"Yes, and I gave them all the information I had. They assured me they'd protect me. And then they were dead."
"Why didn't you go to someone else after the crash?" he asked.
"Because I'd given them all my proof, and because I didn't want to die, too. I didn't know who to trust. The police, the FBI—they could have all been involved, so I went underground. I changed my name, my appearance, and my life. I'm risking all of it now just to talk to you."
"You may not have proof anymore, but you do know what you told my mother and what you gave her, so tell me what it was."
"It was information on security leaks at MDT."
"Like the ones discovered last year?"
The man snickered. "Those leaks were just a small ripple in an ocean of deceit. The disappearing weapons and stolen technology have been going on for more than a decade. There's an entire faction of the company that runs outside the law. They've been siphoning off money, weapons, technology, everything… This shadow company is leaner, more powerful, and it operates on the black market, providing weapons for anyone who wants them."
Patrick sucked in a breath at the scope of what was being suggested.
"Some of the smartest people in the company work both for MDT and for the shadow company," the man continued. "The new weapons that are coming out are going to be duplicated and sold to the highest bidders. Or worse, they'll be used on our own soil. Nothing drives profit more than terror. The more turmoil in the world, the more money MDT gets."
"What kind of proof did you have?"
"I had financial reports that showed a constant stream of anomalies regarding government money being funneled through the company divisions. I had photos of key MDT executives meeting outside the company, sometimes with individuals who were known to play on the black market. I had a person who could testify to working at an off-site location on a weapon that was exactly like the one MDT was building."
"What kind of weapon was that?"
"The railgun, similar to the ones that went missing last year and ended up at a ranch in Mexico."
"Was that the offsite location?"
"I don't know. It might have been. But my gut tells me they were also using a location in Texas."
"Where is that person now?" Patrick asked.
"Dead. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning the day before the plane crash. I didn't know about it until a week after the crash. He'd gone underground while I was trying to get the information to your mother. He's another reason I gave up on all this. I don't believe his death was an accident any more than I believe your mother's plane crashed in a storm."
Patrick's stomach twisted. He felt sick. "I still don't know why you didn't go to the accident investigators and tell them what you knew."
"I watched the investigation closely. I figured if someone had sabotaged the plane, they'd get there eventually, and then I'd talk. But they never came to that conclusion. And I had nothing left to show anyone. I could talk, but who was going to believe me without proof?"
He was beginning to see why the man had gone underground. "What did my mother say when you showed her what you had and told her all this?"
"She was shocked, but she was open-minded. So was Senator Stuart. He told me he'd thought there were problems with that company for years, but they were so heavily involved in politics, it would be difficult to get anyone to stand against them. He felt he finally had the proof he might need. It was a good talk. I came away thinking that they were going to get to the bottom of everything. But you know how that ended."
"Yeah," he said heavily.
"When Ann called the number I gave her years ago, I couldn't believe it. But when she said it was Jackie Kane's son who wanted to talk, I took a risk, because while the FBI and Congress may think the holes at MDT have been plugged, I know otherwise. The shadow company might have taken a hit in Mexico, but they're still in existence."
"Who do you think is at the top?"
"I don't know if it's one of the Packer brothers or both, or it could even be their father, although that's less likely now since he retired. It has to be someone who has the power to move money, technology, and weapons and then cover their tracks. If you want to get into this, you're going to need top-level connections. Ann said you were with a woman who works for Senator Dillon. Can she help?"
"You think the senator might be involved?" he asked, glancing at Dani, who looked less than thrilled with the man's suggestion.
"I'm sure he knows something, and he's in tight with the Packers. After your mother and Senator Stuart died, money to MDT increased by threefold. Look through the budgets; you'll see I'm right. They didn't just take out two people who were about to blow the whistle; they replaced them with two other people who were pro private defense contracts."
He already knew that to be true. "We need to meet in person. We need to talk more. You have to lay out everything you know."
"No, I can't do that. You have to do the rest on your own. I'll give you one more lead. Tania Vaile."
"Who's that?"
"She's a senior financial manager at MDT. She moves a lot of money around the company, and she's very close to the Packer brothers and their father. A few years ago, I would have said she'd never go against them, but that might have changed. The men aren't as tight with her anymore. They've all moved on to younger women. She might be angry. You could use that."
"You've got to give me more," Patrick said, sensing the man was about to hang up.
"I've given you all I can. If you can get enough proof, I'll come in as a witness, but until then I'm staying in the dark where it's safe."
Before Patrick could say another word, the call disconnected.
"Dammit," he said in annoyance. He looked over at Dani. "What do you think?"
"I think I found Tania Vaile," she said, turning her phone to face him. "She's with both Packer brothers, Reid and Alan, at a Texas fundraiser at the Ashton Hotel in Dallas. She's a beautiful, busty blonde."
He could see that. "It looks like she is tight with the Packers."
"Who knows? It's a fundraiser, and she's standing in front of them. No one has their arm around her."
"True."
"I also pulled up another page while you were talking on the phone," Dani continued. "I found her business profile. It says she's a senior financial manager, and that she's been at the company for twelve years." She looked back at Patrick. "If Tania is on the financial side, maybe she was or is the one moving around the money."
"It's hard to believe that no one would have found evidence of any of this during the FBI investigation," he muttered. "Someone at MDT is operating a shadow company and the guys in charge don't know about it? Are they stupid? Are they complicit in some way?"
"I don't find it so difficult to believe that this side group exists, not after what my brother saw in Mexico. Those weapons were taken out of the company by someone, and it seems like more than a one- or two-person job, yet they've never been able to figure out who was responsible."
"I'd like to talk to the FBI about it."
"Good luck. From my experience, they like you to talk while they say nothing."
"From your experience?" he echoed.
"They came to my apartment when Jake and Katherine brought TJ back into the country. The FBI met them there. I heard a few things, and they asked me a few questions. Obviously, I didn't know anything. So, what do you want to do now?"
"Hell if I know."
"Maybe I should go back to work," she suggested.
"Or we could go back to my hotel and regroup," he said. "It's almost seven. Isn't your workday over?"
"I often work later than seven."
"We need to talk about everything, Dani. I would really appreciate your insight."
"All right. I'll check my work email when we get to the hotel and make sure there's nothing important I'm missing. I really don't want to believe that Senator Dillon knows about any of this, but it is true that MDT has gotten a lot of contracts over the last eight years. They went through a bad couple of months with the congressional hearings, but they seem to have repaired their reputation and are getting back in business." She let out a sigh. "That company is huge and the people who run it are very powerful, with a lot of contacts and a lot of money. It won't be easy to bring a case against them."
"I like to take things one step at a time. Seeing a huge mountain in front of you can defeat you before you even start climbing, but if you just look down and keep moving forward, it's amazing how far you can go."
She smiled. "Is that your philosophy for life?"
He tipped his head. "It is."
"Not bad. But even taking it one step at a time, this mountain could be too big for us. Maybe we should go to the FBI."
"Not yet. We need proof, Dani. A random call from a nameless guy won't take us too far, and our conversation with the pilot who missed the trip was inconclusive. It's too early. We need more evidence, and we need to be sure who we can trust. This isn't just about me and my mother anymore; it's also about your family and maybe your boss. We need to keep digging."
"I can't help thinking we may dig ourselves into a hole we can't get out of."
She might be right, but he hoped not.
Thirteen
"So was this the way your room looked when you came back here this morning?" Dani asked as she walked around Patrick's hotel room. Everything was neat and organized, not a pillow out of place.
"Yes. It didn't appear anyone had been inside," he replied.
"That's so odd. Why search my apartment but not your hotel room?"
"Maybe they didn't know where I was staying."
"Whoever
they
is," she said with a sigh, as she sat down at the round table by the window. "Before we get too deep into research, what are your thoughts about food?"
He smiled. "I'm in favor of it."
"Me, too. There's an Indian restaurant down the street. They have a really good chicken curry, and they deliver."
"Sounds perfect."
"If you want to look at the menu, I can pull it up on my computer," she said, taking her computer out of her bag and setting it on the table across from him.
"Just order whatever you like, and we'll share."
As Patrick got on his computer, she ordered dinner. Once that was done, she checked her work email, happy to see no pressing emergencies. She gazed over at Patrick, who was frowning at his computer.
"What are you working on?"
"Our source. He's sending us down a particular path, and we don't know anything about him."
"How are we going to find out? We don't know his name, his age, his location…"
"True, but I think he knows the guy who gave us the phone."
"That makes sense. Or the cashier at the store could have been Ann's contact. She's the one who sent you there."
"No, I think our whistleblower would only be willing to give his phone number to someone he trusted implicitly. He's clearly paranoid. That's why he didn't have Ann give us the phone. He must not trust her, either. In fact, maybe he wonders if she's the one who blew the whole story up eight years ago."
"But then he wouldn't have given her a number that she could contact at him at. I don't think he mistrusts her."
"Maybe not. The store where we got the phone is owned by the Cammerata family." He turned his computer around so she could see the screen. "This is their website. Recognize the guy in the middle?"
"That's the clerk."
"Vincent Cammerata. The other two men are his father George and his brother David."
"You think one of them is the source?"
"No, but I think that Vince knows our source. He's either a best friend or a relative or both."
"I'll look on social media, see who pops up in Vince's friend feed. I've researched a few dates over the years, so I have an idea what to look for."
"Proactively or after you went out with them?"
"Both. You can't tell me you haven't done the same thing," she said dryly.
"Never. I prefer to get my information firsthand."
"Well, it's different for guys." She paused. "I've got his profile page. He has three hundred plus friends."
"You can exclude the females. Concentrate only on the men and those in his age range, which appeared to be late thirties."
"He's divorced," she said, reading through some of the posts. "Looks like it's recent, about a year ago. He has a seven-year-old daughter."
"Does Cammerata have any Texas friends?"
"Not that are obvious. It would take some work to figure that out. Shall I focus on that?"
"If you don't mind. I'll get into Tania Vaile."
"Deal." She actually liked having something specific to work on. It helped keep her mind off Patrick and the fact that they were alone in his hotel room with a comfortable-looking, king-sized bed not too far away. They'd been so busy chasing down leads that it had been easy to keep her attraction at bay, but any time she looked at him too long her brain turned to mush, and she started thinking about other things—like touching him, kissing him, maybe taking off his clothes, seeing what muscles lay beneath the shirt and the jeans, because it was clear that Patrick was fit. He might not play football anymore, but he still moved like an athlete.
"So have you done any dating here in DC?" Patrick asked.
His question startled her out of her distracted reverie, which was good. "I've gone out with a couple of guys, but no more than a few dates with any of them."
"Why not?" he asked, interest in his eyes.
"There wasn't any chemistry," she said with a shrug.
"Well, it's important to have that."
"We also either didn't have anything in common or too much. One guy worked for another senator. Even though his boss and mine are in the same party, it felt too close. I was never sure if we were just talking, or if he was looking for information."
"What about the other guys?"
"One was a cyber geek. He was fascinated by technology, and he talked a lot about it. My eyes glazed over by the end of the night. The other man was a dentist. Nice guy, but he was looking to move to the suburbs, open his own practice, and have a bunch of kids really, really soon."