“An off answer, a look, a hesitation. And we need to comb through their histories, see if anything pops.”
“That could take a long time.”
Puller slapped the table with the palm of his hand. “I don’t care how long it takes, Knox. All I care about is setting this situation right.”
“And what exactly does that mean to you? Setting the situation right? Capturing your brother and returning him to prison safely?”
“What else would I mean?” he said slowly.
She studied him. “I wonder. But if this was an inside job, it might involve more than just a guard. And that for me is far-fetched.”
“It’s not far-fetched if it turns out to be true. Maybe the picture is a lot bigger than we think it is.”
“And maybe it isn’t.”
“Have you been briefed on my brother?”
“STRATCOM.”
Puller nodded. “And you know what that entails. That could be the motive right there. Our enemies snatch him for his brains, use what he knows against us.”
“So now you’ve moved on to spies?” she said skeptically. “A mole at DB?”
“Do you have another explanation?” he said tersely.
“No,” she admitted. “I don’t.”
“We still have no idea who the dead guy is or what he was doing there. I’ve made arrangements to see his body in the morning.”
“That is a puzzler,” she admitted. “I mean, how do you get into a prison and get yourself killed and no one sees or hears anything?”
“It might be easier than you think,” Puller said.
Knox looked at him expectantly, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead he said, “And who ordered you to babysit me?”
“I wasn’t ordered to babysit you!” she said sharply.
Puller ignored this. “Was it Schindler…Daughtrey…or Rinehart?”
Her face twitched at the last name.
“So, Lieutenant Ge
neral Rinehart. Three stars do tend to capture a captain’s attention. Especially if you want to move up and beat your old man’s rank. Might be a nice shortcut career-wise.”
She looked away. “Puller, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re really off on this whole thing.”
He laid down some cash for his part of the meal. “I’m sure Rinehart will reimburse you for your dinner tonight. You were still on duty, after all.” He rose. “Hang in there.”
“Where are you going?”
“To bed.”
She didn’t say anything right away, just held her gaze on him. Finally Knox said, “Why don’t I believe that?”
They went their separate ways. Puller had not even asked where Knox was staying. He doubted it was at the same motel. There weren’t that many guests there; he probably would have seen her. He pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine, got out, and looked around. There were two other cars parked in the lot, neither of which had been here when he’d left in the morning. They were clunkers, both with out-of-state license plates. That didn’t bother him—his was an out-of-state plate too. This was probably a motel where folks traveling east or west, north or south would pull in for a night’s sleep before heading on. Being in the middle of the country, Kansas, he knew, got a lot of such traffic.
He jogged up the steps to his room on the second floor and walked along the exterior passage to his door.
The next moment he had pulled his M11 and curled his finger around the trigger guard.
His door was open, not by much but enough. He distinctly remembered locking it that morning after leaving the light on for his cat.
And this motel did not provide daily maid service. You’d never see the maid, because she only showed up when you checked out, if then.
He slid to the side of the door and eyed the gap. Not wide enough to see anything. He nudged it open farther with his foot. He had both hands on his weapon and the next moment was inside the room, in a crouch, his M11 making defensive arcs in the air as he looked for a target to fire on.
He didn’t find one. But he saw two things.
First, AWOL was curled up in a ball on the bed. Her slow breathing and languid toss of her tail showed him his pet was just fine.
“OSI figure that too?” asked Knox.
“Yes, at least from the little they’ve told me. For obvious reasons, they can’t share a lot.”
“My statement should have cleared you.”
“It did. For now. Thanks for giving it.”
“Just telling the truth. But why your room as the dumping ground?”