The Iscariot Factor (Half Staff Book 2)

by Rick Mitchell

The police retrieved a photo from the ATM’s camera and were working toward identifying the killer. Kevin told his mother he would do everything within his power to get home quickly.

  After the call, his commander helped him arrange a two-week bereavement leave. In two hours he would hop a military transport to Saudi Arabia and then board an Emirates flight to New York City. From LaGuardia he would then take a commuter airline to North Carolina.

  When he made it to his grandfather’s home, he was totally spent. The next morning he was awakened by a knock at the door. Opening the door was a county deputy, who he immediately recognized as an old high school classmate.

  “Kevin, it’s good to see you. I wondered if they were going to be able to get you back in time for the funeral. But hell, I should have known you wouldn’t let a mere six thousand miles stop you.”

  Shaking Dusty Johnson’s hand, “When did you decide to make something out of yourself? A gen-u-ine lawman; come on in.” They went into the small living room and sat across from one another; Kevin sitting in his grandfather’s recliner.

  “I am so sorry about your grandfather. I just ran into him down at Lou’s market last week. Kevin, he was sure proud of you!”

  “Dusty, have there been developments in my grandfather’s case since I left Iran?”

  “No, we still haven’t been able to ID the picture, but we will get him; I promise.”

  “Who is working the case? I would like to speak with him.”

  “The Sheriff is running this investigation himself. He loved your granddad and is flipping every stone in three counties looking for this creep. I will let him know you’re in town.”

  “Dusty, what brought you all the way out here this morning?”

  “You remember Ms. Cranston? The little old woman who lives about a mile up the road? She called dispatch and told Lucy that she saw headlights coming down the road late last night. So the Sheriff sent me to check on your grandfather’s place. Can you believe we’ve had people break in to homes after someone had passed? We had one robbery take place during the funeral.”

  “Dusty, it was good to see you. Can you please let Mrs. Cranston know I will be staying here for a few days? Also, can you tell the Sheriff I will be coming by his office later today; I will call first?”

  “Consider it done,” Dusty replied.

  Kevin made himself a light breakfast and called his mother to let her know he had arrived safely. Although his parents had sent him to live with his grandfather, he never blamed them. He knew they were doing what they thought was for the best. And it had turned out to be the right choice.

  His mother told him they had already made the funeral arraignments and his body would be released to the funeral home later today. The body had been sent to Wilmington for an autopsy.

  The funeral was set for 2:00 p.m. the following afternoon. After the funeral, his grandfather’s lawyer, Taylor Meadow, had asked if the family could come by his office for the reading of the will.

  To Kevin, it all seemed a little rushed. He had just made it in and within thirty-six hours of his arrival his grandfather would be laid to rest. On his way to see the Sheriff he came to the decision this might be a good thing. It would allow him more time to find his grandfather’s killer; and do what he did best.

  -----

  The President and Pat had spoken on three other occasions since their lunch meeting days earlier. This time he had been asked to come to the Oval Office. Pat knocked, and entered the Oval Office to find CIA Director Don Lake seated on a sofa across from the President.

  The President looking up as he entered, “Pat, before we get started I need you to know that Director Lake has been made fully aware of our problem. I trust Don fully and it is high time he was in the loop.” The President motioned for Pat to join them. Pat shook the hand of the Director and sat in the corner of the President’s couch.

  “Don, I also have full trust in Pat. Hector Fuentes is enjoying the hospitality of our federal prison due in large to what this man did in Louisiana. Not to mention that he saved the Morgan family from that maniac.”

  Pat interjecting, “Sir, there were others who played key roles in Louisiana. And may I add, continue to stand tall after.”

  “And he’s humble too! What else could one ask for?” the President said smiling. “Enough pleasantries, let’s get down to business. First, where do we stand on this conspiracy theory? Agent Drice, do we know who wrote it yet?”

  “No Sir. I used it as a training exercise and had our team of handwriting experts, psych analysts, and threat profilers, work through the files.

  “Also Sir, we have been discreetly going deeper into Agent Preston’s financial records and have yet to uncover anything that ties him to the conspirators. We are also looking for any connection between Agent Preston and Charles King; nothing yet.”

  The President stood, walking back and forth in front of the couch, “We know that Doyle Preston didn’t orchestrate the assassination of an American President without some money changing hands. I didn’t know him well, but I knew him well enough to know he wasn’t an idealist.”

  Pat standing now, “I did know him well, Sir; at least I thought I did. I agree there’s a money trail somewhere. The problem is that we have to be careful looking into it.”

  The President, moving back behind his desk, but still standing, “OK Don, let’s get to it.”

  Director Lake standing, and moving toward Pat, “Agent Drice, please raise your right hand.”

  The President jumps in, “Wait a minute; I’m getting the cart before the horse here. Pat, you’re fired. OK, now Don.”

  Don Lake facing Pat, “Pat, I sure that this is the same oath that you took for the Secret Service, but for some reason President Ward wants us to do it again. So please repeat after me.”

  Puzzled, Special Agent-in-Charge Pat Drice repeated an oath for a second time in his life. The whole time wondering what the heck was going on.

  “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

  Pat turning to the President, “Sir, not sure if the mental reservation thing I just recited is true; what gives?”

  The President sitting at his desk, “Pat I don’t believe that you fully understand the crap I had to go through with Congress the last time. First, I made you a Colonel in the Air Force, which I was told later, is some huge no-no. Then I let you lead a group of Air Force Commandos, which by the way I didn’t even know existed, out on a raid. And again, this went over like a lead balloon in some corners of the Senate.”

  Director Lake taking over, “So the President believes by moving you to the CIA you will have the ability to move about more freely. Without all the prying eyes and ears.”

  “Damn straight!” the President said. “Lake here, and his spook buddies, go around the globe doing God know what. The American people not only excuse it; they applaud it!”

  Pat looking at the President, “And Sir, what exactly are they excusing with me?”

  The President smiling at Pat, “I’ll tell you what, Mr. CIA man. You have three days to round up your Air Force buddies and bring them back to Washington. Once you get your team back we will sit down and talk about it. You best get it in gear, I understand they are scattered across the globe.”

  “Director Lake is kind enough to let you use his personal jet. I am told that it’s easy to find out at Joint Station Andrews. It’s the black one with no letters,” the President said smiling at Director Lake.

  “The plane will be waiting for you at 0800 in the morning. The President is correct in that your Commando team is scattered. The pilots are aware of the Air Force bases that you’ll be visiting. Feel free to adjust the flight plan as you see fit. They are not aw
are you are coming, but they are all currently at their respective bases.”

  “And Pat,” the President remarked. “Do feel free to do that deputy badge thingy you like so well. Get them to raise their right hands and give them the oath you just took. I guess I have the authority as Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces to fire Air Force personnel?”

  Direct Lake laughed, “Yes Sir, I believe that you do.”

  “Pat, I don’t get the President’s joke about the oath but you will have all legal documents on board to provide your team with their CIA badges and identifications. And that deputy thingy he said; well he did get part of that correct. In this envelope is your badge and papers. Again, congratulations Deputy Director Drice, I am pleased to have you onboard as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency.”

  The President walked over and shook Pat’s hand, “See, I told you they do whatever they damn well please. While you are on that long plane ride take some time to figure out who your replacement should be. I need to come up with something to tell Janet about your rapid departure. Maybe I will tell her that I noticed you eyeballing the First Lady way too many times.”

  Pat smiling, “Mr. President, have you seen your wife? I’ve been trying to get fired from your detail for two years; just hoping that I might get moved over to hers.”

  President Ward smiling, “OK smart ass, maybe I won’t tell her that. But with her being new to the Secret Service Director position, I question whether she is qualified to pick your replacement. So Pat, please find me someone who won’t get me shot.”

  Walking Pat to the Oval Office door, the President said. “You now work for Director Lake. I am going to remain out of the investigation, but both of you need to hear this. I don’t care how deep into our government this might take you, I want these conspirators stopped. I want this ended.”

  Turning now to Director Lake, “Don, please stick around a few minutes, we need to make a few more decisions.”

  -----

  Kevin met with the sheriff that afternoon. Dusty had been right, the Sheriff had taken his grandfather’s death personally. Once the funeral and the meeting with the lawyer were over, Kevin would begin his own investigation. And unlike the Sheriff, he didn’t have to worry about stepping on anyone’s rights.

  The next morning he had breakfast with his parents at the local Denney’s. Although it had been two years since his last visit, the conversation was understandable subdue. His father was just happy to sit quietly and eat his Lumberjack Special.

  His grandfather’s funeral seemed large to him, in comparison to the size of the town. The local Army National Guard had sent a folded flag and a Base Honor Guard member to play taps for the graveside service. SSGT Kevin Sands stood at attention in his dress uniform and saluted the flag at the proper intervals.

  Afterward, Kevin stayed for a few minutes to speak with some of his grandfather’s friends. He spent a few minutes with the Sheriff, and Dusty, who again pledged they would find the killer.

  He noticed two men, who for some unknown reason, seemed oddly out of place. One was a large man who looked to be in his fifties, while the second six-foot, thin, and appeared much older. He looked for them a few minutes later and they were gone.

  After leaving the cemetery Kevin made his way to the law office of Taylor Meadow, his grandfather’s lawyer. His parents had already arrived and were waiting on him in Mr. Meadow’s office.

  “First, let me say that it was an honor to be considered a friend of Bill’s. He was one of those friends you only have once, maybe twice, in your entire lifetime. Bill was a generous man, helping many a person in Burke County over the years. Whether it is of his time, or money, he was always willing to jump in when a need arose.

  “Kevin, your grandfather could spend hours talking about how proud he was of you. When you made it into the Army Sniper’s he must have told everyone within a hundred miles. Amy, I know that your father also was proud of you. He told me story after story of when your mom was alive; how the three of you would go on afternoon adventures. Those were his favorite times and I’ve heard him say how much he wished he could have those back with you.”

  Kevin reached out and took his mother’s hand; she began crying softly.

  Taylor Meadow continued, “So, here we are and I think it is time to read Bill’s will; which by the way he updated each year. The last update being about six months ago.”

  “I Bill Stoops, being of sound mind and body, leave this will and testament to my beloved family. First, I leave my home and fourteen acres to my Grandson, Kevin Sands. Kevin, do whatever you wish with the house and all my personal belongings. Son, you can keep it, or sell it, either way is fine with me. Also, I want Kevin to inherit ten percent of my cash, and stocks. At my request, Taylor will handle dispersing the entire estate.

  Kevin heard his mother suck in air suddenly, but she quickly regained her composure. She looked over to her husband.

  “And to Amy, my only child. Although you and I have grown apart over the years, I still adore you. Once your mother died, it seemed you and I lost our ability to talk. At least without one of us losing our temper with the other. I guess your mother was the glue that held us together. I want you to have everything that was your mother’s. Also, years ago I began playing with the stock market a little and I had gotten good at it.

  “Amy, I am going to leave you, and George, sixty percent of my cash and stocks. Please use it wisely, but I also want you to have some fun with it.

  “George, you are a good man, and I want you to know that I thought you did right in sending Kevin to live with me. Not sure that I was much help to Kevin, for the boy found his way mostly by himself. What you did was to give me a reason to live, after I lost Margie.

  “Taylor, the other thirty percent of my estate I want to leave to local charities. I would be honored if you would be the executor, and disperse them to those in need.”

  After the reading there was an expecting silence that shadowed the room. Kevin’s mother had initially been shocked her father left the house and land to Kevin, but after she thought about it, it hadn’t surprised her either.

  As her father aged she had never tried to meddle in his finances, because she knew he would not have allowed it. She figured the house and land made up most of his estate. That he was mostly living on his military pension and social security benefits.

  This was the first she had ever heard of his financial support in his community, or stock holdings. Not wanting to be the first to ask the burning question, Taylor spoke up as if he wanted to save someone the embarrassment.

  “I guess we should go over Bill’s finances, stocks, and liquid funds. As Bill alluded to in his will he had a knack for picking winning stocks. I came to believe that your dad had a sixth-sense when it came to finances.”

  Kevin, how had been sitting quietly looking away, turned his attention to Taylor when he mentioned the words, sixth sense.

  “Bill had built a sizable nest egg over the last few decades of his life. As the executor of his will, I asked Tom Watson at the bank, and Hank over at ING, to provide me with current balance sheets on his accounts.”

  Amy couldn’t hold it any longer, “Mr. Meadow, just how much money did Dad have?”

  Taylor looking at the first sheet answered, “Altogether in three bank accounts, there is a grand total of three hundred, eighty two thousand, and four hundred twelve dollars, and sixty-one cents. This is his cash on hand.”

  George, Amy, and Kevin, leaned noticeably forward in their chairs once they heard these figures. Taylor picked up the next folder, “In the stock accounts Bill had a little over one point four million dollars.”

  It was if the entire room’s oxygen supply was sucked out as all three of them began silently calculating their shares of the inheritance in their heads.

  George was the first to speak, “Amy, that a little over one million dollars. One million dollars! Oh, my God.”

  “There will be some tax burden on these funds; Bi
ll already considered this in his estate planning. I believe that we can work through this fairly easily. Once I get the judge to sign off on this will, certain funds will become available to you. Let’s shoot for early next week.”

  George saying, “Taylor, if I am correct, it looks as if Bill left you with around five hundred thousand dollars to divide to surrounding charities? Are these funds considered taxable? I guess what I mean is, will some of our tax burden be lessened by Bill’s enormous generosity?”

  “That’s a great question, and yes, this is what I was speaking of when I said that Bill had already considered your tax burdens. I have certain latitudes as executor in how we list these contributions. Trust me; I will do everything I can to provide you each with all available funds.”

  Kevin speaking, “Thank you for being such a good friend to my grandfather. He had spoken of you on several occasions. How do we pay you for your services? We want to make sure that you are compensated for your time as executor of the estate.”

  “A small percentage is normally set aside for the executors expenses, but I waived the fee. You grandfather has done so much for the community; I just wouldn’t feel right accepting it. I want to thank the three of you for honoring Bill’s wishes. You wouldn’t believe how much fussing and fighting I see in these matters. I’ve witnessed estates held up for years for far less money.”

  Amy smiling, “I think we are all agreeing this was Dad’s money to do with as he wished. As his family we expected some inheritance, but I don’t believe in a million years we would ever have dreamed this.”

  “OK, I will get the ball rolling on the estate. Kevin, we will need to have an appraisal done on the house and property. I can make a call and get it taken care of if you would like? This could take a few days; how long are you going to be in town?”

  “At least a week, then headed back to Iran. If that isn’t enough time I will provide you with Power of Attorney. I will be more than happy to pay you for your time.”

  “Kevin, let’s go a few days and then see where we are. Then you will have a better idea of any decisions you need to make. Off the cuff, do you plan to keep the house? The reason I am asking is that your grandfather’s neighbor, Ms. Cranston, contacted me about the possibility of buying the entire property.