Luis, who was apparently listening to the conversation, asked, “You were a soldier, señor?”
“I was. Iraq. Ms. Taylor was too. She served in Afghanistan.”
“Those are dangerous places.”
“Not as dangerous as this place.”
Luis laughed, then said, “Señor Worley was also in Afghanistan.”
Brodie and Taylor shared a look. Brodie asked Luis, “How do you know that?”
Luis hesitated, realizing he was perhaps sharing privileged information. “I just hear things.” He added, “Señor Worley mentioned it once in the car.”
Brodie asked, “To you?”
Another hesitation, then: “To a gentleman we picked up at the airport… they spoke of their time together in Kabul.”
“And this man was an American?”
“Sí…”
They passed the Francisco de Miranda Airport and Luis took the next exit into the neighborhood near their hotel.
Brodie processed this new information. There was nothing inherently suspicious about Worley failing to mention that he’d worked in Afghanistan when he was complaining to them about his other armpit assignments. If Worley was a DCS spook, his work in Afghanistan would have been classified. On the other hand, Worley undoubtedly had looked at the files of his two visiting CID agents and learned that Maggie Taylor had served in Afghanistan—yet he didn’t say, as soldiers always say, “I was there too.” Brodie was already suspicious of Colonel Brendan Worley. He added this to the list of reasons why.
Taylor asked Luis, “When was this?”
“Perhaps… three weeks ago.”
She asked, “Do you recall this visitor’s name?”
“Señor Worley does not make introductions.”
“Did you drive this man back to the airport?”
“No.”
Clearly Luis was not comfortable discussing embassy business with his new clients, charming though they might be. Brodie was sure that Luis heard and saw all sorts of things while driving embassy people and important visitors. No one ever thinks about the driver while they’re talking in the rear seat of his car—except maybe Intel people, who are trained to be paranoid. Also, Brodie was certain that Luis had been told never to repeat a word of anything he heard. But Luis could be coaxed, or hoaxed, so Brodie asked, “How did Señor Worley address this man?”
“I… I am not—”
“Jim? Bill? Bob?”
“I… I think Ted.”
Brodie said to Taylor, “That must be Ted Mallory. Our old friend from Washington.”
Taylor agreed. “Must be.” She asked Luis, “What did he look like?”
“He was… Anglo, gray hair. Perhaps sixty years of age. A tall man.” He added, “Very thin.”
“I think that’s our Ted,” said Brodie. “Glasses and a mustache?”
“No.”
“Definitely our Ted.”
Brodie and Taylor exchanged glances and a smile. Bullshit was their stock in trade. And if Luis realized he’d been bullshitted, he also realized he’d been bullshitted by pros.
Brodie had no idea who Ted was, and he was fairly sure Ted had no relevance to the case, but it was the Afghan connection that interested him. Brendan Worley had been in Afghanistan, as had Kyle Mercer, and yet Worley had never mentioned that. Odd? Or just tight-lipped tradecraft?
Brodie asked Luis, “Did they mention anyone else we may know?”
“Señor?”
“Any names, Luis?”
“Señor… I do not listen to conversations… and when they speak in English I do not always comprehend… I must concentrate on my driving.”
“Right.”
Brodie was ready to let this go, but then Luis said, “One name jumped out to me. Tomás de Heres.” He asked, “You know this man?”
Brodie replied, “I think he was Ted’s frat brother. Sigma Chi.”
Luis seemed confused, then said, “Tomás de Heres was a military hero during the war for independence.” He added, “Very loyal to Bolívar.”
“Why were they talking about him?”
“This I do not know. I just heard the name.”
Local history buffs? Maybe. Probably not. Researching the relevance of nineteenth-century Venezuelan military figures and explaining to Brodie why he should give a shit sounded like a job for Taylor.
Taylor asked Luis, “Any other names?”
“No, señora.”
“Any names of places? Cities? Countries? Like Kabul?”
“No… but—yes, one I remember. Flagstaff.”
Brodie asked Luis, “Flagstaff, Arizona?”
Luis shrugged. “I have heard of this place in America but… I did not understand the meaning.”
Taylor and Brodie looked at each other. Brodie asked Luis, “Who said Flagstaff?”
“Both gentlemen.”
Well, thought Brodie, Flagstaff was a nice place, and maybe Worley and Ted were planning a visit. But Luis said he did not understand the meaning, which could mean he didn’t understand the context, and that could mean Flagstaff was the code name of something, or someone, as was often the case in this business. Or that he, Brodie, had been in this business too long and he was starting to see secret messages in the entrails, which were actually full of