Nemesis: Innocence Sold Read Free

head of the Hamburg drug department, was one of Daniel’s closest friends, but the police headquarters in Alsterdorf was several miles from Rostock, where his unit was officially stationed, so a chance encounter was nearly impossible.
    “In front of Mark’s office—he had been to some meeting in Rostock and would have liked to have seen you, but you were already gone.”
    “And he’s going to get up early just to drive me to the airport?”
    “He mumbled something about how his daughter didn’t let him sleep late anyway. Hurry up and sit down before the pizza gets cold. Wait, pop in the DVD first. By the way, can I stay here next week?”
    Daniel turned around with the DVD in his hand. The balconies and facade of Tom’s apartment building were being renovated. It would take almost a month, and the noise and dust were already unbearable, and it had only been a week. “Sure, why not? Or should I blow up the scaffolding?”
    “I’ll take care of it myself if the work takes longer than it’s supposed to. Thanks, Daniel.”
    “No problem. Are we supposed to drink out of the bottle? You know where the glasses are.”
    Tom stood with an exaggerated sigh. Daniel watched him go into the kitchen. He could use the distraction. With a malevolent grin, he dropped onto the couch and wondered how Tom would react when he realized he would have to make do with the armchair. Nothing beat having true friends.
    In the early evening the sky over California was still cloudless, and the sun bathed the airport building in warm light. There was no sign of the dreary weather of Northern Germany, to which Daniel would never become accustomed. In the arrivals area, a woman was holding up a sign bearing the logo of a car rental company and his name, giving Daniel the perfect excuse to end his small talk with a helicopter pilot with whom he was slightly acquainted. The Navy rumor mill was worse than any afternoon coffee hour in a retirement home, and it had not particularly surprised him that he had already been asked about a possible move from Germany to California.
    Daniel enthusiastically looked over the gleaming black Mercedes convertible. His sister had succeeded in surprising him. With a car of this caliber he would easily beat the normal ninety-minute trip time. The car delivered what it promised, and Daniel found himself laughing as he sped over the Coronado Bridge, toward San Diego. Blue water and white beaches—the view from the bridge was breathtaking. While he used to take the view for granted, he now took in every detail.
    Less than two hours later, he was enjoying a cold German beer on his sister’s terrace. “How can I pay you back for the luxury treatment?”
    Ann set a bowl of salad on the wooden table and smiled. “By heating up the grill. And you can finally tell me what’s up with your appointment at the base.”
    He wouldn’t be able to sidestep Ann this time; he owed her an answer. “Admiral Russell offered me a job as team leader in Coronado. I’m going to meet with him tomorrow.”
    Bewildered, Ann sat down on a wooden chair. “Hang on, Danny. Slow down. The name of the guy who made your life hell back then was Russell, right? And since when have you cared about getting promoted? I thought you loved your job, your team, and your mysterious missions. Why do you want to give all that up for a bunch of routine stuff? And what does Mark have to say about it?”
    “My boss wasn’t thrilled about it, but he’d understand because I’d be closer to you if I accepted the position.”
    She took the beer out of his hand. After taking a large swig, she said, “So you’re doing it because of me. Because Dad’s dead? For God’s sake, Danny, wake up. I’m going to be forty in a few years, and I have a damned good life. I’d love to see my little brother more often, but not if it means he gives up the job he loves. That’s completely crazy. Punch the guy in the nose for what went down back then, and forget about