Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Mr. Colter will suffice. I’m retired now.”
“My apologies. I’d heard the contrary,” the man said, feigning a chilly warmth as he stepped from the shadows and into the light. “I am Jùnjié Sun, liaison to the Ministry of Interior,” he said crisply.
As I shook his hand, I noted that it was a firm handclasp full of strength and confidence. He was Thai and looked to be in his thirties, and there was experience and intelligence in his eyes.
“I understand how grief can cloud perspective, but we have fully cooperated, have we not, Mr. Colter?”
“Yes, I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
“No, I understand. You are a man of meticulous detail. But we fished the body from the canal, so there was no reason to run a comprehensive panel.”
I stared at the corpse, trying to figure out what it was that had alerted me to the wrongness of this man being Owen from the moment I saw him. A body in the water for three days made it difficult to be certain who you were looking at. And yet, at first glance, I knew. But how could I? If the tables were turned, could Owen have figured out it wasn’t me? I had to wonder.
“Hard as it may be to accept, sir, Mr. Moss’s companion has given sworn testimony that Mr. Moss was intoxicated when he fell into the canal. He was struck by a passing express boat before his companion could offer him aid. A search was made to no avail. It was three days before the body resurfaced.”
“May I have a moment with him?”
“Yes. Of course.” Sun nodded to the surgeon to give me some space.
Steeling myself, I leaned over the corpse as if it were nothing. I’d seen worse, made worse, and so I put my bare hands on the gray, bloated flesh. The smell of decay, like a putrid wet tree bark, singed my nostrils. Whoever this was, I would find out and make sure he got back to his people. I needed to get him home.
“How long until I can claim the body?” It was the right way to handle it, though that didn’t make the decision any easier. By taking the body, I was closing their investigation. I would get no help from them going forward. The thing was, this man could not be left behind.
“May I assume you’ve made the necessary arrangements on your end?”
I answered with a simple nod.
“For us, it is only a matter of signing a few forms and you can be off. Would you join me for a drink while the doctor sees to preparing the body for transport? I’ve taken an office here until the resolution of this matter.”
“Certainly.”
Sun led me toward an office at the opposite end of the hallway. Once inside, I took the nearest chair and made myself as comfortable as possible. Sun poured us both three fingers of bourbon. As usual, I sniffed the drink before putting the glass to my lips. I found the aroma unpleasant, but I didn’t want to appear unappreciative.
Sun sat behind the broad desk and smiled politely. “You’ve had quite the illustrious career, Colonel.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it referred to that way, Mr. Sun.” Why was he spending time talking to me?
“I too served my country for a time. Not with such distinction as yours. Perhaps our paths crossed and we didn’t even know it.”
“You’d have known it,” I said flatly. “But unless you’ve been somewhere besides Asia, it’s doubtful.”
“Not even once?”
“I’ve visited, but never served in this part of the world.”
I wouldn’t have copped to it even if it were true. My special operations work was always sensitive in nature and not a thing for idle chitchat.
“Yes, well, perhaps not. Your country has fixed its sights on the Middle East. Her war heroes forged in the desert. You see little else.”
“9/11 didn’t really lend itself toward that luxury, Mr. Sun. Is there anything else?”
“I merely require your signature on the documents before you.” He’d had it all prepared in advance. Not suspicious at all.
Skimming the papers, I signed them quickly before downing the stiff bourbon, ignoring its cheapness that burned the back of my throat. One more thing wrong with the entire situation here at the morgue.
Sun offered his hand as I rose to leave, and I said, “Just one more thing—did you retrieve a laptop?”
Sun checked his paperwork. “No laptop was found on his person or in his suite.”
“What about in the hotel safe?”
“We had it opened. It contained his passport and traveling papers only. This is of concern?”
“No,” I assured him, though it was.
Owen’s computer was a personal build. He never left it unsecured, despite its heavy encryption. Aaron Sutter had put Owen and Maggie up at the Four Seasons, and their security was impeccable. If it was missing, somebody took it.