Silent Witness

by Lindsay McKenna

  Cochrane turned onto the freeway, “It reads ‘innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.’ Let’s find that Red Cross office and see what Susan Kane’s phone call was all about, shall we?”

  Ellen shrugged. “I hope the Red Cross is more forthcoming than Michelson was.”

  “I reckon they’ll do everything they can to help us. They can’t have as many things to hide as Michelson does. That poor bumpkin was like an amateur magician with all his cards falling out of his sleeves.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “MAY I HELP YOU?” A white-haired woman in her sixties with gold-framed glasses sat expectantly at the reception desk of the Red Cross.

  Cochrane removed his hat and tucked it beneath his left arm. “Yes, ma’am,” and went on to explain why they needed to talk to a supervisor.

  “Of course,” the woman said, picking up the phone. “I’ll tell Ms. Ebsen, Lieutenant.”

  Within five minutes, they were ushered into Madeline Ebsen’s office, a small, pale pink room filled with healthy green plants. After taking a seat, Cochrane pulled out the information given to them by the phone company. Ms. Ebsen, a trim and elegant woman in her midfifties, took the piece of paper he handed her and read it quickly.

  “You’re in luck, Lieutenant Cochrane. Linda Farmer, who took the message, is still on duty. If you’ll wait here, I’ll go see if she remembers anything about that call. In the meantime, I’ll have my assistant locate those records and bring them to my office.”

  The wait was short. Linda Farmer entered the office and reviewed the phone records brought by the assistant.

  “Oh…” Linda said with a sad smile, “I remember this call, Maddy.” She glanced at Cochrane. “The woman said her name was Lieutenant Susan Kane, and she seemed intoxicated.”

  “Intoxicated?” Cochrane said.

  “Yes. I remembered the call because she slurred her words so badly and took forever to put a sentence together. When I sat down at my computer, she hung up.”

  “Why?” Cochrane demanded.

  Ms. Ebsen went over to the computer and sat down. “Wait a moment. Let me retrieve that file.” She quickly typed in the name Kane, and all the information popped up on the monitor.

  Cochrane and Ellen got up and leaned over her shoulders. “Yes, this is her. She was slurring her words.”

  “Who was the message to?” he asked.

  “Umm, wait. Ah, here it is—Tommy.”

  Ellen looked up, shock bolting through her. “Tommy…”

  Cochrane knelt down beside the Red Cross volunteer to get a better look at the monitor. “What was the message?”

  Linda Farmer sighed. “That’s just it, Lieutenant. There was none. I must have spent ten minutes on the phone with her and she became increasingly incoherent. I couldn’t understand her, so I made her spell out the words, and even then I couldn’t grasp all she was saying. I couldn’t find out who Tommy was or where he was located.”

  “Why did she hang up?” Ellen asked.

  “I think it was too much for the poor dear,” Linda Farmer said. “She struggled so hard to get the first part of what I needed for the message that I think she just gave up. Her voice was getting weaker.”

  “What did she say?” Jim asked.

  “That she wanted to contact her brother.”

  Ellen pursed her lips. “Did she say anything about the emergency?”

  “No, she didn’t. I was just getting to the body of the message when she suddenly hung up. She’d refused to give me her phone number, so I couldn’t recontact her. Caller ID was blocked.”

  “Dadgum,” Cochrane muttered, standing up. He glanced at Ellen, who also looked defeated. “Can you give us a copy of your report?”

  “Of course.” Ms. Ebsen hit the print button. In moments, the record appeared. She tore it off and handed it to him.

  “You don’t remember anything else she said?” Cochrane asked.

  “No, not really,” Linda Farmer said. “Fortunately, everything that is said is written down and kept in the computer. I do hope this situation wasn’t too serious.”

  “Susan Kane is dead,” Cochrane told them. “That’s why I’d like you to try and remember anything else you can recall.”

  “Oh, dear,” Linda Farmer murmured apologetically, “I didn’t know. I’m very sorry. She seemed like such a confused young woman. It was so hard to talk to her.” Linda tapped her chin in thought. “I do recall that she said she loved Tommy very much, and he was the only one who could help her.”

  “With what?”

  Linda shook her head. “I don’t know, Lieutenant.”

  “If you think of anything else, ma’am, give me a call at the office?” He handed her his business card.

  “Of course I will. This is all so sad….”

  ELLEN CAUGHT UP WITH Cochrane out in the parking lot. “So close and yet so far away, huh?” Their hands brushed as they walked. To her surprise, Jim quickly wrapped his fingers around hers and gave them a quick squeeze. Then he released her hand.

  “Okay with that?” he asked, smiling down at her. This investigation on Susan Kane was eating a hole in him, but Ellen’s presence helped salve it. He hadn’t planned to touch her—it just happened. When he saw her eyes go wide with surprise, he had to make sure it was okay. Holding his breath, he waited for her answer.

  “I’m okay with it, Jim,” Ellen answered softly. And she was. Seeing the look in his gray eyes, that banked warmth directed at her, she felt herself lighten up from the heaviness of the investigation. “You pick me up just when I need it. This business with death gets to me a lot more than I’d like to admit.”

  “I didn’t want to overstep any bounds with you,” he said huskily. “You need to keep telling me what is or is not appropriate toward you, Ellen.”

  She brushed some curls off her face. “I can do that. But it works both ways, Jim.”

  Nodding, he said, “I know.” He took a deep breath. “The truth is, gal, you shed sunshine in the darkness of my life. The last two years have been a special hell for me. When you dropped into my world, I thought it was bad news, but now I can see I was wrong.”

  “Well,” Ellen whispered, giving him an encouraging smile, “that’s a wonderful revelation. I thought I was still a pain in your ass.”

  “Far from that,” Jim said. He held out his hand to her as they walked. “Peace between us, pardner?”

  She slipped her fingers into his strong ones. “Peace.” And happiness. You make me happy, Jim. Ellen bit back the words. “Whether you realize it or not, Jim, you make my days a joy. Before this, things were pretty dreary, gray and depressing. I didn’t have anything to look forward to.”

  He grinned and felt heat rising from his neck into his face. Good grief! He was blushing! Him! Unable to hold her earnest green gaze, Cochrane said, “That’s good news, gal. I never thought I’d hear that from a woman again.”

  “Hey, Mr. JAG officer. I look forward to waking up in the morning now. Before this assignment, I didn’t. Even on your grouchy-old-bear days, it’s still a pleasure to work with you.” She met his startled gaze and smiled into his eyes.

  “Gosh and by golly. Does that mean there’s hope for us, gal?” His heart took off in flight as he saw her soft lips curve.

  “I’m in it for the long haul, Jim. I’m not an overnighter, if you know what I mean.”

  “Of course I do. And we’re more alike than we probably realize. I don’t do one-night stands, either. I do long term.”

  “That’s good to know,” Ellen breathed. She wanted to do more than hold his hand now. She wanted to kiss him until their mouths melted together as one. Somehow, Ellen knew Jim would be an incredible lover. He was sensitive, observant, and truly liked to please her. She had never imagined falling for someone so swiftly. She’d known Mark for over a year before she realized she was in love with him. Had his death changed her? Had she grown up and matured since then or was her attraction to Jim Cochrane that of a widow coming out of two years of
grieving? Ellen wasn’t sure. She didn’t have all the answers, but she knew one thing: Jim appealed to her on every level. Giddy, Ellen felt her fears receding.

  “I want you to know I won’t allow our personal life to interfere in our work,” she told him.

  “I know that,” Jim said, slowing his pace. “We just haven’t had time to pursue anything personal. And Susan’s case isn’t going to free us up anytime soon.”

  “This is a complex case,” Ellen agreed. “And I can wait until we have quality time, Jim. I’m okay with it.”

  “Good.” He wasn’t. He was positively itching to get his hands on Ellen, explore her and feel her come alive beneath his caresses.

  “Right now, I’m trying to understand Susan’s modus operandi,” Ellen said, getting back on a more professional topic. She wanted their personal conversation, the exploration, to continue, but realized it wasn’t the right time.

  “That’s what most investigations are like,” Jim said. “Never any straight-to-the-heart clues, just ragged edges of puzzle pieces. Sort of like a hound following the tracks of a clever coon who’s crisscrossing back and forth to make him lose the scent.”

  “A crazy quilt being pieced together.” As she climbed into the car, Ellen said, “Based on the evidence, I think Susan only trusted Tommy in her family.”

  Cochrane put on his seat belt and started the car. “Reckon so, but what was she trying to tell him before she died?”

  “I wonder if Tommy realizes Susan tried to contact him?”

  “Probably not, because the Red Cross didn’t send the message. And Tommy said nothing to us. I think he’s the only one of the three who was dirt honest in our interviews.”

  “What was Susan going to tell Tommy? Or Ann?”

  As he pulled out of the large asphalt parking lot, he put on his aviator glasses to shield his eyes from the sinking sun. “Talk about liars, we have those interviews with the Top Guns coming up.”

  “They’re an interesting bunch, no doubt about it. And not all of them are liars. Just a few bad apples in there from what I can see so far.”

  “Gordon Bassett is in the frying pan next. I’m curious to see what he says or recalls about Susan Kane.”

  Ellen’s nostrils flared. “I hope he’s not like Lieutenant Michelson.”

  “We’ll see.” Jim chuckled. “Michelson didn’t waste any positive feelings, did he?”

  Ellen frowned. “No. It took everything in me to just sit there and not get angry over his Neanderthal philosophy about women being homemakers while boys make war.”

  “I saw the anger in your eyes.”

  “I hope it wasn’t too obvious?”

  “Like a fox licking her chops when she’s got a hen in her den.” He grinned. “Michelson saw it, too. He had problems when you asked the questions.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re a woman and a civilian. Michelson tried that ‘boys will be boys’ stuff with you and it didn’t work. He didn’t know how to respond to you. And I think you got more out of him than I would have.” Cochrane slanted her a glance after he’d turned onto the freeway. “Come the morrow, I want you to interview Bassett.”

  “With pleasure,” she assured him.

  July 7

  LIEUTENANT GORDON BASSETT, known as Gordie the Glacier by his squadron mates, had the appearance of a young college athlete. To Ellen he didn’t look more than twenty-two—a freckle-faced, square-jawed kid with high color in his ruddy cheeks. She saw the errant strand of chestnut-colored hair dipping rebelliously across his broad, smooth brow. His mouth was full and impish, his brows thick and slightly arched across his large, penetrating brown eyes. In Ellen’s opinion, he was the archetype poster boy for a college jock.

  Bassett gave her a ten-thousand-megawatt smile as he entered their office.

  Ellen kept a cool head though she was tempted to scowl. She wasn’t fresh bait, and that was the gist of his flirting look, as if she were a painted doll in this drama. She saw Bassett give Cochrane a steadier look, no smile, his brows dipping to express his obvious dislike of the legal officer.

  Bassett’s lawyer was short and a little overweight, with a potbelly not disguised by his rumpled, dark blue, double-breasted suit. Ellen didn’t like the lawyer’s attitude or how his small hazel gaze flickered between her and Cochrane like a coyote checking out its enemies.

  After asking the men to sit down, she introduced herself and Cochrane.

  Bassett grinned at her. “Haven’t I seen you around the O Club before?”

  Ellen’s scowl deepened. “Put a choke chain on it, Lieutenant.”

  The man’s smile slipped considerably. He nervously cleared his throat and glanced at his lawyer. “This is Harvey Goldman, my attorney.”

  Cochrane shook Goldman’s hand and so did Ellen.

  “Okay, let me get through the prelims and then Agent Tanner will question you, Lieutenant Bassett,” Cochrane said.

  Bassett’s gaze snapped to Ellen briefly, sizing her up before he gave his full, undivided attention to the JAG.

  Ellen couldn’t keep feeling nervous. The way Bassett kept cutting his gaze in her direction was intimidating. The playful, flirtatious quality she’d seen before had been replaced with the studied coldness of a killer. She had to remind herself that all aviators were just that—paid to put their lives on the line, to kill or be killed.

  Bassett seemed at odds with the killer image, though. He had the face of an innocent, yet his eyes were old and intense. He’d flown in the Iraq war and had shot down one enemy aircraft before being assigned to Giddings a year ago, Ellen knew. She’d been up until one in the morning preparing her questions, based upon information they’d collected.

  Cochrane gestured at last. “He’s all yours, Agent Tanner.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.” She kept her voice low and firm. Bassett was staring at her, trying to psyche her out. Fat chance, Dude. You picked on the wrong woman this time. This was why Cochrane was treating her more formally. Bassett was the kind of person who would use any weakness to his advantage—at least, that’s what her intuition told her. Ellen lifted her chin and stared back at him, unblinking.

  “We’d like you to tell us what you did, where you were and what activities you took part in at the Ares Conference in May, Lieutenant Bassett.”

  “Sure,” he said, giving her a flirty smile, “no problemo.”

  As he launched into his account, Ellen kept her original notes on hand, making small checks where his testimony contradicted what they had compiled from their various sources. She glanced over and saw that Cochrane realized something was amiss, also.

  “Your story is very different from info we have here,” she said, pointing to the files next to her laptop.

  With an easy shrug of his broad shoulders, Bassett smiled again and said, “You know how it is, Ellen. With time, you forget some things.”

  “It’s Agent Tanner to you, Lieutenant.”

  “Sure, whatever you want.” Bassett’s mouth thinned.

  Ellen almost heard the nonverbal honey. Anger nipped at her and she allowed him to see it in her eyes. Unlike Michelson, Bassett was cool like that glacier handle of his, obviously at ease in tense situations. She went over several points and he answered them in a drone. Ellen decided to jolt him out of his complacency.

  “Did Lieutenant Michelson discuss his interview with you?”

  Bassett’s brown eyes hardened. “Why, no, ma’am.”

  “You’re under oath, Lieutenant,” Ellen said.

  His lips pulled away, exposing his teeth. “Are you calling me a liar, Agent Tanner?”

  Ellen’s stomach clenched as the aviator leaned forward, his attention fixed on her. “Lieutenant Michelson signed papers swearing he wouldn’t discuss this investigation with anyone. I find it unusual you would mention the lieutenant’s headache.”

  “Some details stand out in my memory. Others don’t. This particular one did. He’s not prone to headaches, usually.”

&n
bsp; Though she didn’t like his arrogance or confidence, Ellen continued, “We have a witness who places you just outside the Leopard Radar suite that Friday evening.”

  Bassett sat back, propping his fingertips together. “If you’re referring to the alleged activities that may have taken place in the third-floor corridor, my answer is no. Like many others, I passed through that area from time to time during the conference. It was always crowded and sometimes I bumped into people.”

  “Were you in the Leopard Radar Corporation suite at any time?”

  “Sure, everyone moseyed through there at some point in the conference.” Bassett gave her a very smug look. “It’s likely your witness had been drinking and her powers of observation were impaired.”

  “Very well. Lieutenant, I want to ask you about Susan Kane, an instructor in your squadron here at Top Gun. Did you see her at the conference?”

  “Sure. She was drinking like everyone else. I also saw her later, after I returned from the movie.” He raised his finger in emphasis, “I walked through the patio to see if there was anyone around I knew. When I didn’t find anyone, I went straight to my room like a good little boy.”

  “Who was with her?”

  “I saw a couple of guys assist her off the patio—strangers to me. I assume they took her to her room. Or at least they were heading toward the elevators. That’s all I remember.”

  Ellen looked down at her notes. She decided to rattle him, if possible. “It says here that you’re married?”

  “Yes, a second marriage with children.” Wiping his mouth, he glared at her.

  “Tell me about your kids, Lieutenant.”

  Bassett’s eyes narrowed speculatively, and he shifted in his seat. “I have two sons.”

  “Do you hope they’ll follow in your footsteps? Carrying on in Navy tradition?”

  He shrugged lazily and tried to look relaxed. “One might, but the other one won’t.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He’s…” Bassett gave her a pained look, then looked up at the ceiling when he muttered, “Jake has a severe learning disability.”

  “I see.” Ellen saw the pilot express real emotion for the first time. Anguish flared momentarily in his eyes and the macho aviator facade dropped away. Bassett didn’t seem to want to discuss it, but she persisted.