06 Double Danger by Dee Davis Read Free Book Online

the city from on high.”
    “I’m guessing that cost a pretty penny,” Drake said, the words preceded by a low whistle.
    “So what do we know about the guy who booked it?” Tyler asked.
    Hannah flashed another picture up onto the screen. A middle-aged balding man with the paunch to match. “Meet Eric Wilderman.”
    “He’s an insurance executive out of Des Moines, Iowa.” Again J.J. checked her notes. “He was here for a conference and booked the tour online. We’ve got confirmation that he did indeed attend the conference, along with nothing suspicious in his background. Basically, just your average businessman.”
    “Which of course is exactly what you want when home-growing a terrorist,” Tyler said.
    “True enough, but this guy’s jacket is clean. He was born and raised in Iowa, was a finance major at Iowa State. Married once early on, but it ended in divorce. No kids. He owns a house in the suburbs that’s almost paid for. Relatively no debt. And nothing to indicate that he could be bought.”
    “Considering we only just found out that this might not have been an accident, you seem to know a lot about this guy.” Simon wasn’t sure why he’d made the statement. It was certainly something they’d have done had they been investigating from the beginning. But it somehow didn’t sit right to know that J.J. was already one up on them.
    “I have pretty much the same information,” Hannah said, clearly following Simon’s train of thought. “In fact, when we compared notes earlier, it was pretty much a draw.”
    “Sorry.” Simon shook his head, wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut. “I didn’t mean to start a pissing match.”
    “Look, I just hit the ground running when I got home from the hospital.” She shot him a look, and he ducked his head, angry at himself for letting her get to him. “I got a call from my superiors telling me that I’d been assigned to work with you guys. They faxed me everything they had on the crash.”
    Simon swallowed a curse. It was bad enough that J.J. was here as a liaison, but now it looked as though she had already wormed her way into Hannah’s and Avery’s good graces. He knew he wasn’t thinking rationally, but he didn’t want his old life bleeding into his new one. And now, with her here, it was already happening.
    “What about the pilot?” Harrison asked, cutting into the building tension, real or imagined.
    “According to information from Aerial Manhattan,” Hannah replied, “he’s been an employee for just over eight years. Before that he flew Black Hawks for the army. Served in both Iraq wars, received commendations for valor and was discharged honorably.”
    “Super.” Simon shook his head, blowing out a long breath. “So we’ve got Mr. Middle America as a passenger and GI Joe as the pilot. Not a lot of room to support a terrorist plot.”
    “But we’ve still got the diagram of the hospital and the map found in the middle of the Afghan mountains. In what we believe was a terrorist encampment funded by the Consortium. I’d say that’s worth digging a little deeper,” Nash said. “So, Avery, where do you want us to start?”
    “Well, first off, we’ll be moving headquarters to the brownstone in Manhattan.”
    “Beats a hotel,” Drake said. “So what do you want us to do?”
    “I’m thinking you, Nash, and I can help Tyler check the scene and see if there’s anything the original investigators missed.” Avery pushed away from the table, his gaze encompassing the entire group. “And then follow up with the FAA. They’ve commandeered a warehouse nearby to examine the wreckage in more detail.”
    “Hannah, you and Harrison will set up shop at the brownstone. The usual array of equipment. And Simon, you’ll be working with Jillian.”
    He stood up, avoiding J.J.’s startled gaze, but relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled. “What do you want us to do?”
    “Head to the city and start with the ME. I