CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"Good morning," said Hiro. "We've been monitoring radio communication with the local law enforcement and think we've found something. An innkeeper was found dead at her bed and breakfast late last night. It appeared that she'd had one guest, but the name in the book is illegible. Her son went to check on her when he didn't hear from her. He says there were a few small items missing from his mother's personal belongings."

"Do we have anything on camera tying Deirdre to the location?" asked Brix.

"It was dark, and the lighting fucking sucks, but I think this is her," he said, putting the photo on the screen. "This was northern England. We think by now, she's made it into Scotland. Most likely place would be Edinburgh. If we try to think like her, there are a half dozen ships getting ready to embark from northern Scotland. Mostly fishing vessels and oil rig workers. It wouldn't surprise me if she was trying to get on one of those."

"Okay," nodded Tiger. "She's following the pattern we thought she would take."

"Tiger," said Sebastian, giving him a nod. "Guess who just pulled up?" They all looked out the window and saw Marshall. He looked nervous and unsure of himself but walked up to the door and knocked.

"Marshall. To what do we owe the pleasure?" frowned Brix.

"I don't want any trouble. I don't want anything. I just wanted to let you know that I did give Deirdre some cash the other day." Brix frowned at him, taking a half-step toward him.

"You did what?" growled Major.

"I said I don't want trouble! I came here to admit what I've done and to tell you she used my delivery app last night."

"What do you mean?" asked Brix.

"You know, the delivery app where they can bring groceries, restaurant food, even clothing and medicine."

"I know," said Brix. "What do you mean she used it?"

"Oh," he blushed. "I mean she used it while in Edinburgh. It was delivered to a home address on the water. She spent about fifteen hundred Euro, so she obviously bought a lot."

They all stared at Marshall, trying to figure out what else was going on. He knew more. He just wasn't telling them.

"I tell you what, Marshall. You're going to sit down and tell me every little thing you know, and in return, I won't break every fucking bone in your body," said Walker.

"I'm being helpful!" he screeched.

"Just tell them what you know, Marshall," smirked Heath. "Maybe they won't kill you if you do that."

"Shut up!" The men let out low growls, the sound echoing like a pack of rabid dogs.

"Spill it. And start from the beginning," said Brix, shoving the smaller man into a chair. He fell back with a big ‘umph' and stared at the men around him. This was a bad idea. What was he thinking?

"I don't know everything," he said, shaking his head. "I mean, I don't know everything that's driving Deirdre to this. She kept saying she was getting even with ‘them,' but I never knew who they were. When she approached me about marrying Daphne, I was shocked. I mean, I'm thirty years her senior, I'd been married twice, and I had a reputation." He blushed and looked down at his hands.

"What did she say?" asked Zulu.

"She knew that I was having some financial challenges. I used to like to gamble a bit. I don't any longer, but nevertheless, it was problematic for me. She said that I was guaranteed at least a few million on her death."

"As you so graciously pointed out, you're thirty years older. It stands to reason you would have died first," said Tiger.

"I-I should have. I mean, I probably will. Deirdre wanted the beatings to get more severe. She hoped to keep it from Randall, only letting Daphne speak with her about it. Deirdre is very good at head games, making others believe things they wouldn't normally believe. She's studied books on manipulation of prisoners of war, victims of abuse, all so she could be the abuser.

"She never expected that Daphne would call her father before calling her. I'm not sure why she was shocked. They were always much closer than Dierdre and Daphne. Theirs was more of a contentious relationship. When she told me that you were married but coming for the gala, she said it would be my opportunity to convince Daphne we belonged together."

"You really believed you could convince her of that?" frowned Brix.

"No," he said quietly. "I never believed it, but as I said, Deirdre is good at what she does. She has pictures. Pictures and documents of my, uh, previous entanglements."

"Jesus, you fucking idiot," groaned Sebastian.

"What did she have against the Lightkeepers? Why take their children?" asked Brix.

"As I said before, she was hoping to ransom them all off but discovered that was a bit more difficult than she believed. Then she had this idea that she could adopt a few kids, find a way to get their true inheritances, and pad her pockets. She was even planning to start a foundation to find the lost children of the Costina, earning fame and, hopefully, reward for finding them. No one would know that she actually knew exactly where they all were."

"That still doesn't tell me why she targeted the Costina," said Brix. "There must be something there that we don't know about. It would have been more beneficial for her to join their cause and help in the efforts."

"I truly don't know," said Marshall, shaking his head. "She did want recognition and fame, so it would seem strange not to join them. As I'm sure you've guessed, she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants."

"Yes, but the question is, what does she want? This is no longer about fame, money, status, or anything else. It's not just about getting even with the Lightkeepers."

"It may be," said Marshall, squirming somewhat.

"It may be, what?" pressed Zulu.

"Twice a week, Deirdre would come into London and meet with a young man." They all stared at him, frowning. "It's not what you think. He's an expert in finance hacking."

"Finance hacking? Like hacking into banks and bank accounts?" asked Forrest.

"And more. At first, I thought they were having an affair. I met with him, telling him that Deirdre had referred me. I just wanted to know what they were doing. The first thing he said when I sat down was, ‘who do you want to steal from.'"

"Did you?" asked Zulu. "Did you steal from someone?"

"N-no. I mean, I wanted to. I won't lie about that. But I didn't. I swear."

"Okay, so she's got a serious bug up her ass for Lightkeepers, has a moderate amount of knowledge when it comes to hacking into bank accounts, and clearly has no qualms about killing people, including her own husband."

"That's it. That's all I know, and I just wanted it off my chest. I'm leaving for Spain for a few weeks. I don't want Deirdre coming for me, and she will if she knows we've spoken." Brix stood with the shorter man and walked him to the door.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Marshall. We're going to make sure Deirdre never comes near anyone again."