Authors: David Hagberg
Castro's Daughter (47 page)
McGarvey looked at her. “What?”
“It’s your birthday today, Kirk. Otto and I were hoping that this business would be done soon enough, because I planned a party. With Audie. Turns out she likes chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate milk.”
EPILOGUE
It was five of a bright, sunny afternoon in Havana, when María, dressed in starched and crisply pressed olive drab fatigues and bloused highly polished boots, entered Raúl Castro’s office. She marched across the room, came to attention in front of his desk, and saluted.
“
Señor Presidente,
Colonel León reporting as ordered, sir.”
Castro returned her salute, then picked up the telephone to his secretary. “I am not to be disturbed for the next hour.”
Exciting new things were happening in Cuba because of her uncle. Private businesses were beginning to thrive, the formerly government-controlled private property market had been newly opened—apartments and houses could be legally bought and sold, which meant a lot of money was starting to flow into the country and the strict restriction on tourism from the States that had been in place for fifty years was finally beginning to relax with the promise of even more foreign capital.
But in María’s estimation, it was not nearly enough. They—the island—needed much more.
Castro motioned for her to have a seat. “Your mission was not a success,” he said, but his tone was not harsh.
“But not a failure, either,” María said.
“Tell me.”
“I spoke with my friend in Seville, Dr. Adriana Vergílio, who has come up with fresh evidence. Something new. On the second Spanish expedition to New Mexico, one of the enlisted men who survived was actually a spy for the Vatican. His name was Jacob Parella, and he kept a diary.”
“Your friend has this diary?”
“No, but she thinks she knows where it might be found. Parella made it back to Rome, but he never reached safety in the Vatican. Instead he was murdered and robbed, supposedly by a street gang. But Dr. Vergílio thinks it was the Voltaire Society.”
“What’s next?”Castro asked.
“I’m going to find it, of course,” María said. “Jacob’s diary is the key to the treasure.”
“You’ll need help.”
“Yes. Kirk McGarvey.”
BOOKS BY DAVID HAGBERG
Twister
The Capsule
Last Come the Children
Heartland
Heroes
Without Honor
*
Countdown
*
Crossfire
*
Critical Mass
*
Desert Fire
The Expediter
*
Abyss
*
High Flight
*
Assassin
*
White House
*
Joshua’s Hammer
*
Eden’s Gate
The Kill Zone
*
By Dawn’s Early Light
Soldier of God
*
Allah’s Scorpion
*
Dance with the Dragon
*
The Cabal
*
NONFICTION WITH BORIS GINDIN
Mutiny: The True Events That Inspired
The Hunt for Red October
FICTION WITH SENATOR BYRON L. DORGAN
Blowout
*
Kirk McGarvey Novels
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVID HAGBERG is a former U.S. Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than seventy novels of suspense, including the bestselling
Allah’s Scorpion, Dance with the Dragon,
and
The Expediter.
He makes his home in Sarasota, Florida.
Visit his website at
www.david-hagberg.com
.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
CASTRO’S DAUGHTER
Copyright © 2012 by David Hagberg
All rights reserved.
Cover photographs by Getty Images
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Hagberg, David.
Castro’s daughter / David Hagberg.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-2021-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4299-4636-0 (e-book)
1. McGarvey, Kirk(Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women intelligence officers—Fiction. 3. Illegitimate children—Fiction. 4. Castro, Fidel, 1926—Fiction. 5. Cuba—Fiction. 6. Spain—Fiction. 7. Mexico—Fiction. 8. Spy stories. gsafd I. Title.
PS3558.A3227C37 2012
813'.54—dc23
2012011648
e-ISBN 9781429946360
First Edition: July 2012