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That news didn’t come as a surprise to me.
“Next, and this is why I used the phrase ‘piece together.’ I’m having more trouble than I usually do, tracking Godwin. There were multiple private flight plans filed and planes that took off from both Zurich and Milan around the time he would’ve arrived at either airfield. One thing I know for certain is he didn’t fly commercial either in or out. I’ve tracked everyone coming and going from both locations. I’ll expand my search while I wait for more intel.”
“Copy that,” both Verity and I responded.
“I’ll tell you now, my hunch is he traveled to Dubai. I just need to confirm it.”
There were at least two reasons why Decker’s hunch made sense. First, the UAE’s extradition treaties with both the US and the UK were convoluted at best.
Second, it was a hotbed for high-end sex trafficking—AMPS’ forte. In my opinion, they engaged in the sale of every form of slave labor. They’d take any human they could get their hands on, then profit from the life they didn’t believe had any other value. I doubted they thought of their victims as anything more than animals.
“Let’s talk about Xavier Vella for a moment,” suggested Nemesis. “What’s your theory, Verity?”
“With all due respect, I’ll let Zeppelin respond.”
Nemesis nodded.
“I keep going back to his motive for killing Mithras. I’m unclear on our supposition; thus, I’m having a hard time buying that it was to rescue his grandmother or even to exact revenge for what was done to his girlfriend.”
“I agree,” said Oleander, who’d walked in with Poseidon. “Go on, Zeppelin,” she added.
“As we said in the brief, I—we—think it makes more sense that Vella was trying to silence Mithras.” I looked at Verity, who nodded.
I watched Oleander to see if she would add anything. Just as I was about to move on to a different topic, she stood and paced.
“O?” prompted Nemesis.
Oleander looked over to where Cayman was seated with Bexli. “It’s a theory, the ramifications of which are far-reaching.”
Bexli had gone from victim to a woman who’d recently completed her training to join SIS, and I admired the hell out of her for it. While she had an interview scheduled with Pinch Fulton for a job with MI5, now that he was interim chief at MI6, I wondered if he’d consider her for the international unit. Had anyone asked, I would have said that was where she’d be the most effective.
Like Oleander, Bexli stood. “The most difficult thing for me to accept is that Nonna Vella would have anything to do with AMPS or any human trafficker. The woman saved my life, and honestly, I consider her my family. We’re taught to listen to our instincts, and mine are screaming that Nonna Vella is exactly who she presents herself to be.”
Those in the room, Verity, and I all nodded.
“If there is anyone in the room who disagrees, please share your opinion.”
There were murmurs as people shook their heads, but otherwise, no one spoke up.
“Xavier was kind to me, but I agree with Zeppelin and Verity that him killing Mithras when he did makes no sense. Except…”
“Go on,” encouraged Cayman.
Bexli looked around the room. “He was very protective of me. Even when Cayman arrived and I told him it was okay, he was wary.” She hesitated.
“What else, Bex?” Cayman reached up and took her hand.
She looked down at him. “I think seeing the woman he loved after being beaten nearly to death, then seeing Mithras ready to shoot his grandmother, is enough for Xavier to kill the man. I know that if I were there and I had a gun, I would’ve killed Mithras. It wouldn’t have mattered to me if an army was there to do it. I would’ve wanted to do it myself.”
She made a good point, but as she said, we were trained to trust our instincts. I didn’t know exactly why I was suspicious of Xavier outside of the feeling I had. “What about his aunt, Charlene Vella-Borg?” I asked.
“Charlene Vella-Borg gave me the creeps from the moment I saw her. When our eyes met, I thought she’d definitely toss me into the street if Nonna wouldn’t have stood between her and me.” She shrugged a shoulder. “What kind of person drugs other women who are chained to beds and beaten within an inch of their lives? I cannot accept that she didn’t realize what was going on, and I also don’t buy she helped me escape.”
Wren spoke up. “At the very least, I suggest we assign a team to take a closer look into the Vella family and see if there’s any past history between them and Mithras. One thing I find interesting is that Pharaoh was working at the embassy at the time of Francesca’s abduction. If there was bad blood between Xavier and Mithras, one would think he would’ve recognized her, maybe even interacted with her.”
I agreed. It was Bexli who’d identified an embassy employee as being one and the same as Pharaoh. By then, the woman was in the wind, but at least, we were able to confirm what she looked like.
“As far as where we are in St. Moritz, I believe we should be hot on Godwin’s tail over remaining here,” said Verity. “We’ve yet to visit the second bank, however.”