be preserved and acknowledged with a holiday card or a quick e-mail and not be spoiled by actually having to see those people again. Clare, however, might be an exception.
Also, I was looking forward to seeing Paul Brenner. Mr. Brenner was home on leave, in Virginia, but as I predicted he was returning to Yemen. Some people can’t get enough fun. I mean, this is the guy who did a second tour in Vietnam. One day, some tour in some shithole would kill him, but for now he was happy to feel alive by daring death. I suppose I could say the same about myself, and maybe even Kate, but… Well, no buts. We’re back at 26 Federal Plaza, me with a new three-year contract, and Kate with a guarantee of three more years in the city she’s grown to love with the man she loves, and tolerates. That’s me.
But if we get bored or restless or tired of Tom Walsh’s act, there are a dozen other hellholes where the Anti-Terrorist Task Force operates, and we may volunteer for one of them. Hopefully we won’t have to take another State Department course in cultural awareness. The last one didn’t work too well.
Kate and I watched Paul Brenner and his lady walking across the marble floor of the Main Concourse. They spotted the tall clock, then spotted us, and Brenner and his lady made their way through the crowd.
Kate said, “She’s very attractive.”
I wouldn’t have expected less from a man who has good taste in women.
We waved, they waved, we all met and shook hands or hugged, and Brenner introduced us to his lady, who said to Kate and me, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I couldn’t say the same, but she seemed like a nice woman and we went up to Michael Jordan’s Steak House on the mezzanine, where I got silly and asked the waiter for a Pink Panther, on the rocks.
When the ladies went to freshen up, Brenner said to me, “Buck.”
I didn’t reply.
Brenner asked, “Are we supposed to let that go?”
“We’re supposed to believe that Buck was an unwitting accomplice.”
“He wasn’t unwitting.”
Right. But Buckminster Harris had served his country well and honorably since I was a milk drinker, so I said, “I don’t want to see him disgraced in public.”
Brenner nodded, then inquired, “How about dead in private?”
“Whatever you decide, I’m with you.”
Brenner said, “I’m not buying that Chet is dead.”
“Seems a little suspicious,” I agreed. “When we see Buck, we’ll get the truth.”
Brenner leaned toward me and said softly, “I want both of them dead.”
I nodded.
The ladies returned and we ordered another round. I could see that Kate liked Brenner’s lady, whose name was Cynthia, and we learned that Paul and Cynthia had met on the job, just as Kate and I had. Cynthia Sunhill was Army, Criminal Investigation Division, and she’d requested a posting in Yemen. Good luck.
When the waiter came around, I, of course, inquired about any goat specials. Kate rolled her eyes. Brenner laughed.
It was a good evening and we parted, promising to stay in touch, which was inevitable because of the scheduled CIA post-op meeting in Washington. That should be interesting.
As for the thanks of a grateful nation, that hadn’t yet been scheduled.
Hey, we were lucky we had jobs. Right?
Acknowledgments
First, my sincere thanks to Jamie Raab, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Grand Central Publishing, for taking on an additional job as editor of this novel. Jamie has been tireless, patient, and precise during the entire process, and this is a better book because of her keen editorial judgment and sage advice. We don’t always agree on what I’ve written, but we always agree that the end product is a smooth combination of Jamie’s yin and my yang.
Thanks, also, to Harvey-Jane Kowal, a.k.a. HJ, who came out of retirement from Hachette Book Group to work on another DeMille book. HJ is a master of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and fact-checking, and she saves me from looking uneducated. Our tradition for the last eleven books has been to celebrate the editing of the last page with a few Bloody Marys. Here’s to you, HJ.
A book needs many editorial eyes and minds, and I thank Roland Ottewell, who has worked with care and precision on my last several manuscripts. And because my manuscripts are always late and due at the printer yesterday, Roland also works long hours to make the manuscript printer-ready. Thanks, Roland, for another job well done.