Taylor flipped through the book to see if anything had been slipped between the pages. “I read this in college. Terrorists, espionage, betrayal. Good stuff.” She set it on the bed.
The only other thing of note in the bag was Harry’s passport, which Brodie flipped through. As expected, it was full of entry stamps for various European countries as well as a few places that were no one’s idea of tourist hot spots—Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya. The oldest stamp was from Algeria in 2013. The most recent was from Poland in 2018.
Brodie closed the passport and said to Anna, “This is State Department property, and I am handing it over to the American Embassy.”
Anna nodded.
Brodie slipped the passport in his jacket pocket and gestured to the wardrobe. “May I?”
Anna stepped aside, and Brodie observed three button-down dress shirts, two pairs of dark slacks, and a navy-blue sports jacket hanging in the wardrobe next to Anna’s clothing. He checked the pockets of the dress shirts and slacks, which were empty. Then he reached into the inside pocket of the jacket and felt something. He pulled it out.
It was a small manila envelope a little larger than a credit card. He opened it and withdrew what appeared to be a glass microscope slide, about three inches long. In the center of the glass was a nickel-sized drop of liquid with a slightly purple hue.
He held it up to Taylor. “What do you think this is?”
Taylor looked at it closely. “Judging by the color, it might be some kind of pathogen with a contrast stain applied to it. They’re supposed to be labeled.”
A small white sticker was affixed to one end of the slide, featuring a string of six handwritten numbers. There was no other labeling.
Brodie turned to Anna and showed it to her. “Any idea what this is?”
She looked at the slide and shook her head.
This needed to be marked as evidence and turned over to the German police. Or maybe not. Brodie returned the slide to the envelope and put it in his jacket pocket with the passport. He asked Anna, “Any of his other belongings here?”
“Toiletries. In the bathroom.”
“Was he taking any prescription medication?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” She gestured to the overnight bag. “Are you done with it?”
“Yes. Hold on to all this for now. You will be turning it over to the German authorities.”
She didn’t respond to that, but said, “It’s all I have left of him.”
Taylor said, “We understand. But it’s not yours.”
Anna nodded and left the bedroom. Brodie and Taylor followed her back to the hallway. She informed them, “I have nothing more to say.”
Taylor glanced at Brodie, who nodded. She said to Anna, “Thank you for your assistance, and we are sorry again for your loss.”
Brodie added, “Someone from the BKA will be in touch about taking a statement from you, and they will also be collecting your rifle forballistics, and Harry’s belongings as evidence.” He added, “You need to be honest with them about why you have not come forward.”
“Yes, I will tell them I honestly don’t trust the police.”
“Right. But here’s some free advice: Don’t antagonize people who have the power to charge you with obstruction of justice.”
“Who’s paying to fix my front door?”
“Give us the bill when we see you next.”
“Oh, are we doing this again?”
“I’m sure we’ll have more questions for you once we read the Stasi documents.”
She looked at Brodie. “The only question is why this American traitor was never caught, and who is protecting him now.”
Brodie replied, “By now, he may have faced justice in a much higher court.”
