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“Go on,” said Magnet when I glanced at him. “I’ll save you some dessert.”
“Ready?” Verity asked when I joined her and watched as she reestablished the connection with those in Shere.
“I am.”
Verity asked for everyone’s attention, and when the room quieted down, she began. “Earlier today, Schön and I each found something significant to this investigation. As you know, two of this op’s objectives were to identify Godwin’s bodyguard as well as the mystery woman Zeppelin and I saw him dining with when we were here in November.”
The bodyguard’s images appeared on a blank wall that served as an impromptu screen. Magnet got up and lowered the lights so we could see them better.
Verity zoomed in on the first and second images. “The photo on the left is of a male we’ve determined was Xavier Vella posing as a bodyguard. The other image, we believe is of a woman disguising herself as a man. These stills are from the CCTV footage taken in the days before James Godwin and another person left Châteaux Relais with Zeppelin and me in pursuit. We also believe it explains why the mystery woman seemingly disappeared into thin air.”
I looked over at Ehren, who was nodding.
“Schön?” prompted Verity as she brought the images from the town square recorded last summer, as well as what the NRO had supplied, to the screen. There was a collective, audible gasp in the room.
“As you can see, the person Verity has highlighted in each of the stills bears an uncanny resemblance to Charlene Vella-Borg, a woman who is a prime person of interest in our investigation of AMPS. Particularly so after we discovered Xavier Vella’s biological connection to Pharaoh and Mithras. At the time of the shoot-out during which Xavier and his girlfriend were killed, Selene was heard screaming the word ‘Sheka.’ We have surmised Sheka is represented by the S in the AMPS acronym. Subsequent DNA tests have shown Xavier and Pharaoh were full siblings and Mithras shared only one parent with them. Additionally, the same testing proved Francesca Vella is Valerie’s and Xavier’s grandmother and Charlene Vella-Borg is their aunt.”
“I thought Charlene was on Rile’s compound in Mallorca last summer,” said Reaper.
Verity replaced the photos on the screen with those Rile sent from his own CCTV footage.
“As you can see, she was. Either that, or the person on the compound was disguised to look like her.”
“It is our intention to return to Gozo to question Vella-Borg,” said Verity. “This would be a multifaceted op. Since Schön was able to establish a rapport with Francesca Vella, during which the older woman said certain things leading us to believe she gave birth to another daughter, older than both Charlene and Marco, Jr., she and Rogue will return undercover as a married couple.”
“Just to refresh your memory,” I added. “When Xavier was interrogated after the death of Mithras, he told those questioning him that Marco Jr. and his wife, Yasmine, were his parents and that they were killed in an automobile accident when he was two years old. Given Marco Jr. was twelve when Pharaoh was born and she and Xavier are full siblings, it rules him out as Xavier’s father.”
While I was speaking, I noticed Ehren approach Oleander. A few seconds later, the two women left the room.
“Any questions thus far?” I asked, waiting for the two women to return.
Less than five minutes later, the room went silent when we all heard Oleander shriek. Poseidon jumped up at the same time his wife came out of the kitchen. “We’ve got her! We’ve fucking got her!” she exclaimed, racing over to Verity with a cell phone in her hand. “Load these, please.”
We all waited while the photos transferred.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Oleander announced. “I give youA.”
23
MAGNET
The room fell eerily silent as those present stared at the images on the screen. The first appeared to be several years old. In it, were three men and a woman. One of the men, who resembled a previous photo we’d seen of Salvatore Rávdos, had his arm around a woman. The other men were James Godwin and Oskar Schmid.
Next to it, were the two photos we’d managed to get of Pharaoh. There was enough of a resemblance between her and the other woman to believe they were mother and daughter.
“Excuse me. I’ll be right back,” Schön whispered, getting up and leaving the room.
“Where did these come from?” Zeppelin asked as I watched Schön hurry off in the direction of a downstairs lavatory.
“Schmid’s office. I discovered several more incriminating photos in his credenza drawer with a false bottom. It appears he either planned to or had already used them for blackmail purposes,” I heard Ehren say.
More images appeared on the screen, but I couldn’t focus on them.
“Is Schön okay?” Zeppelin whispered.
“I’m not sure.” I got up and walked in the direction I’d seen her go, but when I reached the lavatory, I didn’t find her in it. I kept walking and saw a kitchen door leading outside was open. I rushed through it and found her crouched down, losing the contents of her stomach.
“Hey,” I said, kneeling next to her and putting my hand on her back. It was then I realized she was shaking to the point of convulsing. “Prisca, talk to me. What’s going on?”
