Calling Card Capers

by Dan Kelly

  I glance at the clock on the wall and see that it’s almost four-thirty, so I decide to make that call to Bill Beamis over at Stellar Solar to thank him for the referral and then head for home. Bill wasn’t in, so I left a thank you message on his voice mail, grabbed my coat and headed for the parking garage.

  When I get to my car, I have a gift waiting for me, two flat tires. The tires haven’t been punctured or slashed. The valve stem pins have been removed and taped to the driver’s window along with a note that reads, ‘There are lots of ways to kill someone. Messing with someone’s car is just one of them. Butt out!’

  This guy is making sure that I don’t ignore his phone call warning. I look under the car for a bomb that might have been planted there, but I probably wouldn’t recognize one if I saw it. There are no signs of the door locks or trunk lock being monkeyed with and when I get in the car, start it and pump the brakes they appear to be working properly. I’m now wondering if Janet has received any surprises from Aldrich, so I whip out my cell and call her, but my call goes to her voice mail. “Janet, something has come up. Please call me on my cell ASAP.”

  An hour later after Triple A comes to reinstall the valve stem pins and inflate my tires I’m hanging up my coat in the hall closet at home and Janet returns my call. “What’s up?”

  “The Crusader paid me a visit earlier today.”

  “What?”

  When I hear the surprise in her voice, I’m immediately relieved because her reaction to my news would have been altogether different if the Crusader had paid her a visit too.

  “There’s nothing wrong with your hearing. You heard me correctly.”

  I tell her what happened and finish up with, “I wanted to warn you and suggest that we arrange with Don for protection prior to our plan being implemented. Aldrich is not going to be happy with us when the media blitz unfolds.”

  “Geez, Chet, he might have paid me a visit too or at least tried to contact me. I’ve been in meetings ever since I got back from lunch with you. I haven’t even had a chance to sit down at my desk and check my voice mail and email messages. Hold on a sec.”

  I’m not on hold for long. In a matter of seconds a different Janet is back on the line, a very pissed off Janet. “If I was prone to cussing, you’d be hearing some beauts right now. That sicko hacked into my computer. When I cleared my screen saver there was a new background picture on my desk top, a closed coffin with a wreath on the top of it and beneath it were the words, ‘This will be you if you don’t butt out.’

  “I’m going to have to be very careful about what I put on my computer regarding our plans for this guy. I’m going to have restrict communications to the telephone or face-to-face.”

  “Hmm. You’ve just given me an idea. This ability of his to hack into computers just might be his Achilles heel.”

  “How so?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard the term disinformation.”

  “I have. Governments use it all the time to hide the truth about something and/or to lead someone into a real or symbolic minefield.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the light came on. “Whatever duplicity we resort to would have to be very clever, well thought out, because this guy is nobody’s fool. It would have to be believable yet unverifiable. If we can come up with some convincing lies, we could reinforce whatever commitment he develops to go after the President. Is this what you’re thinking?”

  “Give the lady a kewpie doll. Janet, the media blitz may generate sufficient pressure on Aldrich to push him into going after the President, but we can improve the odds of that happening by providing additional incentive with misleading information about security arrangements at a specific Presidential public appearance at some trumped up event. I haven’t thought it through yet, but I think something could be worked out. Hell, with the pool of liars we have to draw from here in Washington that should be a slam dunk.”

  This gets the laugh I was looking for and I can hear the tension and anger slipping from the tone of her voice. “This guy is getting to me, Chet. He’s too damn cocky and I’m convinced he thinks that what he’s doing is noble. I don’t think he has any remorse for what he’s done and although I can emphasize with his reasoning to a point it’s no excuse for the monster he’s become. I’m behind anything that has the slightest chance of working to make this guy pay for what he’s done. I’m going to wind things up here and head for home now. I’m beat. Hopefully, we’ll hear from Ericson tomorrow and he’ll have the answer we want and we can get the ball rolling on bringing an end to this nut’s crusade. Bye.”

  I already know that we’ll have the answer we want, but I have to keep my mouth shut and let the news come from Don. Unfortunately, Janet will have to deal with the uncertainty and try to get a decent night’s sleep. There are times when my relationship with the President can be a real pain in the ass. This is one of them.

  Chapter 15

  Around ten the next morning as I’m enmeshed in the trivia of my normal routine at the office, I get a call from the administrative assistant to a George Piedmont at the FBI asking me to meet Agent Piedmont at his office at one o’clock to discuss the proposal that has been submitted by Agent Ericson. The phrasing of this request has me thinking that Agent Piedmont is concerned about talking on an unsecured line and told his admin exactly what to say.

  I’m also thinking that paranoia is beginning to set in over there when it comes to the Crusader, probably heightened by the President’s phone call to the big cheeses over there during which he most certainly lambasted them over being kept in the dark on the progress of the Crusader investigation and most likely dropped the eyes and ears everywhere comment.

  I call Janet and invite her to come along since she’ll be playing a major role in all of this and she reacts like she’s just been told she won the lottery. I’m thinking being able to make a pitch directly to The Man is a benny I should never take for granted and impossible to put a price tag on.

  At one on the dot we show up at Piedmont’s office and are immediately ushered into his inner sanctum where we find Don Ericson and an attractive woman somewhere in her thirties sitting in front of a desk large enough to be impressive if it weren’t for the piles of files spread over every inch of its surface.

  The man sitting behind the desk is somewhat of a surprise in that he doesn’t fit the image of what I was expecting to see. The Bureau has tough physical fitness standards that everyone applying for a position as an agent must meet. This guy doesn’t look like he could lick a lollipop. He’s a little guy, about 5’7”, weighing about 160 pounds, none of it looks very muscular, and he’s as bald as a cue ball.

  This impression is shattered when the introductions are made and he greets and shakes my hand. He has a deep bass voice that you’d expect from a much bigger man and the crushing grip of a gorilla.

  Agent Piedmont starts the meeting off with an obvious perfunctory thank you to us for coming to his office on such short notice and then the meeting goes downhill from there. Succinctly, the gist of what he has to say in a very condescending manner is, “We appreciate your efforts to find this Crusader and like your idea about forcing him into a trap. We’ll take it from here. If you have anything else to suggest, we’d like to hear it.”

  I look over at Don and he’s looking down at some papers he has in his hands, therefore avoiding the scalding looks Janet and I are tossing his way. A few seconds of this and then Janet explodes.

  “There’s no way in hell you’re going to ban us from this ballgame. You clowns would still be scratching your asses in bewilderment over how to ID and nab this guy if it weren’t for us. Our lives have already been threatened by this screwball because we have been making inquiries about him and we’ll be in more danger when the media blitz takes place. Since that’s the case, we have the right to be involved in the decision making process, to be kept informed of how things are going down and to play major roles in the enactment of our, our, recommendations.”

&nb
sp; “Miss Vanderhill, we can’t sanction your participation, Mr. Dawson’s participation, any non- agent’s participation in an operation like this. We’d have our heads handed to us if anything went wrong and you folks got injured or worse. Even if you folks didn’t get hurt we’d be in serious trouble.”

  I decided to join the party by saying, “We’re at risk whether we actively participate or not. The Crusader is going to blame us when the media blitz starts. We can sign waivers to absolve the FBI from any legal responsibility that might arise if things should not go as planned. What does the President think about all of this? I assume you’ve talked to him about our suggestion since he’ll be indirectly involved in the scheme. Did you mention to him that we want to be actively involved?”

  I got silence for answers to my questions. Boy, Dawson, you sure know how to put a crimp in a conversation. I’m now wondering if the idea was presented to the President as if it was solely the FBI’s idea. If that’s the case, the pile of shit they’ve stepped into by keeping him in the dark is nothing compared to what they’ll be dealing with when the President confronts them with that deliberate omission.

  Piedmont says, “The subject never came up. We just wanted a yes or no on the idea.”

  Janet ends her participation in the meeting by standing up and saying, “Agent Piedmont, let me make one thing very clear. Since it’s our lives you’ll be messing with, I’m not going to stand by and let you do that without having a lot to say about how you do it. The FBI has a lot of clout, but you don’t ever want to mess with the power of the press. The first thing I’m going to do when I get back to my office is place a call to the President and tell him what you’ve said here today. He’ll take my call as I have had the opportunity to interview him on several occasions and didn’t get cute with the information he shared with me. I’m thinking he’ll agree with me and order you to allow us to participate. If he has to intervene, that’s not going to look very good on your record. If my assumption is wrong, I’ll see to it that every news outlet carries a story about your complete disregard for our safety by keeping us out of the loop. You want to play hardball, we’ll play hardball. Frankly, I personally think you want us out of the way so you can take full credit for the results if the operation is successful.”

  “Now just a minute, Miss Vanderhill. Tossing accusations around isn’t going to get you anywhere. Besides, there’s no reason to get so worked up over this. Maybe something can be worked out with the higher ups that will allow us to make an exception in this case. Give me until tomorrow morning to try to work something out.”

  “You have until nine tomorrow morning.” Janet then walked out of the office, leaving me to try to smooth the ruffled feathers. In my mind’s eye, I’m seeing future FBI business flying out the window.

  “Well, folks, you have to admit Janet and I have a lot to lose if things don’t go as planned. Don, I was planning on asking you to arrange for 24/7 protection for us when the media blitz is launched and have it remain in place until the trap is sprung and the Crusader is caught. Whatever the answer is tomorrow morning, we’re going to need that until we’re out of danger.”

  Looking at Piedmont he says, “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  I look at the lady sitting next to Don and say, “All I know about you is your name, Nora Sinclair. You haven’t said a word since we were introduced. What’s your role in all of this?”

  “My job is to protect the President’s stand- in if and when this Aldrich guy falls into our trap. I’ll be posing as an assistant to the President because we believe this man will assume the President will have male Secret Service Agents protecting him and disregard any female as a threat to him.

  The Secret Service does have women in its ranks, but you don’t normally see them in the President’s detail.”

  Seeing the incredulous look on my face Don says, “Don’t be fooled by her size. She’s 5’6”, 125 pounds of dynamite who’s quite proficient in a variety of martial arts. Plus, she’ll have backup close by but out of sight.”

  “Okay, I guess this meeting is over. I’ll call you at nine tomorrow morning, Don, to see which way the wind is blowing. I hope it’s at our backs and not in our faces. Janet is not someone to take lightly either. If we don’t get the answer we’re hoping for, you’re going to be dealing with one hell of a tornado.”

  Figuring that’s the best exit line I’m going to come up with, I beat a hasty retreat.

  I’m thinking Janet probably took a cab back to her office, but when I get to where I parked my car in the underground garage she’s leaning against the front passenger door and judging from the expression on her face she’s still fuming.

  “That weasel! I’d like to castrate him and turn him into a soprano.”

  “I think you knocked the wind out of Piedmont’s sails.” How did I get on this wind kick? “I think you were right on when you accused him of trying to hog all of the credit and it surprised the hell out of him. He immediately backed off on insisting we not play an active role in setting the trap and implementing it when he saw you weren’t going to fade into the background and let him have his way. I also think that he’s not going to talk to any higher ups. He’ll say that he did and managed to convince them to make an exception in our case just to save face.”

  “You think so? I made some threats in there that I’m not sure I can carry out, but I was so angry. This is going to be one hell of a story and there’s no way I’m going to be pushed aside.”

  “I think so and you definitely made your point in there. For a minute there I thought you were going to club him with your purse the way you were gesturing and swinging it around. You had Piedmont staring at it ready to duck and back away if it got any closer to him.”

  Finally loosening up a little she laughs and says, “The thought did cross my mind, but I didn’t want to damage my purse or anything in it on that slime ball. Besides, that would have given him an ideal way to get me out of the picture, arresting me for assaulting a federal agent.”

  “Well, the time we spent in there wasn’t entirely wasted. After you left, I asked Don to arrange for protection for us and he said he would do so, beginning with the implementation of the media blitz and ending with the capture or demise of the Crusader.”

  “I hope tomorrow we can get down to the nitty gritty and devise a plan that we can easily implement and that will lure the Crusader to his downfall. As sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow, if this guy has more names on his hit list there are going to be more murders.”

  Nodding my head in agreement, I open the car door for her and wave her in. We’re both quiet during the drive back to her office. I’m thinking about all the possible things that can go wrong with any scheme we devise, including what might happen to us, and I’m pretty sure Janet is having the same thoughts.

  Chapter 16

  At a few minutes past nine the next morning as I’m about to telephone Don Ericson, Janet rushes into my office out of breath and asks, “Did you call Ericson yet?”

  “I was just about to call him.”

  “I hope you don’t mind me barging in here like this, but the suspense of not knowing what the FBI is going to say this morning just wouldn’t allow me to concentrate on anything else and all I was doing was staring at the walls waiting for you to call me. I had to do something or go berserk, so I decided to come here at the risk of driving you nuts. I would have been here twenty minutes ago if the traffic wasn’t so snarled up.”

  “Calm down, sit down and catch your breath. I told you this call is just a formality. We both agree Piedmont is a glory hound, but you knocked him back on his heels yesterday and he strikes me as someone not willing to take risks with his career if he can avoid them. Besides, our way he’ll at least be able to share in some of the glory if things go as planned. Something is better than nothing.”