Troubleshooter

Chapter 34 - Bad News

THERE WASN'T an easy way to break the terrible news to his team, so Paul did it directly. Tom and Amy sat shocked for a few moments, Amy's tears freely flowing.

"But I don't understand, we just said goodnight the other day. He was chipper and all."

"There is a lot we don't understand. Especially how he turned up dead in the house of the Financial Manager of Strom Defense."

"What was he doing there?"

"Investigating. Maybe he had found a clue and thought it was necessary to follow up right away."

Amy cried a little more.

Tom looked at Paul, skeptically. "You are holding back, boss!"

"What do you mean?" Paul set up his poker face and looked coolly at Tom, although mentally he was shifting in his seat.

"Paul, didn't you give us all that team-spiel just the day before yesterday? We are in this together. We fail or we succeed together."

"I don't see where this is going, Tom?"

"Me neither, Tom!" Amy sniffled.

"We are investigating the vanishing one hundred million dollars. The culprit may be within our own company, and in a business environment there are less issues with privacy than in your private life. But I am not stupid. We are bugging the offices of company employees, sanctioned investigation or not: I bet you this is illegal."

Paul shook his head, not revealing anything. "Go on. But be aware, you can leave at any time. No questions asked; no harm done."

Tom put both hands on the table. "Is it possible that you are bad at managing and motivating a team?"

Paul almost spoke. He had to give Tom something: The boy was very acutely tuned to human vibes.

Tom smirked. "Anyway, well done, poker face. Straight to the point: Could Brady have broken into the house of Ms. Herbert and gotten killed by either her or an accomplice? Break-in is not so far away from bugging an office."

Instead of an answer, Paul got up and said over his shoulder, "Coffee anyone?"

"Double E for me. Lots of sugar," Amy said.

Tom just shook his head.

Paul came back with two cups.

"Okay, Tom, I apologize. You are right, by the way. I am a bad team leader. I should have trusted you guys more." Tom gave Amy her cup." I have visited the scene of the crime, and it is clear that Brady had been caught at something that he shouldn't have done. And he got caught alone, without backup."

"Was this field trip part of your grand plan?" Amy asked.

"That is one of the parts I do not understand. We had agreed to record conversations of the managers in the offices we could reach. The idea was to trigger a verbal reaction. Bugging or searching the homes had not been discussed at all."

"So Brady went rogue?" Tom asked.

"Rogue. I guess that is the term used in spy books, yes."

"And his solo mission without backup caused him to be killed in Ms. Herbert's home?" Amy asked.

"Right. But my theory is that Brady was killed elsewhere. And then moved to Mrs. Herbert for diversion."

"What makes you think that?"

"Brady's rental car was nowhere around the vicinity of the Herbert residence. I had the cabbie drive me around the block several times, but I couldn't spot it."

"And he couldn't have taken the train or a cab?" Amy was skeptical.

Paul shook his head. "Cab means a cabbie who remembers you. Train means a million cameras. Either by foot or by car is the safest bet."

"What happened to Brady's car?" Tom asked.

"If my theory is right, it will turn up near the house of Mr. George Kendall, the guy away on a trip in Brazil."

Tom understood. "Because Mr. Kendall is gone anyway and his house was empty during the night."

"I have not checked, but I am pretty certain. But Brady made a grave mistake: He was doing it alone."

"And you know that why?"

"Like I said: I have worked before with Brady on previous missions."

Tom was quiet.

Amy spoke up. "I thought that Brady was a professional?"

Paul gave a sad smile. "Up to last night, yes. I've been out of the game for a few years now. Maybe that's why he didn't want to involve me in his little mission."

"Could anyone explain to me what you are talking about? What do you mean by 'professional' and 'the game'?" Tom glanced between Paul and Amy.

Paul looked straight at Tom. "In my former life, a few years back, I was working for the CIA and the major British intelligence services, namely MI5 and MI6. So did Brady. I am no longer working for these agencies due to my accident." He lifted his artificial left hand. "Brady was still employed. He was a contractor, a freelancer. Whatever good that did him in the end."

They were silent for a minute.

"What would Brady do now? If he was the professional as you described him, he would have liked us to continue," Amy picked up the thread again.

"Was that a question or a statement?" Tom asked.

"A command!" Amy answered.

"Amy is right; let's go on." Paul didn't look happy, but inwardly he was proud of his little group.

Tom interrupted. "Wait a minute. Brady has been killed. So, we have a killer running around, and we don't know who it is or why he killed one of us. Doesn't that make you suspicious? Isn't anyone worried that one of us might be next?"

Amy lifted her arm like a little schoolgirl. "If I am not allowed to speak—allowed to speak right now—my head will explode, and you will have gore and brain tissue all over your faces. I will burst open with a bang. My tongue will swell tenfold—"

"Shut up, Amy. Paul, what do you plan to do about the killer?" Tom was looking at him.

"There is nothing we can do. Like you said, we have no clue who we are up against. We will follow the clues, follow the money, and find the killer. That's what we will do."

Amy waved her arm. "Fantastic! That's why I need to speak, speak, speak! Because then everything will be clearer."

Paul looked at her. "Your turn, before we all get gored up."

"Let me tell you about the money and how Tom and I hunted it down...."