“Absolutely,” Chase said. He listed every name, rank and title of the people who had been at the barbecue, taking note of how Preston’s nostrils flared when he mentioned Maisy’s name.
“And what did you discuss?” Justin asked.
“We exchanged pleasantries and I asked him if he’d seen Ajay Joseph recently,” Chase said. “He had not.”
“Could you please give an account of your entire evening last night? From the beginning.”
He did so, starting with being spotted by Linc outside the fence and then moving back to the video call with Frank. “Then I had a brief conversation with Maisy Lockwood—”
“What was the nature of the conversation?” Preston interjected. It was the first question he’d asked and he did so with such force that Chase was surprised he didn’t actually bang his fist on the table.
“We discussed the kidnap attempt on my daughter at Sunny Seeds,” he said. “She asked why I’d been looking to speak to Ajay Joseph, and I told her that he was my alibi for the morning of Sunday, April 1. I also assured her I had nothing to do with Boyd Sullivan’s crimes and her father’s death.” But there’d been more to the conversation than that. Something deeper. Something he’d felt when her hands had brushed against his. “Then we heard what sounded like a cell phone alert and turned to see a figure in a hoodie and baseball cap on the other side of the fence, with a bandanna covering the lower half of their face—a figure who I must stress matched the description of the person who tried to abduct my daughter yesterday and was also seen lurking outside my home. Queenie and I gave chase.”
He then explained in detail everything that had happened next, from reaching the fence, to making the call to go through, to being joined by the other K-9 officers and dogs, to Queenie losing the scent. He would go over it all, every word, in slow, laborious detail, leaving nothing out. It was the only way he’d clear his name, by cooperating and behaving like a man who had nothing to hide.
Preston sat silently through the rest of the talk as Justin went over every single question and detail that the lieutenant had drilled him on in their last interrogation, including new ones about what had happened the day before. But while Preston had questioned him like an angry dog trying to chase a rat into a corner, Justin’s questioning was calmer, quieter and more methodical. Instead, it was like Chase’s entire life was a tower of wooden blocks, and Justin was slowly poking and pulling each one, trying to see if he could pry it loose and make Chase’s whole world crumble and fall. Preston’s aggressive assault Chase could stand against. Justin’s slow dismantling of his life shook him far more.
Allie cried out softly in her sleep and he could tell without even glancing down under the table that Queenie had gone from lying down to sitting up in response. His little girl wasn’t fully awake yet, but she wouldn’t sleep much longer.
“I have something to show you,” Justin said. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I received an emailed response from Captain Teddy Dennis serving in Afghanistan. I had reached out to him in regards to your communication with Ajay Joseph. He mentioned that your former supervisor, Captain Reardon, had reached out to him as well.”
He breathed a sigh of thanks that Captain Reardon had done as she’d said and that Teddy had responded.
“What did he say?” Chase asked, forcing himself not to ask all the other questions tumbling through his mind. Had he been able to reach Ajay? Had Ajay confirmed his alibi? If so, why was he still being questioned?
“You can read it for yourself.” Justin slid the paper across the table with a grim look that made any hope Chase might’ve been tempted to feel dissipate before it could even form. He stared at the paper for a moment. Then he unfolded it and read.
It was an email sent from the official address of Captain Teddy Dennis, three lines long, blunt and to the point. Yes, he could confirm that somebody by the name of Ajay Joseph had been the liaison between the United States Air Force and an independent Afghan contractor and had coordinated with Chase McLear personally. The email went on to say that Mr. Joseph had gone home to visit his family in the mountains in early April, had resigned from his role in late May and that Teddy was unaware of whether he was returning to work or how to contact him. The captain closed the letter by saying that Captain Blackwood shouldn’t hesitate to contact him again if he could be of any more assistance.
“Disappointing,” Chase said. He looked down at the letter for a long moment. Then he refolded it and slid it back across the table. “But Captain Reardon did say she’d look into whether the records of my video calls with Ajay could be recovered. Maybe she’ll turn something up.”
“What did you discuss during your last conversation with Ajay Joseph?” Justin asked. His eyes rose to meet Chase’s and there was a new look in there that Chase couldn’t decipher. It was piercing.
“No, sir.” Chase folded his arms on the table. “I’m sorry, but I promised to keep everything he said in strictest confidence.”
If he had been able to receive, decrypt and read the files Ajay had sent, he could’ve had actionable data to report. Ajay had known that Chase wouldn’t have been able to keep silent if he’d seen actual evidence of theft or fraud. But as it was, all he had were rumors, ones that could ruin innocent people’s lives.
“What was the nature of the conversation?” Justin pressed.
“Again, it was personal, sir,” he said. “And nothing that has any bearing on this discussion.”
“Don’t you think that’s for me to judge?” Justin demanded. “Do you understand what’s happening here, Airman? You’ve been accused of being an accomplice to multiple crimes, including murder. You’ve been accused of aiding and abetting a serial killer. Your career is hanging by a very thin thread, and you’re dangerously close to being in handcuffs. To be very blunt, the only thing I care about is the truth. If the truth is that you’re innocent, then I want that sorted out and settled as quickly as possible so that I stop wasting my time and start chasing other leads. If you’re guilty, and your silence allows Boyd Sullivan to hurt a single other human being, then you should have no doubt that you will be caught and punished to the full extent of the law. So the quicker you stop being coy and start getting real with me, the faster a killer will be off the streets and the easier life will be for your daughter.”
Chase sat back in his chair. It was the longest string of words he’d ever heard come out of Justin’s mouth and he could tell by the way the usual smirk had faded from Preston’s face that it surprised him too.
“So, I will ask you again, Airman, what was the nature of your conversation with Ajay Joseph? Why did he call you that morning? What did you discuss?” Justin asked.
Chase felt his shoulders straighten. “With all due respect, I’m not trying to obstruct justice, sir. I simply believe what I discussed with him is irrelevant.”
Justin leaned forward. His eyes narrowed like a searchlight, locking Chase in their focus. “Even if it gets people killed, lands you in jail and destroys your daughter’s life? Are you really that heartless?”
EIGHT
Heartless? The single word smacked Chase with a ferocity that stole the breath from his lungs and made a fire flare inside his veins and threaten to consume him. He hadn’t wanted to tell them that Ajay had called about suspected theft in his team, because Ajay’s last email had told him it’d been nothing but an accounting error and Chase wasn’t about to blurt out that a friend had suspected one of his men of stealing from the United States Air Force. Trust was everything in a war zone. Even the suspicion of theft could cost countless impoverished Afghan locals their livelihoods. He’d seen independent local contractors fired for less. And Justin thought that meant he didn’t care about his daughter? That he didn’t care that Boyd Sullivan was out in the world murdering good men, like his friend’s brother?
The captain had no idea how hard Chase fought day after day
to withstand the barrage of questions, accusations, suspicion and dirty looks, or how much inner strength it took him not to stand up, flip the table over and shout his innocence at the top of his lungs.
“I don’t want to hurt Ajay!” Chase felt his voice rise. “He’s my friend. He’s new in his faith. He’s dealing with a family crisis. I’m not about to throw anybody under the bus to save my own life.”
Preston groaned. Yeah, he didn’t expect Preston to get it. But was he mistaken, or had something actually softened behind Justin’s eyes?
Chase took a breath. He would tell them the truth. But nothing specific that could damage Ajay or the men who’d worked for him.
“My grandfather was Senior Master Sergeant Donald McLear,” Chase went on. His voice dropped. “He told me a good man never repeated slander and that even when there was proof, a wise man knew when to hold his tongue. Ajay was concerned that someone he knew might’ve committed a nonviolent crime. It turned out the allegations were false and I’m certainly not going to repeat them. He asked me for my advice on the matter and I agreed to look at his evidence. But his evidence was on my missing laptop and I never had the opportunity to look at it. Ajay later emailed that he’d been wrong, no crime had occurred and it had all been a mistake. All I know is that my friend Ajay was doing his best in a difficult situation and I have no desire to make his life more complicated or ruin a potentially innocent stranger’s life, just to save my own skin.” He crossed his arms and leaned back. “I know all too well how being stitched up feels.”
He realized as he’d said the words that he could’ve probably said that much earlier and found himself wondering, for the first time, if his reluctance to trust other people was making his life even more difficult than it needed to be. But opening up and trusting people had never come easily to him. He felt protective of Ajay, who’d confided in him. The last thing he wanted was to find out Captain Dennis was breathing down the local contractors’ necks because of him.
His grandfather always warned him that any word he spoke and any weakness he showed could be weaponized against him. Surely, it was best to stay a closed book. Life was safest if he didn’t let anyone in.
Silence fell around the table. Justin leaned back and let out a long breath. “And you’re sure that’s the only person you’re protecting?”
“Bad man hurt man! No!” A plaintive cry came down the hall, shattering the moment of tension and stealing any answer Chase might’ve given. Allie’s gentle whimpering turned into a full on cry. Instantly, Chase pushed his chair back and stood, forgetting for a moment where he was and who he was with.
Justin and Preston stood too.
“I think we’re good for now,” Justin said. “Don’t leave the base without going through a main checkpoint again and informing my office, under any circumstances, or I will be forced to reexamine whether further restrictions should be placed on your movement. If you can think of anything that could be helpful, don’t hesitate to give me a call.” He laid his business card down on the table. Allie’s cries grew louder. “We can see ourselves out. Go tend to your daughter.”
“Thank you, sir.” Chase saluted and the two men returned the salute.
He left the men in his living room and half strode, half jogged down the hallway to Allie’s room. She was sitting up in bed, damp blond curls plastered against her sweaty face. She reached for him.
“Bad man hurt man, Daddy,” she said.
“I know, Sweet Pea,” he said. Not that I know what you mean by that. He swept her up into his arms and held her tightly. His fingertips gently brushed her hair back from her face. “Daddy’s here now. You’re safe.”
A gentle tongue licked his arm tentatively. He glanced down. Queenie had jumped up on Allie’s bed and was standing there, her tail wagging gently, as if she knew something was wrong and wanted to help. Chase closed his eyes and hugged his daughter closer, feeling her tiny fists tighten around the fabric of his T-shirt.
Please, help me, Father God. I love Allie so much. She’s my whole world. Save me from the snare I’m in, for her sake. I don’t want to even let myself think of what will happen to her if I don’t get out of this mess.
“Put me down, Daddy,” Allie said, after a long moment. “I need to go to school now.”
He opened his eyes and eased her back to arm’s length. Her chin still quivered, but her eyes blazed with a stubborn determination that he knew meant that she was done crying for now. He hoped that she never lost her fortitude and resilience.
“What would you think of staying home from Sunny Seeds with me and Queenie today?” he asked.
The jut of her lower lip told him the answer even before her words did.
“No, Daddy. I need to go to school. I need to go see Maisy.”
Of course she did. He set her down and she wriggled from his grasp.
“I dress myself.” Her little chin rose and she pointed to the door. He almost smiled. Seemed she was feeling independent today. Hopefully that was a good sign.
“All right, then, I’ll go get your breakfast ready.” He stepped back. It had been two months since she’d decided she needed to get dressed all by herself. After watching her futilely but stubbornly wrestle with the wooden dresser drawers, refusing to accept his help, he’d put all of Allie’s favorite clothes in a special set of pink and purple plastic drawers at toddler height on a shelf by the wall. “I’ll be right outside if you need me, okay?”
Or if she tried to put her red knit Christmas dress on again in the middle of a hot Texas summer.
“Bye-bye now, Daddy!” She waved, with that determined gesture that meant she expected him to leave. Her face was so serious he had to battle the urge to laugh. That old cliché that she’d grow up fast had seemed so far away when she was a tiny baby, crying in the night for her missing mother. Now he felt like he was realizing for the first time just how true it was. He stepped back into the hallway and waited a second to see if Queenie would be ordered out along with him. Then he closed the door three quarters of the way when he realized that apparently the dog was allowed to stay.
His heart ached to think of what would happen the day he’d have to tell Allie that Queenie was leaving. The deadline Westley had given him nipped like a wolf at his heels.
Lord, please. Help me. Rescue me from that day.
He turned and only then realized that Preston was still standing in his living room. Chase’s shoulders set. He turned and strode back into the room. “Can I help you with something?”
The smirk was back on Preston’s face, with the same unpleasant curl as the day before, only tighter and with an added malice, and Chase couldn’t help but wonder what he’d done to make Preston hate him so much. Then he glanced past the lieutenant and realized Justin was now standing just outside his door, talking on his phone. It seemed the captain had gotten a call and Preston had decided to linger inside long enough to give Justin a moment of privacy. But for the first time, the suspicion brushed the back of Chase’s spine that the very thorough and detailed captain who’d questioned him earlier wouldn’t do anything without a reason.
His feet planted on the living room floor and his hands clasped behind his back, Chase faced Preston. “Again, can I help you with something? Shouldn’t you be taking your son to school?”
“He’s with his mother this week.” Preston’s eyes darted up and down as if he disliked the reminder of his failed marriage.
“Do we have a problem?” Chase asked.
“Apparently, we do.” Preston’s arms crossed, and for the first time Chase noticed the phone clutched tightly in his hand. “I asked you to stay away from Maisy Lockwood.”
Not asked. Told. And it’s not like Preston had any right to make that demand of him, let alone issue that order.
“Yes.” Chase spoke through gritted teeth. “And I explained very thoroughly already this morning she happened to be at a b
arbecue I was invited to attend last night.”
Preston snorted. “Then do you care to clarify what you were doing holding her hand?”
Chase blinked as the words hit him so hard he rocked back on his heels. “How on earth could you possibly know that?”
“The whole base knows it!” Preston stuck his phone out, and Chase looked down in shock and horror as the base’s anonymous blogger’s page filled the screen.
Front and center on the page was a picture of him and Maisy sitting alone on the log. His back was to the camera, but Maisy’s face was crystal clear, as were their hands clasped together like two shipwrecked survivors clinging to the wreckage.
A headline ran across the screen: Red Rose Killer Accomplice Finally Found? Is Clint Lockwood’s Daughter in a Secret Romantic Relationship with the Man who helped Murder her Father?
All this time the base had been looking for a scapegoat to pin their fears and anger on. Looked like the anonymous blogger had just given them one.
* * *
“Maisy! Wait! Stop!” Zoe shouted, running down the sidewalk toward her as Maisy climbed out of her hatchback. The car was bright blue with Sunny Seeds Preschool and happy fruit decals on the side, and today was the first day in memory when the school’s small parking lot was so full she wasn’t able to pull into her usual spot, forcing her to go around the block and park on the street. Zoe raised both hands in a stopping motion. “Stay there. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I’m late,” Maisy said. She slammed the door and pushed the button on her key fob to hear it lock. She couldn’t believe how late. The conversation with Oliver had lasted longer than she’d expected and then it had felt like she’d caught every single red light on the way to school. “The school opens in less than ten minutes, I haven’t even set up anything for today and for some reason the parking lot is jammed with cars.”
The words hit her ears just as she was saying them. Why was the parking lot full? Yes, it was a small lot and the front of the school did tend to get busy when parents were dropping off children. But there weren’t that many students, so the lot was never actually full, unless it was parents’ night. Only then did she really look up and see for the first time the scene unfolding in front of her beloved school. People crowded the front of the building. Many were parents and caregivers dropping off students for the day. But there were also the parents of former students and people in uniform she didn’t recognize. There was Lieutenant Heidi Jenks, a reporter for CAFB News, and Yvette Crenville, the base nutritionist, who lived nearby and often came by to talk to the students about healthy eating. Her own classroom assistant teacher, Esther, stood by the front door, along with Bella’s classroom assistant, Vance. But through the gap in the brightly patterned curtains she could see Imogene Wilson, the preschool director, talking with Esther’s grandfather, Lieutenant General Nathan Hall. Why was the base commander visiting Sunny Seeds?
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