Page 74 of Poison Evidence

The men who’d been arrested at the party, they learned, weren’t in holding cells in Palau. They’d been sent to the US military base in Guam, where military investigators could question them in Arabic. A disappointment, because Ian’s Arabic was fluent, but odds were they couldn’t—or wouldn’t—offer clues as to where Ivy was at this point anyway.

Credentials established, they settled down in front of a monitor with Agent Palea and a local police officer to watch the security camera footage from the party. First, the party unfolded at high speed, but they slowed the playback speed once Ivy arrived. “We’re looking for anyone who pays undue attention to her,” Luke said to the local officer pointing to Ivy on the screen.

For thirty minutes, Ivy was in full meet-and-greet mode. The local officer identified the men she spoke with: the Palauan president, governors, other local officials. Several paused to chat, but, reading Ivy’s expression, none of the exchanges were of note.

“We’re coming up on when she meets Keaton,” Palea said as they watched Ivy break away from a small group and head toward the bar in the corner. She received a drink and turned to face the crowded ballroom. Her profile was to the camera. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped into the fray. It appeared she was heading toward the president when a man bumped her from the side in a move that could only be intentional. Her drink splashed on the man’s shirt.

“Who is he?” Ian asked.

“And where did he come from?” Luke added. “I didn’t see him earlier.”

“He’s there,” Palea said, “But his back was to the camera.” Palea instructed the officer to back up the recording. They watched again, but instead of following Ivy, they followed the unknown subject, or UNSUB, as Palea called him.

There were scant few seconds of footage, and as Palea had indicated, he kept his back to the camera.

“Not only was he aware of the cameras, he’s afraid of them,” Ian said. “Which means someone might recognize him.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him,” the local officer said. “But it’s hard to know without at least a profile.”

“There’s a glimpse of him at the end, but not much,” Palea said.

Luke stared at the image on the screen. The man’s clothes and hair were perfectly nondescript. “Go back to where he intercepts Ivy.”

They moved forward again in time and watched Ivy’s drink slosh in slow motion. The film quality was good enough on zoom to see Ivy’s mouth move—likely apologizing—and she tried to step away, but the man grabbed her arm.

Ivy’s body language hinted at her irritation, but she stayed and nodded when he asked her a question. Several minutes later, two men joined them, forcing the UNSUB to adjust his angle toward the camera. They now had one ear and a hint of jawline.

Luke recognized the first man as the governor of Melekeok, who’d chatted with Ivy earlier. “Who’s the guy with the governor?” he asked the cop.

“Shiro Kimura from the Japanese embassy.”

“He upset Ivy,” Ian observed.

Luke didn’t know Ivy at all, but he had to agree from the look on her face.

“He can be a dick. But he helped bring down one of the terrorists,” the officer said. “He needed stitches afterward.” He stopped the video. “That’s Jack Keaton.” The officer’s voice was more buoyant.

It made sense that the FBI hadn’t informed the locals about Veselov. On the surface, Ivy’s disappearance had nothing to do with the party—the locals only knew she’d been assaulted in the garden—the search for Ivy and the Russian assassin was classified as need to know. The locals were cooperating of their own accord, so they had no need to know.

Dimitri Veselov joined the four people clustered in the corner near the bar. Ivy’s face lit up at something Dimitri said.

“He’s a good guy,” the officer said. “Beat the crap out of the terrorists, as you’ll see in a moment.”

Luke couldn’t judge the officer based on his attitude toward the hero of the night. Once upon a time, Luke had shared his opinion of Parker Reeves.

He studied Dimitri’s face. He’d seen other photos lifted from the video—ones Palea must’ve supplied to the FBI and DIA. This was nothing new. But still, it felt personal. Seeing Parker like this after all these months.

He helped me save thousands of lives. Including Undine’s. Maybe my mother’s. Major cities could have been destroyed along with long swaths of coastlines.

Was Dimitri Veselov a hero then and now? Or was he playing a different role here?

He cleared his throat. “Keep going,” he said to the officer. He wouldn’t get any answers to that vital question from this video.

It only took a moment for Dimitri to talk Ivy into leaving with him. Or maybe it was the other way around. Hard to say without sound.

The moment Ivy and Dimitri disappeared from the frame, Shiro Kimura turned to leave, brushing against the mystery man, who was too busy watching Ivy leave to see the bump coming. For a brief moment, his face turned toward the camera.

Next to Luke, Ian sat bolt upright. “Back up. Pause on the bastard’s face.”

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