Ill-Gotten Games Read Online Free Page B

picture, “aged pretty well, up until his death.”
    Drayco indicated the third man in the photo. “You, however, had a lot more hair back then, Manny.”
    “I told myself if I ever got to the comb-over stage, I’d shave it all off. So I did.”
    “You didn’t tell me Truitt and Underwood knew each other, nor that the three of you were in the same unit in Vietnam. Why?”
    Sapp squinted up at the portrait of a serene Washington with his arm outstretched as if beckoning them to follow. “I lived in a commune of Buddhists when I returned to Vietnam after the war. They don’t believe in revenge. And now, neither do I.”
    “Want to tell me about it, Manny? You know my word is good and I’ll keep you out of this.”
    “Why do you think I have anything to do with you, Drayco? You’re the only law type I trust.”
    Drayco put a hand over his heart. “I can feel the love. So what did Truitt do to reduce three smiling Army buddies to assassination and revenge?”
    “Truitt, Underwood and I got separated from the rest of the unit near Pleiku, when we were ambushed by a group of Vietcong. I was hit first and then Underwood went down. I probably looked a goner, since that’s how I got this, after all,” Manny waved his hook in the air. “Yet it was obvious Underwood was alive. We’d both lost our guns in the fight, but Truitt still had his and could have kept firing until the unit arrived. Yet he turned tail and ran. Fortunately, a Cobra chopper swooped in and saved our asses.”
    “That wasn’t on Truitt’s service record.”
    “It wouldn’t be. During his panic run, he was captured and taken prisoner. Ironically, if he’d stayed with us, that never would have happened. When he came back home, he was a hero, as all the POWs were. Do you think anyone would take the word of two ordinary grunts like Underwood and me against a certified war hero?”
    “Did Truitt blame Underwood?”
    “In a sick way, yeah.”
    “Then killing Underwood could have been the motive all along, using robbery as an excuse.”
    “Not my style, but I wouldn’t put it past Truitt.”
    Drayco stuck out his hand to shake Manny’s good hand. “Thanks.”
    Sapp shrugged his shoulders, but accepted the handshake. “You’re welcome, but I’m not sure how this helps.”
    “I’m not just thanking you for the information.”
    Sapp wrinkled his forehead, visibly perplexed.
    “I’m too young to have served in Vietnam, but that doesn’t mean I’m not grateful to those who did. One of these days you should wear that Purple Heart you’ve got stashed away in a drawer.”
    Right before Drayco left the museum, he glanced back to see Sapp still staring up at Washington’s portrait. Drayco knew if he were back at the Bureau, he and Manny would be on opposite sides of the fence due to Sapp’s chosen career. Misguided as he might be, Sapp wasn’t a killer, rapist, or child molester, and he had class, in his own way.
    Realizing it was time for another “hint,” Drayco returned to his car and waited. One minute, two. Truitt was nothing if not punctual, and quatrain number four popped up on the screen right at the top of the hour:
    Enter the mighty British Bulldog,
    Hoping the American conscience to jog
    Thus keeping the Axis out of power;
    This was indeed his finest hour.
    Another war icon, Truitt? Albeit World War II instead of World War I. A short hop up Mass Ave. could get Drayco to the British Embassy, but the closest he’d get to a parking space might be a mile or more. He’d worked on a case for the ambassador’s secretary a year ago and crossed his fingers she’d be in her office.
    One quick call, and ten minutes later an embassy attendant watched Drayco’s car for him as Drayco searched around the statue of Winston Churchill, situated outside the embassy in a park. One of Churchill’s feet was on embassy property and the other on D.C. land. The D.C. leg looked more promising, so Drayco followed that direction first. There, in a