Damage Control

by Gordon Savage

  He templed his fingers and looked over them at me. “Or scared that you were getting too close to the truth.”

  Score one for the boss. That was a possibility that hadn’t occurred to me.

  He continued, “What about this Coach Bednarik?”

  “That’s the main reason I stopped by. I’m not really sure of how to approach him. Right now Wells is giving him a free ride. As long as the official story is a matter/antimatter reaction, Bednarik has to think he’s gotten away with it… if he did it. If I go directly to him, he’ll realize he’s under suspicion, and who knows what he’ll do.”

  “What evidence do you have against him besides Gardner’s accusation and a video image that looks like it could be any heavyset individual?”

  I shrugged. “None really.”

  “You definitely shouldn’t confront him until you have something more than that, so you can ask meaningful questions. One thing you need to do is clarify his motive. Find other people who can substantiate what Gardner said about him using Reid to supply his players with test answers. And you need to find out if anyone saw or heard him threaten Reid. There are a lot of things to look for.”

  I pondered that. “I’ve already talked to Gardner. I wonder what his girlfriend knows about Bednarik.”

  “It sounds like you should begin with her.” He stood, indicating it was time for me to leave. “Samantha, you may have reservations about how well you’re doing, but you’re doing great considering what you have to work with. Keep up the good work.”

  I left his office feeling like I was walking on air. That didn’t last.

  ◆◆◆

  Day 8, 6:00PM

  When I opened the door to my apartment, I froze, almost in panic. Someone had ransacked the place. From the doorway it looked like a tornado had ripped into it. Papers were scattered all over. The cushions from the sofa and chair were on the floor. The desk drawers were pulled out and dumped. My head filled with frightened questions. What the hell? Who did this? Are they still here? I listened intently.

  A noise from the bedroom sent a jolt through me. Someone was still there! My marine training took over. Whoever it was had broken into the wrong apartment. I pulled out my cell phone and tapped in 9-1-1 but held off pressing the send icon. I stood, not breathing and listened. There it was again, a scratching sound. Then I heard a weak, muffled mew.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. Cardinal Richelieu! I hurried into the bedroom, prepared for an attack by an angry cat, but all I found was the same disorder, drawers pulled out of the dresser and dumped, clothes pulled off the rods in the closet and dumped as well, the mattress pulled off my bed. I was no longer alarmed. I was fighting mad.

  The Cardinal howled again. The noise came from under one of the dresser drawers lying upside down on the floor. When I lifted the drawer up, the cat shot out, making a beeline for his litter box in the bathroom. Somehow that relieved the tension. I almost laughed, but I was still infuriated.

  Back in the living room I looked around. My laptop! It was lying on the floor. A piece of paper lying next to it caught my eye. I picked it up in disbelief. It started with “United Stated District Court.” It was a warrant for search and seizure. I stared at it tying to comprehend what it meant.

  Raging, I crushed the warrant and dropped it into the trash can. Then I pushed some of the debris aside and put the laptop on the desk. I powered it up, and when I opened the folder that held the video, I wasn’t surprised that the video was gone. It wasn’t in the trash folder either.

  Surveying the mess I continued to fume. This was Wells doing. It had to be. No one else would have ordered a home invasion like this. I supposed there was a remote possibility it was someone else threatened by my investigation, but, how would they have gotten a search warrant and why in hell had they deleted the video? The warrant didn’t show who had requested it. The only name on it was the magistrate who issued it. No, it had to be Wells.

  No federal agent would have searched my unit, much less trashed it, without a warrant, Wells’ national security excuse be damned. He must have pulled strings and to get one, but that didn’t justify the mess I was looking at. He had gone too far this time, and he was going to get some real face time tomorrow.

  I put the phone away and checked my purse to make sure the USB drive was still in it. Since the target had been the video, clearly the mess I was looking at had to be a warning. When he ordered this violation of my home, Wells must have wanted me to know they had been here. I clamped down on my anger and coldly decided what to do. Jake may not have had anything to do with this, but he had to know it was going to happen, and he didn’t alert me. So long as my clearance hadn’t been revoked and I could get into the office in the morning, I was going to rip him a new one. He sure as hell was going to tell me if Wells had ordered it.

  But what was Wells after? If he was hoping to find my copies of the video and get them out of circulation, he had failed. And if he had sent intruders into my home with instructions to make sure I knew they had been here, he must have realized I wasn’t going to give up trying to prove the explosion wasn’t caused by the portal and was trying to get me to back off. Well, all he had he had done was make me mad. He’d chosen the wrong woman to pick a fight with. Now I was more determined than ever to prove someone had planted explosives to blow up the building.

  I hung up my coat and started cleaning up. Since cleaning is a rather mindless activity, I had plenty of time to think about how I was going to continue my investigation. Gardner couldn’t be ruled out as a suspect since he had motive and I hadn’t yet checked out his alibi. On the other hand there was Coach Bednarik, who seemed more and more likely. Frost had agreed with me that approaching Bednarik directly wouldn’t do any good. He had suggested starting with Gardner’s girlfriend. She might lie to protect Gardner, but she probably didn’t have a vested interest in Bednarik … unless Gardner had told her to point a finger at Bednarik. That thought gave me pause. I had to wonder if there a better way to proceed.

  Maybe I should start with the coach. If he had a solid alibi, he could be eliminated. But how could I ask for an alibi without tipping him off that he was under suspicion? The more I thought about it the more it made sense to save that question until last. Which made it clear that I needed to go after corroborating evidence first, and I was back to square one. How did I do that? I was hesitant to question Gardner’s girlfriend, but what alternatives did I have?

  Gardner had mentioned that Bednarik had been using Reid to supply test answers for players on the team so they could get passing grades. Perhaps I could find one or more of those players who would be willing to talk to me. The ones who got into academic trouble when Reid stopped providing answers were probably the ones who were cheating, and their academic problems would be in their records. I should be able to get their names from the registrar, but that might require a warrant, and I wasn’t ready to go that far yet.

  On the other hand, if I started with Gardner’s girlfriend, I wouldn’t need a warrant. Since she wasn’t likely to be a reliable witness, I couldn’t take any alibi she provided for Gardner seriously. Still, Gardner hadn’t really told me much. She might be able to put some real names on Reid’s client list. Come to think of it, Reid’s ex-girlfriends might also be a good source.

  Alright, this was getting ridiculous. I was going in circles, and I had to make a decision. I settled on starting with the registrar since it made the most sense. If he or she would give me access without a warrant, it would simplify things immensely. Getting one of Bednarik’s players to talk to me openly might be a challenge, but it should tell me a lot about Bednarik’s involvement. However, I was still steaming over having my home invaded, and I wanted to take on Jake and Wells first. I finally settled for a plan – at least for the next morning. I would let Jake and Wells know my displeasure. Then as soon as I finished chewing them out, I’d call the registrar to schedule a meeting.

  I set about trying to restore some order to the ap
artment. I had just about finished putting books back on their shelves when Kitt showed up. She opened the door and stopped cold. “What the hell happened here? You have a party without inviting me?”

  I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “Uninvited guests. They wanted to make sure I knew they had been here.” I nodded at the door to her bedroom. “I didn’t check your room. They probably hit it too.”

  Kitt mumbled something about their sorry asses and swept into her room. It didn’t take long before I heard an explosive “Damn!” Then she came storming back. She stopped with her hands on her hips. “What the hell is this all about?”

  “Got you too, huh? Sorry about that.” I put the last book on the shelf. “They were after me or rather a file I have. The mess was to remind me they can get to me anytime. You just have the misfortune of being my house mate.” I began picking up couch cushions.

  “Who the hell were they?”

  “Federal agents – probably Homeland. They left a warrant, but the only name on it was the magistrate. We can just be thankful they were careful not to break anything.”

  She eyed me with suspicion written all over her face. “What’s this file you have?”

  “It’s a slow motion video of the explosion at Reid’s lab. It shows definitively that the explosion wasn’t matter/antimatter.”

  I saw the impish grin on her face that I had seen so many times before. “Well then, if you’re responsible for this, you get to help me clean up.”

  “Hey! I’ve already cleaned up the rest of the house.” I winked at her. “No, I’ll help. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Grateful as I was for Kitt lightening my mood, I was still seething inside. Jake definitely wasn’t going to get off easy.

  And neither was Wells. Unfortunately, he was my boss’s boss, and I was afraid I had gotten Frost in enough trouble already. If I did something disrespectful, it would undoubtedly rub off on him. No, I was going to get Wells with the truth. Still I needed to let him know I was outraged by his highhanded tactics. I just had to be prudent; if I got myself fired, I’d lose my access.

  The knock at the door came as a surprise. Normally Charlotte just came in and announced herself. Nobody else on our floor came over without calling first. I headed for the door. The knocking repeated, this time harder and longer. The Cardinal ducked behind the couch.

  “I’m coming.” I didn’t exactly yell, but I did project. The door immediately opened. It was Gary!

  “What the hell?” Today was already bad enough without him showing up. “How did you get in?”

  He held up his key ring. “We exchanged keys, remember?”

  I sighed loudly, turned around, and walked back into the living room, leaving him to follow me. As I walked, I said, “You could have called ahead. What do you want?”

  He approached, almost hesitantly. “Babe, I want to apologize. I know what I did hurt you.” He stopped the requisite eighteen inches away that we had established as conversational distance.

  Turning to look back at him, I didn’t hide my anger. “You’re right about that.”

  His expression was pure misery, and I reveled in it. He sulked, “I still love you, and I want you to take me back. Put the ring back on.”

  He looked so dejected I almost felt sorry for him, but there was no way that was going to happen. “I can’t do that. Things have changed, and I’m glad. I’ve met someone I love and trust more than I ever did you.”

  He hung his head. When he spoke, it was a whimper. “Please, Sam, are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

  “Gary, I …” I was speechless. I shook my head and finally said, “No.” as firmly as I could. How could I get him to understand it was really over? I was reminded of the song that goes “What part of no don’t you understand?”

  He brought his head up but seemed resigned. There was a trace of moisture in his eyes. He forced a pained smile. “If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.” He made one last try. “Please do.” He turned toward the door.

  He stopped and turned back toward me. “By the way, I’m not happy about it, but I’ll take care of your cab driver.”

  This shocked me so much that I almost smiled at him. But as much as I appreciated him helping Abdourahime, there was no way in hell that things would ever go back to the way they were.

  I didn’t want to encourage him in any way, but I didn’t want to hurt him anymore. I reluctantly stepped over to the desk and took out the felt covered box. “Here, maybe you’ll find someone who’s worthy of this.” I said, handing it to him.

  Gary gingerly took it with a hang dog look. “Sam …” he started.

  I held up my hand to stop him. “No, Gary, it’s over. Please leave …” I stepped around him and opened the door. “Now.”

  He slouched to the door. Then he hesitated and looked back at me again. I gave him a weak smile. “Thanks for taking care of Abdourahime. Let me know how you do with his suit. Now scram.”

  Kitt chose this time to appear. She cocked an eyebrow at me and said, “Girl, what was that all about?”

  I glanced at the door and rolled my eyes. “Gary wants to make up, but it’s way too late for that.”

  She nodded and smirked. “So I gathered. I could hear everything from my bedroom. He didn’t sound too happy.”

  I recalled the look of despair on his face when I handed him the ring, but by the time he left he seemed to have composed himself. “Actually, that turned out to be a good visit. I think he finally saw the light,” I said. “At least I didn’t have to throw him out, and he agreed to represent my cabbie.”

  “Well, hopefully he won’t trouble you again.”

  Would he leave me alone now? I wondered.

  Chapter 20

  “Channel 15 has learned that video taken by cameraman Ben Williams appears to contradict the government’s assertion that the explosion that killed Duncan Reid and reporters and remote crews from local television stations was caused by a matter/antimatter reaction.”

  – Rebecca Williams, guest reporting on Channel 15

  “Oil prices took a major tumble today and are expected to drop even further tomorrow in anticipation of the government easing restrictions on teleportal research.

  ”In other news Disney Chairman, …”

  – Lester “Tex” Houston, Channel 12 News

  Day 9, 6:30AM

  The next morning the home invasion still had me upset. I admit that in a way I could see Wells’ justification. Since any reasonable person who saw Williams’ video would recognize it discredited Wells’ scare tactics, his only play was to keep the video from being circulated. I didn’t see any way he could classify Williams’ video. That left him with one option, finding and confiscating all the copies that could be located.

  Searching my apartment made sense, so he got a warrant and had it executed while I wasn’t there. Of course, I still had copies salted away, but he wouldn’t know where to find them. I wondered if that meant he would have me under surveillance. Well, I’d just have to be careful not to give him anything to work with.

  But Channel 15 had their copy of the video and had already shared it with their network and all the local stations. That made my copies moot. Rebecca had shown it when she made a guest appearance on the Channel 15 news. The brief clip of the video showed the floor erupting and the ensuing explosion. She then interviewed a panel of explosives experts she had assembled. They were all quite clear that the explosion had taken place on the lower floor. Channel 15’s network had picked up her segment and had run it nationally as breaking news. The other local stations had shown the video too.

  I was fairly certain Wells had seen or heard one of the broadcasts. If not, he’d surely been told about them by now. He was going to be beyond furious when I saw him later that morning. I could easily imagine he’d want to turn this into some kind of security violation, which made me wonder if he would try to take some kind of action against me. After all, I did work for him, at least indirectly. So what now? Could I show up at work
and still get in? Would security take my card and debrief me? For that matter would they arrest me outright?

  I fretted over that all through breakfast. Finally I decided I needed to talk to someone, but even Frost didn’t show for work this early. I didn’t have his private number, so I called Jack. He hadn’t left for work yet.

  “I saw,” he said without preamble. “You gave her that?”

  “No, it was hers already. Ben was her father, and the video was in his cloud storage.” I paused. “Have you heard anything about the rest of the videos? Did I miss something? Like have those videos been officially classified, or did Wells simply use national security as a excuse to have them confiscated?”

  “I haven’t seen anything official. I’ll check with Frost when I get in.” He paused briefly. “In the meantime I’d suggest you stay away from the office.”

  I mumbled, “Great,” under my breath. I could just imagine my picture going up in post offices across the nation: Wanted for Security Violation. I knew that wouldn’t happen, but Wells would obviously be raging if I tried to talk to him this morning. I’d have to put my grievance on hold. “Thanks, Jack. Call me when you know something.”

  I’d lost my appetite, so I headed into the bathroom for my first shower in nearly a week. I had just stripped off the final bandage, noting that the “measles” were fading nicely, when my phone rang. I threw on a robe and got the phone off the table. It was Frost.

  I groaned internally. “I gather you heard about the newscast.”

  He got right to the point. “Saw it actually, on TV last night. Jenny was watching the news and called me in to see it. Now that’s an interesting turn of events,” he said. “I’m surprised Wells hasn’t already called me. He must be hopping mad.”

  I had to ask. “Has Wells been able to officially classify the other videos of the explosion?”

  “I can’t say for sure. I haven’t seen anything in writing, so I’d guess not. I know he tried, but I don’t think security would buy it. They only let him play the national security card because instead of calling it a matter/antimatter, explosion he claimed the explosion could have been a terrorist attack.”