Girl of Vengeance by Charles Sheehan-Miles

them.”
    Carrie said, “He’s not my father.”
    Julia closed her eyes and sighed. “He is mine. But the more I learn about him, the more disturbed I am. I’ve seen the police report you’re talking about. It raises a lot of questions. So does her diary.”
    Bear said, “Her diary?”
    Julia nodded. “Yes. It’s—in Spanish—difficult to read handwriting. But she makes it clear that she felt like she was a prisoner.”
    Bear sat down in one of the embroidered dining chairs. “I don’t get it,” he said. “There’s something we’re missing. All right … who are our suspects?”
    Anthony’s eyes darted to Carrie and Julia. Then he said, “I don’t think we can rule out Richard Thompson.”
    Bear felt his stomach tense. “Yeah. Yeah, I don’t think we can either. Especially if he knew Carrie and Andrea weren’t his kids.”
    Carrie sighed and sat down at the table. Julia walked up behind her, resting her hands on Carrie’s shoulders.
    Carrie said, “He knew. He told me Chuck Rainsley was my father. But Rainsley said no, and now … well, you know.”
    “Okay, so Thompson is one possibility. What’s his motive?”
    “Revenge?” Anthony said. “He’s still pissed his wife had an affair. He was fine until Andrea came into the country.”
    “Okay. Who else?” Bear asked.
    “Leslie Collins,” Anthony said.
    “Okay,” Carrie interjected. “Who is this Collins guy?”
    “He’s Director of Operations at the CIA,” said Julia. “He’s basically the second-in-command. I remember him, sort of. He used to come over and meet with Dad. Mom always got weird when he was around.”
    Carrie raised her eyebrows. “How long ago?”
    Julia shrugged. “When I was in high school. Sometimes he’d come over and he and Dad would lock themselves in the office for hours. Mom and Dad had Collins and his wife over for dinner a few times. Can’t remember her name. Mary? Meredith? I think I may have met him before that, when I was really little. I’m not sure.”
    Bear grunted. “Okay. So Richard Thompson and Leslie Collins are both suspects. Who else? Who would need to keep your parentage a secret?”
    “Mom?” Julia asked.
    Carrie shook her head. “No … but what about my father? My real father?”
    Anthony nodded. “It would make for a ferocious scandal. George-Phillip isn’t that close to the throne, but he is a royal Prince. Plus, the head of the SIS. He’s got good reason to keep your parentage under wraps, Carrie. I’d be careful. Especially if you’re going to the Embassy for dinner.”
    Carrie looked at Anthony thoughtfully. Then she nodded, once, slowly. “I will. My daughter needs me. I’ll be careful.”
    Bear looked back and forth between Carrie and Anthony. She was still grieving, of course, though it had been close to a year since Ray Sherman died. But one day she would heal. And Anthony Walker could do a lot worse than Carrie Sherman. He kept looking at her kind of like a sad puppy dog. She was indifferent, or at least still too bludgeoned by pain to respond to any stimulus other than protecting her daughter. But something in Bear wanted to protect both of them.
    Right now, though, he had more important things to think about. Like finding the son of a bitch who had shot his ex-wife.
    “All right, all right. So we have three suspects. Anyone else? What about the attack on Friday night? Not to mention whoever shot at your mother on the border yesterday.”
    Anthony said, “I think Richard Thompson could be a suspect in all three. If he wanted Andrea out of the way. But Carrie has the same father … and apparently he knows it.”
    “Plus,” Bear said, “the drugs and money were planted by somebody. And they’ve been used by the special prosecutor as ammunition in his campaign against Thompson. Don’t forget the grand jury will be meeting soon.”
    Anthony nodded. “So the drugs and money were planted by someone else. To smear Thompson?”
    Carrie looked back and forth. “What if