“Who wants to go first?” asked Rich.
The woman screamed through the duct tape covering her mouth. Rich nodded at Scott, who tore the piece free. She immediately started pleading for her life, which caught Marnie off guard, almost causing her to gasp. Devin gave her a reassuring look, though he appeared anything but sure about the situation. When the woman had settled down, Rich glanced up at Alex, who held up a driver’s license and motioned for him to come over.
“See what’s going on,” Devin said to Marnie.
She followed Rich to the kitchen island, where they formed a huddle around the two operatives. She glanced over her shoulders to see William Barber and his mistress straining their necks to look at the kitchen. Scott and Rico faced them forward.
“What’s up?” asked Rich.
“Read the name on the ID,” said Alex.
Rich took it, and Marnie examined it over his shoulder. Illinois driver’s license. Karen Jeffries.
“No way,” she muttered.
“Way,” said Alex, switching to a different tab on the laptop screen.
The Google search string read: Wife of Harrison Jeffries, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Attorney General in Illinois.
The top result listed Karen Jeffries. Next was a Wikipedia entry with her name and references to their two children. A LinkedIn profile followed, identifying her as an Illinois state representative. Alex clicked on a Facebook link, which took them to Harrison Jeffries’s Facebook page. No further confirmation required. Karen Jeffries, the out-of-state wife of a suspected Russian sleeper agent, was romantically involved with another suspected Russian sleeper. The coincidence raised alarms.
“Interesting,” said Marnie.
“Damning is more like it,” said Rich. “No reason to tiptoe around these two. They’re as thick as thieves. I strongly suspect something. Can you open their phones?”
Mike removed a small plastic kit from the case and opened it, removing what looked like another phone.
“Give me a minute,” he said.
“What is that?” asked Marnie.
“It’s a scanner with a built-in passcode-analysis application. I just put my device over their screen and hopefully that gives me a high-probability passcode. If not, I’ll have to do this old school and dust the screens. The differences can be really subtle, but I should be able to determine the four-or six-digit code based on the amount of oily residue left behind on each number. Might take a few guesses, but it works ninety percent of the time.”
“When you open the phones, I want Gupta to run a location track,” said Rich. “Then have him do a deep dive into Stacy Barber and Karen Jeffries using the sleeper algorithm Graves has been working on.”
“Will do,” said Alex.
“What are you thinking?” asked Marnie, already knowing the answer.
“I’m thinking this sleeper situation is more like a family affair with the Barbers and Jeffrieses,” said Rich. “Including the children.”
His last three words took her breath away for a few moments.
“A third generation?” she said.
“Let’s hope not,” said Rich. “But something’s definitely not adding up.”
CHAPTER 39
Devin watched the exchange by the kitchen, wishing he had accompanied Marnie. Something big was brewing. He caught a glimpse of the woman’s face on the computer and saw Mike go to work on the phones with what looked like a phone-on-phone scanner. When Marnie returned, he whispered in her ear.
“What’s the story?”
“You’ll see,” she said.
Marnie didn’t whisper back, which told him he was in for a show. Rich nodded at Rico, who tore off Barber’s strip of duct tape. Barber started protesting immediately, which got him a quick jab to the nose from Rich. Devin didn’t like where this was headed, but Rich pulled the punch before it could do any real damage. The hit stunned Barber into silence, a bizarrely malevolent look flashing across the woman’s face, just as quickly returning to sobs occasionally interrupted by a mumbled, “Please don’t hurt me.”
“You can knock off the act, Mrs. Jeffries,” said Rich.
Jeffries? As in Harrison Jeffries’s wife? He glanced at Marnie, trying not to betray any surprise. She returned the look with a quick nod. Holy mother.
“First question. Where are your kids, William? Are we expecting them home anytime soon?” said Rich. “Your little romp in the hot tub suggests they’re either staying overnight with friends or out of town.”