When Rome Stumbles

by David Kershner

  “We are,” Samantha replied and slid the thumb drive across the table.

  Attorney Ryers picked up the phone and called for the FBI Agent seated in the waiting room to be shown in.

  As the man entered the room, Attorney Ryers said, “You’ll have to forgive my reluctance, but I’ve asked the Bureau to authenticate your audio file. Do we have your permission to do so?”

  “You do,” she replied.

  The tech savvy man placed a large hardened case on the Attorney’s desk, opened it, and explained, “This is the latest tech in high-end audio recording and analysis devices. We use this and equipment like it to record suspects and their dealings with undercover agents in the field. It’s portable which means we can bring it to a trial and determine authenticity on the fly. No more labs and rooms full of diagnostic programs.”

  The machine made a series of beeps and took only a few seconds to power on. The G-man picked up the thumb-drive and inserted it into the USB port. There were several ports available for the input of audio files. It even had the ability to play outdated CDs.

  “Before we begin,” the Agent started to say. “Let me explain what you are looking at. This device contains two screens. The main screen shows the voice signatures of each person speaking in the audio file. The smaller one on the right, displays the viability of the audio. It accounts for background noise, static, and a number of other things and produces a score. Anything over ninety five percent is deemed authentic. To start, I need to know some information. How was the audio recorded?”

  “Wireless microphones transmitted over an unsecured in-home wifi network to my laptop. Each file is from a different mic. I placed four of them throughout the house. I was listening in the kitchen, dining room, and study. The fourth was in my bedroom just in case anyone was snooping. From there, each of the four files was downloaded onto the thumb-drive,” Samantha answered.

  “Did you listen to the audio?” the Agent asked.

  “Yes. To verify that it worked.”

  “Did you attempt to manipulate the audio in any way?”

  “No,” she replied flatly.

  Using Samantha’s information regarding the audio’s origin, he adjusted some setting knobs and then played each of the four recordings for a minimum of one minute to initiate a baseline. The audio from the dining room and study were deemed authentic with a score of ninety eight. The bedroom file appeared to be blank, but registered the same. The kitchen file contained too much ambient noise from the various implements and equipment. The machine displayed its viability at eighty nine percent.

  “The Bureau can scrub the audio and adjust for the white noise. Given the other authentication scores, we should be able to clean up the distortions. We’ll have no problem achieving a similar rating.”

  The Agent removed the thumb-drive and handed it back to Samantha. He then powered down the device, closed the hardened case, and exited the Attorney’s office.

  “Congratulations, your audio is genuine. We can convene the grand jury in the morning. You are hereby granted whistleblower status under the auspices of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Samantha Jameson, you are hereby a witness for the United States government.”

  “Great, now what?” she asked.

  “Once we have the indictments, we go and bust their asses! Man, I can’t wait to invoke the 29th Amendment,” he answered gleefully.

  Chapter 16

  March 9th, 2022

  Dwight didn’t disappoint when he said he could arrange a meet between the two. Josh just didn’t figure that he’d be posing as a hotel security guard. Heather brought two girlfriends for company which complicated matters if Josh wanted to introduce himself. Once he saw the friends, Josh tried to call it off. Dwight reassured him that this was a normal thing in Hollywood.

  Dwight had arranged for the hotel to comp some massages and mani-pedi’s in honor of Jessica since this was where they would come for their bonding time. Dwight explained, “Freebies are how the business works. No celebrity can pass up a gift bag or comp’d amenities, even for a funeral. They may be paid millions for a movie, but despite what the tabloids report, actors are generally obsessively frugal.”

  Like father like daughter, Josh thought.

  Several rounds of back and forth with Dwight ensued until Josh relented. He was eventually fitted for a suit in the hotel boutique. The sales clerk muttered numerous curses under her breathe as she tried to get him into one. The next morning, Josh was introduced to Heather and her friends as ‘Mr. Hendrix’, a member of hotel security.

  Before they arrived however, Dwight had explained to Josh that Heather was extremely polite and personable. If she saw him merely standing guard, she would eventually strike up a conversation.

  When Heather did arrive and began to object as well, Dwight explained, “Given the tragic nature of today’s events, he will ensure that no photographers or press make it to you in one piece. Just look at him!” he exclaimed. “He’s huge!”

  Josh had never really noticed before, but he was actually a fairly physically imposing figure. He stood just a shade over six foot one and, with his new haircut, he looked like he could kill someone. His years on the farm gave him a large barrel chest with powerful arms and thick legs. He was bigger than he had ever been in the Corps.

  Once they were in the flow of things, all Josh had to do was wait. That was all he did. He stood outside the door as she and her two friends received forty-five minute massages. He lingered in front of the dressing room while they were in the attached sauna. He loitered some more as they showered and dressed. It was pushing noon and he had spent the entire morning waiting in rooms where she wasn’t. Fortunately, they arrived at 8:00 AM and the service wasn’t until 4:00.

  Heather noticed Josh’s discomfort as they were receiving their pedicures. The airborne irritant in the fumes was reflected on his face with every breath. Heather asked that the windows be cracked to ease his suffering.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Josh said to the gesture. Josh had been observing her throughout the morning. The resemblance to Jessica, and oddly Layla and Katherine, is remarkable. She has her mother’s nose, but my thick hair. Her eyes are hazel, like mine. Thankfully, she’s got Jessica’s frame.

  “Shhh,” she admonished him playfully. “Don’t say ma’am. Haven’t you heard, that word has been banned in this town,” she joked. “Please, call me Heather.”

  “Okay. Heather,” he said and smiled.

  “You can’t take the fumes?” she asked.

  “Never could. When my daughters would crack open one of those vials, I could smell it on the other side of the house. Always sent me running for the back door for fresh air,” Josh answered.

  “Pictures?”

  “Of course. I’m a dad.”

  “Can I see them?”

  Hesitantly, Josh removed his wallet, pulled out a picture, and handed it to Heather. Josh was probably the only person in the entire hotel that still carried family photos on something other than a phone.

  Her two friends leaned over to take a look and the three studied the photo. They remarked at how much Heather resembled the pair. “You could be triplets,” one of her friends squealed.

  Handing the pictures back, she said, “They’re very pretty. What are their names?”

  “Thank you. That’s Layla on the left and Katherine on the right.”

  “Layla? That’s unique. You don’t hear that name often,” Heather said innocently.

  “It’s a Clapton thing. My wife wanted to call her Morgan,” Josh answered.

  “You’re married?” she asked.

  “Was.”

  “What happened? Divorce?”

  “Something like that,” he replied.

  “Sorry. Too personal. How old are your daughters then?”

  “Both are in there twenties now. Raised them myself,” Josh said with a great deal of pride in his voice.

  “By yourself? Where was their mother?”

  “Not in the picture ma’— e
r, Heather.”

  Sensing that she was crossing a line, she said, “Change of subject. We’re you in the military? Your haircut says Marine.”

  “Joined the Marines the day after graduation. Served a couple years as enlisted and then earned an appointment to the Academy. Retired as a Major in May of ’01,” Josh said in a short clipped tone.

  “What made you join?” she wanted to know.

  “A woman.”

  Giggling, she said, “Alright, and you got out because?”

  “A different woman.”

  Laughing harder, she said, “You don’t have much luck with women.”

  “Not until recently, no. There were a few good years in between though. I hold on to those.” Changing the subject, Josh added, “I understand you lost your mother. I’m very sorry.”

  “Thank you,” she said as her mood turned more sorrowful, more introspective. “She really loved coming here with me so when Dwight called...” she continued as the vocalization of the thought trailed off. “But, this is how it is out here sometimes. Like mom always says,” she started to say before catching herself.

  She began quietly weeping and was unable to finish her sentence. She took a few moments to compose herself. In an effort to avoid the near constant dwelling on her mother and their life together, she said, “You know, she told me about a Marine she met one time.”

  “Really? I didn’t realize actresses hung out with Marines.”

  “Mom did, well once. She really liked this one. Maybe you knew him. He would have served—”

  Josh cut her off before she could ask the name and said, “There were a lot of guys serving then.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right” she said dejectedly.

  “Heather, you have to stop asking every Marine you come across if he knew some guy named Josiah Simmons,” one of her friends said compassionately.

  She’s still trying to find out about me! Even after Amanda told her I was dead? This can’t be happening. I need more.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you asking about Josh Simmons?” he asked.

  Heather perked up and said, “Do you know him? Please tell me you know him.”

  “Yeah sure, I knew him. He was my CO when we were stationed down the road at Pendleton. I was transferred to my next duty station just a few months before they shipped out for Bosnia. He was part of the NATO mission there.”

  “Do you mind telling me about him?” she asked very excitedly.

  “Oh, Josh, he was one squared away Marine. Never griped about anything. The man truly loved everything about the Corps. He used to say that he liked the order that could be derived from the perceived chaos. The discipline it instilled. He was a good leader and friend. He really knew how to motivate people.”

  For effect, and to see where the conversation might go, he added, “I was sorry to hear that he got killed over there.”

  “No, no he wasn’t. He was a POW for a while, but then he was medically discharged,” she corrected very quickly. “I found his widow over in Ohio when I was filming my first movie. She said he died in a car crash in 2010.”

  “Seriously? What was she like?” Josh asked, baiting her.

  “Attractive, but distant... kinda cold actually. It seemed like she was hiding something though.”

  Josh shrugged at the well-known truth. “I guess you know more than me. I thought he died in ’95 when the Serbs over-ran the CP.” Josh paused before upping the ante, “Wait, now I remember, your mother was over there. Didn’t he save her or something?”

  She replied somberly, thoughtfully, when she said, “Yeah, she told me that he heard them breaking down doors and gunfire and stuff and he shoved her in a locker to hide her. They stormed the room and dragged him off. That was the last time she saw him.”

  “Well, if he survived, why didn’t she go to him?”

  “They told her he was dead,” she answered sadly.

  “I’m sorry, what? She was told he died in ’95, but the wife said he died in a car crash fifteen years later. That doesn’t make any sense. Why are you looking for him if didn’t die, but then he did? I’m so confused,” he added truly mystified.

  “My grandmother, Nana. She said he survived, but they never told mom because she barely made it through his death the first time. I just wanted her to be happy, ya know? She really loved that guy. I don’t think she ever got over him to tell you the truth. So, when Nana said he was alive, I decided to try and find him, for Mom.”

  “So you found him, but it was too late?” Josh wondered.

  “Unfortunately,” she answered.

  “And you’re asking about him now, why?” her father asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to know more about the man that saved her is all,” she reflected.

  Gently, Josh asked, “Was he your dad?”

  “What makes you say that?” she replied almost offended he would even ask.

  “Dwight. He’s a big fan,” Josh quickly covered.

  She smiled knowingly and said, “Ah, Dwight. I might have known.” She paused before answering, “I honestly don’t know if he was. Mom wouldn’t talk about it, but I think so. My birth certificate shows the line as a blank.”

  “When and where were you born?” Josh asked.

  “Why do you want to know that?” she asked wondering where he was headed with his questions.

  “If you call the hospital they’ll have the original. His name might be on that copy. You can probably just have it sent electronically.”

  “Tried that. Privacy laws. I have to be physically standing in the building. They won’t even mail them anymore, stupid identity thieves. Once I found out he was dead though, it didn’t much matter, so I stopped looking.”

  “Well you should give that a shot. See what turns up. At a minimum, maybe it’ll allow for some closure.” Careful not to reveal more than he already had, he added, “I’d also go back to that town in Ohio and see if you can find a death certificate for him.”

  “Why would I do that?” she asked.

  “It seems to me that everyone keeps lying about this guy being dead. It could be that he’s not. You said yourself that his widow seemed like she was hiding something. It’s possible that he didn’t know about you, but the wife did. Who knows? That could be why she turned you away. On the other hand, he very well may be deceased. What can it hurt if he’s supposedly dead?”

  Thinking for a moment, she replied, “Ya know, I just might do that. I’m supposed to start shooting a movie somewhere out there soon. I tracked him down once.”

  * * *

  Josh decided that the brief encounter and subtle clues were enough for the time being. She didn’t know him. Besides, showing up unexpectedly and declaring that he was her long lost dad might not end the way he hoped. There was also Jessica’s father to consider. The General and his staff were all in town for the funeral. The risk was too great. So, much to Dwight’s disappointment, he thought better of trying to sneak past the throngs of media and paparazzi and into the church.

  If she has any of my blood running through her veins, she’ll track me down to the farm. If not, I’ll keep an eye on the Internet for news of her movie set location and stop by to visit.

  Josh packed his duffle and paid his bill with some more of Amanda’s money. While waiting at the counter to sign the receipt, Dwight stopped to say goodbye. Josh thanked him for his hospitality and his willingness to introduce him to Heather. Then he asked him to call a cab to take him to the airport.

  With the benefit of a strong tailwind, Josh landed at Reagan National along the Potomac five hours later. He needed to get back to Samantha and apologize for being an ass. Josh knew that his mission oriented approach to the entire endeavor had hurt her immeasurably. Some small part of him was ready to move on from Amanda’s ordeal, but he didn’t yet know how the girls fit in to the equation. Katherine was already on board, and even though Layla had knowingly and willingly saved her life, she would be a diff
icult sell.

  Josh figured that the fastest way to find Sam was through her handler, Secretary McInerney. He caught a cab from the airport to the USDA building and ducked into the main lobby restroom to don his new suit. Mara took one look at his thick neck and muscular frame and assumed he was a Federal Agent.

  Josh leaned over the desk and whispered, “I’m not with the Bureau, but I would like to speak with Little Bo Peep.” Then he gave a little wink to the young lady.

  Mara’s eyes grew big as saucers and her excitement was palpable. “I knew that other guy couldn’t have been Sam’s guardian angel,” she gushed referring to Dallas. She quickly reached for her phone. “Sir, Mother Hubbard is in the lobby for you. Shall I send him in?”

  She didn’t receive a reply as Elias’s door flew open and he rushed out of his office. Surprised, Josh took a defensive position not knowing what to expect. The Texan knew a fighter’s stance when he saw one. Elias abruptly slowed his pace and thrust out his hand.

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Secretary McInerney. Won’t you come in,” he said as the two men shook hands.

  The older man closed the door as they entered his remodeled office, walked to his desk, and flicked an unseen switch under the center drawer. The view overlooking the city immediately glazed over.

  “What the hell,” Josh said aloud.

  “Had it installed after those bastards tried to kill me. When I throw this little number, the entire room becomes sterile. The doors auto lock and these babies,” he said as he gestured to the wall of windows, “are bulletproof electrochromic smart glass. Makes ‘em look frosted,” Elias concluded proudly. “On top of that, some sort of short wave jamming device activates so we can’t be recorded. As Mara can attest, I’m not that good with technology so I don’t really know how it works.”

  “Very nice, Bo Peep,” Josh replied in amazement.

  “It better be!” he answered incredulously. “I blew a sizeable chunk of my office budget having all of this stuff installed.” Taking his seat behind the desk he asked, “So what can I do you for?”