Speak in Winter Code

by S. M. Harding

  “You going somewhere?” Caleb asked as he grabbed his jacket.

  “Are you?”

  “Yep, wherever you are. So, where are we going?”

  I filled him in on the watcher on Foley’s Knob. “Nathan’s getting sat images, so if he returns we can nab him. But Win had an idea we might be able to fill in a blank if the guy has made a deed search.”

  “Good thinking,” he replied. “I talked to one of the other guys I know at Zelcore. He said Leatherby is universally hated. He thought Leatherby must have pull with somebody in management and pretty far up at that.”

  I wondered if Mr. Office from Zoe’s trio could have a management position at Zelcore. As we paused at the courthouse door, I told him about what Zoe had overheard at Dog’s and that I was going to send Dad on a discovery mission. “Do you have a reason to be here, or are you just my shadow.”

  “Have a couple of warrant requests, but please don’t leave until I catch up with you.”

  I sighed. I didn’t think there was a ghost of a chance someone would take a shot at me in the heart of Greenglen, but with crazies it was better to play it safe.

  I opened the Recorder’s office door and her receptionist popped up from behind the counter. “Hi, Sarah. What can we do you for?”

  “Kay in?”

  “Sure, go on in.”

  I tapped on her door and opened it. She looked up and smiled. “What havoc are you investigating this time?”

  “Department business.” True, but not the whole truth. I explained what I was looking for.

  “Yeah, a couple of weeks ago,” Kay replied, tapping a pen on her blotter. “He said he was a developer and researched a lot of deeds in that area. Pain in the ass, issued orders like a damn general.”

  “Name?”

  She brought a file up on her computer. “Greg Hall.”

  “You don’t by any chance ask for a driver’s license?”

  “Yes, and we copy them for the paper file. Let’s go out and look.”

  I followed her to a bank of filing cabinets. “Someday we’re going to get all of this computerized.” She sighed as she opened a drawer, flipped through the folders and finally pulled one out. She took it over to the counter and skimmed through a series of stapled requests. She handed it to me.

  From Zoe’s description, I suspected I was looking at the copy of Mr. Office’s license. “I’ll return it, Kay. But first, I need to run this guy down. Thanks.”

  * * *

  As I returned to my office, I kicked myself for having put this on the back burner so I wouldn’t have to think about it. John could’ve followed up. We’d be two days ahead of where we were now.

  “Dollar for your thoughts?” Caleb asked.

  “Inflation bites, doesn’t it?” I stopped, stamped my boots on the sidewalk. “I should’ve had John move on this because we’d be two days ahead of where we are now.”

  Caleb gazed at the sky. “Why didn’t you?”

  “I…”

  “Couldn’t delegate?”

  I nodded. “I keep trying to let go and loosen the reins. This’ll be a lesson for me I won’t forget.”

  “I know you trust our people, so why not delegate?”

  I started walking again. “I think it goes back to when I was first elected. We had so many of Mac’s people and I didn’t trust any of them.”

  “With good reason,” Caleb said. “But most of them are gone and the ones still here seem to have turned the corner away from Mac and toward good policing.”

  “Maybe it’s just habit now. Protecting the department from people who’d abuse the badge. I’m trying to change. Besides, Win is saying the same thing. Loudly.”

  Caleb held the station door open for me. “Old habits die hard, but drunks can get sober.”

  “Okay,” I said as I stepped inside. “Can you run this Illinois license and send it to Nathan. I want to go out there and see what he’s come up with.”

  “Who’re you taking with you?” Caleb asked.

  I groaned, inwardly I hoped. “I’ll see who’s free.”

  “Leslie,” he said with a smile. “She finished up the forensics and is awaiting your call.”

  I shook my head. “Can’t win, can I?”

  “Don’t even try, Sarah. I’ll call Leslie.”

  I called Nathan and he said to come on out. By the time I hung up, Leslie was waiting for me by the door.

  “You know where Nathan lives?”

  “Somewhere in the woods,” she said. “I assume you can give me directions.”

  “I don’t even get to drive?”

  Leslie grinned. “Orders.”

  As we headed out of town I glanced at Leslie and wondered how her search for a girlfriend “tried and true” was coming. I realized I was shy about asking. Hell.

  “So how’s the dating scene?”

  She glanced at me. “Pretty barren for a while. But I’ve met a woman who’s…interesting. Do you know Deborah Voran?”

  My eyebrows popped up. “Lawyer? About my age?”

  “Yeah. You think she’s too old for me?”

  What the hell did I know? Maybe a fifteen year or so age difference wasn’t important. Still, it was quite a gap. “How’d you meet her?”

  “You do think she’s too old for me. But she’s smart and funny.”

  “And good looking.”

  “Yeah, there’s that too.” Leslie grinned. “She said a group of professional women, all lesbian, have dinner once a month in Bloomington. She got bored, came over to Ruby’s. We, uh, connected, talked like we’d known one another for years. We’ve gone out twice since. Once to the movies, once to dinner. It’s been nice. Different. I’ve decided I like real dates.”

  I glanced at her. She was busy scanning the road ahead with a small smile tugging at her mouth.

  “Deborah’s a good woman. She took off for Harvard Law School after graduation from IU. Came back to take care of her mother a couple of years ago. She talk about her life and times in New York?”

  Leslie shook her head. “I get a feeling something traumatic happened there. With a lover. I want to ask her, but…”

  “It’s not your business unless she tells you.” It had been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I had. Mostly. Not that Win had been less than open with me, but I had a good imagination that ended up driving me crazy. “Em says to leave the baggage behind unless you need it to understand where you are now.”

  “But if there’s trauma, shouldn’t it be out on the table so I don’t tramp all over a sore spot?”

  What the hell did I know? “Honestly, Leslie, this is so new between you two and if there’s pain in her past, I wouldn’t expect anything on the table right now. You need time to build trust.” I turned to look at Leslie. “How serious is this for you?”

  She frowned. “I don’t know yet. I’m going to dinner at her house Friday night. We’ll see how that goes.”

  “Turn right at the next drive and slow down or you’ll miss it.” I wondered if Leslie would be on duty and ready to concentrate on work Saturday morning.

  * * *

  “I think you’re up against a well-organized group that knows how to hide,” Nathan said as he sat at the console. “First, Joshua Leatherby. I went back in the BMV records, just to see if I could find a change of address.” Two Indiana license photos appeared on one of the monitors—of two different men, same name, same address, same everything.

  “How can this be?”

  Nathan pulled up two more licenses, again, two different men, both with the name James McNab. “At a guess, the men we now know as Leatherby and McNab got rid of the two original men and assumed their identities. I can’t find any other record of either name. They’ve disappeared off the map.”

  “But how, Nathan? These men had to have friends, family, at least people who knew them.”

  “Both were unemployed loners. Both lived off by themselves, no close neighbors.” He swiveled his chair to face me. “I’m running both throug
h all my databases, but I haven’t got a hit yet. It would help if we could pinpoint the time when the real identities went missing. Any chance of getting a deputy on a door-to-door in the area?”

  “That might tip our hand. How about Dad? I was going to ask him to talk to Dog.” I told him what Zoe had uncovered. “He knows how to keep below the radar.”

  Nathan nodded. “Call him now. I’m getting frustrated, Sarah. This should be a cinch and it isn’t. That tells me they’ve got expertise.”

  “Expertise in what?”

  “Covering their tracks, assuming new identities.” He shook his head. “They had to have scouted the area to find both men. How did they find them? They couldn’t have been lucky enough to stumble on them by accident.”

  “Staking out the unemployment office?”

  “Maybe. Could you have Lloyd send me the want ads from that period?”

  “How about Zoe? She’s been on the trail of the Rangers.”

  “Cool.”

  “Let me make two calls. I promised Win I’d let her know what’s going on. Have you made any progress on the third suspect, Greg Hall and that Illinois license?”

  He glanced at another monitor. “Still running the initial check.”

  I hit Win’s speed dial symbol and waited for her to pick up.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Win

  “Any chance these guys could be skinheads?” I asked.

  The chief of campus police brushed his mustache. “Not unless they wore wigs. From the description I have, all of the men were shaggy-haired. Let me run you a copy of the complaint, Professor.”

  “Please, call me Win. I’m an adjunct, not a professor.”

  He grinned. “I can never tell with academics.” He shrugged as he got out of his chair and left the office. He came back, handed me a file. “You say there were two more attacks? They didn’t report them?”

  “You have to understand, these kids are fragile. Just coming out to themselves, from conservative families, conservative areas. They’ve been hiding from themselves long enough that they know what kind of shit’s going to hit the fan if they come out. They’re not going to put their names on a public report.”

  “You won’t give me the names?”

  “No. I’ll encourage them to talk to you, but that’s it.” I scanned the report. Nothing new but a partial tattoo. “A snake tattoo?”

  “He thought it was a rattlesnake, but only saw a part of it.”

  Interesting. I’d have to go back and talk to kid. I wondered if it was like the “Don’t Tread on Me” rattlers. I closed the file. “We’ve put in surveillance cameras at the LGBT center. If we find anything interesting, I’ll shoot the pics to you.”

  “Anything we can do to help, holler. You’re married to Sarah Pitt?”

  I nodded. It felt weird to hear her called by her previous married name.

  “Had an opportunity to work with her last year on a drug case, and she’s one helluva cop. Anything I can do to help, I will. I mean it.”

  We shook hands in the vestibule and I headed to my apartment. Make that, lonely apartment. It’d be less lonely with Des, but I’d left her with Sarah this time. Figured she could use a bodyguard while she was home alone.

  I walked in the door and started emptying my pockets, discovered I’d left my phone off all day. Three voice mails from Sarah—“Call me,” “Call me,” “Please call me,” and a text that read “Turn on your damn phone, Win.”

  She picked up on the first ring. Her voice sounded strained. “I was beginning to worry.”

  “Sorry. I always turn it off in class. Then I went to see the campus police.” I told her about the one new clue to identity. “That may tie them into the some of the other hate groups.”

  “Nathan thinks we’re up against a highly organized national group with military expertise. I’m waiting to hear from Dad.”

  “I hope he’s careful. I don’t like the sound of this ‘highly organized group with military expertise.’ We could be talking about a nationwide network ready to make mayhem.”

  “I know, me too. But he’s a master bumpkin and I don’t think he’ll make waves.”

  “Still. These are mean bastards. I want Micah to be grandpa to our kids.”

  I could hear the intake of her breath.

  “Can I talk to Des?” I asked.

  “You want to talk to the dog when you’re talking to your wife?”

  “Yeah.” I tried to keep the grin out of my voice. I made kissy sounds when Des woofed into the phone and made sweet-talk.

  “Hell’s bells, you should see her tail going. It’s a wonder she isn’t propelled across the room.” Sarah’s breathing came down the line for a moment. “I love you, Win. I miss you something crazy.”

  I swallowed hard. “Two more days. That’s all we have to wait. I love you, Sarah. Please stay safe. Please.”

  * * *

  I called the LGBT center the next morning and asked if they could round up the three students for an interview after my classes. They’d let me know. I wanted to see if I could shake any more details from them. Gently. I didn’t need to add to their trauma.

  On the walk across campus, I called Bill. “Anything new?”

  “Morning, Win.”

  “Good morning, General. Sir. Anything new?”

  “It’s a good thing you’re not in the Corps anymore.” Papers shuffled. “We’re really hamstrung. FISA courts have gotten so much flack from a certain political party, they’re not granting many warrants these days. Still, some patterns are becoming apparent.”

  “A nationwide network?”

  “Yeah. I’m not even going to ask how you figured that out.”

  “Have you heard from Nolan?”

  “Briefly. He’s installed at Zelcore, getting the lay of the land.”

  “I wish I could talk to him. Figure he’s safer if I don’t.”

  “You’re right. But maybe I can find a way to arrange a meet. Let me work on it.”

  “I’d appreciate it.” I paused on the sidewalk outside the building. “Does a rattlesnake have something to do with this?”

  Silence.

  “Like the “Don’t tread on me” snake?” I asked.

  More silence. “Jesus, Win. You’re still running your own ops, aren’t you?”

  “I asked a simple question, Bill.”

  “Maybe. We need to schedule a meeting. Soon.”

  “Weekend. When I’m back home.”

  “Does this meet include Sarah?”

  “The letters that started all of this were aimed at her. She belongs in this investigation. It could help save her life, Bill.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you a call Saturday. Maybe we can meet at Nathan’s. Let you know.”

  I spent the day speaking Tajik, keeping my mind on teaching. Not that I didn’t worry about Sarah. We needed a briefing from Bill. A real one. When class was over, I talked briefly with Sarah. And Des. I knew she thought I was crazy, but Des and I had bonded early on. I needed to reassure her doggie soul that I’d be back this time. Maybe she needed to reassure me too.

  I also met with two of the kids who’d been attacked. Shook out a few more details. The third kid had left campus. Quit school. Shit. I couldn’t let the haters win. I just couldn’t.

  It wasn’t until I was almost back in McCrumb County Friday night when I picked up the tail.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Sarah

  “Where are you?” I tried to keep my voice calm and in charge, but I knew Win could hear the panic.

  “It’s okay, Sarah. I called dispatch first thing. Two units are close. Heading my way with sirens. I need to put you on speaker.”

  I could hear the click as she set the phone in its holder. Then a crunch of metal and an oof from Win. “What’s going on?”

  “They’re just getting a bit pushy,” Win growled. “Fucking bullies. They’re going to be sorry they ever started this.”

  “Are they trying to run you off th
e road?” I heard the screech of brakes and then the collision of metal against metal. “Win!”

  “I’m okay. The other guys aren’t. Deputy’s almost here.”

  I heard a door open and a siren drawing closer. Then voices, one of them Win’s cussing. Where the hell was she? Was she hurt? What the hell was I doing here fixing dinner, and with the fire burning cheerily in the fireplace? I should’ve picked her up. I shouldn’t have let her go to Bloomington.

  “Situation’s under control, Sarah. Guys are in the ditch with their truck. Both deputies are here. They’ll take them in. So, as soon as photographs are finished, I’m on my way home.”

  “What—never mind. How far away are you?”

  “Bastards crunched my truck good, but it’s drivable. Fuckers.” She slammed a door. “Give me forty-five minutes. One unit’s taking the suspects in, the other’s escorting me home.”

  “Hurry home, Win. Be safe.”

  I paced with Des at my side until I heard her truck on the drive. With weapon in hand, I eased back a shutter and watched her truck pull in. I was waiting for her at the door, Glock tucked in my waistband at my back. She stepped inside with a grin and said, “Honey, I’m home.”

  Des must’ve thought her new name was “honey” because she swarmed Win.

  “You scared the bejeebers out of me.” I pulled her into my arms, relieved to feel her body close to mine.

  “You want to talk about this now? Or eat dinner? I’m starved.”

  “Just let me hold you for a while.” I felt her hands on my back.

  She stepped back. “Uh, I think you ought to disarm before you end up with a bullet in your ass.” She took off her parka and shoulder holster, and I slipped the Glock in a drawer.