Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
“I had to keep up the cover if I was going to find the bombmaker. Over the years I’ve been in contact with the man but only through encrypted messages,” he replied, not wanting to look Carys’s way. Would she understand why he’d done what he’d done? “I also used the position I was in to tip off the authorities if I felt the public was at high risk. The truth is most of the weapons I’ve sold were to cartels or syndicates, and they tend to use them mostly on each other. I’m not proud of what I did, but it was the only way to find him.”
“Except you haven’t found him.” Parker pointed out his failure.
“I think we’ve come close.” He prayed they had. “I had set up a buy for his new version of a dirty bomb. He claims he can do three times the damage with half the nuclear material. I was also supposed to see a test of his new detonation system. According to what we were told it could be used for biological weapons dispersion. But he never showed. And he hasn’t been heard from in six months. Hence the desperation to figure out who’s close to someone who can give any information about the bombmaker.”
TJ raised a hand. “Not me. I know nothing, and it’s how I like it. Though I do wish everyone knew so they didn’t try to blow up my friend’s wedding. We didn’t even get cake. Lou’s mom made this gorgeous cake and no one got a slice. Well, I bet Boomer did. Baby, did your dad eat the whole cake?”
“My brother helped him,” Lou admitted. “But not the point. I have some questions since, unlike some of us, I have gone over the whole report.”
Big Tag’s lips curled up. “You know I’ve had a lot to do. This scenario is exactly why I have a Lou. I can count on you to study everything.”
“I did as well,” Tasha said. “Lou and I talked about it on the plane. Beyond questioning the entire idea that Huisman would send a helicopter to disrupt a wedding of two people he doesn’t know, I have to wonder what he gets out of it.”
Tris had been thinking about it, too. He had a theory. “If he is in touch with the bombmaker, then he might want to get rid of anyone who knows who he is. If he gave the bombmaker enough money, he might want the man to exclusively work for his group, and taking out anyone who possibly knows his identity would protect his asset.”
“Manny was looking for the bombmaker a few weeks ago when he worked with the Germans to kidnap TJ,” Parker pointed out.
“And he couldn’t have figured it out in those weeks?” Kala asked, her tone respectful but with a hint of challenge. “According to you Huisman is a genius when it comes to an evil plan.”
Parker nodded. “It’s possible. And since we firmly believe he managed to get the formula for the new anthrax from Dare’s father’s company, he’ll be looking for a delivery system. So I can accept that if he believed TJ was The Jester or close to him and knew the bombmaker’s identity, it could be to his advantage to take him out.”
“But it wasn’t the best method.” Carys sat up, obviously forcing herself to speak when she probably wanted to blend into the wall and forget she was here. “I don’t understand. There were plenty of places to put a sniper.”
Ian’s head shook. “I assure you I checked them all. I ran the security since several members of my team were in attendance, and I would have found any sniper.”
Carys’s shoulders shrugged. “Okay, then why the wedding? Why not learn his habits and do it quietly? If I was going to kill TJ, I would figure out a way to poison the hot dog he gets almost every day from the shady food truck outside the building where Lou works.”
Lou turned to her boyfriend. “You said you were cutting out processed meats. We made a deal.”
TJ went a nice shade of red. “They’re good. I don’t know what they do to make it taste so good. But fine, Carys is right. It probably would be easier to take me out when I’m not in a crowd.”
“But that’s not what Manny would find fun about it.” Parker’s eyes seemed to go dark as he spoke. “I’ve known him since he was a child, and there’s nothing Manny loves more than chaos. He thinks it’s the ultimate shield. It’s where we’ll be able to trip him up. He can’t resist poking a wound, and there’s nothing he loves more than getting revenge on his perceived enemies. I’ve done some research, and I believe the real target wasn’t TJ at all. I believe it was Carys.”