Page 45 of Thorn

“How long will that take?” Lynx asked.

“Zoe said that she’ll prioritize this for us,” Nutsbe said. “From the point of getting the samples into her lab until we have a print out, less than thirty minutes. Knowing if David is Juliette’s biological dad could be an important piece of information. Too bad you’re in Toulouse and DuBois is in Brussels. Right now, our client is rerouting to Paris. And I’m trying to get you booked on the next flight. We’re working with the airline to boot someone off the plane and get you on.”

“They do that?” Thorn asked.

“We grease their palms pretty well. It’s a win-win. They give a couple hundred bucks to the person willing to wait for the next flight, they get our support when they have something weird going down, and we get where we want to be when we want to be there.”

“Roger. I’ll grab some grub and wait for your directions. I have one more question. There’s information in the DuBois files that mentions his ethics breaches. I’m wondering if there’s any connection there that might give us a clue as to who Juliette DuBois might be and what’s going on with this case.”

“Yes,” Lynx said. “I’ve been culling through that information. So far, I’ve found something filed with the U.S. Navy per Dr. DuBois and his use of treatments that aren’t FDA approved, basically experimenting on the sailors after they survived the Al-Qaeda attack October 2000.”

“Can you put that info in the file? I’ll read up while I’m in flight.”

“Yeah, you’ll have to wait to get to a secure place for that,” Nutsbe said. “If I can’t wiggle you into a seat on this next flight out, you might end up in the holding area with the dog crates.”

Lynx chuckled, but Thorn didn’t think Nutsbe was joking.

“I’ll get that file up for you,” she said. “So, the newest information, are you ready for this?”

“We just pulled up to the curb. Let me pay the guy and move away from the crowd. I’ll call you back. Okay?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Thorn

Toulouse, France

Saturday, Twenty-two Forty Hours

“It’s surprising how busy the airport is for this hour.” Thorn had taken a seat on a bench in a green area that would allow him to see any lurkers who might be trying to listen in on his conversation. Still he kept his tone low. He had a ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette, unwrapped, and resting on his knees. He’d placed his duffel between his feet.

“Are you clear to speak? We have information about Juliette’s escape from the kidnapping attempt.”

“It’s confirmed that was her in the stolen car?” Thorn asked taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Yes, and there’s some interesting information for you in that vein.” Lynx’s voice shifted away from the phone. “Nutsbe, are you ready with that?”

“Yeah.” Thorn heard him call from a distance.

“Nutsbe here. Okay. Here we go. Lynx and I tried to figure out her possible direction of travel along the highway. We thought she’d take the highway north to Orléans, and we sent that information to the local police. Following this, our computer picked up police comms. They located the stolen car there at the top of a pedestrian-only shopping area. The keys were left in the glove box.”

Thorn swallowed his bite of food. “That’s exactly what Honey did earlier when we stole the car. He threw in a wad of cash to cover repairs and inconvenience.”

“No money, but there was a note.”

“Yeah?” Thorn reached for his water bottle. “Any clues there? What did it say?”

“Hand that to me Lynx…Okay, it said, ‘I’m so sorry to have put you through this. Forgive me. I was kidnapped and running for my safety. You saved my life. I will always be appreciative and hold you in prayer.’”

“Okay then.” After he took a swig, Thorn screwed the top back in place. “She didn’t leave money like Honey did, but chances are that she has no cash, or she wanted to preserve what cash she has. But, as Lynx would say, extra good karma points were given.”

“It’s true though,” Lynx said. “There are no coincidences. She needed help and an angel pulled over and let her steal his car. He deserves an extra boost of good karma points. Don’t you think?”

“I’d never deprive a guy of his karma,” Thorn replied.

Lynx laughed. “Okay, here’s the great news. The DGSE gave our client CCTV footage and it’s very interesting to say the least.”

“I haven’t worked European cases very much. Is French intelligence usually this helpful?” Thorn asked.

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