by L. T. Ryan
“She’s gone.”
“Where’d she go?”
“Don’t know. I woke up and she was gone.” He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out an envelope. “She left this for you.”
I took the envelope labeled “Jack” from him and stared at it for a minute. “You read it?”
“Nah.”
“She give any indication she was leaving?”
Bear shook his head and hiked his shoulders up an inch.
“You’re sure she left. She wasn’t taken?”
“Jack, no, man. We went to sleep. I got up and she was gone. If someone was going to go through the trouble of taking her from the room, don’t you think they would have killed me?”
I fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He had a point. If someone had broken in, they would have either taken him with them or taken him out. Plus, Bear would have woken up if someone broke in. The man might be nicknamed Bear and look like a bear, but he sure as hell didn’t sleep like one.
“Read the letter, Jack.”
I lifted my arms and held the envelope over my face. I decided against opening it, at least for a while. We had work to do. I sat up and tucked the sealed letter into one of the inside pockets of my jacket.
“I’ll read it later,” I said. “I need to catch you up on what’s happened.”
I talked, and Bear listened. He remained silent until I finished.
After I was done, he said, “You’re sure Keller is behind it?”
I took a moment to respond. “I don’t know, Bear. But I’m going to find out.”
He nodded and leaned back in his chair.
“What I need to know is if you think you can come with me. Can you?”
“Yeah, Jack. I’m good to go. It hurts, but it won’t stop me if things go south.”
We sat in silence the next few minutes.
Bear leaned forward, his mouth open an inch. He furrowed his eyebrows and pointed at the TV behind me. “Where’s the remote?” He got up.
I turned in my seat and saw what had shocked him.
Bear picked up the remote and unmuted the station.
The display under the woman said her name was Cassandra Phillips. She spoke in the serious tone all newscasters had to perfect.
“Once again, we are stunned and shocked to be reporting this breaking news. At six a.m. this morning, police found the bodies of Richard Gallo and Eddie Bealle, both CIA agents involved in the conflict in Afghanistan. The reports we’ve received indicate that the men were murdered, execution style, in downtown Washington, D.C.”
They flashed head shots of both men on the screen and then cut to a scene in front of Gallo’s home. A local news team spoke to his wife, who kept herself half hidden behind the door. A small child with blond hair clung to her exposed leg.
I tuned out the broadcast and turned to Bear.
“I just met with them last night.”
“That’s what you said.”
“Someone is going to recall seeing them with me.”
“You didn’t do it, right Jack?”
Cassandra’s voice returned on the TV and I spun around to watch.
“There are no suspects in the case at this time. Police have said they are looking for a person of interest, but details have not been released. We will keep you apprised of the story as we become aware of additional developments.”
I threw my hands behind my head and grabbed my hair. “It’s either the same people that took out Delaney, or it’s…”
Bear waited a second and then prompted me to speak.
“Martinez,” I said.
“Martinez? You think he’d take out his own guys?”
“They weren’t his guys. He was loyal to his original team. So, yeah, I wouldn’t put this past him.”
Bear turned off the TV and moved to the window. He pulled back the curtains and studied the parking lot.
“We should go.”
I got up and walked to the door.
“Yeah. Get your stuff.”
* * *
We hurried down the block and got in the car. The hotel was five minutes from the interstate. I stopped and filled up on gas, and then hit the interstate heading south. We drove in silence until we crossed the North Carolina state border.
“It’s a good six hours to Savannah, so catch up on sleep if you need to,” I said.
Bear said nothing. He stared out the window. His elbow propped on the door sticking out the open window.
I reached inside my jacket and traced the edges of the envelope Jessie left me. I wondered what the letter said. Probably the same things she said five years ago when we split up for good. Although, for good didn’t mean forever. She even told me that. And I thought that maybe for good ended now. Apparently not, though. I needed to talk to her. To find out if it would make a difference if I left the military and became a cop or a firefighter or anything other than what I was now.
“Did she say anything?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Jessie. Did she say anything at all that gave you any indication she was leaving?”
“Nah. She just slipped out in the middle of the night.”
I turned the wheel, adjusting to the curve in the road and said nothing.
“Maybe once we’re done you should go back to Virginia.”
“Think she went home?”
Bear shook his head. “After what’s happened? I doubt it, man. She probably got on a bus, went to the airport and picked a destination.”
“That’s how she ended up in Virginia.”
“I remember, Jack.”
Chapter 19
General Keller lived halfway between Parris Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia in a housing development near Hilton Head where the homes cost half a million dollars. It raised some eyebrows when he bought it, but there were rumors that his wife had penned a series of romantic suspense novels and nailed down a seven figure advance from a major publisher. Still, for the regular working man it was tough to see your superior living in a McMansion and driving around a ninety thousand dollar Mercedes.
It didn’t take a math whiz to put two and two together. Abbot and his new Audi A8 and decked out weekend home. Keller with his oversized house and overpriced Mercedes. They got it all from kickbacks. Blood money.
We pulled into the half-constructed neighborhood and turned away from the dirt packed street where the wooden framed skeletons of houses lined the road. Bear leaned back in his seat and did his best to stay out of sight. I turned on Keller’s road and eased past his house, taking in as much of the yellow stucco two story house as I could in the few seconds it took to pass. We’d been inside the house the previous summer for a housewarming party he threw a few months after he moved in. I searched my mind for a map of the layout of the house, but couldn’t recall it all. The house was big. That’s all I remembered.
The street looped around and connected with the main road. I turned left and then left again on Keller’s street and parked the car three houses down from his. There was a curve in the road that gave us a decent view of the front of the house. Keller’s black full sized Mercedes was parked in the driveway, and a Jeep Wrangler with tires stained orange from mud was parked on the street in front of the house.
“He’s got guests,” Bear said.
“We can wait a bit,” I said.
“What if they don’t leave?”
“Then we deal with them.”
“Jack?”
I shifted in my seat to look at Bear. “Yeah?”
“What if—” he paused and ran a hand across his face. “What if Marlowe lied?”
“You mean what if Keller wasn’t involved?”
“Well, that, yeah. But also, what if he set you up? Set us up?”
I nodded slowly, letting my eyes shift toward the front of the house. “I thought about that, Bear. I did. Here’s the way I see it. Marlowe gave up Keller without directly saying his name. He led me to figure it out, meaning one of two thin
gs. Marlowe is as deep in this as Keller, and I don’t doubt that for one minute, but it’s just what side of it he’s on. He’s for the program, but not the way it’s being run. In that case, he knows Keller’s involvement with what’s happened to us and the other teams. He can’t say anything for political reasons—”
“Or maybe Keller has something on Marlowe.”
“Yeah, maybe Keller does have something on Marlowe and if he came out and accused Keller, it would be political suicide. Maybe even more than that. With all that’s happened, jail time could be involved. None of us could be considered a choir boy. Top to bottom.”
Bear nodded and said nothing.
“Or, yeah, maybe they are working together. Sent us down here so they could finish what they started in Iraq. We could walk into that house and be shot on sight.”
After a minute Bear asked, “What’s your gut tell you?”
I thought it over.
“My gut tells me that Marlowe is on our side, at least, as much as he can be. That Keller was the architect behind this plan and somehow Abbot was involved. Whether he was for or against is anybody’s guess. I think he was going to blow the whistle the other night before he was murdered. But, whether Marlowe lied or not, I fully expect Keller to be ready for me when I knock on that door. They’ve been a step ahead the whole time it seems.”
“Yeah. Wait. You’re going to knock on the door?”
“I want you to wait outside, Bear. You’re going to wait in the car while I go inside. After five minutes, move to the house.”
“I’m going to look like a damn peepin’ Tom out here.”
I laughed, the reaction caused by nerves more than anything. “We’re waiting till sunset.” I pointed at the wide orange sun hovering over the houses at the end of the street. “Another half hour and it should be dark out here.”
Bear nodded.
“You remember the layout of the house?”
“A bit,” I said. “Walk into a ten by ten foyer. Stairs off to the left, beyond that a dining room. On the right, the foyer opens up to a huge living room. I’m going to try and stick to that area.”
“What’s your plan when you get inside?”
I hadn’t decided on an exact plan. I thought it over during the drive. There were a few possible scenarios. I could walk in and Keller could be alone. That would be simple. Get the confession and leave. But, if he was waiting for me, then anything could happen.
“Jack? You got a plan?”
“Winging it, big man.”
Bear cursed under his breath and whipped his head side to side. “I’ll go on record as saying if we die, it’s on your hands.”
“Sounds good.”
* * *
My boots thudded against the white concrete sidewalk. The sound echoed through the air. I had debated whether to cut through backyards or just walk up to the house and knock. I decided to walk up to the house. I didn’t care if he saw me coming. If things went the way I hoped, then he wouldn’t think I was there to take him down. He would think I was there for help. On the other hand, if he knew we were coming, then he’d be prepared no matter how I entered the house.
Light shone through downstairs windows. A little white sign attached to a stake was planted at the corner of his yard. It read, “Don’t walk on the lawn.” I kicked the sign out of the ground and crossed the grass to the steps leading up to the front porch. I stopped in front of the red painted front door. I leaned toward the door, my head turned sideways. Silence.
The handle turned. The sound of metal clicking broke the silence. I took a step back and the door swung open. I recognized the swollen face that stared back at me. The short dark stubble on the top of his head wasn’t there a couple days ago when I broke his jaw, though.
“Jarhead,” he said through teeth that were wired shut. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. He brought his arms in front of him and clenched his fists.
Keller stepped into view. “Hello, Jack.” He stepped into the foyer and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You’ve met my stepson, Mike.”
I nodded and scanned the room behind them. Three brown leather couches formed a U shape in the middle of the room. Two small square tables joined the middle couch with the others. A plain rug covered the hardwood floor in the empty space between the couches.
“Why don’t you come on in, Jack?”
Keller pulled Mike back and gestured me through the door.
I stepped in and felt his hand on my back.
“Can I take your jacket?”
I dipped my shoulder and spun around.
“No thanks.”
He lifted his hands in an off-putting gesture. “No problem.” He shut the front door and walked past me and took a seat on the couch facing me. “Have a seat.”
“I’m fine standing.”
He sighed. “What can I do for you, Jack?”
Mike walked past Keller and headed for the hall.
“I want him to stay in here,” I said.
Mike kept walking.
“Mike,” Keller said sternly.
The young man stopped and turned, then took a seat on the same couch as Keller.
A smug look crossed Keller’s face. “Why are you here?”
“You know why.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Four Marines are dead. Six are in prison in Iraq. Two are on the run and wanted for murders they didn’t commit.”
Keller shook his head.
“I don’t know. There’s some damning evidence against those two Marines on the run. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Jack.”
I said nothing.
“If you need me to help you, I might be able to arrange something. But, to be honest, killing that man in D.C., and then Abbot. Christ.” He turned his head toward Mike. “Look at what you did to my boy here. The assault charge alone carries twenty years in prison.”
Mike lifted his head from his chest and stared at me. His lip curled. Even in his current state I didn’t doubt that he’d attack like a junkyard dog if given the command.
“I know what you did, Keller.”
Keller put his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side. He grinned and lifted his eyebrows a half inch.
“What I did? I don’t follow, Jack. What do you know?”
I took a deep breath. I had to keep my composure, for now.
“You set all of this up. You had the Iraqi family killed and then framed me for the murder.” I left Bear’s name out on purpose. “You didn’t count on Abbot getting us home, back to the U.S., though. Did you?”
Keller sat back in the corner of the couch, crossed his arms and legs and smiled at me.
“Abbot pulled a few strings and got his guys out of there, got us out of there. He didn’t know that the others had been set up yet. You had a twenty four hour plan and set it in motion with me. You got wind of what Abbot had done and then had the plans changed. That’s why the CIA met us at the airport and not Abbot or an MP.”
Keller said nothing. He sat there with the same smile on his face with his eyes crinkled upward. He nodded his head slowly.
“So they took us to Camp Lejeune. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right? I had to report there at the base quarterly, at a minimum. Throwing us in the brig was a nice touch though.” I waited for him to respond. He didn’t. I continued. “Then you tried to have me killed, first with the psycho in the cell, which was a pathetic attempt, and then in the bathroom. Just nod if I’m right.”
He sat motionless. The smile slowly faded from his face.
“Didn’t count on Abbot getting McDuffie to get me out of there though, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” He frowned and looked down at the floor. Back up at me.
I smiled. “You must have crapped a brick when you found out I was heading up to see Delaney. I just want to know, why didn’t you have him killed before he met with me?”
“Because I wanted both of you dead and making the hit at the sa
me time seemed the best option.” He glared at me now.
“Who did Delaney work for?”
He shrugged and held out his hands. “We’ll never know, will we?”
“Then you tracked me to—”
“Let me save you some time, Noble. We tracked you through your damn cell phone.” He leaned forward and then stood. Crossed in front of one of the couches and then behind it, using the couch to separate us. He stopped and placed his hands on the back of the couch and hunched over it. “Tracked you to the girl’s house. Thought it would be good to give you a scare before taking you out. You know, the phone call.”
“All you did was gave me a head’s up.”
“Yeah, well…” He lifted a hand and ran it over his head. “We had the men in place to take you out.”
“I saw them.”
“Martinez called them back. He wanted to—”
“Martinez,” I said flatly.
Keller raised his voice. “Yeah, Martinez.” Then he continued. “He was about to take Abbot out. We knew you’d be heading there next, so why not try to coincide your visit with Abbot’s murder, then get you at the next stop.”
“Only you lost me. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah.” Keller turned to glance over his shoulder, and then looked back at me. “Found your phone, though. Want it back?”
“Keep it. Hate the damn thing, anyway.” I didn’t give him a chance to talk. “So you gave the order to take out Abbot. Why?”
“He was going to screw it up all, Jack. Everything we had going for us.”
“You hated the idea. Don’t you remember that? You were pissed when you sent us off to Langley for this program.”
He nodded. “After a while they, uh, helped me see the light.”
“They paid you off.”
He hiked his shoulders a few inches and held out his hands.
“Admit it. You were getting paid off. That’s how you were able to afford this place.”
“No, actually, that’s not true. Nancy did get that book deal everyone talked about. We settled for this place only because I’m stuck here for a few more years.”
“So what did you do with the money?”