by L.T. Ryan
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 things. 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.”