Duty Bound (1995)

by Leonard B Scott

  Hilbert extended his hand. "A pleasure, Agent Sutton.

  Yes, I'm Gary Hilbert, Senator Goodnight's chief staff assistant. I was briefing the agent in the other room as he was on the phone. He asked me to tell you and the sergeant major that we should go on out to the helicopter. He'll be right out. I certainly hope we can clear this up quickly. I'm sure the senator has probably just run aground on some sandbar and--"

  Ashley tuned Hilbert out as she stared at the door he had obviously come through. She took a step toward the portal but Murphy grasped her arm. "We'd better do what he says.

  You can light into him later, and leave a little for me, too.

  Can't believe he didn't call you either."

  Ashley allowed herself to be escorted out the back entrance along with Hilbert only because she wanted some time to get her thoughts together. What had she done to deserve the silent treatment from Tanner? Why hadn't he called? It wasn't her fault they had made her leave Washington after the case was closed. She had wanted to stay with him at the hospital, but they wouldn't allow anyone to see him. Damn him, two days? He'd been back two days?

  The helicopter crew chief met them halfway down the sloping sidewalk leading to the tarmac, where a large Blackhawk helicopter sat, huge rotor blades slowly turning. The crew chief spoke loudly, to be heard over the whine of the engines. "Folks, I'm required to give you a safety briefing prior to boarding. The aircraft is equipped with . . ."

  Ashley turned and looked back toward the building. A dark figure was striding toward her. Although he was backlit by the sun and she couldn't make out his face, she knew it was Tanner. Sensing the onset of tears, she sniffed them back and told herself he was a bastard for not contacting her.

  No possible excuse justified shutting her out so completely.

  Trembling, she brought her hand up to block the glare. Dan was wrong, she thought; Eli Tanner looked wonderful to her. The damn fool had almost gotten himself killed a month before trying to free her when she'd been held hostage. The red and purple bullet scar that ran into his hairline, and the small scar on his left arm, were obvious reminders of what he had endured to save her.

  Despite being angry with Tanner, Ashley stepped out to greet him; she couldn't help herself. He stopped a few feet away and dipped his head. Able to see him clearly, she sensed something was wrong; the mischievous glint in his eyes was gone.

  "Good morning, Agent Sutton. Nice to see you again," Eli said softly. Without waiting for a response, he continued past her and, smiling, clasped Dan Murphy's shoulder.

  "Dan, my man, it's goin' to be like the old days gettin' on that bird. Ya ready?"

  Upset and disappointed that he had saved his infectious smile for his Army buddy rather than her, Ashley turned and faced him. "All I get is a 'Good morning,' Tanner? What the hell is going on?" she blurted.

  Eli's indifferent look froze her in place. He motioned everyone toward the chopper. "Let's load up. Mr. Hilbert, have you ridden on one of these before?"

  The staffer shook his head. "Not one this loud."

  "No sweat, sir; the crew chief will give you earplugs once we're on board," Eli said. "I want you in the middle seat, and we'll get you a headset so we can talk. Come on, follow me and I'll get you squared away. Agent Sutton, you coming?"

  Still feeling the hollow aftereffects of his look, Ashley turned and followed in silence.

  Inside the cabin, Eli checked Gary Hilbert's seat belt, then sat down beside Ashley, who was still fumbling with the ends of hers. He took both ends from her, buckled the belt in place, then tightened the straps. She looked into his steel-gray eyes and almost had to yell to be heard over the whining engine. "You okay?"

  He sat down and yelled back as he buckled his belt.

  "Yep." He handed her a headset and put his on.

  Immediately her voice came through the headset speakers pressed against his ears. "Why didn't you at least call me?"

  "I did," he answered as the bird lifted from the ground and shot forward.

  "When?"

  "The first Saturday after you left me in Washington.

  When I didn't get you, I called Regina and she said you and Agent Watkins were on a date."

  Ashley twisted in her seat, looking at him as if she'd been slugged. "Agent Watkins took me to dinner so we could get acquainted. It wasn't a date, Tanner!"

  "Regina said it was a date." Eli avoided looking at her.

  "Let me remind you, Tanner, Ms. Washington is our secretary. I can't believe you'd ask her if I was on a date."

  "I didn't ask; she told me. Drop it. I need to tell you what--"

  Ashley was shaking with anger. "You didn't call again because you thought I was on a date?"

  Eli's brow wrinkled and he gave her a look that said it was a dumb question. "Agent Sutton, I don't know what you're all hot about but drop it, will ya? When they took me to Key West, I was in a place where I couldn't call anybody.

  Can we get on to business now?"

  "It wasn't a date, Tanner."

  "Fine, it wasn't a date. Agent Sutton, I don't care what you do on your personal time; you're a big girl. You asked why I didn't call. I did call; that's the end of that discussion.

  Let's get down to business here. We're choppering down to a small town in northern Florida called Wewahitchka. It's near Dead Lake, which feeds into the Apalachicola River.

  Fishermen found a white female in her early twenties on the river only about five hours ago. She's alive but appears to have sustained gunshot wounds to the head. Mr. Hilbert, here, is Senator Stephen Goodnight's congressional assistant. It seems the senator and his family set out from Columbus on Friday on a cabin cruiser down the Chattahoochee River with an intended destination of Apalachicola on the coast. I'm told it's a three-day trip. The senator called Hilbert Friday night on his cell phone to check in, but the senator did not make his scheduled call last night. We wouldn't have been concerned, but yesterday something else happened that now has us very worried. Late yesterday afternoon two of Senator Goodnight's staffers were found dead in a Georgetown apartment. It was a double homicide.

  That's bad enough, but the female found on the river last night matches the description of one of the females in the senator's party. The senator's family includes his two sons, wife, a daughter-in-law, and a young woman who is the younger son's girlfriend. The woman found on the river had no identification on her person and was in no condition to tell anyone her name, but she does match the description of the girlfriend of the senator's son, a Miss Janice Ayers.

  Since the senator is from Columbus, the lead is going to the Atlanta office. They're sending down a team to take charge of the search. The Tallahassee resident office is also responding as we speak, but right now they can't get helicopter support from Eglin Air Force Base because the birds are fogged in. They'll be conducting a search of the river for the cruiser. Since we're the closest who can respond, the SAC wants us to positively ID the female and, if at all possible, to talk to her. A local doctor is with her now, and he reports she's stable."

  Ashley glared at him. "What's this about your being in town two days?"

  Ignoring her, Eli motioned toward the ruddy sergeant major seated on the other side of him. "I brought Dan along because he knows the Apalachicola River. He says the Chattahoochee and the Apalachicola are one and the same but the name changes once you cross the state line into Florida. He says it's about three hundred miles from Columbus to Apalachicola, on the coast. This place, We-watchamacallit where we're heading, is about two-thirds down the river. It's backwater country, nothing but gators, snakes, and mosquitoes, but damn good fishin', he says."

  "Did you hear what I asked, Tanner? How come you didn't tell me you were back?"

  "Will you please listen to me? I haven't turned on Hilbert's headset device yet. He doesn't know I brought him along in case there are bodies to ID. Right now, it doesn't look good for the senator or his family. The girl's condition tells us that. I'm going to show Hilbert how to work his
headset so he can fill us in, but I'm not going to play it straight with him until we arrive and I get a look at that girl and talk to the doc. If it is Janice Ayers, and if they are gunshot wounds, we're going to have our hands full. We're probably going to be the first agents to arrive. You stay with the girl once we try to talk to her, and go with her on the chopper that takes her to Eglin's base hospital. I'm going to help coordinate the military and local support for the search for the others. When I talk to Hilbert, you'll be able to listen, and I'd like you to take notes for me. Okay?"

  "Wait a minute, Tanner. You just said we're not lead on this. Why are you going to start coordinating stuff?"

  Eli looked at her impatiently. "The Atlanta crew won't be there for another couple of hours, so tell me who's going to coordinate the support and search until they arrive?"

  Ashley sighed and slowly nodded. "Okay. I see your point. You're probably right, but just remember we're in a supporting role on this, okay?"

  Eli reached over and flipped the toggle on the little device attached to Hilbert's headset. "Sir, can you hear me now?

  No, sir, I can't hear you unless you hold down that little black transmit button. Once you're through talking, release the transmit button."

  "Can you hear me now?" Hilbert asked, pushing the button.

  "Yes, sir. We are on the bird's intercom so Agent Sutton and myself can hear you. Please tell us why the senator took this trip, sir."

  "Yes, of course, it was a getaway, actually. Stephen has been under a lot of pressure in Washington . . . more than he had bargained for when he ran for office, I can tell you.

  Nobody can prepare you for that. . . . Anyway, he started planning this trip some months ago. It was going to be his chance to have his family with him for a while--not your typical vacation, you understand. He wanted them really to be together without distractions. He felt he needed to spend some real quality time with them all. He had heard about the river trip from friends in Columbus and decided it would meet his needs perfectly. I helped with the 'preplanning,' getting him the necessary books and navigation maps, and he took care of obtaining the cruiser from a friend in town.

  The hard part was coordinating his schedule with his two sons'. Both of them balked at the idea at first, but I talked to them and explained it was important to Stephen. Agent Tanner, I know they're all perfectly fine, probably run aground somewhere or have had problems with the boat motor or something. The cell phone doesn't work all that well when away from civilization, you know?"

  Eli nodded. "Yes, sir, you're probably right. Sir, can you tell me about an investigation the senator was conducting?"

  Hilbert shifted in the seat. "I guess it's all right to tell the FBI. You all were involved, after all. Among other committees, Stephen was on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopoly, and Business Rights. That one was where he planned to make a difference. You see, he had gathered numerous complaints of shady dealings in northern Georgia that branched out to at least five other states. He talked to Congressman Richards of the Fourth District about the complaints because they were principally coming out of his district, but Richards told him it wasn't a problem and not to be worried about it. Stephen wasn't happy with the polite snub and decided to do some checking on his own.

  Agent Tanner, please understand, I was not privy to his investigation. I work the medicare and welfare issues along with military construction, housing, and arms procurement for his other committees. But I can tell you this much:

  Stephen has spent enormous energy working on the investigation. Special Agent Eddings from your Atlanta office is working with him on it and I'm sure he can provide you with more detail. And, of course, you can talk to the staffer who is in charge of the investigation, Matthew Wentzel.

  He's an attorney and lives in Washington and works with the senator at the Sam Rayburn Building. Matthew lives in Georgetown, I believe."

  Surprised that Hilbert still had not been notified about Wentzel's death, Eli exchanged glances with Ashley. Then he looked back at Hilbert and pushed his transmit button.

  "Sir, how was the senator planning to get back to Columbus?

  Was he going to turn around after arriving at Apalachicola and return by cruiser?"

  "No, he didn't have time for that. A friend, John Fine, was going to meet him when he arrived. John has a twin-engine Beechcraft and had made arrangements for the senator and his family to be flown back to Columbus. John is to take the boat back himself. John is quite the fisherman. He's the one who suggested the trip in the first place."

  Eli nodded again and glanced at Ashley, who had her notebook out and was writing furiously. Hilbert touched Eli's arm. "I'm really sorry about calling you all in on this; I know it's all right, but I just couldn't take any chances.

  Stephen is a good friend. He's one of the new breed, you know; he planned on only two terms, then . . ."

  Leaning back in his seat, Eli tuned the staffer out. He hoped that Stephen Goodnight and his family were only having boat problems.

  Wewahitchka, Florida The state troopers turned their backs to hurricane like winds and the clouds of dust churned up by the helicopter.

  Then the crew chief slid back the Blackhawk's door. Eli hopped to the ground and strode to the closest trooper, who was brushing dirt and sand from his uniform. Eli showed his ID. "I'm Agent Tanner, sir."

  "I'm Trooper Vickery," the trooper drawled. "The little gal and doc are up the road a piece in a house owned by the proprietor of a bait shop. Not much in Wewahitchka. It's the best we could do. I'll take y' all there."

  Eli motioned for the others and raised an eyebrow.

  "How's she doin'?"

  The trooper sighed and began walking toward his cruiser.

  "Physically, better than ya'd expect . . . mentally, she's fishin' without a pole. Too bad . . . she was probably a cute little ol' gal--bullets messed her up purty good. You'll see."

  "Can she talk?"

  "Oh, yeah, she's a' talkin' aw'right, but ain't makin' a lick a'sense. Just keeps sayin' over and over again somethin' about 'They shoulda put 'em together.' She still hasn't told anyone who she is."

  Eli stepped into the small kitchen followed by a small bespectacled man with a stethoscope around his neck. He approached Gary Hilbert, who was staring at him with a horrified look. Eli spoke softly. "Sir, the young lady is in the next room. The doctor here says she is in no danger of dying; the wounds are ugly but not life-threatening. I've explained to the doctor the gravity of the situation and he's going to allow Agent Sutton and myself to talk to her before she's medevacked out. Sir, I need you to come with me and please tell me if the young lady is in fact Miss Janice Ayers."

  Hilbert lowered his eyes and stared at his hands. "If . . . if it is Janice, it . . . it means . . ."

  "Yes, sir, it does," Eli said as he stepped closer.

  Tears began to trickle down Hilbert's pale cheeks. He shook his head slowly as he stood. "I ... I'm not sure I can walk."

  Ashley pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning on and took Hilbert's arm. "I'll help you, sir."

  Seconds later Hilbert stood in front of a small bed where the young woman was sitting up, her back and head resting on pillows. He opened his eyes and winced. "Oh, my God, Janice, what have they done to you?"

  Eli motioned to the doctor to take Hilbert out of the room, then sat down beside the young woman, who looked at him through swollen eyes. "Janice? No, please don't look away from me. Look at me, please. I'm Eli Tanner from the FBI and this lady on the other side of you is Agent Ashley Sutton. Janice, we need you to talk to us. We need to know what happened. Look at me . . . that's it, Janice. Tell us what happened."

  Janice lifted her hand as if in slow motion and touched her bandaged forehead. "They shot me . . . they shot us all."

  Eli took her hand. Into his own. "Who shot you, Janice?"

  "They shot me and I pretended I was dead. . . . I pretended . . . then the boat began to sink. . . . I didn't want to die there. I
didn't want to die, but I didn't want to leave them. I didn't want to die."

  Eli stroked her hand. "You did the right thing, Janice.

  There was nothing you could have done . . . but you can do something now. I want you to shut your eyes. I know it will be difficult, but I want you to think about what happened.

  Clear your mind and think of yourself as looking through a camcorder. You were on the boat with the others. . . . Pretend you're looking through the camcorder viewer and tell me what you see and hear. Keep your eyes closed but look through the camera, Janice. . . . That's right . . . close your eyes now. . . . You are on the boat and . . ."

  "I was talking to Mary . . . then Chad said to the senator, `Look, there's a boat ahead of us.' I stood and looked down the river. . . . It was a green boat, a bass boat like my brother's, but nicer. There were two men on it but we were too far away to see their faces. Wait . . . one had blond hair, I remember now. Yes, he was tall and thin and had blond wavy hair, because it caught the sun. The other was wearing a baseball cap."