Standing Fast

by Maggie K. Black

He’d never met a more beautiful, kind and generous woman.

  * * *

  Real men don’t whimper and they don’t complain. Nobody ever solved a problem by sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. Unexpectedly, his grandfather’s voice echoed through the back of his mind. The Senior Master Sergeant had been in military intelligence long before Chase had been born and was proud of having gone to his grave never breathing a word of what his work had entailed. He’d been widowed when Chase was a baby, moved in with Chase and his parents and stepped into the role as head of the household, filling the void that was left behind by the hectic nature of his mother’s long and exhausting overnight shifts as an ER nurse and his father’s lengthy deployments overseas. He’d instilled in Chase at a young age that real men didn’t lose control of their emotions, ever, even if they were four years old and had broken their leg jumping off the garage roof.

  Chase gritted his teeth and stood up. This was no time for self-pity. Someone was out to get him, and he had to find out who. That was never going to happen while he was sitting around thinking about some pretty preschool teacher.

  If Security Forces wasn’t going to track down his alibi for the morning of the Red Rose Killer’s murders, he was going to have to do it himself. The fact that Preston had brought up his former boss, Captain Jennifer Reardon, in the interrogation had reminded him that there might be more than one way to track Ajay down. He dialed Captain Reardon’s office number. She answered on the first ring. “Morning, ma’am.”

  “Morning, Airman.” The captain’s voice was clipped and her words precise. He often thought she spoke the way a sniper fired. “What can I do for you?”

  He imagined word of his early morning arrest had already made it to her ears.

  “I’m trying to track someone down,” he said, “and I’m hoping you could help. When I was in Afghanistan, I became friends with a local contractor named Ajay Joseph...”

  “I can’t say I remember him,” she said briskly.

  That didn’t surprise him. There had been hundreds of American servicemen and -women on the base, as well as hundreds of local contractors. She hadn’t been wrong when she’d told investigators that he’d been a quiet man who kept to himself, though he seriously doubted she’d put the kind of negative spin on it that Preston had implied. A certain inner calm was important in the kind of Security Forces work that involved protecting high priority targets for long and potentially boring periods of time, when nothing was happening and there was empty desert spread in all directions. He hadn’t socialized much with the broader team. Not because he hadn’t liked them, but because he was the kind of guy who’d always preferred just having a couple of close friendships.

  “He was an Afghan contractor who helped as a local liaison to get our weapons into the hands of the right people on the ground,” he said, “and keep them out of the wrong ones. It’s very important that I speak with him as soon as possible, but I haven’t been able to reach him in weeks. I considered contacting your counterpart on the ground, Captain Teddy Dennis, but I don’t know him personally and never served under him directly.”

  “May I ask what this is regarding?” Her voice was guarded and cautious, even clipped. Under the circumstances, he wasn’t surprised.

  Lord, I hate asking anyone for help. But I don’t have the resources to track Ajay down on my own.

  “I need him to confirm a video communication we had on the morning of April 1,” he said, knowing the date would probably trigger the same shudder of familiarity down her spine as it did his. “Ajay and I used to be in a small Bible study together, and consider each other friends. He had been dealing with a tricky situation and was looking for my advice.”

  Specifically, the young Afghan had been noticing some slight discrepancies in some of the weapons shipments and wondered if a fellow contractor was skimming off a few items to sell on the black market. Considering the desperate poverty some of his men were coming from, Ajay had been tempted to look the other way. But his new and growing Christian faith had been nudging him toward making a full report to Captain Dennis. He’d asked Chase to pray with him and had also promised to send through some supply records to get Chase’s second opinion. He didn’t want to ruin another man’s life until he was positive theft was actually happening. The supply record emails had arrived encrypted. In the chaos of Boyd’s breakout and the release of the K-9 dogs, Chase hadn’t managed to unencrypt them before his laptop had been stolen from his truck. When Chase had gotten a new machine and asked Ajay to resend the files, Ajay had emailed back saying the matter had been resolved. It had been nothing but an accounting error. He’d also said that his father was ill, so he was going to visit his family in the mountains. Chase had wished his father a speedy recovery. That was the last Chase had heard from him.

  He was thankful Captain Reardon hadn’t pressed him for more information about the call. If Ajay had been right, and it had been nothing but an accounting error, he didn’t want the notoriously aggressive Captain Dennis firing Ajay’s crew over it.

  “While we were talking, a phone call came in about the Red Rose Killer breaking onto base and releasing K-9 dogs,” he said. “We’d been on the call from four fifteen onward, which proves I wasn’t helping Boyd Sullivan on base that morning and was not involved in any of the crimes that took place. I got an email from him a few weeks ago telling me he was going to visit his family in the mountains and I haven’t heard from him since. But, as you can imagine, I’m quite eager to talk to him now.”

  “While I don’t recognize his name, Captain Dennis did recently mention his main liaison with one of the Afghan independent contractors had recently left,” she said. “I assume we’re talking about the same man. Communication lines in the mountains are virtually nonexistent.”

  “Did Captain Dennis have any idea when he’d be returning or how I could contact him?” Chase asked. “Do you know if Ajay’s company has anyone who’d be heading up into the mountains who could try to pass along a message for me?”

  He ran his hand over his face. Maybe he should have gone to Captain Dennis directly.

  There was a heavy pause, which he knew meant Captain Reardon was choosing her words carefully. “Airman, I know you’re frustrated. But you know that things don’t work in Afghanistan the way they do here. It’s the middle of the summer. The heat is extreme and we can’t expect one of our partners on the ground to send someone wandering through a war zone to find one man who might not even remember a conversation he had with you three months ago.”

  He blew out a long breath. She was right and he should probably be thankful she was agreeing to talk to him at all under the circumstances.

  “I understand, ma’am,” he said. “I apologize for putting you in this situation. I realize I’m grasping at straws. But my laptop was stolen from my truck and along with it any evidence of the video call. Someone threatened my daughter’s life this morning. There was a prowler outside her window who tried to cut the screen with a knife.”

  She took in a sharp breath.

  “Oh, Chase, I’m so sorry.” Her voice softened. “As I hope you can understand, my hands are fairly tied and there’s very little I can do. But I will speak to Captain Dennis directly today and ask if there’s any way he can speak to the man’s organization and access his computer logs. If he was using a base computer, Captain Dennis might be able to access the records himself and confirm when you spoke and for how long. I can also ask him if he knows of any way to contact him directly. Although, I would’ve assumed Security Forces would’ve already sought to access that information.”

  So would he. But the almost gleefully vindictive look that had glinted in Preston’s eyes was now making him wonder. Was it possible Captain Dennis had already provided that information and investigators were so eager to see him hang that they’d discounted it? “Do you think I should contact Captain Dennis directly?”

  “Ma
y I be blunt?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  “You’re suspected of helping a serial killer who murdered several fine servicemen and -women.” Her voice sharpened. “You know what Boyd Sullivan has done to our community. His crimes and the fact that he’s still on the loose is tearing Canyon apart. Everyone you speak to is going to be under a cloud of suspicion and it could have an extremely unwelcome impact on anyone serving overseas if you start making calls on secured lines about accessing old video logs. I’m talking about how it will look, Airman, regardless of how innocent your intentions are. Let me talk to Captain Dennis. I’ll impress on him the importance of the situation and tell him to pass everything he can find directly onto investigators. You and I have served together. I have broad shoulders and can take a bit of heat. I’ve already been questioned about you once and I won’t be surprised if I face some additional questioning over this conversation.”

  He hadn’t even considered how talking to Captain Reardon or Captain Dennis would impact their careers, their work or their teams. Suspicion was like a toxin. It had been spreading through Canyon Air Force Base for weeks now, poisoning hearts and infecting relationships. He prayed that neither of the captains would face any trouble for helping him.

  “Let me assure you that nobody you’ve served with believes for a moment you have anything to do with Boyd Sullivan,” she added. “Hopefully, this will all be cleared up quickly. But, in my opinion, the best thing you can do right now is to lay low and let the investigators do their job.”

  “Thank you, ma’am, and thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem, Airman.”

  They ended the call and he set the phone back in its cradle. Relaxing was the last thing on his mind. He’d been framed for murder, his life was falling apart and he wasn’t about to sit around and wait for someone else to sort it. The uncharacteristic silence of his empty house surrounded him. He knelt in the mess and closed his eyes to pray. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been truly alone in his bungalow without his daughter and dog running around. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Questions tumbled through his mind like Ping-Pong balls in a dryer. His daughter’s frightened face filled his mind.

  Help me, God. I’m in really deep trouble and You’re my only hope.

  He opened his eyes and set out for Sunny Seeds Preschool.

  * * *

  “Doggy, Doggy, go find the phone!”

  Maisy sat cross-legged on the brightly colored carpet in Sunny Seeds Preschool’s large open classroom and chanted along with her students and classroom assistant, Esther Hall, as little Allie whispered the search command in Queenie’s ear. Then Maisy let Queenie climb off her lap and into the circle. The children giggled as Queenie walked over to each one and sniffed them in turn. Then the small dog trotted off in the direction of the dress-up corner. Eleven small shining faces watched her go.

  “Queenie finds phones!” Allie had explained to Maisy when they’d first gotten to the preschool. The toddler had then whispered something in the dog’s ear and then Queenie had walked over and sat neatly in front of where Maisy’s phone was on the table, and refused to move until Allie had patted her head. “I gave her a command just like Daddy. Queenie finds computers too.”

  Maisy hadn’t even heard of an electronic-sniffing dog, let alone expected to find one in such a small and adorable size. All the K-9 dogs she’d met had been large, majestic and formidable breeds, like rottweilers, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers. But when Felicity and her newlywed husband, Westley, had dropped by with some dog food, she’d told Maisy that Chase and Queenie had done the electronic search of her home back in April and found two listening devices. Westley had then explained that while ESDs were relatively new in law enforcement, they had incredible abilities to sniff out the smallest electronic devices on command, as small as tiny thumb drives and picture storage cards, no matter where a criminal hid them. A beagle’s small size and excellent nose made it the perfect breed for that kind of work. He said it seemed that while little Allie had been watching her father train Queenie at home she’d picked up how to give the dog the search command with the exact same tone of voice, intonation and gestures her father used. Ultimately, Chase would have to train the dog to ignore Allie’s instructions. At least, thankfully, it only seemed to be Allie that the dog responded to that way.

  Even then, Maisy had been a bit skeptical until Allie got Queenie to sniff out each arriving parent who came to drop off their child and then reported back whether or not they were carrying any electronic devices on their person. If they weren’t carrying any, she moved on. If they were, she howled once, sat directly in front of their feet and stared.

  She hadn’t gotten it wrong once.

  So now, on top of the general excitement of having a small dog as a very special visitor at the preschool, the regular circle time had turned into a game. Maisy, with Allie’s help, held Queenie and theatrically covered the small dog’s eyes while her assistant, Esther, helped one of the students hide the phone, and then Allie would give Queenie the command to find it.

  The coat hooks, book nook and building blocks hadn’t proven to be a challenge. This time Queenie sniffed around the costume trunk, then dove under the dress-up rack and disappeared in the costumes and uniforms for a second. Then her tiny furry head reappeared through the flowing fabric. She barked and sat. Maisy laughed. “Good dog.”

  She got up from the circle, went over and stroked the small dog’s head. Queenie licked her fingers.

  There was a short, polite rap on the glass window separating the classroom from the front hallway. She glanced back. Her breath caught in her throat. There stood Chase, dressed in his crisp, clean uniform blues, looking every bit like a hero as he had the day she’d first laid eyes on him. Unexpected heat rose to her cheeks. Whether he was guilty or innocent of the crimes he was being suspected of, Chase’s life was in serious danger. Her crushing on him like a schoolgirl was the last thing either of them needed.

  Maisy broke his gaze and nodded toward where Allie now rolled on the carpet, giggling with Zoe’s son, Freddy. The little girl hadn’t noticed her father yet. Something softened in Chase’s eyes as he glanced at his daughter, but he shook his head slightly and pointed to Maisy. Then he stepped back away from the window and out of sight. Seemed he wanted to talk to her alone for a moment before he greeted his daughter. She wasn’t sure why, but once Allie caught sight of her daddy, Maisy suspected she wouldn’t be in a hurry to let him go. Maisy wanted to talk to him alone too, more than she’d realized. She needed to look him straight in the eyes, ask him if he was guilty and demand the truth about why he had her father’s cross.

  Maisy turned back to the classroom. The other preschool teacher, Bella Martinez, who taught the class next door, and her classroom assistant, Vance Jones, had taken their students outside to the playground. No doubt, her students would enjoy the opportunity to play with the other kids.

  “That was fun, wasn’t it?” she said, keeping her voice light and cheerful. “Now I think it’s time for outside playtime. Everybody follow Miss Esther outside.”

  She waited and supervised, keeping a watchful eye as the slender and dark-haired newly qualified teacher led the herd of children out to the shady fenced playground behind the preschool. Two years younger than Maisy and very ambitious, Esther was the granddaughter of base commander Lieutenant General Nathan Hall and never tried to hide that she was eager to run her own class and not be anyone’s assistant. But she was good with the students.

  Maisy turned back to where she knew Chase would be waiting. She took a deep breath and prayed as she exhaled. Lord, is this man guilty of the crimes he’s been accused of? Help me be wise. Help me see the truth. Then she raised her chin and pushed through the door into the small entranceway. “Hello, Chase. Allie’s outside in the back playground. It’s fully fenced in and supervised.”

 
Although, since paranoia and suspicion had spread across the base, a handful of the more overprotective parents had argued a locked five-foot-tall fence wasn’t enough to protect their children from intruders. The preschool director, Imogene Wilson, had installed extra security cameras and keypad locks on the playground doors, but still some parents were demanding the school take down the beautiful and colorful picket fence that Maisy herself had painted and replace it with a much taller chain-link fence with barbed wire on top. One or two other parents wanted to cancel recess and field trips altogether. Thankfully, so far the preschool director hadn’t given in.

  Chase stepped back, nearly bumping into a cheerful hand-painted wooden sign of smiling fruit proclaiming Hugs Happen Here! He was so tall the top of her head barely came up to his chin, and not for the first time, she felt her eyes lingering on the strength of his arms and the breadth of his chest.

  “Maisy, hi.” His voice was oddly husky, as if there was something caught in his throat. Sad eyes searched her face, looking even more lost and alone than when he’d first walked into her preschool. “I... Honestly... Well...” Then Chase closed his mouth again and shook his head as his words failed him. If she’d ever seen someone in need of a hug, it was him. He swallowed hard. “How’s Allie?”

  “She’s fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “She was pretty confused and upset at first, as is to be expected. But she’s a strong kid and very resilient. I let her take a pink hair bow out of the birthday box, which calmed her down a bit. She helped me make toaster waffles and fruit for breakfast and showed me how to get Queenie to hunt for cell phones.”

  He chuckled. “Did she now?”

  “When Felicity and Westley brought over some dog food, Westley said to mention that before you integrate Queenie to the K-9 unit you’ll have to train Queenie not to take commands from anyone else,” she said, “including Allie. Although, he suspects Allie’s only able to do it because she’s done a really good job figuring out how to mimic you. She’s a really smart kid.”