Page 64 of Poison Evidence

“Here’s everything we know about Veselov,” Ian said, setting a thin stack of files on the table between them. “And here’s what we know about Jack Keaton.” He set another, even thinner stack on top. “There is a real Jack Keaton. He was in the Air Force. Right age, height, and build for Veselov to pass as him. Eighteen months ago, the real Keaton took off, crewing on sailboats to travel the world. His last known stop was Australia about six months ago. Someone fed Veselov the ID, which has the DIA worried about the real Keaton. They’re trying to trace his steps and track him down.

“Veselov showed up in Palau about five weeks after Reeves bailed from the Osprey,” Ian added.

Luke flinched. Dimitri Veselov wouldn’t have escaped if Luke hadn’t let him.

“He set up shop as a charter captain,” Ian continued. “And generally ingratiated himself with the locals and American expats very quickly. Took several officials out on multiday trips for free—to get a feel for the ports, he said. Likely he was laying the groundwork for his search. Had a reputation for being congenial. Good drinking buddy, and he knows boats and the water like no one’s business.” Ian paused. “A good spy is always everyone’s best friend. The friendship is usually genuine, or his cover might crack—it’s hard to fake it for extended periods of time. As a case officer, I always zeroed in on one trait I liked in the spies I ran and used that to work my way in.”

Luke grimaced again. He’d met congenial Parker. He hated that he’d still believed the persona, even after learning he was a spy. “Who invited him to the party?”

“The governor of Melekeok—who he’d taken on several cruises through the Rock Islands. It’s possible Veselov chose to target the party, knowing Ivy would be there and he could swoop in and save her.”

“I thought it was assumed he got lucky there? He wasn’t connected to the men who attacked the party?”

“The DIA believes there is a link between Veselov and the assault.”

“According to Ivy, he killed three men on the boat—two of whom were the same men who attempted to abduct her in the mangrove swamp.”

“Yes. The DIA believes he betrayed his partners. Probably to further win Ivy’s trust.”

“Motherfucker,” Luke said.

“It gets worse. She told Dominick that she slept with him after the assault—before he abducted her.”

“So…if he’s had any luck winning back her trust, we can assume Ivy’s drinking his Kool-Aid. She may even try to protect him.”

“Yes. Given that she willingly turned off the signal for CAM and she hasn’t reported in since the initial call when she explained why, it’s possible she’s protecting him already.”

“Everyone seems pretty certain she wasn’t involved in Hill’s treason,” Luke said. “What’s your take?” He figured no one else would have as honest an assessment, given that Ian had been the one to take down Hill in the end.

“I wondered when I first met her, but after getting to know her, no way. She doesn’t fit the profile. She’s not like the women who ally themselves with terrorist groups and arms dealers. Believe me, I know the type. She and Cressida have grown close. She feels guilty in the way that only the innocent feel, like she’s responsible for what happened because she didn’t see through Hill’s lies and couldn’t warn anyone.”

“Why did she divorce Hill?”

“She told Cressida he was banging an intern.”

Luke picked up the file that outlined Veselov’s life as Jack Keaton. He read the statements gathered by the DIA and FBI, surprised that both organizations were willing to pass on the information, but then, Ivy was a senator’s cousin and once again, the attorney general was personally involved because one of his wife’s subordinates was in danger—and it appeared the DIA had set her up for the bullshit assignment.

DIA was in full damage-control mode and were probably more than happy to have Alec Ravissant privately fund her exfiltration—as long as they did it nice and quiet like and left the DIA out of it.

After he reviewed everything twice, he tapped a name that had popped up in both Ivy’s and Veselov’s dossiers. “Ulai Umetaro lives in an apartment above his floatplane hangar in the same marina where Veselov lived aboardLiberty. They are drinking buddies, and Umetaro was Ivy’s pilot for that first week in Palau. We start with Umetaro.”

“Agreed,” Ian said. “He’s the most likely to know where Veselov has been searching for the AUUV over the last few months.”

Ivy rubbed her eyes again as she slouched in front of the computer. It was two a.m. and clear that she was fried, yet she resisted going to bed. Of course, Dimitri understood. The wall between them was impenetrable, but their sleeping arrangements remained the same. “Time to bring RON home and get some sleep,” he said firmly.

She tapped the power meter on the display. “There’s enough juice to finish the flyover of that island.”

“You’re so fried, you’re liable to crash him into a hillside.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She sighed. “Tomorrow, we need to visit the island. I need to ground-truth the data. CAM is having trouble identifying a few features and needs calibration.”

“Can we go at dusk?”

“I’d rather go earlier. I don’t have the same night vision that RON has, and the vegetation there is really thick. My luck, I’d rub up against a dozen poison trees in the dark.”

“Fine.”

She brought RON back to the cave and closed down the system, then retreated to the lower level. “You coming?” she asked when he didn’t follow.

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