“They were trying to replicate attacks made by the Saudis in the Saada province in 2015. The rebels wanted the US and the UK to believe the Saudis were guilty of war crimes and intercede against them on the rebels’ behalf.”
“Were you able to locate the supplier?”
“Not yet, but Army Counterterrorism is on it. NSA and Homeland are also involved. With the information you provided, we know the cell is located in San Diego. Rounding them up shouldn’t take long.”
“That’s good news, sir.”
“I managed to keep your name out of it, but know that the army is grateful for your part in this.”
“Thank you, Colonel.”
Bryson ended the call and Bran turned to Jessie, who waited impatiently on the sofa beside him.
“They found the chemical weapons in Yemen and destroyed them. Casualties kept to a minimum.” He filled her in as much as he could on the attack and the reasons behind it.
“When you say ‘they’ you mean army Delta, right?”
He just shrugged. He couldn’t talk about the actual mission, even if he knew, but given Bryson’s involvement, it would likely have been a Delta operation.
Jessie seemed to understand. “So the gas attack was meant to be a false flag. The rebels set it up so the Saudis would take the blame.”
“That was the idea. The colonel says NSA and Homeland are working together to find whoever supplied the munitions to the rebels.”
She gave a sigh of relief. “That’s great, Bran. The majority of the weapons are no longer a threat. Now we just have to prove my father wasn’t involved and find the rest of the weapons.”
“Yeah...piece of cake.”
It was close to noon when the call came in requesting their presence at the medical examiner’s office. Before they left for the base, Bran went down to the business office and printed the information Jessie had assembled.
Then all three of them piled into Maddox’s Jeep Cherokee and drove onto the base, parking in the lot in front of the Army Community Hospital complex where the ME’s office was located.
Nerves had her stomach jumping as she and Bran climbed out of the vehicle.
“I’ll wait for you here,” Maddox said. “Keep an eye on the car.” He and Bran were both edgy. They were closing in on the bad guys, always a dangerous time.
Or at least they hoped they were getting close.
“Let’s go,” Bran said, setting a hand at her waist, urging her toward the glass front door.
According to the phone call, a different ME had performed the second autopsy, a double check that would leave no possibility unexplored. The man who greeted them introduced himself as Dr. Terence Chang, a small man with military-short black hair and wire-rimmed glasses.
Off to one side, a man Jessie hadn’t noticed rose from his chair. Silver hair gleamed as Colonel William Larkin approached her.
“I wanted to be here when Dr. Chang presented his findings.”
Jessie felt a fresh shot of nerves. Larkin’s pale eyes were impossible to read, yet it was clear he knew the results. Her mouth went dry. She caught a look from Brandon. This was it. Everything they had worked for hinged on the next few minutes.
“Please have a seat,” the doctor said.
She and Bran sat down in front of the desk, but Larkin remained standing.
Chang adjusted his glasses and opened the folder in front of him. “I’ll try to put everything in layman’s terms.” He looked down at the top sheet of paper. “To begin with, an examination of the contents of your father’s stomach showed he had ingestedlisteria monocytogenes, the bacteria that causes food poisoning. It was a particular variety that reacts within very few minutes and results in severe nausea.”
“The reason he was transported to the infirmary,” Larkin put in.
Jessie said nothing, but her stomach was churning. What if they were wrong?
“As you may know, we were given broader parameters this time, a wider range of testing. The tox screen administered showed something different. Traces of calcium gluconate. An equal amount of potassium phosphate also appeared in the colonel’s blood.”
