Sudden Deception (A Jill Oliver Thriller) Read Online Free Page A

met up with Tom, who was standing by the open door of the SUV.
    “How far along are we at determining that these guys you’ve profiled are the ones we are looking for?” Eric questioned.
    Before Jill could answer, Tom piped in, “We think one of the men you have in custody is in fact Ali Bin Amr Rashid. If his true identity is exposed today, then we can go forward with the move.” There was that serpentine whistle again as he spoke and thrust the file into Eric’s hand. “It’s all outlined in here. Rashid has always been part of the group that goes after the broken arrows, sir.”
    Glaring at Tom, Jill wrested back control. “Eric, Rashid is known as Dr. E. He’s of Pakistani descent and is the brain behind Al Qaeda’s uranium enrichment and weapons maintenance. There’s one other thing—I think there is a Brazilian connection.”
    Eric knew, as did Jill, that Bin Laden’s brother had resided there with his Brazilian wife when 9/11 happened. He was allowed to go back to Saudi Arabia as part of the President’s attempt to show concern about all religions. But by the time they found out that he had helped set up and develop of a large Al Qaeda cell deep in the Brazilian jungle, he was safe and sound back in Saudi Arabia.
    Eric leafed through the file.
    “LaLani had in his possession a fake passport with a Brazilian visa in it. He’s been there twice in the last month,” Jill continued. “But in the intel—” Jill leaned in, “see here—” the pages flapped in the slight breeze as she pulled them apart, “see in this brief from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, this is a picture of Rashid in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. This picture is the same; it’s LaLani.”
    Eric muffled a grumble too unclear to make out except for the words “redneck” and “third world,” then said, “Looks like we have all we need here for now. Great work. Let’s head to HQ; we have about an hour to prepare.”
    Sitting inside the SUV, Jill thought she saw a figure standing in the doorway of the hangar as they turned a fast circle. Before she could get a second look, they had turned the corner and the silhouette was gone.
    Jill juggled her thoughts as they drove along the Potomac River to FBI headquarters. The midnight black tint on the SUV windows dulled the sunshine trying to work its way through the glass.
    Was there someone watching me? If there was, why? Maybe I’m just tired… it was a feeble attempt to deny he intuition.
    As they drove along the winding road, Eric continued explaining the details on the Al Qaeda capture, talking about how the departments worked together, and complaining about how the CIA was always treading on their toes. She’d heard it all before.
    Keep it together Jill; keep it together. The mantra kept her sane on the short ride to headquarters, even as her thoughts drifted back once again to
    David. Unprompted, she thought about what had happened five days ago ...

    ***

    That morning she had awoken to no sign of David. They had been married for just over a year—still in the honeymoon stage, where David would often wake Jill up slowly by caressing her body. This day was different. She awoke alone except for the beam of sunshine reflecting off of the mirror beside her king-sized bed. Lying there in warmth, she pulled herself out of bed, lifted her red silk robe from its hook on the door, wrapped it around her olive-skinned taut body, and headed towards the kitchen. The smell of coffee told her David was home, but he wasn’t in the kitchen. She checked the solarium—empty. Habit guided her to his office.
    With a deadline looming, he must have been putting the finishing touches to an article. Yet, as a correspondent for Time, his deadlines were always at midnight. To see David working this early was an anomaly.
    Perhaps he had a special evening planned, Jill thought hopefully, and with a slight spring in her step she approached the office door. Walking softly, hoping to avoid disturbing him, she