I still said nothing.
"I can help her. It's like… it's like it was meant to be. Rick died trying to save her. Now it's my turn. The call said not to tell anyone but you. Please, Myron. I'm begging you. Please help me rescue my daughter."
35
WITH Terese still beside me, I called Berleand back.
"Jones implied that you somehow lied or doctored the DNA test," I said.
"I know."
"You do?"
"He wanted you off the case. I did too. That was why I didn't return your call."
"But you called before."
"To warn you. That's all. You should still stay out of it."
"I can't."
Berleand sighed. I thought about that first meeting, at the airport, the tired hair, the glasses with the oversize frames, the way he took me out on that roof at 36 quai des Orfévres and how much I liked him.
"Myron?"
"Yes."
"Before, you said you knew that I didn't lie about the DNA test."
"Right," I said.
"Is this something you deduced because I have a trustworthy face and almost supernatural charisma?"
"That would be a no."
"Then please enlighten me."
I looked over at Terese. "I need you to promise me something."
"Uh-oh."
"I have information you'll find valuable. You probably have information I will find valuable."
"And you'd like to make an exchange."
"For starters."
"Starters," he repeated. "Then before I agree, why don't you fill me in on the main course?"
"We team up. We work on this together. We keep Jones and the rest of the task force out of it."
"What about my Mossad contacts?"
"Just us."
"I see. Oh, wait, no, I don't see."
Terese moved closer so she could hear what he was saying.
"If Matar's plot is ongoing," I said, "I want us to bring it down. Not them."
"Because?"
"Because I want to keep the blond girl out of it."
There was a pause. Then Berleand said, "Jones told you that he tested the bone samples from Miriam Collins's grave."
"He did."
"And that it's a match for Miriam Collins."
"I know."
"So forgive me but I'm confused. Why then would you be interested in protecting this probably hardened terrorist?"
"I can't tell you unless you agree to work with me."
"And keep Jones out of it?"
"Yes."
"Because you want to protect the blond girl who probably had a role in the murders of Karen Tower and Mario Contuzzi?"
"As you said, probably."
"That's why we have courts."
"I don't want her to see the inside of one. You'll understand why after I tell you what I know."
Berleand went quiet again.
"Do we have a deal?" I asked.
"Up to a point."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that once again you are thinking small-time. You are worried about one person. I understand that. I assume that you will tell me why she is important to you in a moment. But what we are dealing with could involve thousands of lives. Thousands of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. The chatter I heard suggests something huge is in play, not just one strike, but a variety of attacks over the course of many months. I don't really care about one girl-not against the thousands that might be slaughtered."
"So what exactly are you promising?"
"You didn't let me finish. My not caring about the girl cuts both ways. I don't care if she gets caught-and I don't care if she escapes prosecution. So, yes, I am with you. We will try to solve this ourselves-something I've been doing pretty much anyway. But if we are outmanned or outgunned, I reserve the right to call in Jones. I will keep my word and help you protect the girl. But the priority here has to be stopping the jihadists from carrying out their mission. One life is not worth thousands."
I wondered about that. "Do you have any children, Berleand?"
"No. But please don't play that paternal-bond card with me. It is insulting." Then: "Wait, are you telling me that the blond girl is Terese Collins's daughter?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"Explain."
"We have a deal?" I said.
"Yes. With the caveats I just laid out. Tell me what you know."
I ran him through it, my visits to Save the Angels, to the Official Photography of Albin Laramie, to the discovery of the embryo adoptions, to the "Mommy" phone call Terese had just received. He interrupted several times with questions. I answered them as best I could. When I finished he dived in.
"First, we need to find the identity of the girl. We'll make copies of the picture. I'll e-mail one over to Lefebvre. If she's American, maybe she was in Paris on some kind of exchange program. He can show it around."
"Okay," I said.
"You said the call came in on Terese's cell phone?"
"Yes."
"I assume the incoming number was blocked?"
I hadn't even thought to ask. I looked at Terese. She nodded. I said, "Yes."
"What time exactly?"
I looked at Terese. She checked her phone log and told me the time.
"I will call you back in five minutes," Berleand said. He hung up.
Win came in and said, "All well?"
"Peachy."
"Your parents are taken care of. Same with Esperanza and the office."
I nodded. The phone rang again. It was Berleand.
"I may have something," he said.
"Go ahead."
"The call to Terese came from a throwaway phone purchased with cash in Danbury, Connecticut."
"That's a pretty big city."
"Maybe I can shrink it down then. I told you we heard chatter coming from a possible cell in Paterson, New Jersey."
"Right."
"Most of the communications went or came from overseas, but we have seen some that stayed here in the United States. You know that criminal elements often communicate via e-mail?"
"I guess it makes sense."
"Because it's somewhat anonymous. They set up an account with a free provider and use that. What many people don't know is that we can now tell where the e-mail account was created. It doesn't help much. Most of the time it's created on a public computer, at the library or an Internet café, something like that."
"And in this case?"
"The chatter involved an e-mail address created eight months ago at the Mark Twain Library in Redding, Connecticut, less than ten miles from Danbury."
I thought about it. "It's a link."
"Yes. More than that, the library is used by the local coed prep school, Carver Academy. We could get lucky. Your 'Carrie' could be a student there."
"You can check?"
"I have a call in now. In the meantime, Redding is only about an hour and a half from here. We could take a ride up and show the picture around."
"Want me to drive?"
Berleand said, "I think that would be best."
36
I persuaded Terese to stay behind, no easy task, in case we needed something in the city. I promised her that we would call the moment we knew something. She grudgingly agreed. We didn't need all of us up there, spreading our resources. Win would stay nearby, mostly for Terese's protection, but the two of them could try to investigate other avenues too. The key was probably Save the Angels. If we could locate their records, we could find Carrie's full name and address, track down her adoptive or surrogate or whatever-you-call-them parents, and see if we could locate her that way.
On the drive up, Berleand asked, "Have you ever been married?"
"Nope. You?"
He smiled. "Four times."
"Wow."
"All ended in divorce. I don't regret a single one."
"Would your ex-wives say the same?"
"I doubt it. But we're friends now. I'm not good with keeping women, just getting them."
I smiled. "Wouldn't expect you to be the type."
"Because I'm not handsome?"
I shrugged.
"Looks are overrated," he said. "Do you know what I do have?"
"Don't tell me. A great sense of humor, right? According to women's magazines, a sense of humor is the most important quality in a man."