We'll Always Have Paris Ch. 03

"You guys been making any busts?" I asked.

"If I understand the underlying nature of your question, Commander," Mary said, "the answer is 'no'... we've done nothing that might scare off anyone to this extent."

"I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," I said, "but this is crazy. Something is wrong."

I noticed Tanya looking at me, and when I looked over at her, she raised her eyebrows a bit. I said "Okay guys, thanks for the briefing. Keep up the good work. Everyone below the rank of Captain can go." The room emptied, save for Orosco, Perlman, and myself.

"Okay, Tanya," I said, "what did you not want to say in front of everyone?"

"One thing did come to mind, sir." said Tanya. "This started happening about the time Charlie Griswold died, and Leon Mills, Richard Ferrell, and Jack Lewis all disappeared, not to mention Curly Goodwin taking over the SBI. Goodwin is a Boy Scout; he absolutely loathes drugs and drug users, and he is politically active with groups dedicated to keeping marijuana illegal in the United States. The SBI-NTF might survive, but it will be a true drug-fighting operation if Goodwin has anything to do with it."

"Oh, that'll rock Katherine Woodburn's world." I said. Tanya grinned her most wicked grin, fully understanding my double-entendre on that.

Tanya continued: "But more importantly, and this is why I didn't speak in front of the others: you were talking about someone in the TCPD forming a Malone-style protection racket. What if the SBI-NTF under Jack Lewis was like that... State-wide? And maybe Tom Conlan either knew about it, or didn't know that they were going behind his back?"

"I'd say that theory fits a lot of data we have." I said. I didn't mention that Conlan being blackmailed might've contributed to him 'not knowing' what the SBI-NTF was doing. "A lahhhhht of data. Okay... Ted, did I.A. get anything?"

"No sir." said Orosco. "We did a lot of spot-checking and data cross-correlation. Lt. Mary Milton helped a lot with data on where Patrol cruisers went, stuff like that. We're just not seeing any what I would call 'clumps' of Officers congregating in an unusual or unexplainable way. Cop Bar after their shifts, and that's it."

"The only thing unusual we did find," said Orosco, "were Sergeant McCombs and Officer Hendricks. They tend to go off their regular patrol routes, which is absolutely nothing new. We've had them under surveillance and even had drones follow them, but they never stop, except at the doughnut shop. And they never meet anyone, certainly no one consistently or repeatedly."

"Another thing we're finding," continued Orosco, "is that our Officers won't talk to the Press anymore. Used to, they might make a few extra dollars passing along tips to reporters about various things, sometimes internal to Police, and sometimes about other things. But since those incidents where the Press called your daughter and your wife bad things... nothing at all. And the Press is getting pissed about it, though there's nothing they can do or say out loud."

I was grinning, as was Tanya. Then I thought about it, and said: "You know, this is a thin thread... anorexic... but if the Press was getting info from our Officers about drugs, and what we're doing, and then the Press was relaying that to Mills and Ferrell, and maybe even Lewis... and now... that's shut off and they don't know what we're doing nor where we'll be to interdict the drug shipments..."

"Ooooh, I like that idea." said Tanya. "And our increased activity to find the pipelines might just look like giving it priority, which is further scaring someone off."

"In other words," said Orosco, "someone within the Press has some role in bringing in drugs. But with your war on the Press, that's getting shut off..."

"... and the Distributors are having to build a new intel network." said Tanya.

"Wow." I said. "If we can connect someone, anyone in the Press to Lewis and Ferrell and using the SBI-NTF as drug distributors... damn! the damage I could do to them!..."

Have I mentioned that I really, really hate the Press?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After Tanya left to relay information and instructions to Mary, Orosco and I talked alone.

"I thoroughly reviewed Gayle Tunnin's work record while she was with I.A." said Orosco. "She's clean, but she never was particularly competent. She did spend a good bit of time monitoring what could be considered 'civil rights' issues... complaints by women of harassment, by blacks of racial discrimination. After Griswold became Chief, those problems dropped to virtually nothing. The only thing we've looked at recently was Commander Ross writing up Lt. Holloway for potential reverse discrimination."

"Keep an eye on Holloway." I said. "She may be totally innocent of any wrongdoing, and I'd love to have some reassurances of that. But if she's in contact with Harlow or Tunnin... I need to know that, too..."

Part 12 - Spirit of The Wolf

"I don't want to be disturbed." said Commander Ross as she heard her door open, her back to the door as she looked out the window over the gated parking lot and the Crime Lab building.

"I'm sure you don't." said Teresa. "You okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now." Cindy said. When the door closed but Teresa was still inside, Cindy said "Go. Get the fuck out of here." Teresa instead came up around the desk.

"What is it, Cindy?" Teresa asked. Ice blue eyes flashed fire at her.

"I said get out of here, Captain!" Cindy snarled. "Before I kick your ass out of here." That did not work, either.

"Bring it on, if you think you can kick my ass." Teresa said. "Otherwise, we're going to talk it out. Now why in the hell are you so frickin' upset that Don made a parachute jump? Oh, what am I saying? It's not the jump that set you off. What's really got you so worried about him?"

"Just what I said in there." said Cindy. "I know that what Don is doing to clean up things at every level of Government is dangerous and makes him and his family targets. But he does not have to help them by jumping out of an airplane and breaking his back, for goodness sake!"

"He survived it, and it's very very likely he'll never get to parachute again." Teresa said. "So! let's try again: what really has you so... worried?" She avoided using the word 'scared', but Cindy had no problem understanding that was what she meant.

"All right, I'll tell you... if you won't go blabbing to Don." Cindy said.

"I'm not sure I can promise that," said Teresa, "if it concerns his safety."

Cindy sighed, then said "My father is about to go to the Far East, and he won't be back until December, or even January if things go well. He told me that he's been getting vague reports from his 'friends', which the Press would call 'sources' and we would call 'confidential informants', that there is background chatter in some areas of Washington that both Don and Laura are being targeted, and for something like assassinations."

"Good God!" said Teresa. "And you're holding this back from them!"

"No, not at all. My father told them." said Cindy. "I just don't want Don nor my father to know I blabbed it to you."

"In for a penny, in for a pound." said Teresa. "I need to know the whole story. You're not the only one scared to death for Don safety, you know."

Cindy nodded, then said "One reason my father asked Don to go to France was to try to get the jump... er, pun not intended... on whoever is stirring all this up. My father thinks that ringleader was operating out of France, like Jack King was... and maybe was going after my dear cousin Elizabeth. And now the Russian Government is protesting an attack on Vassily Kurchikov... whose brother, you may recall, was the chessplayer murdered here some years ago."

"And Elizabeth was heavily involved in that." said Teresa.

"Yes." said Cindy. "Anyway, while my father is gone, I'll be going to The Vision's compound in Coltrane County from time to time, since only a skeleton crew of security is there. But my reasons are not to look at the books... I'm going to be working on stuff to see if I can stop this bastard going after Don and Laura."

"Are you going to get Callie's help?" Teresa asked. Cindy's response was to just stare at her BFF, her ice-blue eyes saying more than her mouth ever could. Teresa said "Oh. Never mind." as she realized that help was already secured...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

10:00am, Monday, September 10th. Chief Moynahan 'invited' me to come to the Main Conference Room. Going in, I was more than a little surprised at who he'd assembled in the room without me having a clue about it.

The Chief was sitting in the chair at the end of the table nearest the door. To his right was my wife, Dr. Laura Fredricson, looking good in a clingy white blouse under a navy blue jacket and skirt, and navy blue high heel pumps that shaped her magnificent legs to perfection. To Laura's right was the retired Deputy Director of the FBI. To his right was one of the shockers: it was the University Hospital Administrator, Dr. (Admiral) Leonard R. Cordell.

To the Chief's left was Captain Teresa Croyle, and to her left was Deputy Chief Cindy Ross. Her eyes did not zap me with an ice-cold laser beam, which I thought was a good sign as I came around and sat to her left.

Another shocker came when the Chief turned on the television monitor on the wall behind the other end of the conference table, then pressed some buttons to begin a teleconference. To my shock, U.S. Senator Richard 'Bill' Nunn appeared on the screen.

"Thanks for having us over, Chief." said the DepDirector. "We've swept this room for bugs, and we know you guys do that, also. Right now, things are so bad at the Federal level that we consider this room safer to talk in than the Federal Building's 'cube'."

"Glad to have youuuuu." said the Chief. "I'm going to go back to my office, and let you guys talk."

"Please stay." said Laura. "You still have friends in the military, and this might affect you and them." The Chief stayed.

"Go ahead, Admiral." said the DepDirector, indicating Dr. Cordell.

"You heard the news reports about the death of Admiral Keating in Washington?" Cordell asked. We all nodded. Cordell said "Keating... was my friend."

After a pause, Cordell continued: "As you know, a number of years ago, when I was in Afghanistan, I reported an operation by the CIA that should not have been happening. They got busted, and I got sent home to be kept safe, and I eventually retired."

I made sure not to glance over at Laura as Cordell continued: "What you may not have known is that Keating was the man who alerted me to that operation, and who backed me up when I went forward with whistleblowing it. Keating was an honest man, almost to a fault like the Iron Crowbar, here. I brought him back to the States to work with me, and I pushed to get him his Admiral flag."

I nodded, beginning to see this picture as it formed. Cordell said "Keating may have had his own CIA connections. He was a military attaché some years ago..."

"He did." said Laura. "Just as my first husband did. Neither was a full-blown Agent like I was, but they both had close connections to the Intelligence Community. Sorry to interrupt, Admiral."

"Oh, that's fine. Feel free to add anything to the narrative that you can." said Cordell. "Anyway, Keating and I kept in touch after I retired and was in self-imposed exile. A few months ago, over a year now, he contacted me and told me about some things that were going on in the Intelligence Community, that things were changing for the, quote, 'less honest', unquote. And when the current CIA Director was confirmed and sworn in, Keating contacted me again, and talked seriously about retiring, saying things were getting ugly behind the scenes in Washington."

"But he didn't." I said.

"No, he hung on." Cordell said. "After we discussed it, he said he thought he could still do some good. Anyway, I can tell you this: I knew John Keating. John Keating was a friend of mine. John Keating was not a man who would commit suicide."

I again studiously avoided glancing over at the DepDirector and Laura. "So, Senator Nunn," I said, "I'm sure you're here on teleconference for a very big reason."

"Not much gets by you, Commander Troy." said the Senator with a pursed smile. "I contacted the Deputy Director and your wife when I heard the news about Admiral Keating. We were trying to keep it secret, but Keating recently contacted me about some things that were going on, and contacted me again late last week... about that incident in Paris. We were going to have him testify as a surprise witness as part of our oversight investigation of that incident, the Russian protest, and the CIA Director's actions regarding it."

"Ohhhhhh. Wowwwwww." I whispered as the enormity of it hit me.

"I'll add more." said Senator Nunn. "Admiral Cordell is right about his friend. They're saying he died of a suicide... but the initial Police report, which has disappeared and was replaced, said he was shot in the back of the head."

"Where did they find him? Ft. Marcy Park?" I asked, referring to Clinton advisor and 'friend' Vince Foster being found dead at Ft. Marcy Park, supposedly having shot himself.

"Yeah, I hear you." said Nunn. "In this case, Keating was found in his home near Langley, Virginia. Okay, I have to go. Keep in touch about all this."

"Watch your own back, Senator." I said. "Thanks for the information." We disconnected the teleconference.

"Wowwww..." I whispered as I went into a reverie.

"I'd say the Swamp is bubb-linnnnng." said Chief Moynahan.

"Our friends in Washington and elsewhere will continue to look into this, and help Senator Nunn and his friends." said the DepDirector.

"And we'll sic our Wolf and her Wolfpack on them." quipped Cindy, pointing at Teresa. Teresa looked at Cindy funny, but it was Admiral Cordell's visible reaction of being startled that drew me out of the reverie.

"Any ideas, Mr. Crowbarrrr?" asked the Chief.

"I'm constantly reminded that I'm just the local cop on the beat." I said. "As such, there's not much more I can do than look into some local and State issues, such as finding whoever tried to get Laura's medical license revoked, and finding Jack Lewis and Richard Ferrell."

That went over very well with my wife and the DepDirector. Not so much with the others. But hey! it's my wife that I sleep with every night...

As the meeting broke up, I said "Admiral Cordell, can I see you in my office for a moment? You as well, Commander Ross?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Once in my office, I did not sit down but turned and said "Admiral, a little while back, Cindy made that 'Wolfpack' remark and Teresa reacted." (Author's note: 'Fire In The Hole', Ch. 01.) "When she said it today, you reacted, and strongly. What's up with that, sir?"

Admiral Cordell nodded. "Unless Teresa told you," he said, "there's no way you would've known this. I told her, when I was telling her some things about her father's actions in Viet Nam, that the nickname that became the call sign they used for him over there during the war... was 'the Wolf'..."

Part 13 - Placesettings

Still Monday, September 10th. The Chief invited me to lunch, and it was just him and myself at our table at the Cop Bar. We sat in the back room for privacy. I had the Breakfast Burger plate, and the Chief had the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich plate, which I had to admit looked pretty good.

"Very interesting developments out of Washington, wouldn't you say?" the Chief said.

"Murder is always an... 'interesting'... development, I'd say." I replied.

"Do you think it had anything to do with your trip to Paris?" asked Moynahan.

"Well..." I said, introspective about it as I spoke, "let's look at the chain of events. Laura and I stumbled onto Kurchikov by accident. Lucky we did, though, or he'd have come over all dead, and God knows what kind of incident with the Russians we'd be having right now. Anyway, the Russians protested, some U.S. Congresscritters got interested, planned to call up Admiral Keating, and now he comes over all dead. Too many coincidences for Dame Agatha Christie and myself, but what can either of us do, neh?"

"One thing you can dooooo," said the Chief, "is keep your armor on, your head down, and your eyes peeled. And the armor part is not a suggestion, if you get my drift, Commander. I've instructed all three of your Angels to dress appropriately, as well."

"And then," said the Chief, "there's the little matter of my Deputy Chief's display of over-concerrrrrrn for your bad back. I had a conversation with her, and while I scolded her for going off like that, I told her that I do agree with her concerns for your safety. So do us all a favor, and consider the relative danger of any future actions you might take."

"Yes sir." I said, then grinned as I added: "Does that include schooling any dirty nasty Legs that carry green crowbars, on proper respect for the Airborne?"

"Oh, that's between yoooooo and herrrrrr." the Chief drawled. "I get out of the way when crowbars are flying." After a pause, he said "But let's get serious: the reason I asked you to this lunch is to have a conversation just between the two of us about the overall situation. Our Admin positions are getting thin, especially in leadership. A lot of stuff has been taken out of our hands, and given to the civilians in City Hall. But Personnel & Records is thin, and if Holloway were to leave, they'd be virtually leaderless. And if Deputy Chief Ross ever leaves..."

I looked up in shock. "Sir, are you suggesting she might leave?"

"If by that you mean do I know anything? No." said the Chief. "But in my conversation with her today, it o-ccurrrred to me that she has a lot on her mind... her father, his business empire, her family... and her very deep concerns for your safety. She's a tough lady, Don, but it's going to wear her down if she doesn't mentally handle it. And if she does leave the Force, for any reason, it'll be up to you and me to figure out how to handle it..."

I nodded, thinking about it. The party never stops in my Town & County, I thought to myself...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 2:00pm, I got a call from Sheriff Sorrells of Coltrane County.

"What can I do for you, Sheriff?" I asked.

"The Court case over that parcel of land north of 'The Vision' property is going to be heard in a couple of weeks." said the Sheriff. "And I wanted to know if you or your Crime Lab had anything to add over the body found there."

"Uh... refresh my memory, Sheriff." I said.

"You remember the Harmon Biller case?" asked the Sheriff.

"Oh, yeah." I said. "Several years ago, wasn't it?" (Author's note: 'Case of the Paper Trail'.)

"Did you know Harmon Biller died in prison not long after you busted him for murdering his wife?" Sheriff Sorrells asked.

"Uh, no, I didn't." I said. And considering the 'excitement' of the showdown with the Consultant was building then, I didn't berate myself too much. "Sheriff, if you'll start at the beginning, I'd appreciate the memory jog."

"Sure." said Sorrells. "Biller apparently wasn't all that healthy, and he died of pneumonia at The Asylum. Before he was incarcerated, he arranged for all his money to go into trusts to provide for that cooperative. He owned the land it was on, too."

"Problem was," continued Sorrells, "when he died, his will left everything to his wife, but of course she preceded him in death, and by his hand. So the Court declared him to have died intestate. The trusts he created did not have provisions to continue after his death, so the money stopped flowing in. The cooperative was abandoned within two months."