Page 18 of Yankee in the Wind

Lilly shrugged. “Just that I can’t find a death certificate among my uncle’s papers. Uncle Will has dementia, you know, so I cleaned out his house after he had to go into an assisted living facility.”

Jack didn’t interrupt her to let her know what he knew about Will Reed.

“I was in the Congo on a medical research trip when Thomas died, and I only just found out that he was cremated. And he never wanted to be cremated, because he was afraid—”

“—of fire, because of how his mother died,” Jack completed her sentence.

“Exactly. And Uncle Will knew it. He would have never done this to Thomas. He would have respected his wishes. Turns out, Uncle Will never had a choice. According to the cremation certificate I found in Uncle Will’s house, Thomas was cremated at a funeral home called Peaceful Rest. But when I went there to ask them about the cremation, they told me the cremation certificate was forged, and they had no record of Thomas being cremated there. And on top of it, when I called the funeral home where he was actually laid to rest, Shaded Pine Cemetery, they sent me a document that showed that Uncle Will bought the place in the urn wall and the maintenance plan. The document had his signature on it. Only, it was his signature from years ago, before he got that tremor in his hand. He couldn’t have signed the document.”

Jack was impressed with Lilly’s research. “Did you tell this guy at the CIA about what you found?”

She nodded. “I asked for an explanation about the cremation certificate. But he doesn’t know about Uncle Will’s signature, because I got the call from Shaded Pine Cemetery just before I went down to the taco truck.”

“That’s why they want you gone. You were digging too deep. They don’t want us to find out how and where Thomas died. Because it may lead us to them.”

“Who are they?”

“Don’t know. But I’ll be damned if I don’t give my all to find out.”

“I already ordered Thomas’s death certificate from the DC Vital Records Division but it’s gonna take weeks before they’ll send it. I don’t know where else to look for it.” She gave a hopeless shrug. “It’s so frustrating. I’ve been spinning my wheels.”

“I’ve got a way to get the death certificate quicker.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

She stared at it. “Oh, so you can have a cell phone but I can’t?”

“It’s a burner.” He dialed the number he’d memorized for Fox.

“Yeah?” Fox answered almost immediately.

“It’s Yankee.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I need you or Michelle to hack into the DC Vital Records Division and get me a death certificate for River.”

“Ah shit, he’s dead?”

“Not a hundred percent sure. That’s why I need to look into it.”

“Okay. Call you as soon as I have it.”

10

“River?” Lilly asked the moment Jack disconnected the call. “Is that Thomas’s code name?”

Jack nodded.

“And Yankee? That’s you?”

“That’s right.”

“What was so special about the program you two were in that it had to be kept so secret that you couldn’t even tell each other? And why would somebody hunt you because of it?” There were so many questions she had, but Jack seemed reluctant to answer, and she wasn’t beyond playing dirty to get them. “I deserve answers. Damn it, Jack, if that night seven years ago meant anything at all to you, then please tell me what’s going on. You can’t just show up out of nowhere, save my life, and then keep your secrets to yourself.”

She suddenly realized something. “How did you even know that there would be a shooting? At least tell me that.”

Slowly, he nodded. Then he pointed to her legs. “Let me patch you up while we talk.”

“Okay.” She sat down on the couch, and Jack crouched down at her feet and started cleaning the abrasions on her knees with antiseptic. “Start already.”