out of a window, into the dark night and saw nothing but a tame DC neighborhood. He breathed deeply and wondered fleetingly if even the night air smelled of politics.
Zeb said they’d be as safe as if in New York. He got out his phone and sent a text to his friend.
Do they know about Azzi's condition?
Zeb's reply came instantly. No. They’ll find out. It won’t be a show-stopper. He can still answer their questions.
You think Azzi knows about Cali?
I don’t know.
Will he speak the truth?
Yeah. He knows about me.
You’re going?
Yeah.
Do they know?
Nope.