“And you thought to yourself, who works well with others?”
“I thought about who is loyal to the Army and who will keep the Army’s interests in mind while dealing with the alphabet soup of agencies who willhave a finger in this. As for the Germans, it might be their country, but he was our man, Scott.Ourbrother.” He added, “And possibly killed by Islamic terrorists. So this is a biggie.”
Brodie nodded.
Dombroski looked him in the eyes. “Whoever did this needs to pay. To be made an example of.”
Brodie nodded again. Clearly this murder had affected Colonel Dombroski. And if Brodie was being honest with himself, it was affecting him too. As in any police force, every murder is taken seriously, but a murder of one of your own is also taken personally. Brodie asked, “Why isn’t the Fifth MP Battalion handling this case?”
“They’re a tight-knit group,” said Dombroski. “And Vance was a much loved and respected senior agent. His murder has hit them hard and they are motivated to find the son of a bitch who did this. But General Hackett made the determination that they might betoomotivated, and that we should bring in an outside team.”
As Provost Marshal General, Hackett was in charge of all matters involving criminal justice in the Army, and he would usually delegate these kinds of personnel decisions to someone further down the chain of command. But this was no ordinary case. General Hackett was also a by-the-book guy who did not particularly appreciate Scott Brodie’s approach to investigations. “Does General Hackett know that you are discussing this with me?”
“Of course.”
“I’m sure I am not his first choice.”
“He took some convincing.” Dombroski added, “I stuck my neck out for you.”
Brodie nodded, but did not say “Thank you.”
Dombroski continued, “This mission requires someone who will show initiative and creativity in gathering information. And when it comes to sharing Intel, the Germans are tighter than a clam’s ass. FBI’s not much better. As you know.”
Brodie nodded, remembering that Colonel Dombroski’s waistline wasn’t the real reason he would never be a general. It was because deep down he thought like a cop, which made him good at his job but notparticularly good at the politicking involved in advancing through the officer corps. To a different kind of man, “looking out for the Army’s interests” would mean not tarnishing the Army’s image, putting on a good show of displaying interagency cooperation, and other PR bullshit. To Dombroski, it only meant finding the bastard who’d killed one of their own.
That aligned with Scott Brodie’s own philosophy, which was why the colonel had not relieved him for insubordination a long time ago. Dombroski had decided he needed a pit bull on this case, not a bloodhound, and he knew who that pit bull was.
The question was, was Scott Brodie ready to fill that role again? It had sidelined his career last time. Then again, was he really suited for anything else?
Brodie asked, “Do you have any information about the case or cases that Vance was working in Berlin?”
“Well, that’s the strange thing. He wasn’t working a case in Berlin, and none of his colleagues know what he was doing there. I spoke with his CO in Kaiserslautern, Colonel William Trask, who said Vance made frequent trips to Berlin when he wasn’t on a case.”
“Sounds like there is a fräulein in Berlin.”
“The colonel didn’t know and didn’t speculate.”
“Was Vance married?”
“In the process of a divorce. So, yes, there could be a woman in Berlin. If so, hopefully she’ll come forward.”
Brodie wondered if the divorce came before the girlfriend. But that’s not usually how it worked. “His wife had him whacked.”
“That’s the kind of out-of-the-box thinking I’ve come to expect from you, Scott. But please keep that theory to yourself for now.”
“Yes, sir.” He added, “Colonel Trask needs to supply us with information on the terrorism cases that Vance was working in the past few years.”
“Some of that will be classified. I will put in a request, but prepare to be disappointed.”
“I need to know who his enemies were, Colonel.”
“He’s been a counterterrorism investigator for over twenty years, Scott. I’m sure it’s a long list.” He added, “I will request the records.”
“What about Vance’s partner?”
“Warrant Officer Mark Jenkins. Colonel Trask said Jenkins was en route to Berlin and is already in touch with the BKA and our embassy people.”
“I would like his direct contact information.”
