Page 5 of Acting on Instinct
“Yes.”
“You are a very tall man, Nomad. I’m on a team of very tall men. When they’re all together, it seems perfectly normal to be so big. I’m often startled when we are out in public, and the guys on my team stand head and shoulders above most.” She picked at her skirt. “You know, I’ve been to Marrakesh, and I’ve stayed in the Medina where you had your riad. As for lodging, it was magical and beautiful, but also very loud and lacking in privacy. In the Medina, with its tight maze of roads, draped tokeep the sun out, you would be noticed and remembered as being a giant in the midst of the tourist throng.”
“I can’t say that I would disagree.” Nomad clasped his hands and dropped them between his knees, leaning forward. “Though I have found ways to camouflage my height, at least to some extent.”
“Walking along walls, standing next to the curtains in windows, leaning into the columns? That’s what my team does.”
“Exactly. Yes.”
“Still,” Lynx said and stopped. She was looking at his face, and a little frown formed on her lips. She pushed into her toes, swiveling her chair back and forth. “You want my help in finding the four men who attacked you and Red. You had contact with these men three times. First, in Austria, where you and Red attended the same ball. Second, at the site of the scaffold collapse in the Medina. And lastly, at the car accident. We would agree that they had marked you along the way.”
“Yes.”
“And they tracked your movements with enough precision that they were able to form a plan to stop you in a remote area and execute it. It seems reasonable that you would conclude that your height made you stand out and put a target on you.”
“It is reasonable, yes. Red was in a hijab and long robes in Morocco. There, she was a ghost.”
“And you spent the night elsewhere on your mission and rented a car to return to the Medina. Red dropped you at the Medina gate because you had parked a rental there.”
“Yes.” That was a mistake. He should have hired someone to return it for him. Or, in the very least, let Red take it back to the airport so no one would recognize him.
“Having been to the Medina, I know it’s a walled portion of the city that only has a few ways in. During the day, onlypedestrians or motorbikes are allowed, so your rental car must have been at one of the gate entrances.”
“Correct.”
“It’s easy to see how paying a local to watch the gate for a giant of a man and then follow him about to gather information would be incredibly easy. After all, a minimum wage job in that area pays about $300 a month.”
Lynx pointed out what Nomad should have considered, even if he and Red had a good cover story.
“Or even have them duct tape a tracker to the undercarriage,” White added.
“Moving forward, you and Red had completed your assignment, and you were driving to Rabat.”
“Correct.”
“Done deal. Mission accomplished.”
“Well, we had done our part,” Nomad clarified.
“In the report White offered me, you identified the four men who attacked you as the same four men who had murdered tourists. You didn’t wish to bring them to the Moroccan authorities’ attention?” Lynx asked.
“We were told that Langley would be offering that information to the Moroccan government after we left the country.” He turned to look at White.
“That didn’t happen, did it, White?” Lynx asked.
“No. The men attacked Red and Nomad, so they areoursto find and deal with. We didn’t want the competition of the Moroccan government.”
“I think it would be a good idea if I understood your intent, here.” Lynx’s voice took on an edge. “Certainly, you are not going after these four for retribution.”
“I’ve been authorized to let you know that the forty-million-dollar payout wasn’t going to treasure hunters whowould bank the money and have a lovely life. It was a group with other goals.”
Lynx turned back to Nomad. “They knew you didn’t have the ring.”
“Yes.”
“So they thought you had the money?”
“No.”
