Silenced Justice: A Josh Williams Novel

by Joe Broadmeadow

  Cassidy turned away, looking toward the woods, a low guttural growl coming from her.

  Josh looked out towards the woods. "What is it girl? There a deer out there?” Cassidy continued to growl, sticking her head through the railings on the deck, her nose sniffing the air.

  "What do you think it is?" Keira asked.

  "Either a deer or coyote of something," Josh replied. "She doesn't like anything in her territory.” Josh called the dog over. "It's okay, good girl. Keep them wild animals away."

  Josh and Keira walked back in the house, calling Cassidy in and closing the sliders behind them. Cassidy sat at the door. Staring into the woods, she watched the shadow move away.

  * * *

  Josh headed downtown to meet with Chris and the others. Pulling up in front of the Packett Building, he walked into the lobby, taking the elevator to the third floor. Started in a one-room closet as an office, Alpha Babes Investigation had expanded to take over the entire third floor. Josh got off the elevator. Vera Johnson was sitting at the front desk.

  "They got you on receptionist duty?" Josh asked.

  "I like it out here, wide open. I can do my work without feeling cooped up. Nice view as well," pointing to the large window overlooking the South Main Street skyline.

  "Are the other two evil ones in their caves?"

  "Yes, they are. Anticipating an update on the Grey case which we hope will contain good news," Vera laughed.

  "Indeed it does, my friend. Indeed it does."

  Vera put the phones on auto-answer and followed Josh into the conference room.

  Maggie Fleming and Chris Hamlin came in, along with Vera's niece, Loren Grey.

  "Hello Lieutenant Williams," Loren greeted him, “How are you?"

  "I'm well, Loren. And you?"

  "A little nervous, my aunt said you had some news for us."

  "I do have some things to tell you," Josh said.

  "By the way," Loren said, “thanks for getting me back in touch with Reggie and his wife. We have a lot of things to catch up on."

  Josh nodded and smiled. "Glad to hear it. Okay, first the good stuff. Sort of," waiting as the group settled in around the conference table. "We've gathered a bunch of evidence that they framed your father for the crimes. The cops, the AG’s office, and prison staff worked to put your father in the general prison population knowing they would kill him."

  Loren began to sob, shaking her head. Vera put her arm around the young woman. "But why would they do that? Why?"

  "Well, quite simply, because he was black and the victims were white," Josh said. "They wanted vengeance, not justice. They hid the truth to achieve their goal." Josh let the words sink in. "My wife, Keira, says we can file a motion to have the charges dismissed by the court. I know it's not much, more symbolic gesture than anything else. Nothing can bring him back, but we can try to restore his good name. And, she'll announce all this at a press conference. We can't do much more than make those responsible a bit uncomfortable, but at least it's something."

  Josh put his hand on Loren's arm, "Your father was a soldier. Did you know that?"

  Loren lifted her head, "No, I didn't know anything about him. My mother must have thought it would be too difficult for me to learn about him. I didn't find out about him until after she died. My aunt," reaching out and taking Vera's hand, "told me a lot of things she knew about him. I guess when it all happened my mother hadn't told most of her friends she was pregnant. I thought my step-dad was my real father."

  Josh told her the story of the 1st Air Cavalry and the battle of the IA Drang Valley in 1965 during the Vietnam War.

  "Your father survived something which haunted him for his whole life. Like many soldiers, he was vilified when he returned from Vietnam. No one cared what happened to him. We cannot even guess how it affected his life. However, we do know this; he was innocent of those crimes. We can at least prove that. Keira has the motion ready to file," Josh looked around the room, and then said. "But, there is one thing I need from you."

  "What?" Chris asked.

  "Time," Josh answered, moving around the table. "We need time before we file the motion. In looking into this, we've stumbled upon a serious situation.” Josh closed the door to the outer office. "What I am going to say has to remain among us. Agreed?” Watching as the women, looking at each other.

  "Chris knows most of this," reaching for his coffee, he took a long sip. "Someone tried to kill me and they almost killed Keira instead. She was driving my truck when they went after her. We were lucky, this time. We don't know if they'll try again. We do know this all began when I started poking around this case."

  "I don't want anyone hurt over this," Loren said. "I'm happy with what you've found, just let it go."

  "Hah," Chris laughed. "There's no way he's gonna let this go now. He's gonna follow this no matter what, aren't you, Ace? There's more to this he's not telling us."

  Josh smiled, nodding his head. "Let's just say we found some new activity, involving some of the same people who framed your father. We may not be able to do anything about the past, but we may jam them up for the new stuff. I just need you to be patient. We're gonna use your father’s case to push them some more. This time, we'll be ready for them."

  Loren walked over to Josh and hugged him. "Thank you, thank you for doing this. I've waited this long for the truth; I can wait a little longer."

  Vera took her niece back to the outer office, leaving Josh with Chris and Maggie.

  "Okay, what's the rest of it?" Maggie asked. "Since I called one of the connected numbers, I think you owe us the full story."

  Josh explained the connections between Tucker, his daughter, Sorin, the Russians, and the Senator.

  Maggie and Chris listened, hanging on every word.

  "You know, I always believed he was a son-of-a-bitch," Maggie said, "but this is even worse than I could imagine. If I was ever unsure about leaving the US Attorney's office, this eliminated all doubt."

  Chris took a drink of coffee and added, "So, how we gonna nail this motherfucker?"

  "Such eloquence," Josh answered, turning to Maggie, "I can see why you choose to associate with her."

  "Just answer my question. How are we gonna do this?" Chris replied, her voice rising.

  "First, there is no 'we' in this matter. I've already made the Feds nervous by bringing in Tommy. Kennedy suspects I've been keeping you in the loop. If his bosses find out I let you help, they'll pull him out."

  Chris banged the desk. "Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? Now you're gonna play by the rules? What happened to you, Josh? Did Brennan cut off your balls?"

  "Again with the insightful discourse. Listen, you nasty old witch, and I mean that with all due respect to other witches, I said if they find out I am letting you help. We just have to be cautious so they don't. Feel better now, or do I dump a bucket of water on you and melt you?"

  Chris smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Well, now that we've settled that matter, tell me what we are gonna do."

  * * *

  Zach Kennedy pulled into the lot of the East Providence Police station on Waterman Avenue. He parked next to a dark colored Ford Taurus. I wonder who's joining the party now. There was no mistaking the car; it belonged to some law enforcement agency. He doubted an East Providence detective would park out here.

  Walking into the lobby, he saw the two detectives standing at the window talking to the receptionist.

  State Police, he guessed. He waited to see who came out to get them.

  Josh poked his head out of the side door. "Well, will you look at this? The State Police are here. All hail the mighty State Police," bowing at the waist.

  The two troopers turned and smiled. "Why is it whenever you guys step on your pecker, we have to come straighten it out?" Sergeant Joe Moreira replied.

  "Because they cut yours off in the academy so you have none to step on," Josh laughed, extending his hand to the Sergeant. "And I see they really scraped the bottom of the
barrel with your partner here. The bloodhounds were busy, I suppose, so they sent Donahue instead."

  "Nice to see you too, Josh," Corporal Timmy Donahue smiled, taking Josh's hand. "Where's the crazy lady, did they finally commit her?"

  "Retired," Josh answered, gesturing for them to come in. "She didn't want a party, just came in one day and pulled the pin."

  "No shit," Donahue chuckled. "I would have loved to have seen that party."

  Josh saw Kennedy hanging back, taking in the conversation.

  "Hey, Zach, come on in. These are two of the dumbest troopers, and that's saying something, ever to wear those funny looking riding outfits. If you haven't seen them, they look like a design by a blind French whore on LSD. Sergeant Joe Moreira and Corporal Tim Donahue."

  "Nice to meet you guys. I take it you've worked with Lieutenant Williams before," Kennedy said, shaking hands with the troopers.

  "Unfortunately," Donahue answered. "We all draw straws, losers have to come here."

  "Ah, well. We all have our crosses to bear," Kennedy smiled.

  They walked over to the SIU office. Moore looked up from his desk, "Jeez, we're gonna need a bigger office. How are you guys?"

  After they settled in, Josh brought them up to speed on the case. Donahue shook his head. "You mean those bastards came after you and almost got Keira? That's not going to work with me. Going after my cousin means war."

  Kennedy looked up, "Josh's wife is your cousin?"

  Donahue laughed. "This is Rhode Island, bucko. We're all related somehow," a hint of the Irish brogue leaking through. "If someone goes after me cousin, they go after me."

  "How would you feel if they had taken me out?" Josh said, folding his arms across his chest.

  "I'd have been a source of comfort and support for me beloved cousin," Donahue smiled. "The woman must have been daft to marry you in the first place."

  "Well, now that we've suffered through the family history lesson, let me tell you what else I have found," Moore said. Drawing their attention to his computer screen, Moore used the mouse to expand the view.

  "You know how we identified the companies behind the business on Waterman, right?"

  Josh nodded.

  "Well, I did some more digging on those Delaware corporations. Our friend, William Marshall is an officer of Harriet Lane Associates. I then ran a comparison of all addresses we've found for any of the main players, Collucci, Sorin, Jen Tucker, and found this," pointing to the screen.

  "What is that, Tommy?" Kennedy asked.

  "I used Excel to build a linking chart cross-referencing the addresses, people, and businesses. Marshall and Sorin are on five different companies all with ties to Harriet Lane Enterprises. Jen Tucker is listed on the JTS Management corporate documents. Her prior driver's licenses, some old tax documents, and P.O. Boxes link her with two of the same addresses. I suspect this is from when she was married to Sorin. Collucci isn’t listed on any of the corporate documents, business files, or anything else. The one link I can find is this," using a few mouse clicks and turning the screen so they could see.

  Josh bent forward, getting a closer look.

  "The registration information of the car you saw parked in the JTS slot on Waterman. The mailing address is a P.O. Box; the owner of the box is Anthony Sorin. A credit card listed to a PAC, which contributes heavily to Collucci, paid for the box. And there is more."

  The investigators looked at each other. "Go on Tommy, you've got our attention." Josh said.

  "One of the principals in the PAC is, Shashenka Dmitriev. A naturalized American citizen from?" pointing at Kennedy.

  "Russia, with many business interests in the Ukraine. Like our dead shooter," Kennedy answered.

  "Right," Tommy said. "There are a bunch of connections to Russia and the Ukraine, both businesses and individuals.

  "What about the P.O. Box on the package the Judge sent, how's it tied in?" Josh asked.

  "My guess is the Judge uses the P.O. Box courtesy of his daughter, unless?" Tommy replied.

  "Unless what?" Donahue said.

  "Unless the Judge is a little more involved in the whole thing. Having a friendly face on the Supreme Court can't hurt."

  "I don't know, Tommy. I doubt he’s involved," Josh said.

  "Tommy, this is great work. How come you aren't with us on the State Police?" Donahue asked.

  "I did the interview. When they asked if I knew both my parents and could spell, I said yes. Instant disqualification."

  Donahue looked at Josh. "You train them well, don't you?"

  Josh laughed, "I am so proud. Seriously, though, this is great work. Now what?"

  Kennedy reached into his briefcase. "Well, I have a few things to add," handing out copies of several pictures. "These are the people Josh spotted coming from JTS Management. The two males are not in our system, they remain unidentified. The woman is a different matter. She is Alexandra Kosokov. She's the daughter of Shashenka Dmitriev and married to a known Russian mob leader, Motka Kosokov. She travels under a diplomatic passport. She is the Cultural Attaché at the Russian Embassy in New York, aka spy."

  "All this talk of Russians makes me want vodka," Moreira interjected. "Maybe we need to do some field surveillance?"

  Kennedy glanced at Josh, "Am I the only one unaware of this investigative technique?"

  "I guess so," Josh smiled, turning his attention back to the photos. "So, I take it this Motka Kosokov is a real bad guy?"

  "You could say that. We don't think he's in the country, but I wouldn't put it past him. He has traveled under diplomatic passports. The State Department is reluctant to release info absent firm proof of a crime. The relations with us and the Russians have improved a bit and they don't want to create problems."

  "I'll say this one more time." Moore interrupted, rising from his desk. "How the hell did we get mixed up in this? Next we'll have poisoned tipped umbrellas issued to us."

  "You know, Josh," Donahue added, "it is always an adventure when we come here to work with you East Providence guys."

  Chapter 23

  Tim Donahue, Joe Moreira, Zach Kennedy, Tommy Moore, Chief Brennan, and Josh gathered in the Chief's conference room. There was a single loud knock on the door and Captain Andrew McGurk, Rhode Island State Police, strode in.

  The two State Police detectives came to attention. They presented picture-perfect hand salutes to the Captain. McGurk returned each one, individually, and then turned towards Tommy Moore. The Captain started to return Moore's salute, then realized Moore was at attention with the back of his hand flat on his forehead, in a perfect Three Stooges salute.

  Josh tried to hide his smile. McGurn glared, then walked to Chief Brennan and shook his hand.

  "You'll have to forgive the comedian here, boy's not right in the head. How are you, Captain?"

  "I am well, thank you Chief. The Colonel sent me here to be briefed on the investigation. Would someone fill me in on what you have so far?" Taking the seat next to Josh, he stuck out his hand, "Lieutenant Williams, right? I don't think we've met."

  "No, sir, we haven't. I want to thank you for sending Tim and Joe to work this. We can use all the help we can get. I'm going to let Detective Moore fill you in." Leaning back to look behind McGurk at Tommy, eyebrows raised. "Tommy, will you please explain to the Captain what we have uncovered so far?"

  "Sir yes Sir," Moore snapped, "I will be brief in briefing so you'll be briefed briefly." Brennan dropped his head, trying to conceal a grin with a cough.

  Josh shot Tommy daggers.

  True to his word, Tommy gave a brief synopsis of the investigation. Short as it was, it seemed to satisfy the Captain. He thanked everyone for their work, and left quickly.

  When the door closed, the room broke into laughter.

  Brennan tried to control himself, but even he laughed. "Moore, I shouldn't encourage this behavior, but Christ boy, that was funny. But, you should show some respect. I mean the guy is a Captain."

  Tommy never changed his
demeanor. "Look, we all know the guy just wanted to strut around and show us how important he is and that the Colonel is watching. Big deal. I briefed him. Although quite frankly, I think he's more of a thong wearing kind of guy."

  Donahue burst out laughing, snorting his coffee. "Oh great, there's a fucking image I didn't need."

  Josh took out a file from his briefcase. "Okay, now that we've finished dealing with the egos, can we decide what we're going to do next?"

  "We need a way to smoke out the Russian connection to the Senator and his Chief of Staff. Collucci already created the legislation; it is pending before the Banking Committee. Since that's already in the works, there's not much we can do there. But," walking over to pour more coffee. "If we can show fraudulent land transactions, or get someone inside to talk to us, we may be able to create enough noise to derail the process," returning to his seat. "With the money involved, no doubt someone's getting paid off."

  "Hey Joe," Donahue said. "Remember last year, the Governor had the Colonel withdraw us from the lottery oversight detail? Maybe there's a good place to start."

  Moreira thought for a moment. "The State Police have always had responsibility for investigating backgrounds of potential lottery agents. We had two troopers assigned full-time to the detail. I can't remember when but at least a year ago, the Governor told the Colonel he no longer wanted troopers handling it. He argued they could do it more cost effectively with lottery personnel. The Colonel argued against it, citing all sorts of potential problems, but the decision stood. The Colonel had no choice but to reassign the troopers."

  "So you think this was part of their play? Get the State Police out of the way so they can better control who looks at what," Brennan asked.

  "It all fits," Donahue replied. "We've always had a concern, without our oversight, Rhode Island politics would take hold. They would start handing out lottery licenses to the wrong people. Looks like it was even bigger than that. If they got control of the lottery, they could cook the books on revenue and skim millions off the top. It's a huge cash flow business."