It seems like an ordinary night inside the Alexandria Fitness Center-that is, until a gym patron suddenly discovers Cardiff Shapiro lying next to a treadmill in a pool of his own blood. Someone has just assassinated the State Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. The nation is stunned. Worse yet, it appears a cold-blooded killer has just gotten away with murder. As Alexandria police department detectives immerse themselves in an investigation into Shapiro's murder, they find themselves taken off the case by the FBI. Meanwhile, David Pearl, owner and CEO of a new security company, prides himself on his integrity, even in the face of both a career and a love first won, then lost. When Pearl receives an offer to provide temporary security for a Greek diplomat whose life has been repeatedly threatened, Pearl enthusiastically accepts, not realizing that in a matter of days, another murder will propel him onto a dangerous journey through death, lies, and treachery. With national security at stake, Pearl must overcome adversity and the ultimate betrayal in order to determine whom he can trust, before an assassin strikes again. Spies and Lies: The Paradox is a gripping story about espionage, politics, deceit, and romance as one man risks everything to defend his country-and his reputation-from evil forces.

SPIES AND LIES: THE PARADOX

By Frederick L. Malphurs

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Frederick L. Malphurs
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-1846-5

Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................xiPrologue The Sudden Demise of a Political Appointee, December 28...................................xiiiChapter 1 Shocking News, Whispers, and Shouts, December 29.........................................1Chapter 2 Duty and Honor, December 29..............................................................3Chapter 3 A Most Unusual Mugging, January 3........................................................8Chapter 4 Time Out at the Sofitel Bar, January 3...................................................12Chapter 5 Greeks Intruding in the Night, January 9 through 19......................................15Chapter 6 Greeks Intruding in the Night, Part II, January 20.......................................26Chapter 7 Greek town, January 22, 23 and 24........................................................32Chapter 8 A Small Town in Snowy Upstate New York, January 25.......................................56Chapter 9 Almost Heaven, January 25................................................................65Chapter 10 Mistakes Were Made, January 26 and 27...................................................67Chapter 11 The Velocity of Suspicion, February 7...................................................80Chapter 12 Tempest in Tarpon Springs, March 2......................................................84Chapter 13 A Narrow Escape, March 4 and 5..........................................................89Chapter 14 Still Life with Flamingos, March 6......................................................92Chapter 15 Nevzlin v. McKay, March 6 and 7.........................................................100Chapter 16 Dirty Lowdown, March 7..................................................................105Chapter 17 Love Assumes, March 10 and 11...........................................................116Chapter 18 The Jimmy Bimini Tour, March 20.........................................................119Chapter 19 Risk: A Term of Art, March 25...........................................................122Chapter 20 Duly Noted, April 2 and 3...............................................................132Chapter 21 Without A Hypothesis: The Facts Dangle and Dart, April 2-5..............................139Chapter 22 Naked Bootleg, April 5..................................................................141Chapter 23 Changed Elements, April 7 and 8.........................................................148Chapter 24 Some Loose Ends Seek Solutions, April 10-14.............................................156Chapter 25 Creative Dissonance, April 21...........................................................173Chapter 26 Confidentially, Bankruptcy, April 23....................................................178Chapter 27 Roma, April 24..........................................................................180Chapter 28 An Abstruse Spy, April 25...............................................................183Chapter 29 A Radiation Revelation, April 26........................................................186Chapter 30 Someone to Listen To, April 26..........................................................188Chapter 31 Dysfunctionality, April 28..............................................................193Chapter 32 For the Sake of Money, April 29.........................................................198Chapter 33 Campaign Brain, April 30 and May 1......................................................206Chapter 34 Love Is All It Is, May 1................................................................212Chapter 35 Game On, May 8..........................................................................217Chapter 36 Evolving Events, May 13.................................................................224Chapter 37 Cold Call, May 20.......................................................................230Chapter 38 Meltdown, May 23........................................................................236Chapter 39 Culture, Cunning, and Stealth, May 25...................................................242Chapter 40 Port of Pireaus Pitfalls, May 30........................................................247Chapter 41 The Drudgery of Searching, June 1.......................................................258Chapter 42 Nocturnal Interludes, June 3 through 5..................................................262Chapter 43 Feedback Loop, June 7...................................................................266Chapter 44 Radiant Recordkeeping, June 9...........................................................269Chapter 45 Discovery, June 9.......................................................................273Chapter 46 Waiting and Watching at the Marina, June 9..............................................282Chapter 47 Rendezvous With Force, June 10..........................................................286Chapter 48 A Maris Breakdown, June 11 and 12.......................................................291Chapter 49 A Prayer Offered, June 3................................................................296Chapter 50 Peripheral Damage, June 4...............................................................300Chapter 51 A Reunion, June 5.......................................................................302Chapter 52 The First Argument, June 6..............................................................306Chapter 53 The Entanglement, June 6................................................................313Chapter 54 Argument, Appeasement, and Advocacy, June 7.............................................318Chapter 55 Homecoming Hype, June 8.................................................................326Chapter 56 Damned with Disapproval, June 10........................................................328Chapter 57 Loose Lips, the evening of June 11 and the early morning of June 12.....................333Chapter 58 A Conundrum, June 14....................................................................337Chapter 59 Down and Dirty, June 14 and June 15.....................................................343Chapter 60 Destiny, June 20........................................................................352

Chapter One

Shocking news, Whispers, and Shouts, December 29

David Pearl, owner and Chief Executive Officer of DRPearl, Inc., sat at his desk reading the front page of the December 29 edition of the Washington Post. He looked up when Alice Boggs appeared in the doorway. With her usual look of intensity on her charming, intelligent face, Alice stood for a moment waiting for her boss to respond to her appearance.

"Should I come back? You look like you just saw a ghost." Alice cocked her head.

David waved her to the leather chair that sat on the right side of his desk. "I wish I had, Alice. Cardiff Shapiro, the State Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence was murdered in the early morning hours of December 28 while he was working out at the Alexandria Fitness Center. Our good friend, Ritzenheim, told me last night that some big shot fed had been murdered."

"I bet all of the security and intelligence operatives have gone completely batshit."

"Sure they have; the murder of the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence for the State Department has got to have lots of possible implications. I met with him once at a briefing for intelligence contractors. He was brilliant by all accounts and seemed like a very nice guy." David returned to the newspaper article and read aloud:

"Cardiff graduated from Princeton University from which he received undergraduate and doctorate degrees in political science. He graduated summa cum laude from Columbia Law. After interning on Capitol Hill for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he joined Abbot, Van den Heuvel, and Sorenson, the preeminent Washington law firm practicing international law. During the last presidential campaign, Shapiro served as one of George W. Bush's principal foreign affairs advisors. After the election, he joined the State Department as a senior undersecretary."

David saw Alice's concern. She had pushed herself to the very edge of the chair. "You are really disturbed by this, aren't you?"

"We're in the intelligence business and this has to be good for business, I'm sure of it. But for me personally, to have a government official murdered, or more likely assassinated, is going to be deeply worrisome to the Washington community in general, politically first of all, and to the general public. All of the security around Washington and he gets whacked in a public place. There's got to be a fascinating back story to this."

"Does the article give any guesses as to who did it and why?" Alice squirmed in the leather chair, adjusted her skirt, flipped open her notebook, and pursed her lips.

"Not directly. President Bush is quoted: "Our nation mourns the loss of a devoted public servant. We, as a nation, are, today, stronger, more vigilant, and more secure than we would have been without the intellectual and analytical abilities of Cardiff Shapiro. He was simply a giant among all of those who serve this great nation. His warmth and quiet demeanor will be missed. His brilliant, articulate, and insightful political analysis cannot be replaced. I am saddened by this great loss. Of course, our prayers and sympathies go out to his wife, Julie, and their three sons, all of whom are serving their country with distinction. With them, I celebrate his life and his incredible service to the country he so loved."

David listened as Alice's polished, articulate speech turned cynical. "W mourns the loss, but doesn't mention the possibility this is a terrorist attack? I bet he won't be having a press conference anytime soon. His statement just invites questions. And, I think, I would have expected him to come out guns-a-blazing." Alice sat back, a frown briefly on her face.

"No, his statement is not revealing, except it may mean that they don't know shit so far. But, it doesn't matter either, the security apparatus of this country will be checking and verifying every possible contact that Shapiro ever had. They will run down every lead, climb into every rabbit hole, until they find out. And then when they do, they'll never tell the public. W will simply tell us `mission accomplished.'" They both laughed.

David reached for a cup of coffee and brought it to his lips, his hands holding it under his nose. "I will call our friend, Ritzenheim. I am going to have to stay on top of this one."

Chapter Two

Duty and Honor, December 29

Dante Tolliver watched the crowds of people quick stepping along the sidewalks surrounding the massive edifice of the headquarters of the FBI on Pennsylvania Avenue. Groups of office workers hustled into restaurants and taverns, some clutching their copy of the December 29 Washington Post. The cold front lingered, and the biting wind chill caused people to minimize their time outside, except for a few of the most hardened smokers. He chuckled to himself, smokers were the new lepers. Dante Tolliver put a hand on the shoulder of Ace Greensteen, directing him to go first through the glass revolving door entrance into the FBI headquarters.

Inside the FBI building, arriving security officials patiently went through the security process. Once there, Dante and Ace's names and IDs were verified against a security list of people permitted to enter the building, they received an FBI security ID, and were instructed to place it around their necks. Then, they were escorted to the fourth floor conference room overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue.

Dante quickly deduced that the real leader of this meeting was Burt Dingfelder, the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, who was standing just inside the room, meeting and greeting each attendee as if he was the master of ceremonies. Dingfelder looked to be a former athlete whose muscles and grace were sagging into middle age. A paunch rode over the front of his belt, and a layer of neck spilled over the top of his button down, blue, oxford cloth dress shirt. After a few minutes, while many in the group milled around and interacted with others, Dante watched as the FBI Deputy Director, Abner Michaels, cleared his throat and asked for everyone to be seated. The chairs around the highly polished, mahogany conference table were all taken. The only amenity present was a gunmetal grey pitcher of water accompanied by a stack of small, clear plastic cups. Deputy Director Michaels spoke when the conversations dwindled. He cleared his throat and opened the meeting by requesting a moment of silent prayer for Cardiff Shapiro.

"May he rest in peace, ladies and gentlemen. Let us be dedicated to the search for the assassin and the reasons behind Cardiff's murder. We need to find out who did it as quickly as we can and why. We need to increase the security for our leaders. Cardiff's death was a terrorist act, in my opinion. I know that the White House is very concerned that it might be a terrorist act. Finally, we must follow the leads to the people who ordered this assassination. The coroner is here, and I'll ask that he go first so that he can then get back to his business. Dr. Felson?"

Dr. Felson sullenly, but momentarily, stared back at Michaels. The large, black bags under Felson's watery eyes betrayed his workaholic habits. "I am the chief forensic pathologist responsible for examining the numerous dead bodies provided by the denizens and visitors in Alexandria, Virginia. This case is taking precedence over all the other deaths we have in the city and my other responsibilities. We see victims of stabbing, gunshot, overdose, and so forth on a fairly routine basis. We have a backlog of victims, but we understand the critical nature of Doctor Shapiro's death."

"Please, Dr. Felson," interrupted Dingfelder. "We are all under a lot of pressure about this case. Please give the specific findings."

Dr. Felson stared sullenly, but momentarily, at Dingfelder and began speaking without consulting any notes. "Our subject, white male, was in excellent physical condition, forty-eight years old, married with children. The cause of death was a deep laceration across the throat, nearly from ear to ear. This incision was made by a very sharp object. I would venture the professional opinion that the incision was made by a professional killer. I also speculate that the killer waited until he could verify death. I think the killer waited for the absolute final moment of death and to make sure that no one stumbled across Dr. Shapiro prior to his death. That may be neither here nor there, but the death was very quick, matter of a minute or two at the most. I am speculating that something like a knife for the throat, bigger than a pocketknife. A large switchblade perhaps, also for the wound directly to the heart. Questions?"

Felson recognized Liesl Konik, who sat directly across from him, her warm smile and pixie cut hairdo bobbed gently as she spoke. "Dr. Felson, assuming a professional killer, what can be the reason that the murder was done mano a mano as opposed to a sniper shot, a spray of bullets, poison, or something else where the killer would not have needed be right there at the scene of the crime?"

"My guess would be advances in forensic science. Police crime scene investigators can trace ballistics back to the gun in nearly all cases, then the gun to who sold it, then to who bought it, and so on. The more exotic the weapon, the easier it is to trace. That includes toxic substances because of DNA. Not to mention that getting these weapons across borders and into the U.S., if that was the case, would pose formidable challenges. The same could be said for making a purchase at a gun show. An evidentiary trail would be followed to the buyer. This deed could have been done with a well-sharpened steak knife, a sharpened piece of hard plastic, or a straight razor. The weapon could be disposed of in many different ways. For example, it could be back in the kitchen drawer right now. No, I think with a skilled and cunning operative, a fatal knifing is a good way to go for a highly politically sensitive murder target."

The group sat in silence, mulling this theory over; finally Dingfelder spoke. "Dr. Felson, is there anything else that you can tell us about the autopsy?"

"No, the victim was otherwise quite healthy for a man of his age. He had good muscle tone. He must have been completely, immediately in a state of shock. It is sad, a tragedy for the family and for the US. I am always available by phone or Internet for your comments or questions. Now, if I may, I should get back to work. My backlog waits." A smattering of thanks recognized the pathologist's briefing.

As soon as the door closed behind Dr. Felson, Dante watched as Deputy Director Dingfelder looked to Michaels who simply sat with a blank expression on his pallid face. After a brief frown in the FBI Deputy Director's direction, Dingfelder asked Liesl for a State Department report.

Liesl was ready, posed and with her notes and outline side by side in front of her. "Deputy Dingfelder, colleagues, we are carefully analyzing all the materials collected from the office and files of Undersecretary Shapiro. He was, of course, engaged at the highest levels of national and international police investigations concerning terrorism, especially the funding sources and financial conduits in support of terrorism. All of his work involved the very highest classification levels. At this point, we are convinced that the murder was professional. This means that we are excluding a random attack or some personal vendetta."

Dingfelder interrupted. "Simply not consistent with the nature of the man himself?"

"Right. Shapiro was loved by his family and admired by his coworkers and direct reports. He was helpful, humorous, generous, charming, tolerant, and fair by every account. He wouldn't have gotten into a verbal altercation with a street person or with a rude person in the locker room. He was, in short, extremely accomplished and self confident. We think that there has to be a reason behind the murder. We have to find out what that is."

"Okay, thanks, please continue." Dingfelder glanced at Michaels, who kept his head down doodling on a lined pad in front of him, his comb over revealing a red, splotchy scalp.

"We have begun a case review of the matters brought before him. We are starting with the most recent, and working backwards. Under his leadership, the major financial work was focused on the banks and financial institutions transacting business with or within the countries of the Middle East, and especially those countries we already know finance terrorism, like Iran. We have begun our examination of these investigative efforts, but so far we have found nothing that would point us in any specific direction. There were no recorded threats against Shapiro at all. Certainly, the nations being examined, those with funds confiscated and otherwise challenged, could not have been happy with the US, but Shapiro had a political appointment, was a top level adviser to the Secretary of State and the National Security Administration, but was still a bureaucrat. His was not a face that they would recognize, or in all probability, blame. Finally, we are examining his foreign visits. For your information, in order of most recent to the last, for the past two years, his international visits have been to: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beirut, Athens, Moscow, Helsinki, Cairo, Belfast, and Rome." Liesl leaned back against her chair, pushing her shoulder length red hair away from her face.

Woggins cut off Dingfelder to ask a question. "Liesl, please tell us the nature of these visits. By that I mean, was he out wandering the countryside, acting like a spy, visiting banks under suspicion, without cover?"

Seated at the last two spaces on the west side of the table, carefully placed and ignored, Dante elbowed his partner, Ace, and whispered, "Pompous ass."

Liesl laughed softly. "Nothing like that, Robert. Undersecretary Shapiro was always accompanied by State Department Security, including while he was in transit. Except for meals and a little sightseeing where he was also accompanied by security, his work was in the embassy, the CIA station, or in official government buildings of the nations involved. He was in no way a secret agent."

The meeting droned on with each subsequent round of questions and statements of less and less merit. Dingfelder mercifully released the group thirty minutes after Felson's departure.

Chapter Three

A Most Unusual Mugging, January 3

In the Alexandria police department building, the detectives were situated on the third floor. The top brass had the fourth and final floor of the red brick, colonial—style building. In the Tuesday late morning hours, a week after the Shapiro murder, Toliver was quietly trying to sip his coffee as he sat at his desk reading the Washington Post sports section. His moment of relaxation was brought to a halt by his partner, Detective Ace Greensteen.

"Dante, we have to go to Alexandria Hospital. We got ourselves a lead." Ace was short and feisty, with a cherubic face and a head full of tight black curls that forecast his intense and driven nature.

"No rest for the weary, son. What do you have?"

"We have ourselves a mugging victim who just happened to use the fitness facilities on the night of the murder. He entered the center about thirty minutes prior to our victim."

"No shit?"

"No shit. The only problem is that he had already been admitted to the Alexandria hospital because of severe injuries that he received from a mugging. He was dining out with a date on Queen Anne Street." Toliver smiled broadly at what sounded like a real lead.

Dante let his partner drive, but since he couldn't bear to watch, he read the sports pages while Ace dodged recklessly through the Alexandria streets. Some icy snow remained from a New Year's storm. The remnants hugged the curbs, and crevices were now dirty and icy. Now, the businesses and sidewalks were back to normal, full of shoppers, errand runners, and deliveries. Normally, in the late afternoon traffic with the streets full of commuters, the drive could have taken twenty-five minutes. Ace made it in ten. He pulled their unmarked vehicle into the emergency drive, set the bubble light on the roof, and turned it to flashing.

After consulting at the information desk, and then with the nursing station, the two detectives arrived at the bedside of Jasper Reinking. The detectives introduced themselves and asked Reinking how he was doing.

"How does it fucking look like I'm doing?" His words slurred out of his mouth slowly, with effort. The man was badly bruised, with two black eyes and lacerations on his face. Both hands were swaddled in bandages. A deep cut across his cheek had nicked his left ear and the tip of his nose. The cheek on that side was covered with stitches.

"You look like you're doing bad." Dante's soft, mellow voice was friendly and concerned. He placed a hand on Reinking's shoulder.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from SPIES AND LIES: THE PARADOXby Frederick L. Malphurs Copyright © 2012 by Frederick L. Malphurs. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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