breaking my man’s arm.”
“And the second time?” I asked.
“Misdirection. I figured you’d backtrack the dummy we sent and begin to wonder what kind of fools we were. I didn’t count on you finding out who hired the idiot.”
“John Nguyen,” I said.
“Yeah.”
“How did you know we found John Nguyen?”
“Your fucking interrogator told me. That’s how you first started to connect the dots and gave up on the Laotian connection.”
“That’s right,” I said. “You screwed up on that one.”
Nitzler looked at Jock. “The guy from your agency also told me you were Royal’s buddy and had gotten yourself involved. I’ve heard tales about the great Jock Algren for years. If I’d known you were involved we would have played this thing differently.”
“How so?” I aked.
“I don’t know. But I would have taken his contacts in the intelligence community into consideration.”
“Did you hack into Desmond’s computers?” asked Jock.
“I did. I read all your memos. Very informative. When you guys got the bright idea that Laotians were doing the killing, I thought I’d just let that be. You were going off in the wrong direction so that suited my purposes.”
“What about the drug money?” asked Jock. “Where did that go?”
“Some of it went to pay for the Viets I hired to kill those kids. The rest of it went into my bank account in Switzerland. In the name of Robert Bracewell. Dave and his boys are already on it. I’m sure that money will be in an agency account before the end of the day.”
“Pretty slick,” I said. “How did you know about Bracewell?”
“I came across the connection when I was checking out Stanley.”
“Why Stanley and the Otto Foundation?” I asked.
“Simple. Maude Lane was Nigel’s older sister. She already worked there and it didn’t take much to convince her to help us get the men who killed her brother.”
“Why try to implicate Detective Duncan in your operation?” I asked.
“Standard procedure. When she started the investigation into the murders, I set her up to take a fall if she happened to stumble over something that would implicate me or the agency.”
“Why lure Katherine Brewster to Anna Maria Island to kill her?” I asked. “Why not do that in Charlotte?”
“I had nothing to do with her going to Florida. I was getting my team in place for the Desmond boy’s wedding when that idiot Mantella set up his scheme to get her to Florida. It seemed only natural to set them up to take out the Brewster girl at the same time. I thought the chances of law enforcement tying the killings together were slim.”
“How did you find out what Mantella was doing?”
“I’d had the Brewster’s phone tapped. We got the girl telling her boyfriend about the gift certificates and her planned trip to Florida. I had EZGo Travel checked out and we tracked it back to Mantella.”
“Why kill Garrison?” I asked. “The lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“Collateral damage. He tried to save the Brewster girl.”
“How did you know Katherine would be onboard Dulcimer that evening?”
“We didn’t. I knew she had a gift certificate for a cruise. I had the team aboard every night, with one of them standing in the bow to take care of the captain when the time came.”
“Where does Llewellyn fit into this?” asked Jock.
“He’s a good man. Follows orders. Doesn’t ask questions. He was handy when I got word that Desmond’s plane was in Marsh Harbour. He and a team went straight there, figured out that you’d be in the house on the island, and went to see what was up.”
“How’d he know about the house?” Jock asked.
“He didn’t. Not until he got to Marsh Harbour. He found out that Royal had rented a boat and the dockmaster told him that he saw the three of you anchored and fishing in the area of the house. I told Llewellyn to slip up to the house after dark and make sure it was Desmond before he raided the place. I guess we didn’t count on your security measures.”
“Why?” Jock asked.
“Why what?”
“Why did you do it? Betray your country, your agency.”
“I didn’t betray my country. I just wanted a nice nest egg for retirement and when I came across the smuggling ring during another operation, I figured I could get the money and take out the bastards who killed my buddy. A little retribution.”
“What about those women and children killed at Ban Touk?” asked Logan.
“What about them?”
“You don’t think they deserved some justice, like maybe the execution of the guy who ordered them killed? Opal or Morrissey