IMBERADO 4
Chapter 4
Travis logged into FIDONET and opened the first of two messages, it was from a hacker whose handle was NDN Will. The message was short and cryptic, not like his were usually. All it said was, spirits walk among us, stay on the true path. While thinking about the message, he clicked on the second one, it was from Bulldog 1369 and read moms a junkie and lies in a pauper’s hole unmourned.. Nothing more than tags and ash in her son’s at the lawn full of white crosses. Be sure you’re not solving a Halloween riddle that company doesn’t want to hear.
Neither of the two hackers where saying anything that could be viewed overtly as evidence of suspicious intent to the case. But Travis caught their meaning, his comment days ago to Sheriff Dexter was closer on the mark than he had meant at the time. Sargent Davis did not die in Beirut, Davis was a ghost for the Agency. But what would an Agency ghost be doing killing a United States Congressman from rural Virginia. He needed to see Sheriff Dexter, but he wasn’t sure how he would accept this information, considering it was not truly verifiable evidence. Secondly he wondered what frame of mind Dexter might be in this morning. He was sure Andy had called her father, just as soon as she got to the school and before the daily classes started.
He shut down his computer, walked out of the office, closed the door and went upstairs and got dressed for the drive into Leesburg. An hour later he was walking into Loudoun County Sheriff’s Building.
“Good morning, Julie.”
“Morning Mr. Cole, I haven’t seen you here for quite a while. Who would you like to see?”
“Sheriff Dexter, if I can. I didn’t call for an appointment though.”
“Let me ring his number, oh wait, his line is still busy. He has been on the phone almost all morning. Do you want to sit down and wait?”
“Sure. By the way is Sargent Mueller somewhere around this morning.”
“As a matter of fact he hasn’t checked out on patrol yet. Would you like me to call him up here while you wait?”
“If that’s okay, I would.”
“It’ll be fine.”
About ten minutes later Levi walked up from the back with a big smile on his face. “You finally did it didn’t you?”
“Did what? Well yes, if it’s what I think you’re asking, I did. How do you know anyway?”
“Crap Travis, you couldn’t miss the explosion when her Daddy got his call early this morning.
First thing he did was yell for old Levi.”
“Bad, huh?”
“I thought it was at first, but not really. Hell, he was just getting his head around the idea that you two were an item. He asked me a couple of good fatherly questions, you know the usual, then told me he didn’t want to tie up any of my duty time on his personal life issues. So I went on about my day. I was just getting ready to leave when Julie called and said you were here.”
“Mr. Cole, I got Sheriff Dexter and he said come on up. I told him you were talking with Levi and he said for Levi to come with you.”
“Thanks Julie.”
Sheriff Dexter had his office door open when they got there, and he told them to come on in and shut the door. The tone in his voice was less than cordial.
“Sheriff, I am not here about Andy. I can guess you are not over-joyed with the news, but we have a more serious matter to discuss.”
“Okay, but know this. There is no more serious matter than Andy’s happiness in the final analysis, as far as I am concerned. So is this about Congressman Whiteside?”
“Yes sir, it is.”
With that Travis began to bring Dexter and Levi up on what his two Hackers had sent him sometime Sunday night.
“So you put faith in what these two hackers have sent you, enough so that you drove straight here to talk to me?”
“Yep, I know this is not the kind of evidence you could use anywhere, but I feel it is important for us three to consider. Especially when I add it to what Helen said earlier. This would make her comment crystal clear, it was a warning about who she felt was involved.”
“But why would the CIA be involved in the death of Whiteside? Hell they are one of our intelligence groups, and aren’t they barred from performing operations within the country by law?”
“On paper yes, but do you really think that stops them when they have something to protect or pursue?”
“Damn I hate politics. What could Whiteside have been into, for the CIA to even be part of his death? And know this, before I can do anything, we will have to be dead certain about it. Which is a long way from where we are right now, even if I concede that there is a link at all.”
“I know of nothing Jim was part of which would involve the Agency. But I tell you now that I will find out, even if it has to be by myself. No insult intended, Sheriff, but this could be risky to say the least. But, I owe it to Jim.”
“And you, Levi?”
“I will do whatever you decide, Sheriff, on duty. But on my own time, I owe it to both Jim and Travis to follow this where ever it leads. Besides, I have known Travis far too long to not trust his gut instinct.”
“Okay then, I’m in too. But just us, not the department; we have to keep it clean of any suspicion.”
“That is probably best. The fewer involved, the less chance of leak outside our circle.”
The three men talked quietly for an hour, going over avenues each could follow and deciding that all their communication needed to be face-to-face, no phones and no paper trail for now. Then Dexter wanted to change the subject.
“Before we all get back to work, I would like to talk to you, Travis, about you and Andrea. Levi can stay or leave at your choice.”
“I have nothing to hide from Levi, Sheriff. I am sure you got a call from Andy early this morning and may not be very enthused with the news of our engagement.”
“Cole, you don’t know me as well as you may think. If my wonderful daughter is so sure that you are the man she wants to spend her life with; and she knows everything there is to make that decision, then I will back that decision one hundred percent.”
“I believe that completely.”
“I have been on the phone this entire morning, from the time she called me all excited and bubbling with the news. I have called everyone I know to call who could tell me more about you than I already know or assume. And I can honestly tell you, that some of what I heard surprised me. You are not even close to who I thought you were. I have said it before many times, and everyone who knows me, knows I am far from fond of Private Investigators. But I had already told you, that I don’t put you in that group, you appeared to be different. And I was not wrong, you are just way more different than I assumed.”
“Dexter, I hope what you heard is factual, and not conjecture or tainted with bias.”
“Bias, yes, probably. But with the most glowing personal recommendations I have ever heard, and from everyone I was able to contact. Not one person I talked to had even one shred of disrespect, ill feeling or slightest suspicion of anything but the highest regards for you. Well, maybe your ex-captain in Dallas, and he was only mad at himself that he couldn’t get you stay on the job there. An old friend of mine, my ex-C.O. who spent a long career in the Army, told me what he could after talking with your old commander, and I now understand why you and this old ex-jarhead are such close comrades. Hell, I would be too.”
“Okay, I haven’t been all that. But where does that leave us in regards to Andy?”
“Travis, after all that I found out, I doubt I could have picked a better man for her. If you two say you love each other this much, then congratulations and I will back the two of you all the way. But, one thing does worry me. In what you and I do for a living, and especially now, when both of us are getting into a case, that we cannot openly even admit we are investigating, are you sure this is safe for Andy?”
“If I can, Sheriff, let me answer that first?”
“Go ahead Levi, you are here and involved in this too.”
“Even with everything, you may have been told today, there is more you do not know, couldn’t know, and only Travis has the right to tell you. Andy could not be safer, at any time in her life, as she will be now because of Travis. And I might add, neither are you or I, if we listen to him.”
“How is that we are setting out into dangerous waters here, waters teeming with sharks.”
“I think, Sheriff, what Levi’s hinting at can be better shown than said; and I can only do that at home. I am sure Andy will there tonight, and if you both can drop over, say about six-thirty, she should be there by then. We can discuss anything we find out today, if anything; have meal together celebrating our engagement, and all of us can explore this idea of her safety.”
“I’m game for that, how about you let me bring the steaks and some French bread?”
“Yeah and I’ll go get some Vino, the good stuff that Andy likes. Let’s say I meet you, Sheriff, about six and you can either follow me out or we’ll carpool together?”
“You two seem to have the menu down. So I’ll just let Andy know the plan, as soon as she gets there.”
“Good, then let’s break this hen party up, and get some work done until then. You need to get out on patrol anyway, Sargent.”
Travis and Levi stood up and walked out of Sheriff Dexter’s office, closing the door behind them. Then both of them walked outside and to Levi’s patrol car, saying their goodbyes there. He got in and pulled out of the parking lot. Travis went to his Land Rover and did the same, only he turned east, and headed in the direction of D.C., not homeward.
An hour later Travis was parking the Land Rover in the parking lot of the Pentagon, wearing a visitor’s badge. He locked the Land Rover, walked into the building and directly to the reception desk. He asked if they could contact Helen Grey and let her know he was there and apologize for not having an appointment. A few minutes later Helen came out of an elevator and walked over to him.
“Sorry for any intrusion, but I was in the area and hoped you might be free for lunch?”
“I wasn’t expecting you, but sure, anything is preferable to what I brown bagged today. If you don’t mind hanging out here for a while so I can go back to my office, close it up and grab my purse?”
“Yeah, fine with me. I’ll be right here, waiting with bells on.”
Helen chuckled and then went back to the elevator. Helen was a lanky, tall, fiery red head who wore bifocals and dressed quite moderately. She had a long slender face with a very light complexion, Helen never tanned, and she burned within a few minutes in the bright sunshine. She had known Travis and Levi for a very long time. Helen was an ex-woman Marine and had known Levi before she met Travis, after they both returned from Viet Nam.
Forty-five minutes later they were sitting in an Arlington bar and grill eating cheese steak sandwiches and fries with iced colas.
“First off, I want to thank you again for what you told me before.”
“Uh huh, but you didn’t take my advice did you. I can see it written all over your face. You’re still looking into whatever you were before, aren’t you?”
“This is not one I can let go, Helen. The man was my friend; a rare, honest politician and he had suffered enough long before he was killed.”
“So you are certain he was killed and not a suicide?”
“Dead certain, and just as certain, that your suspicions were right as well. That marine did not die in Beirut and he was in Virginia, impersonating a U.S. Congressman months before he died.”
“And now you want to know if he was working for the Agency, and if they were involved. You do realize how dangerous such a probe could be for you, Levi, and anyone connected to either of you? Regardless of you being right or wrong, if he is or ever was one of theirs.”
“I do, but what I really need is information that might give me an angle to follow. I have received something on his mother, not concrete, but insinuating that she was a junkie and her death was from an overdose. That prickles my neck hair. And there is tight-lipped chatter about him being a ghost, no corpse in the grave at Arlington?”
“Well sure, but how could I help you with that? And not make myself a possible target as well?”
“I know, I am asking a lot. And I understand if you can’t help, but crap, isn’t there some way to at least see if that is the truth? I mean, wouldn’t there be information about other next of kin, maybe an old address I can follow up on without sending up any red flags? Or even his earlier service posts? Anything might help. Right now I am kind of grasping at straws. That is if you can think of a way to get at it without implicating you, I really don’t want you to put yourself in any compromising situation.”
“I’ll do this much; I’ll think about a way to look into it. If I can think of one, I will, but if I can’t, I’ll let you know that too.”
“Thanks, that’s all I can ask.”
“And you tell that grunt he better call me some time soon. It’s been two years since I heard from him. He knows that’s not right between old friends and hell yes, family.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll scold him for you.”
They had now finished their lunch, so Travis paid the bill, took her back to the Pentagon and headed for home. He wanted to be sure and be there before Andy came back this evening. He needed to tell her about dinner tonight before their guests arrived.
Right at six-thirty Travis heard the gate being activated. He and Andy were still standing at her car talking; she had arrived later than he thought and had only been there fifteen or twenty minutes. Happily she was enthusiastic about her dad and Levi coming over. Levi’s car slid to a stop spewing gravel a few feet in front of his tires and Sheriff Dexter pulled up beside Levi’s car as the gate could be heard swinging closed, down the driveway at the road.
“Hi Daddy, I’m glad you’re here. You too Levi. We can use the help unloading my car as we go inside.” Andy had a playful giggle to her speech, like a school girl getting caught having her first kiss.
“Sounds good to me. Then we’ll have to come back for the grub we brought.” Levi answered
“Eww, goodies.”
The four of them unloaded clothes on hangers, a couple of boxes of shoes and a few other boxes. As they went inside, Andy directed all three of them to follow her to the master bedroom and put the boxes on the floor, and draping the clothes on the king size bed. It was the first time Dexter had seen the bedroom.
“If I had been in here the first time I was here, you two wouldn’t have surprised me about being a couple.”
“Yeah, there are a few pictures of us around this room, I guess. They kept me company on the days Andy wasn’t here.”
After that Levi and Dexter brought in the steaks, bread and wine. Andy hung up her clothes in the largest walk-in closet. That had been hers for about a year now, and then joined the three men in the kitchen where Travis was getting things ready for the grill. Levi was opening the first bottle of wine and Dexter was paying more close attention to his surrounding’s now.
“So, Travis tells me you are getting the fifty cent tour while the steaks cook, Daddy.”
“That’s what I hear, Baby Girl. It’s supposed to alleviate any questions I have about your safety.”
“Almost as good as Fort Knox.” She answered her father with a stifled chuckle in undertones.
“Okay then, as soon as I pop these steaks on the grill, we can do just that.”
As soon as Travis came back in through the deck slider, he led everyone back into the living room and opened the front door.
“We could start right here, Sheriff. If you look at this door, does anything show up as odd?”
“Well it’s obviously a steel door, an expensive one at that; looks heavier than most I have seen. And with the log exterior the walls look thick, even with a heavy main door and the security glass exterior door. And I had noticed, when I was here the first time, that the framing of the porch was steel beams, not wood and the windows are those insulated ones, also you have them tinted with that mirror finish so you can see out, but anyone outside can’t see in. What am I missing?”
“You see more than most, Sheriff, and I would expect that of someone in law enforcement; but like they say, the devil is in the details. You’re right about the porch framing; however, that is also true of all the exterior framing. There is no wood in the framing of this house; not even the roof decking under the metal roof. You are also right about the thick walls, but it is not because of the log exterior. They are actually only half logs. They are a veneer over concrete blocks that have rebar at every twelve inches and solid grouted. And the interior is cold formed metal studs on the inside of the block outer walls and red iron steel studs for the other interior walls. As for the windows, they are double insulated as you thought; however, both panes of the glass itself is all bullet resistant glass. Those shutters on the exterior on both sides are set on hinges that close over the windows by an interior switch.”
“Holy shit, that is an expensive system for framing a house. If there was ever a forest fire out here, this whole house might not get much damage at all. Besides the thought of it as a safe house if one was needed.”
“Very astute, all the property’s buildings are built this way; the storage building being native rock though, instead of logs.”
“What is that building anyway? When I was here the first time, I thought I heard humming coming from inside and the man doors have louvers on them?”
“Well some might call it my CPU. It’s where the battery storage for the Solar panels are and the generator with a 500 gallon diesel tank. That’s also where my well is with its 500 gallon water storage tank and an 80 gallon hot water tank, are my backup to the hot water from those solar water heated panels on the back roof.”
“Damn, you could hold up here for a long time if you needed to.”
“We could and you’ll see more as we walk a little farther; but let me go turn the steaks once.”
When Travis returned he showed Dexter the secret panel similar to one in Congressman Whiteside’s house that led to his basement office. There he saw the office set up with its computer and the light letting Travis know if his driveway gate had been activated. He also saw the filing system Travis used, as well as his weapons and ammo storage. There was also a bunk bed in one corner and a door leading to the storage pantry filled with nonperishable foods, some being surplus military rations. There was also another locked door on the far west wall.
“What’s behind that door?”
“That’s the chicken run, Sheriff.” Levi added, a humorous tone in his voice.
“What Levi means is that door leads to what people call a sally port in a castle. It leads to a tunnel dug in the rocks, which goes to a hidden opening at the back of my property overlooking the Shenandoah.”
“Oh, I see. Those are some pretty impressive weapons in that gun cabinet. I see a M45, colt 635, M86, a Glock 30 and 17, besides that Accuracy L96 you were practicing with. What’s that one, I don’t recognize it?”
“That is a PSS, a silenced Spetsnaz model. Is everyone ready to eat?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Levi said before anyone could speak.
During dinner most of the conversation centered on the investigation, and as they all were finishing the steaks, Travis mentioned he had seen Helen again, and that she had told him to tell Levi to call her.
“Levi, did I hear right? Has it been two years since you talked to Helen?”
“Well, yeah, maybe even a little longer.”
“What is the matter with you? It would serve you right, if she never talked to you again; and that would be something you should regret. I thought she was a close friend, you shouldn’t treat her like that.” Andy chided Levi, with that motherly tone, as he was her child rather than her friend.
“Well, you know, last time we talked she wasn’t too happy with me, and I just kind of stepped back for a while. Hoping she would cool off.”
“You’re lucky she hasn’t turned to ice, where you are concerned. What did you do that made her unhappy with you anyway? Travis and I saw her about six months ago, but she didn’t mention that it had been that long since she had heard from you.”
“It was right after my divorce was final, you know she never liked my ex, didn’t think she was someone I should marry. She didn’t say an I-told-you-so, but got all weird when I said I guessed that wasn’t ever going to find anyone that I could have good relationship with. Right after I said it, she told me how stupid I was, and then said she had to go. I still don’t know why she got so upset, so I just let it slide. For too long I guess.”
“She was right, you are a stupid man if you can’t figure out what upset her. I can’t believe you still don’t get it. You men amaze me some times.” Andy stood up quickly, grabbed her and Travis’s plates and briskly walked back into the kitchen.
Levi looked at his old friend and said with a stunned expression. “What, did I say?”
“Don’t get me in the middle of this one, pal. This is between you and her. You know how she is when something riles her up.”
“Well, if Levi doesn’t, I sure do. You better try to smooth this out, go in there and plead male ignorance and beg for mercy.” Dexter said as he started to laugh.
Levi slowly got out of his chair, walked to the deck slider like a scolded child and went inside.
