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“There are signs the victim was tortured prior to being shot and killed. The team is photographing the body now, but one wound stuck out as significant. It appears the letter N was carved into Godwin’s cheek.”
“Which could go along with the theory that the murder was staged tolooklike a mob hit. What we need to figure out now is if someone—meaning AMPS—killed Godwin and set it up to look like it was a ‘Ndrangheta hit. Or if they struck on their own.”
“Both had something to lose from Godwin identifying his relationship with them via a common alias,” said Verity.
“Hold one moment,” said Nem. We heard muffled voices in the background. “Sorry. I’m back. According to Ares, a man who recently came to work for K19 Security Solutions has experience with the ‘Ndrangheta. I’ll reach out to Doc Butler now. Anything else?”
“One more thing,” I said.
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve asked Lars Persson—Macht—to join the Swiss task force.”
“Excellent news, Zep.”
Nem’s effusive response surprised me. “Do you know Macht?”
“Only by reputation. However, my understanding is he’s an excellent agent.”
“I don’t see any reason for us to return to St. Moritz at this time, unless you do. As I said to him, we’ll likely return to Shere once we wrap things up here. He’s available to come with us.”
“Good. Keep me abreast of your progress.”
“One other thing, Nem. Godwin wasn’t on our radar, but he was on Marchand’s.”
“He would be, given they’re both in the diplomatic corp. I sense we’ve barely scratched the surface of Godwin’s nefarious activities. Magnet and Schön are working that investigation now. They’ll be traveling to the States to meet with Baissier. From there, I’m sending them on to DC.”
“As far as Godwin’s remains…”
“Yes, right. Wilder has an in with Dubai’s Department of Health. He’s made arrangements for the body to be delivered to the morgue to Vauxhall Cross whenever your team is ready to release it.”
Both Verity and I expressed our thanks, and Nem ended the call.
“What’s your gut telling you?” I asked.
“AMPS set up the ‘Ndrangheta.”
“As is mine.” I noticed Verity was biting her bottom lip. “What else is on your mind?”
“We’ll be returning to Shere in the next few hours.”
I nodded. “You’ll have to tell me how you want this to play out.”
“Meaning what?”
“Are we a secret?” I walked over and put my arms around her waist.
“Are we awe?”
“I’d like us to be. At the very least, I want to see where this goes.”
Verity didn’t respond, but she didn’t pull away either, which I saw as a good sign.
“So, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Even if the two of us doing whatever we’re doing wouldn’t come as an utter shock to everyone in Shere, I’m still not sure I’d want to go public. That’s what I meant when I asked if we’re a we.”
“It won’t be easy to stop myself from touching you. However, I will respect your wishes to keep this private. For now.” I brushed her mouth with my thumb. “Especially difficult will be to keep from kissing you when you bite your lip.”
