A Brewing Storm: A Derrick Storm Short by Richard Castle Read Free Book Online Page A

becoming impatient. “That all?” he asked.
    “Is there more?” Storm replied coyly.
    “I was hoping you could tell me.”
    Cat and mouse. You go first.
    Storm shook his head, indicating that he was done.
    “You’ve uncovered the basics,” Jones said, taking over the story. “Everyone began getting nervous when Petrov and Windslow became so chummy. Officially, the White House has good relations with Russian President Barkovsky, so the President didn’t like having the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee becoming bosom buddies with an oligarch whose mission in life is to destroy a sitting Russian leader.”
    “I’m sure Petrov’s billions made the White House nervous—given Windslow’s light fingers.”
    Jones gave Storm an approving smile. “So you do know more. Shall I assume you also know about Agent Showers’s investigation and her recent claim that Windslow was paid a six-million-dollar bribe.”
    “Showers said the six million came from London via the Cayman Islands. Petrov was granted political asylum by the Brits after he was forced to flee Moscow,” Storm said. “It’s an easy connection to make.”
    “But it’s a circumstantial connection at best. There’s no proof that Petrov paid the bribe or that Windslow got it.”
    For a second, Storm considered telling Jones about the six million in cash that Windslow had hidden in a bank safety deposit box. But he decided against it. He wanted to see what else Jones was willing to tell him.
    “What was Petrov hoping to buy with his six-million-dollar bribe?” Storm asked.
    “We don’t know. At least, not for certain.”
    “Could it be the covert operation that you two are fighting about?”
    “So you know about that, too,” Jones said. “You are a resourceful student.”
    “That’s why you love me, isn’t it? Now, what is it—the covert operation that you are fighting about?”
    “It’s a 'need to know’ operation, and you don’t need to know.”
    “Is it linked to the kidnapping?”
    Jones gave Storm a blank look. “I said you didn’t need to know.”
    “Do you think Petrov is responsible for the kidnapping?”
    “You tell me,” Jones said.
    It was a difficult game to play with someone as experienced as Jedidiah Jones. He knew secrets about secrets about secrets. And he kept them carefully concealed until he needed to use them. Obviously, he was keeping the covert operation and his opinion of Ivan Petrov to himself. At least for now.
    “Is Petrov even in the country?” Storm asked.
    “He’s in London or on his yacht. It hardly matters. A billionaire can hire anyone to do his dirty work.”
    “Why is a car from the Russian embassy tailing Agent Showers?”
    “Now, that’s a good question—that you should ask her.”
    “I will.” Changing subjects, Storm said, “Senator Windslow suggested this morning that you brought me here as a ruse. He said you don’t really care about solving the kidnapping. He suggested that you wanted me to investigate his relationship with Petrov. He thinks you might even have engineered this whole thing—the kidnapping—as part of some elaborate agency ploy.”
    A look of disgust came over Jones’s face. “Please, do you think I would put this agency at risk by abducting a senator’s stepson in broad daylight in Georgetown and then jerking his teeth out? My hands are clean. But he’s right about me wanting you to find out more about his relationship with Petrov. The White House also wants to know more.”
    Storm asked, “Is that why Agent Showers’s bribery case against Senator Windslow has been put on ice? The White House doesn’t want the public to know that Petrov bribed Windslow?”
    “Let’s just say everyone believes it is prudent to wait right now until we know for certain that Petrov bribed Windslow and, if he did, what Petrov expected to get for his money. The White House wants to know the answers to that before it’s made public. There could be international