Free 06 Double Danger by Dee Davis Page B

said, pointing to a black ringed hole near Wilderman’s temple. “Execution style. I’m guessing, from the size of the hole, it was small-caliber gun. So either he knew his killer, or the guy was a pro. Either way the killer knew what he was doing.”
    “Then why not dispose of the body in a less public place?”
    “What’s easier than a Dumpster? The trash is emptied through a chute.” He pointed to the metal-rimmed opening through the brick wall. “So no one from the hotel is going to be checking. There’s no traffic in this passageway, except maybe for the homeless, and even if they found him, they most likely wouldn’t have called it in. And the thing is emptied mechanically, probably twice a week.”
    “Which means he hasn’t been dead more than a few days.”
    “Seems probable, but the ME will be able to narrow that down.”
    “So Wilderman would have ended up in a landfill somewhere. But still, there was at least a small chance someone would find him and call the authorities.”
    “Maybe they didn’t care. Or maybe they figured that,by the time someone found him, it would have been harder to identify him.” Using a stick, Simon carefully lifted one of Wilderman’s hands.
    “Oh, God.” Jillian fought for control as her stomach threatened revolt. The ends of the man’s fingers were ragged and torn, bite marks already obscuring his prints.
    “Between the rats and decomp, IDing him would have been difficult at best. Especially if no one was looking for the guy.”
    “But surely…” she started, and then stopped, remembering Wilderman’s dossier. “He didn’t have any family.” She blew out a breath, her eyes falling to the dead man’s face. “There was no one to miss him.”
    “Makes him an ideal target.” Simon shrugged.
    “So, what, you think that someone used his computer to book the helicopter trip, and then stole his identity to make the flight? But that doesn’t fit with the idea that Captain Essex was flying the helicopter and that the fake Wilderman was already dead.”
    “I’ll admit there are a hell of a lot of unanswered questions. But there’s no doubt that this is Wilderman. And the fact that he’s dead seems to support the idea that he’s involved somehow.”
    Jillian nodded and pushed up for a closer look, steeling herself as she studied the body. “Look at his wrist,” she said, nodding toward Wilderman’s left arm. “There’s a tan line.”
    Simon moved closer, squinting as his gaze followed hers. “From a watch. I’ll be damned. So the watch we found was probably his.”
    “Except that it doesn’t quite jibe with the clothes from Sears.” Jillian frowned.
    “So maybe it was a gift. None of this really makes any sense.”
    “So what do we do now?” she asked.
    “We call in backup and then meet with the team to regroup.”

CHAPTER 5
    Köln, Germany
    B oss, we’ve got a problem.”
    Michael Brecht looked up from the papers he’d been studying, a chill of premonition running down his spine. “A-Tac.”
    “Yes.” Gregor nodded, his craggy face impassive. He’d been working as Michael’s right-hand man since Alain DuBois’s unfortunate accident. Wrong place. Wrong time. Too much information. It was the risk that came with working for the Consortium. “They’re starting to put the pieces together.”
    “I thought you told me that we’d covered our tracks. Left nothing to find.” Even as he said the words, he knew that in the face of Solomon and his relentless band of legitimized thugs there was no such thing.
    “I did. And at the time I believed it.” Gregor crossed his arms as he dropped down into the chair opposite Michael’s. “The crash was ruled an accident. But we hadno way of knowing that there’d be an A-Tac operative on site. It was pure coincidence.”
    “There is no such thing.” Michael grabbed the rubber ball lying on top of the desk, squeezing as he tried to manage his anger. It always came back to A-Tac. And Solomon. “They