by Dan Kelly
“That’s one of the reasons I’ve been calling you every fifteen minutes for hours now. Piedmont pulled them after he learned about what happened at Walter Reed. He said he could no longer justify the expense since we are no closer to ending this nut’s reign of terror than we were after his first kill. I damn near strangled him for not telling me what he was going to do so I could warn you.”
“What are the other reasons you were calling me?
“There’s only one other. I was so damn mad at Piedmont that I stormed out of his office and went over his head by storming into his boss’s office and telling his admin that it was urgent that I speak with him. She escorted me in to see the man and as soon as he heard what Piedmont had done with the bodyguards and my demand that they be put back on duty he ordered them to do so post haste. Since he seemed to be in a receptive mood to what I had to say up to that point, I followed up with Bob’s idea and he gave me immediate permission to get on with it. Before he could change his mind, I got the hell out of there. Has anyone at Morey’s called in a 911?”
“Morey did that while I dialed you. I can hear sirens now. Don, Janet and I were very lucky tonight. Aldrich misread the wind or at least one of us would have had our brains all over the parking lot. This guy has become less discriminating when it comes to picking his targets. The only qualification he has in place now is if he sees anyone as a deterrent to him achieving his primary goal that person is going to die at his hand. Bob’s idea has got to work or we’re going to have more innocent people getting killed just because they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I hear you. How’s Janet feeling?”
“She’s fine and will appreciate you asking about her. We’re both going to stay here to talk with the police and wait here until our bodyguards arrive. Please pass that along to them.”
“Will do. Call me when you get into the office tomorrow and we can set up conference call with Bob to put some meat on the bones of his idea. I’ve managed to do a little work in that regard, but it still needs more work.”
“Okay. Bye,”
When I finish talking with Don, the police arrive and I see Janet slipping her cell into her coat pocket with a big smile on her face. I’m willing to bet a bundle that she called in the story to her paper while I was talking with Ericson. Letting herself be scooped on something where she had a ringside seat would be an antithesis to being a top of the heap reporter. Looking at that smile, it’s very clear to me that she loves her job and loves being on top of the heap.
After we give an account of what happened to the police and tell them who we think was the shooter and why, I scrounge up a piece of cardboard and some tape to seal up Janet’s car window so she can drive home without being frozen to death by the chilly wind which seem to be getting colder by the second.
When I have done the best I can with the window, Janet brushes the shards of glass off the front seat onto the floor and wearily gets in the car. “Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to drive you home in my car and you can call Triple A tomorrow to pick up your car and take it to whomever to get the window fixed?”
“No, I’ll be okay. I’ll curb my Indie 500 tendencies because my field of vision will be greatly impaired. All I need is a good night’s sleep.”
“Is your mother still with you?”
“Yeah. She’ll be in town until the weekend. She doesn’t know about what happened to me at Walter Reed because I’ve been out of touch with her for a couple of days which is nothing new for us. She knows that when I’m pursuing a story I can get lost for days, so she doesn’t worry when I don’t check in.”
“It’s good you have someone to keep an eye on you just in case you experience some after effects from that wallop to your head.”
“Please call me tomorrow after your conference call with Don so I can put in my two cents and stay abreast of the scheme in progress. I want to be ready at a moment’s notice to file another chapter in the Crusader’s new life story with my copy hungry editor.”
“Lady, don’t you ever give the reporter in you any time off?”
“Chet, that would lead to a one way trip to a supermarket rag or writing classifieds and obits for some small town weekly. There is always a line of aspiring investigative journalists waiting for an opening to replace you. I don’t aim to give them that opportunity as long as I’m still breathing.”
Chuckling I say, “Well, just for this evening take some deep breaths and try to relax. I don’t doubt your dedication; I just doubt your invincibility to fatigue.”
Looking at me with those penetrating eyes she says. “Thanks for worrying about me, Chet.” and then she drives off and soon disappears around a corner.
Even after being shot at, that look and those words lighten my mood considerably. On my way to my car, however, my mood suddenly darkens considerably as I remember that I told Don that we would stick around Morey’s until our bodyguards arrived and I start to give myself a tongue lashing for my forgetfulness. I give myself a reprieve when I see a Fed car tailing her and the driver waives to me as he passes by and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Sadie spots me from the front window of the restaurant and comes out to give me her version of the third degree.
“The police won’t answer any of my questions and won’t even let me into my own kitchen to ask Morey what is going on. Who shot at you? What happened to Janet’s car window? Why would anyone want to hurt you or Janet? What are the police going to do about this?” Etc., etc.
“Obviously, you weren’t hurt and I just saw Janet drive away and you wouldn’t have let her do that if she had been hurt. Judging from the look on your face, you’re greatly relieved that she wasn’t injured and that confirms what my woman’s intuition has been telling me lately. Whether you know it or not, your bachelor days are numbered mister. Mark my words. You can have your reception here.”
“SADIE!!!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll butt out for now, but if I were you I’d prepare for a major change in life style.”
Having uttered these parting words, she starts to laugh and then turns and disappears into the bowels of her culinary spa. I like Sadie a lot. She’s like another mother to me, but sometimes, like now, she can really get my temper flashing.
Chapter 32
The first thing I do when I get into the office the next morning is call Bob over to my desk and tell him the FBI likes his idea and is going to run with it.
“What do you have on your plate this morning?” He tells me and I tell him to put everything on hold as he’s going to be on a conference call with Don Ericson and me to work on the details of his idea. “Ask Shirley to handle anything that can’t be postponed. This is your top priority until I tell you differently. This Crusader situation is getting more dangerous with each passing day. We’ve got to do everything we can as quickly as we can to write the end to his story.
“Have you had a chance to check out the morning news channels yet?”
“No I haven’t. I’ve been working on what I thought was going to be my agenda for the day ever since I got in this morning.”
I tell him what happened to Janet and me last night and Bob says, “This Crusader may be a basket case, but he’s no dummy and two can play the game of profiling. He’s obviously familiarized himself with some of your routine to have positioned himself in a sniper location within shooting distance of Morey’s. He knew that Morey’s is one of your favorite places to eat and wind down and just waited for the opportunity to take you out. It might be smart if you and Janet changed your routines for a while to make it harder for him to have another go at you.”
“Last night he might have waited for one of us to leave work and followed Janet or me to Morey’s which is what I’ve been thinking he did or he has done what you’re suggesting and didn’t have to bother tailing us. He just played the odds. I agree with you. I think it would be a good idea to play it safe and mix things up a little bit until this guy is locked up or dead. I think Janet wil
l agree with you too. Thanks for your input.”
“You’re welcome. Does this improve my chances of having a new Tesla in my future?”
“Perhaps in your very distant future. Now, go clear your morning calendar and get back here as soon as possible so we can get this show on the road.”
When I call Don he has another agent in his office that will be helping us set things up with the media. Her name is Jackie Millhouse and she works in the Bureau’s public relations department. Don and I put our phones on Speaker and we’re off and running.
A couple of hours later we have created a detailed outline of what must be done to raise the curtain on our next attempt to lure the Crusader into his comeuppance as grandma used to say.
First, we must bring Mrs. Aldrich onboard and coach her on what to say and not say in her interactions with her husband. We must stress the importance of her not doing anything out of character to try to convince him he’s convinced her to go along with his game plan. He’s in a highly agitated state and his suspicions will be easily aroused. None of us think he would turn his anger on his wife, but in his present state of mind we don’t want her to take any foolish chances.
Second, Agent Millhouse will arrange an interview for Don with CNN under the guise of wanting to reopen the channel of communication with the public concerning the progress being made on the Crusader investigation since the FBI has been remiss lately in this regard and letting the Crusader get all the press.
Third, Agent Millhouse will plant a rumor with the appropriate parties about the upcoming CNN interview which hopefully will spread throughout the journalistic world so we can increase the chances of Aldrich hearing what we want him to hear and as far as Aldrich is concerned add legitimacy to the interview.
Fourth, I’ve been tasked to ask Janet for a repeat performance of preparing a script for Don that will incite Aldrich to take action like she did for the President when they were trying to set up the Crusader at Walter Reed, emphasizing that Mrs. Aldrich is being investigated for complicity in the Crusader’s string of revenge killings and will probably be facing formal charges within the next few days if a few more things fall into place. He will also say that once formal charges have been made he believes any competent attorney could get her released on bail, but she will be placed under pre-trial house arrest with limited freedom to leave the house to go to the supermarket or other domestic destinations, but she will have a shackle on her ankle to let the authorities know where she is at all times. This too will add legitimacy to the scheme and will also create a sense of urgency for Aldrich to take action.
Fifth, Don will arrange for enough agents to assist in any trailing/pursuit situations that present themselves and ensure a successful capture of the man. Allowances must be made for Aldrich electing to make a run for it in a location where there is a lot of vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic and lots of places to hide.
Sixth, a negotiator will accompany Don once the operation commences in case things get ugly and Mrs. Aldrich becomes a hostage and her life is in danger.
Lastly, if we can’t surprise him and place him under arrest before he can react, there most assuredly is going to be the necessity for using deadly force to bring an end to the Crusader’s vendetta since Aldrich has already told his wife he is not going to spend the rest of his life in jail if he has anything to say about it. We must be prepared for that eventuality.
Ideally, we can corner the guy and talk him into surrendering, but that probably isn’t going to happen. We’ve concluded that the most likely scenario will be one of three possibilities. If he’s cornered he’ll either opt to shoot it out, commit suicide by cop or blow his own brains out. If he’s going to be taken alive once we’ve confronted him, it will have to be by some kind of trickery which at the moment is eluding us. I’m thinking of a fourth possibility, but don’t bring it up because I don’t want to be a wet blanket. My experience with Murphy’s Law has me thinking that he could somehow manage to escape and put us back to square one.
Don wraps things up with, “Okay, we all know what we have to do. Chet, I know Janet isn’t up to full speed yet after what happened to her at Walter Reed, but we really need her writing skills if we’re to be successful. She may not feel up to it, but she seems to like you and listens to you when you make suggestions. I’m relying on you to get her on board and to urge her to do her thing ASAP. I’d like to be ready to go within the next 48 hours.”
“Don, you couldn’t keep her away from this with a tank. She’d have both our heads if we dealt her out of this. Remember, she’s a reporter and one of the best. Once she’s on the trail of something she follows it to the end. You two made a deal to work together and just as she expects you to keep your word, she’ll do everything possible to keep hers.”
“Sounds like you’re getting to know this lady pretty well.”
“I’m working on it.”
I hang up and thank Bob for his participation and send him back to the Dawson salt mines. I call Janet and give her a summary of what was accomplished on the conference call with Don and she didn’t balk for one second when I told her what we needed her to do. “I’ll get on it right now and have something for Don and you by quitting time today.” Click.
From the way she said that I know she has just kicked herself into overdrive and I’m hoping she’s physically up to the stress. She didn’t look like the picture of health when she drove out of Morey’s parking lot last night. From what I’ve read and heard, head injuries can be nebulous things; one minute you’re feeling fine and the next you’re feeling like you’ve been broadsided by a truck.
Around two in the afternoon I get a call from a Detective Sergeant Logan calling to tell me they found the spot where Aldrich let his rifle do the talking. They were pretty sure it was the spot because they found the Crusader’s calling card wedged into the bark of a tree. “Mr. Dawson, it looks like you were dead on as to who the shooter was.”
“It couldn’t have been anybody else. Everyone else adores me.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t mind me, Detective. That was just a feeble attempt at humor to make things seem less serious. Thanks for calling.”
Around four-thirty Janet calls. “Check your email. I just sent you and Don a copy of what I wrote for Don to use in the CNN interview. It should have Aldrich jumping out of his skin with dread and provide the kick in the pants needed to get him to come to his wife’s aid and prevent her pending incarceration.”
“I’m sure it’ll be just what the doctor ordered. How are you feeling?”
“Other than the beginning of a headache I feel fine, no dizziness or nausea that the doctor said I might experience. I’m not in for another evening at Morey’s at the moment however. I think I’ll head for home and some more pampering from my mom.”
“Okay, that’s probably a good idea.”
I tell her what Bob suggested about us changing our routines until the Crusader is put out of commission and she readily agrees to do that where she can.
After talking with Janet, I decide to call it a day and head for home. On the way, I stop at an English style pub a few blocks from my apartment for a relaxing Guinness, some darts and a little time alone with my thoughts.
The pursuit and capture of Hank Aldrich has taken over my life and Janet is something I never imagined would happen to me. I’m not thinking that these are necessarily bad developments, just ones that I’ve given into without giving them much conscious thought. If I don’t screw things up, I’ll have a very profitable relationship with the FBI and that could lead to other government business and if I don’t screw things up with Janet that could lead to a whole new life for me, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that despite what Sadie thinks.
After an hour of contemplating the current state of my life and accomplishing nothing by the exercise, my stomach brings me back to reality by rumbling to be fed, so I order some Kippers and tatties (salted and smoked herring and potatoes) to shut it up and another Guinness,
my third, to wash the combo down. Kippers are getting harder and harder to find these days, even in the British Isles, and I love them.