Free Girl of Vengeance by Charles Sheehan-Miles Page B

said, “First, what I’m about to tell you isn’t official.”
    “All right,” Anthony said.
    “I’ve been temporarily suspended by the Secretary.” He made air quotes as he said the word suspended . “DSS is officially off the investigation.”
    “Gotcha. But you’re doing some looking on your own?”
    “Exactly. Something stinks in this investigation. I’m trying to find out what.”
    “So what do you want from me?”
    Bear shrugged. “I’ll help you, you help me.”
    Anthony nodded. “Information.”
    “That’s right,” Bear said.
    “Agreed.”
    “What do you say we sit down? I want to go over what we know. What you know, what I know. Who did what, and when.”
    “Let’s move into the dining room,” Anthony said. “I want to lay this out.”
    The formal dining room was twenty-five feet long and had a table capable of seating sixteen. Highly polished wide plank flooring and extensive crown molding gave an impression of luxury and wealth.
    Bear said, “I’ve seen a picture of this room. The Thompsons used to host dinners here. There’s one in particular I keep getting stuck on.”
    Anthony raised an eyebrow.
    Bear said, “The guests were Prince George Phillip. Prince Roshan al Saud. Leslie Collins. Chuck Rainsley.”
    “Are you serious? When was this?”
    “February of ’84.”
    Carrie, walking by in the hallway, stopped and stood in the door. Beside her, Julia touched her arm. Both of them were listening.
    Anthony said, “February ’84 was not quite three months after the Wakhan massacre.”
    “What does that have to do with us, though?” Julia said, interrupting. “Why did Dad have pictures and files about that?”
    Bear stared at her, stunned. “He had pictures? Of Wakhan?”
    “Yeah,” Anthony said, his voice grim. “It was unmistakable.”
    Bear said, “Before Thompson’s personnel file was stolen, I read through it. It looks pretty clear that Thompson was stationed in Afghanistan in ’83. So was Leslie Collins. And—Prince Roshan was also in Afghanistan at the time.”
    Anthony said, “I want to suggest an idea here.”
    “Go,” Bear said.
    “Okay, so … Richard Thompson goes to Afghanistan. Let’s say, just for speculation—that it wasn’t the Russians who gassed that village. We’ll speculate that The Guardian is correct, and it was Afghan militia, backed by Thompson. And not just him, but that Collins and Roshan were involved.”
    “Okay? But what does that have to do with now?”
    “I’m getting there,” Anthony said. “First—again, according to T he Guardian , and also some of my co-workers at the Post , Prince George-Phillip was responsible for the British investigation. Second—he is Andrea and Carrie’s father.”
    Bear shook his head and said, “That’s confirmed now?”
    Carrie nodded. “Andrea and Dylan turned up last night after Andrea jumped the wall into the British Embassy.”
    Bear chuckled. “That girl has more balls than a basketball team.”
    “I’ve received an invitation from the Prince to come to dinner this evening.”
    “All right. So—he’s your father. Which means he and your mother had an affair—what—when?”
    “Spring of 1984.”
    Bear nodded. “Then at some point later on, they got back together. When? Where?”
    Julia said, “In China. 1996.”
    Bear said. “What I don’t get is this: who tried to kidnap Andrea? Why?”
    Anthony said, “To … keep the affair secret? Who would want to do that? I assume George-Phillip.”
    “Maybe. The Guardian says he suppressed the findings of the investigation. Why? Something to do with her? With Richard Thompson? Was someone else involved?”
    “Maybe he was threatened somehow?” Julia said.
    “Or she was,” Carrie replied.
    “We know that he had some reason to suppress the findings,” Bear said. “We know your mother had a long-standing affair with Prince George-Phillip. And, based on the police report, your mother and father didn’t have much love lost between