“Just get down here. I want you to hear her story, and you might have some questions for her I haven’t thought of.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Robie!”
He had already clicked off. He slid his phone back into his pocket. It buzzed again, but he ignored it. He knew it was Vance calling back. And his answer would be the same.
“Problems?” asked Julie.
“A few.”
“Insurmountable?”
“We’ll see.”
Julie picked up the file folder that lay between them.
“What’s this?’
“Not something you want to look at.”
“Why not? Is it classified?”
“Not really. But it’s an autopsy report on a guy.”
“What guy?”
Robie glanced over at her. “What’s it to you?”
“Is it connected to what happened to my parents?”
“Doubtful.”
“But you’re not sure?”
“I’m not sure of anything right now.”
She flipped it open and looked at the glossies. “Gross. This is disgusting.”
“What did you expect? The guy’s dead.”
Julie’s hands began to shake.
Robie slowed. “Don’t get sick in the car. I’ll pull over.”
“It’s not that, Will.”
“What then?”
She held up a photo from the file. It was a full-on shot of Rick Wind’s right arm.
Robie was about to explain about the tattoo. But Julie broke the silence first.
In a quavering voice she said, “It’s a Spartan warrior in a hoplite battle stance.”
He looked at her in amazement. “How’d you know that?”
“Because my dad had a tattoo exactly like it.”
CHAPTER
60
ROBIE PULLED THE CAR to the curb, slipped the Volvo into park, and turned in his seat to stare at her.
“You’re sure your dad had the same tattoo?”
She held the glossy up. “Look at it, Will. How many tattoos like this do you think I’ve seen in my life?”
Robie took the photo from her and studied it.
“Okay. His name is Rick Wind. That ring any bells with you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Robie looked down at the photo again. What were the odds?
“Was your dad in the military?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But you don’t know for certain?”
“He never talked about being in the military. He didn’t have any medals or stuff like that around.”
“But he has that tattoo. Did you ever ask him where he got it?”
“Sure. It was really unusual. He said he was into ancient Greek history and mythology. That’s where it came from. He explained to me what it was.”
“When did your dad start using drugs?”
Julie shrugged. “As long as I can remember.”
“You’re fourteen. How old was he?”
“I saw his driver’s license once. He was forty-five.”
“So thirty-one or so when you arrived on the scene. Lot of time before that he could have been doing something else. How long were he and your mom married?”
“I’m not sure. They never talked about it.”
“They never celebrated anniversaries?”
“No. Just birthdays. In fact, just mine.”
“But they were married?”
“They had wedding bands they wore. They signed stuff ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ Other than that I don’t know.”
“Never saw any wedding photos? Never talked to any of your other family members?”
“No and no. They didn’t have any family around. At least that they told me about. Both of them were from California—at least that’s what they told me.”
“When did they move to D.C.?”
Julie didn’t answer. She gazed out the window.
“What’s the matter?” Robie asked.
“Your questions made me realize I knew shit about my parents.”
“Lots of kids don’t know much about their parents.”
“Don’t lie to try and make me feel better.”
“I’m not,” Robie said evenly. “I didn’t even know my parents.”
She looked over at him. “So you were adopted?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you said—”
“So you don’t know if your dad was in the military or not? I need to find out for certain.”
“Why?”
“If he was in the military and has the same tattoo as Rick Wind it might be that they served together. Lots of grunts from the same unit did similar body art. If we can track that down, things might start making sense.”
Julie said, “Can you find out if my dad was in the military?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. The Pentagon is great at keeping track of who served.”
Robie slid his phone out, hit a speed-dial key, and was soon talking to Blue Man. He relayed his request and clicked off.
“We’ll know soon enough,” he told Julie.
“Why did you ask me when my dad started doing drugs?”
“No reason.”
“That’s crap. You have a reason for everything you do.”
“Okay, he might have started using drugs in the military.”
“Why? Do all soldiers use drugs?”
“Of course not, but some of them do. While they’re in the military, and they keep it up after they leave.