Roe flicked a finger in the direction of her team. They looked at one another for a few moments. Then one of them walked out of the room, tapping on her phone screen.
Decker once more eyed the clocks on the wall.
Roe turned to see what he was looking at.
“We have offices in all those places,” she explained.
“Yeah, I get that. But I’ve never seen a clock for Bratislava before.”
“It’s the capital of—”
“—Slovakia,” interjected Decker.
Both White and Andrews exchanged startled glances at this.
Roe said, “That’s where my given name comes from. I believe its true origins are Germanic, but my father was Slovakian from Czechoslovakia. He left long before it was split into the Czech and Slovak Republics.”
“Not easy to emigrate from there when it was under Soviet rule,” said Decker.
“The Soviets taking over was the reason my family left. They wanted a better life.” She smiled. “In Slovakian, ‘Kasimira’ means ‘command for peace,’ or something to that effect.”
“And you have an office there?” said Andrews.
“Yes, a small one. I try to get out to each of our foreign offices every couple of years if I can. But I haven’t been to Bratislava for three years now.”
“Ever since your father’s mishap?” said Decker.
She eyed him with a bit of alarm in her look. “Yes, that’s right.”
Decker was about to ask another question when the woman who had earlier left the room returned with another woman.
She said, “This is Alice Lancer. She can give you more information about Alan Draymont and Judge Cummins.”
Decker looked Lancer over. She was around forty, medium height, blond, and slender, with attractive features and a no-nonsense demeanor.
But then her face turned the color of putty and the woman grabbed at her chest as she began to breathe heavily.
And a moment later Lancer fell to the floor, unconscious.
Chapter 17
SHE’S BEEN TAKEN TO A nearby hospital,” Andrews reported to Decker and White as he got off his phone.
They were standing in front of the building housing Gamma Protection Services. After Lancer collapsed, an ambulance had been called, and she had been taken away without regaining consciousness. Roe and her entourage had disappeared back into the secure halls of Gamma, and Andrews and the others had been escorted out by an armed man in a security uniform.
Decker said, “When can we talk to her?”
Andrews shrugged. “I don’t know. Soon, hopefully.”
“And the files on any threats?” Decker added.
Andrews snapped, “Look, Decker, a lady just collapsed. I’m hoping she’s okay. Why not focus on that for a minute, okay?”
Decker glanced at White, who was giving him a curious look. He said, “Who else at Gamma can we talk to?”
“I think it was just the Lancer woman,” replied Andrews.
“Out of this whole big, fucking company, she’s the only one who knows anything?” demanded an incredulous Decker.
“That very well may be the case,” said Andrews. “Need-to-know philosophy.”
White said, “Maybe I’m being overly paranoid here, but is it a weird coincidence that the only person who knows anything faints dead away before she can talk to us?”
Andrews said, “Oh come on, that’s a little out there, isn’t it? I mean, these are legitimate people we’re dealing with here. Gamma has a sterling reputation.”
“What about the Slovakian banknotes and Kanak Roe being from there?” said White. “Just another coincidence?”
Decker said, “And for the record, I don’t believe in one coincidence, much less two.”
Andrews looked less certain. “Well, that one was strange, I will admit.”
“I think it’s more than strange. I think it’s a clue that’s screaming at us,” said White.
“Well, let’s not rush into anything,” said Andrews. “We don’t want to waste time chasing down the wrong alley.”
Decker said, “Alan Draymont had old Slovakian banknotes stuffed down his throat. Gamma was founded by a guy from what is now Slovakia. His daughter’s name is basically Slovakian, and they have an office in the capital city of Slovakia. If that’s all a coincidence I’ll retire from the FBI and go flip burgers somewhere, naked.”
White snorted at this remark.
Andrews said, “Okay, I’m there with you. So does that mean this whole thing was directed at Gamma, and Draymont was killed because he worked there? And the judge was collateral damage?”