“Is that why Montgomery is untouchable?” asked Malin.
“I had no idea,” commented Dutch.
“I would’ve been surprised if you did. You must remember, I am far older than you are and rose through the ranks at a time when secrets were buried rather than exposed on the nightly news. However, that didn’t mean they weren’t talked about.”
“It’s hard to discern sometimes what of those
rumors are fact and what are urban legend,” said Malin.
“How do you think this information relates to your investigation, Special Agent Kilbourne?”
She’d already considered that Montgomery had a connection to the president, who also had a stronger-than-many-thought-appropriate connection to United Russia. How Ghafor figured into this was a mystery, other than her believing UR had sent them money to the Super PAC, who then sent it to him.
“Think, Malin,” murmured Burns.
Her eyes met his. “The reelection was hard won. Some say it wasn’t won at all.”
Burns nodded, his eyes scrunched, but with an undeniable pride. “Keep going.”
—:—
Dutch held his breath, wondering if Malin would continue, or if she’d look at him. If she did, Dutch would know that she wasn’t fully ready to trust him.
She did look at him, but before Dutch could stand to leave, Malin spoke.
“Could the Islamic State influence the outcome of the election?” she asked. “And why would United Russia pay Ghafor to get them to do so?”
“I don’t know the answer, but I’d say you’re on the right track.” Burns stood and went into the house, leaving them alone in the courtyard.
“What do you think?” Dutch asked when she didn’t say anything.
“The problem is there’s no proof.”
“Of?”
“Money laundering or election fraud. Maybe both.”
15
“I need a computer,” Malin told Dutch as they walked back into the cottage.
When he pulled it out of his bag, Malin’s seagrass angel ornament fell to the floor.
“Here it is,” she said, picking it up. “I thought I lost it.” She put the string on her finger like he’d seen her do before, and twirled it while he powered up the computer and logged in with his credentials.
“I appreciate this, Dutch.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Think of as many instances when the US government colluded with known enemies to achieve a seemingly unrelated goal.”
There were countless examples, as disheartening as that was. Few ever came to be known by the American people, but inside the walls of the CIA, deals were made on a regular basis.
“The most well-known that come to mind all involve Iran,” he said, pulling a notepad and pen out of his computer bag.
“I get it,” she murmured. “Burns thinks this has something to do with the president getting reelected when the polls indicated he didn’t have a prayer of doing so.” She groaned and put her head in her hand. “But I don’t know or understand the what or the why.”
They spent the next two hours creating lists and then charts, drawing lines between the countries and organizations that had been known to make significant side deals in the last few years.