Wake the Devil Read Free

tragedy in the gallery.
    “Thank you, Jack. I see it’s nearly closing time,” Streck said. “I believe I’ll walk across the street and have a glass of schnapps . . . perhaps two. Then I will drop by my daughter’s home for a few minutes. Good day to you all.”

Chapter 2
    A fter they disconnected, Beth came back to the present and introduced FBI Special Agent Todd Milner to Jack. From his earlier comment, it was obvious he already knew Janet Newton. Nevertheless, the other woman surprised her by saying, “Jack and I are old friends.”
    Beth’s expression prompted a further explanation.
    “I should have mentioned it earlier,” the deputy director said. “We worked together for several years.” Her smile broadened and she extended a hand. “It’s good to see you again, Jack. You look well.”
    “So do you, Janet.”
    Milner commented, “Interesting story you put together, Professor.” He then turned to Michael Goodell and inquired, “Would you mind if we borrow Dr. Kale for a few minutes?”
    “Not at all,” Goodell said. “Jack, thank you for coming in. A stiff drink doesn’t seem like a bad idea right now. Pull up a rock and make yourselves comfortable, people. My office is available if you need it.”
    “We’ll be fine,” Milner told him. “Please excuse the interruption.”
    Goodell returned a tight-lipped smile and took his leave.
    Milner was in his early thirties with sandy-blond hair he combed straight back. He appeared reasonably fit, possessed intelligent features, and like most FBI agents, was dressed in an understated gray suit. He was around six feet tall, which put him about an inch or two shorter than Jack.
    Milner said, “Director Newton and I went to the North Precinct looking for you and were told you were back teaching at Georgia Tech.”
    “My position with the department was temporary,” Jack said. “How can I help you?”
    Before proceeding, Milner looked to the deputy director. She nodded for him to continue.
    “Two days ago a cable car at Stone Mountain fell, killing seven people.”
    “I saw that on the news.”
    “Unfortunately, it wasn’t an accident,” Milner said.
    “Oh?”
    “Both Interpol and the Bureau have been tracking an individual known as the Sandman for some time now. He appeared on the scene after you left us, so you’ve probably never heard of him. He’s thought to be responsible for as many as twelve assassinations in eight different countries over the past few years. The Israelis gave him his name because of some situation in the desert.”
    Jack glanced at Beth and Pappas and read nothing in their faces. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against a boulder waiting for Milner to continue.
    “We received information from an informant that the Sandman was hired to make a hit on one of the cable car’s passengers.”
    “Hired by who?” Jack asked.
    “A man named Sergei Borov. I’ll get to him in a minute.”
    Janet Newton said, “One of the people killed Friday was a doctor named George Lawrence. He and his wife, Rachel, are, or were, scheduled to testify next week before a grand jury along with their partner, Willis Landry. In light of what happened, I’ll have to check on where that is now. Rachel Lawrence and Landry are also doctors. It was simply a stroke of luck she wasn’t on the tram when it went down.”
    “What about Landry?”
    “He was at his office seeing patients.”
    “Good. So what makes them important?”
    “Approximately four weeks ago, strictly by chance, all three observed Borov meeting with a bank official in an underground parking lot. Borov was seen passing a briefcase to the man. We think this will tie into the U.S. Attorney’s money laundering case. We’re talking about a lot of money.”
    “But you don’t know what’s in the briefcase,” Jack said.
    “Not yet,” Milner said. “We expect to develop that shortly. A federal judge just issued a search warrant for the banker’s home and