Page 46 of Stone
“The studios get so much wrong it’s like watching a comedy for us,” Stone explained.
“I don’t suppose anyone wants to depict the real thing. Or see it,” she said.
All three men inclined their heads, and Philly continued. “They did make a movie out of it. Based on the idea of a secret map that led the soldiers to the gold. In reality, US intelligence always knew.”
“Well, they knew it existed,” Viper said. “They didn’t know where it was.”
“And you’re telling me that one of the triad of villains?—”
“Triad of villains?” Philly interrupted.
“Or just ‘triad.’ It’s what we call them,” Juliana said with a shrug. “Their names are too long to keep saying.”
Philly and Viper stared at her, then they shrugged, too. “Fair,” Philly said.
“Are you telling us that the triad found this gold?” Stone asked. He had a hard time believing that three low-level soldiers could stumble upon it without anyone else knowing.
“But wait,” Juliana said. “I remember the news from when they found the gold, wasn’t it in 2003? After the arrest of Saddam Hussein? The triad were soldiers in thefirstDesert Storm. In the 1990s.”
“But the gold—and the rumors—existed then, too,” Viper said.
“Wasn’t Desert Storm more of an air battle?” she asked, then frowned. “I’m sensing a gap in my knowledge. I need to read more military history.”
Stone picked up her hand and set it on his thigh. Right where he liked it. “It’s interesting, but probably not as fun as the stuff you know,” he said. “As to your question, it started asan air operation, but included massive tank battles and, toward the end, ground soldiers. The coalition forces never entered Baghdad, though. Just pushed the Iraqis out of Kuwait and into Iraq.”
“Okay,” she said on an exhale. “So if the triad was part of the forces pushing the Iraqis back into their own country, where would they have encountered the gold? And how could they have kept it secret?” She paused and looked at Philly. “That is the direction you’re going, right? That the triad somehow found the gold and absconded with it?”
He nodded. “That’s the premise we’re working on.”
“With a twist,” Viper said. “We think Lowery and Polinsky stole it, but Gregor knew.”
“Did your contact confirm that Gregor was there too?” she asked.
Philly nodded. “He confirmed thatandthe fact that all three served together.”
Stone nodded in thought. “Andthat’swhat he’s using to blackmail Lowery and Polinsky.”
Philly and Viper murmured their agreement. They’d considered the possibility that something had happened while the three were enlisted; they just hadn’t known what. The theft of gold would be a big axe to swing over someone’s head. Especially now that Lowery and Polinsky had so much to lose.
Beside him, Juliana laid her arm across her chest, a move that pushed her breasts up. He glared at his brothers when their gazes dropped. They were decent enough men that their eyes shot straight back to her face, although Philly winked at him.
“You must have proof,” Juliana said. “I agree that what you’ve suggested would explain the twisted relationships, but it’s a pretty specific claim.”
Viper grinned, his teeth a slash of bright white against the dark of his skin. “We have evidence, not proof,” he said. “Weconfirmed all three were in the same company during that time. We even traced them to the infantry team that was part of the push into Iraq.”
“That’s still a leap to think Polinsky and Lowery found gold, stole it, and are now being blackmailed,” Juliana interjected.
“Agree,” Philly said. “And before this morning, it wasn’t a leap we’d made.”
“We were stuck yesterday evening,” Viper admitted. “It was really fucking irritating,” he added in a mutter.
“What ‘unstuck’ you?” Juliana asked.
“We decided to bring in friends,” Philly said. “Joey and Leo were over last night with Charley and Mantis. We told them what we were up to, and Leo had a good point.”
“He’s a genius, so that doesn’t surprise me,” Stone said. “What was the point?”
“What’s the first thing a good investigator does in a blackmail case?” Viper asked.
