Page 192 of Valor

Oliver shut the door firmly. He didn’t care how many regulations he just broke. Suddenly, this got very personal. Robert targeted a single young woman who had nothing to do with the grim history of the region. This unresolved case would not drag on another generation. It had been almost eighty years. Oliver’s team would find the documents and end this sad story once and for all. He glanced back into the car. Meghan was holding her phone, perhaps wondering if she should call her mother or change her flight.

“Hey,” Yarda stepped closer. “What do we have here.”

There was no need to lower their voices. This one time, Oliver was thankful that Meghan didn’t understand the language.

“I think it was Robert. We don’t know if anything is missing yet. Meghan worries about her passport. That is about the only thing of value she says has with her. He must have been looking for the documents.”

“I assume she doesn’t have them.”

“I don’t think she knows they exist.”

“How is she?” Yarda motioned toward the car.

“Shook up. I’m taking her to my mom’s house.”

“You are what?”

“She knows no one. Doesn’t speak Czech. Frankly, this is really traumatizing for her. I don’t think that putting her up in a hotel or another Airbnb is the best course of action. She may decide to fly back home tomorrow.”

“Does the boss know?”

“Not yet. And you will keep it that way. Right?”

Yarda nodded. “If you promise to fill him in yourself, I don’t need to include it in my report.”

“Meghan said Robert had been stalking her.”

“She knows him?”

“No. But he had been following her since she arrived in Prague.”

“How did he figure out when she was flying in?”

“I don’t know yet. He may have waited at the Prague airport. It’s small.”

“For days?”

“What else was there for him to do?” Oliver grunted.

“How would he know what she looked like?”

“Social media?”

“Do we have enough evidence to bring him in?” Yarda asked.

“Let the forensics process the scene. I will check the surveillance camera, and perhaps that will be enough to arrest him. She took a picture of him as he was leaving the train station. Up until now, Robert did nothing we could pick him up for. This—” He pointed his chin toward the building. “This might be just the thing we need to bring him in for a chat.”

“Okay,” Yarda pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Want one?”

“No. But thanks.”

“I’ll talk to the guys and let you know what they find. You figure out how to break the news to the boss. I hope that she won’t be too much of a distraction.” Yarda glanced at Meghan, then winked at him.

“Want a piece of advice?”

“No,” Yarda lit his cigarette.

“I’ll give it to you anyway.”

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