The Case

by Lee Cunningham

  “I calculated the approximate location of the position he fired from, by his pace and the distance he would have needed to remain concealed from our two teams, as perhaps 800 yards from his target. That makes him a very good shot, and very dangerous as an unknown entity. The only additional point I have to add is that we plan on returning to search his route for evidence and tracks, once the police have finished their scene examination, since they won’t likely search that area, not knowing where the shot would have originated.” Tom glanced over to Lee.

  Lee said, “Sam, can you bring us up to speed on developments you’ve uncovered while we were all at the meet?”

  Sam reported, “The Magadinnos have already left for Tahoe, and Hector has not used his phone since they departed the compound. We have two surveillance vehicles following the Magadinno caravan, which consists of four vehicles and nine men. We monitored radio traffic on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office frequency, and they were responding several units to the scene of the shooting, where they are meeting with Grant.”

  “The first unit has already arrived and requested a canine search team, along with additional units. The on-duty responding patrol sergeant requested their mounted unit be assembled and staged at the Mormon Station parking lot, to assist in a search of the canyons, due to the mountainous terrain. Once the area is secured, the teams will only have a brief time to search the surroundings before sunset. They should be able to find the dead sniper, but the friendly shooter would be long gone. We will continue to monitor their progress, and determine when they abandon the scene.”

  A long discussion ensued about who the dead man’s intended target was…Grant, Shane, or both of them. Making no progress with this dilemma, neither could the next riddle be solved, that being who the friendly shooter was protecting. An hour-long barrage of speculations, hypothesis and outright conjecture, proved no help in solving the mystery. All possibilities came to the same dead end, with no facts to back up any proposed explanation. Lisa left the meeting to check on Wesley and the counter surveillance teams. Silence filled the room.

  Finally, Shane spoke. He filled the group in about the flash drives, first apologizing to Walter for spoiling the surprise about his dad’s T-Bird. With the explanation, Walter assured Shane he fully understood, and said that he still planned a formal presentation and party when things calmed down.

  Shane explained he had requested Sam copy and protect one of the drives, and that he had hidden the second drive prior to leaving for the meet. Upon his return to the estate, Shane gave Sam the second drive to copy and compare to the first drive. He looked at Sam, and said, “Sam, can you bring us up to date with any discoveries you have made?”

  Sam was obviously excited. “Bearing in mind I just started looking at the drives, I can tell you, with some degree of certainty, that they appear to contain the same information, 2,986 pages of information and documentation. After a very brief scanning, the report appears to be Shane’s father’s synopsis of the entire corruption investigation, along with some supporting investigation, documents and attachments. What is daunting is that there is so much detail that it will take a team weeks to read and map out the web of suspects and events, in order to fully understand the totality of the case.”

  Sam continued. “You must understand that the case involves decades of corruption and conspiracy, with multiple crimes and murders, intertwined for some overall purpose that won’t be clear until we understand, in detail, what the Attorney General’s investigators took more than a year to discover and document…and Shane’s dad months to collate and synopsize.”

  “It’s a momentous challenge, and we need an experienced team to start on this ASAP, if we hope to use the information anytime soon. And to complicate the matter, the information is very highly encrypted, with what appears to have been state-of-the-art military encryption for that time. That alone will slow the process considerably until we have the correct cypher…the Beckett Cypher, as it were”

  Walter asked, “Lee, Sam, how do you propose we proceed?”

  Lee had been pacing back and forth, as he was known to do when he was thinking. He sighed a heavy long sigh, and sat in his chair. “Can I have a drink of that scotch, Shane?”

  Shane replied, “Straight up…with ice…or water?” as he got up and walked to the bottle.

  Lee replied, “Straight up. I wouldn’t want to contaminate a great scotch with city water.” He smiled, but the mood was still very serious.

  Shane poured the drink, and asked, “Anyone else?”

  Kate, Walter, Pete and Lee all held up hands. Only Walter and Pete requested ice. Tom and Mike got up and each grabbed a bottle of water, while Shane prepared the drinks. All six glasses had been used, and the bottle of scotch was now half empty.

  A knock came to the door, and Juanita entered quietly. She carried another tray with more water, fresh ice, six more glasses, and another bottle of scotch. No one said a word.

  When she left, Shane asked, “How did she know there would be six of us drinking…and how does she know we may need more scotch?!”

  Kate smiled and said, “The rest of us in this room are non-drinkers!” Shane began to challenge the statement, with an objection about the probability of Juanita guessing correctly who would be in the room drinking scotch, but Kate saved him the frustration of trying to figure it out. “Juanita knows her job very well. It’s just part of the job description you know!”

  Shane smiled, while the rest of the room toasted each other, with drinks held over their heads.

  Lee continued. “We’re stretched very thin right now with the number of people working on the Magadinno mobile and compound surveillance, the intel coming from the cameras and bugs in the estate, Shane’s old apartment surveillance, Grant’s surveillance, and now this. Plus, we are still double checking all of our own people to make sure Wesley is the only mole. Now, we’ve added two sniper teams, counter surveillance, and are preparing to digest a year’s investigative work and a lengthy synopsis into a couple of weeks. Our people are already working 14-hour shifts, seven days a week.”

  Lee took a long drink from his glass, sighed, and continued. “This investigation has seen two people killed in less than a week. Even though they were both bad guys…very bad guys, we don’t know who pulled the trigger, or why. We need to reduce our responsibilities or increase staff. We need to slow down, to be able to check and double check what we’re doing, before one of us gets hurt. I’ll just throw this out as a suggestion…in the end, the decision belongs to Shane, who’s taking the biggest risk, and Walter, who’s footing the bill. We need to add more staff, if we don’t feel comfortable going to the Feds yet…and another thing…” Lee stopped and looked around the room. No one said a word.

  The room was filled with anticipation. Lee took another hefty swallow, and the glass was empty. “I suggest Shane meet with Sheriff Mark Roberts, after Douglas County discovers their dead sniper. Shane can explain to Roberts what we know about Undersheriff Grant. We know we can trust Roberts. He has a special motivation, just like this family does. Hopefully, Roberts will suspend Grant, pending the shooting investigation. He will likely lay low for a couple of weeks, while the investigation gets under way.”

  Lee continued. “We can leave a four-man surveillance team on Grant, and place a four-man team on the Magadinno compound in our safe house. The Magadinno team can handle documenting the intel coming from Hector’s phone, and monitoring the cameras and bugs in the compound.” Lee stopped and looked at his glass, not to imply his drink was empty, but to collect and organize racing thoughts. Shane poured Lee another drink, while Lee stared at the glass.

  Lee continued with a smile. “Let’s abandon Shane’s old apartment. There’s no longer a reason to keep a detail on it. If our friend on the outside knows as much as I think he does, he won’t be delivering any more packages to us, once our surveillance team is gone. Let’s leave a skeleton crew here at the estate that will include Wesley. That team will also monitor We
sley’s activities. Let’s take support staff, our cadre, which should now include Lisa and Sam, to a safe out-of-state location. If we are being surveilled, even our random patterns could have been discovered by now.”

  Lee continued, picking up speed as his thoughts began to take shape in his mind. “Let’s commit the next two or three weeks to deciphering these new files, so we can cut to the chase, and figure out who the hell we are dealing with. It will be much more productive in the end…and a lot safer for all of us. The other added benefit will be, we won’t need to bring in additional people not familiar with our operation…and, Walter, you’ll save some money!”

  Lee looked at Walter, and Walter instinctively smiled, but everyone in the room knew that money wasn’t the thing that was on his mind.

  Lee stood up and walked to the bay window, as he said, “I have one more suggestion. Out of the group we have left, two of my team need to leave to go to a family event. Ron and Patty Simon, the married surveillance team from your apartment, Shane…their son is getting married in two days.” Shane nodded and said, “They seem like nice people, and very thorough.”

  Lee added, “They’re both military trained intelligence operatives, and among the best surveillance and counter surveillance professionals we have. If you agree to this plan, I’ll fly them home and back to meet us after their event. We need them on our protection detail, with a select few others. I can rotate five people out of our group, to go on much needed days off. They can come back and relieve others in the group, and so on. We can also give everyone left here a break, while we’re gone. I’d like to leave Lana in charge, while we’re away. She is more than trustworthy, and a good supervisor.”

  Lee sighed and sat down. He said, “That’s all I’ve got.”

  Everyone had been listening intently and mulling the ideas over in their minds, but no one said anything, waiting for Walter or Shane to respond.

  Walter spoke first. “Where do you suggest we go, Lee?”

  Lee offered only, “Someplace remote, somewhat isolated or nearly inaccessible and easily protected. A place we can immerse ourselves in our work, not be disturbed and plow through all this stuff. Then we’ll all know as much of the story as had previously been discovered.”

  He looked up and said, “We’ll actually know and understand the events that led us to this point in time.”

  Walter said, “Both the Newport Beach house and the Wallowa County ranch are easily protected, but only the ranch is remote. We could rent a place, if you have one in mind.”

  Lee shook his head, not offering another choice.

  Walter said, “Well, then, the ranch it is! Once we’re packed and ready we can drive there in about 11 hours, more or less. If we take the King Air, we can be there in two hours. It can haul the pilot, 11 passengers, plus their baggage, and quite a bit of cargo. The final decision is yours, Shane.”

  Shane looked up at Kate and she nodded, in agreement with the plan. He said, “I like it, Lee. It’s all very well thought out and planned. Plus…this will buy us much needed time catch up in this game. I feel like we’re playing against unknown opponents, who keep changing the rules. We need to get on a level playing field to have a fighting chance. When should we be ready to leave?”

  Lee said, “For us, my team can be ready by tomorrow, when we change shifts at 1000.”

  Walter added, “Pete and I can figure out the support staff to take. We’ll likely have a few things to do in the morning, before we’re ready to leave, but we should be able to make it by 1000.”

  Pete nodded in agreement, saying, “I’ll be ready. But, with your permission, Walter, it’s time to include my secretary, Tasha, on this trip. No one reads and collates legal documents faster, and she needs to be brought up to speed on what being involved with this family really means, to give her a chance to consider opting out.”

  Walter smiled at Pete, and laughed, “Fat chance she’ll not choose you, my friend.”

  Pete seemed pleased with the response, as the grin on his face broadened and his cheeks flushed pink.

  Shane marveled at how close Pete and Walter had become. He noted they worked together, by choice, as a team, often on the same projects. And, just like Lee and Tom, they fed off one another, each seeming to grow stronger and more creative with input from the other. Their confidence grew exponentially when they were together.

  Shane understood now, more and more with each passing day, what Pete and Walter really meant to each other. He thought how neither of them had ever intended to end up here in life, but both were exactly where they needed to be. The same was likely true for him now. And, as Shane watched them talking, he felt a growing sense of pride and commitment to his extended “family.”

  Kate said, “I need to call Jack to cancel karate instruction for a few weeks.”

  Shane said, “I’ll call Roberts and have the meet set ASAP, before Grant is free from the shooting site.”

  The team agreed to meet at 2000 hours, for a last-minute check list, and to be ready to pack. They all agreed they would figure out who was flying, and who was driving, once they met back in the evening and confirmed the teams and responsibilities. Walter requested they have the cadre meet in the dining room, and discuss it over dinner. Jesse would be freed up to barbeque some baby back ribs he had been dying to serve, while Wesley would be assigned to the parking garage.

  Kate was out the door before Shane could even talk to her. As soon as he was alone in the room, he called Sheriff Roberts, who answered on the first ring.

  Roberts said, “Dan, what can you tell me? Grant told me he would explain later, and asked me not to come to the scene of the shooting. I only found out about it when the Douglas County Sheriff gave me a courtesy call about fifteen minutes ago, as I was leaving a meeting with the DA and Mayor. I had to call Grant myself…he didn’t even call me!” Roberts was obviously more than irritated. He was downright pissed, and not one who appreciated being left in the dark.

  Shane asked, “Can you meet me at the end of Oxoby Loop in Mills Park in 15 minutes? I’ll explain everything then in person, not over the phone. If Grant calls, don’t mention anything about the meet. This likely relates to the two cold cases we talked about. The cobra’s nest has been exposed. Grant’s one of the king snakes.”

  Roberts immediately agreed to the meeting, recognizing the codes “cobra’s nest” and “cold cases,” he and Shane had agreed on, either of which would require a face-to-face meeting between them, alone.

  Shane started downstairs, wincing in pain with each step, from the recent re-injury. He was going to be sore tonight. He met Pete and Lee talking at the bottom of the stairs, and advised them he was on his way to meet with Sheriff Roberts.

  Pete told him he was leaving to pick up Tasha. She was packing and would be spending the night at the estate. He said Lee was meeting with Jesse to go over scheduling, while Tom saw to it that the King Air was fueled and ready.

  Shane started to leave and asked, as an afterthought, “By the way, what do we know about the pilot?”

  Lee and Pete laughed out loud.

  Pete answered with a grin, “Walter, Lana, Kate, Tom and I are all pilots and checked out in the plane, but I’ll be flying this time. Walter and I flew a lot together when we travelled back and forth from Minnesota. He’s a damn good pilot and a certified flight instructor…his hobby. Getting my certification was his first gift to me. By now, I have a little over 400 hours logged in the ship. Great airplane. You’ll enjoy the ride,” he called over his shoulder to Shane.

  Shane walked out, thinking to himself, “Everyone here has to be a jack-of-many-trades to be a part of this group. I’d better expand my knowledge base before they kick me to the door!” He passed Juanita at the door, and wondered what additional skills she had that he hadn’t already learned about.

  Kate was in the garage when Shane arrived to pick up his SUV. He quickly briefed her on the plan with Roberts.

  “Are you staying at the park for the meeting, or driv
ing somewhere else?” she inquired.

  Shane saw the look and knew what was coming. He stressed, “Please, we’ll stay at the park, unless there’s a reason we can’t talk there.”

  Kate immediately fired back, “Is your radio in the charger? And what is the back-up meeting location?”

  Shane nodded his head, saying, “It’s in the charger, and I don’t have a back-up meeting location.” Kate pulled out her phone and texted Lisa to meet her in the garage.

  Shane objected saying, “This is Roberts, the Sheriff of Carson City, who hired me. We already established we can trust him. No one else knows about the meet. I don’t need back-up!”

  Kate remained calm and collected. She lowered her chin and cocked her head, as she looked into Shane’s eyes. After admiring the eyes of the man she loved for a second too long, she collected her thoughts, and said, “So, are you telling me that you’re willing to bet your life on a man you didn’t know until a few months ago, that you think is a good guy?”

  As she continued, the pace of her verbal assault increased. “And this is the same good guy who kept the old, corrupt Undersheriff from the last administration…that same Undersheriff who happens to be working for a crime cartel, and other unknown persons, who are willing to murder people? And it’s okay for you to go it alone, even though we have a mole in our unit, and there is an assassin on the loose outside, who killed two people in the last week, and we have no idea who that person is…not to mention, he seems to know every move we make, before we make it?”

  Her glare intensified. “And, have you ever considered that these murderers may be using the same readily available software the National Security Agency has been using for years to listen in on anyone’s phone calls…including ours? Are you really telling me this is all okay, and you don’t need any back-up, and you’ll somehow just be fine?”