The Aftermath

by Iris Bolling

  “Hey, it doesn’t happen often, but it seems I was wrong.”

  Jarrell Williams sat on the edge of his desk jarring him from his thoughts. Nate glared up at the young man. “Do you mind taking your ass off my desk?”

  Jarrell glanced around. “I can do that.” He walked over, took the chair from Cory’s desk, placed it next to Nate, then flopped down.

  “Do you really have to be this close?”

  “Yes, ‘cause there is some freaky shit happening around here,” Jarrell replied as he leaned closer. “The item you left with me is very interesting.”

  “How so?” Nate raised an eyebrow.

  “That chip you brought me does not exist. At least not to the public.”

  Nate gave him his undivided attention as he sat closer. “I don’t understand your meaning.”

  “Remember I told you there is a difference between a microchip and a tracker.”

  “Yes, a chip carries information and a tracker can lead you to something in real time.”

  “Right.” Jarrell nodded then glanced around before continuing. “To my knowledge there isn’t a device that does both and is that small. Your tracker has to receive its signal from satellites. For example, you can put a tracker on the collar of a dog, but the size of it would prevent you from being able to insert it under the animal’s skin.”

  “Similar to the ankle tracker used on prisoners under house arrest.”

  “Exactly,” Jarrell acknowledged. “In addition, you will need to have access to a satellite for it to operate.” He sat closer. “It seems someone has combined the two technologies to create a tracker small enough to insert under the skin of humans.”

  Nate wasn’t completely clear on what all it meant, but it seemed to excite Jarrell. He had learned over the years that whenever he worked on a case with any of the Williams boys, they were thorough. He rarely questioned their findings. Pulling one of them in on his case was like having another one of him. It wasn't bragging. Nate knew how to put a case together, and whenever the case allowed; he would pull in one of the brothers to assist.

  "Check this out." Jarrell leaned in after checking to ensure they could not be overheard. “It is not easy to merge these two technologies. You need a big brain to fully understand the workings of satellite coordinates and a few other things to even think about creating a device like this.”

  Nate sat back. “Do we know of any big brains like that?”

  Jarrell gave him a hurt expression.

  “I mean, other than you,” Nate added.

  “Other than me,” he ran his hands down his chin as if thinking, “not off the top of my head, but we have seen the signatures before.”

  Nate raised an eyebrow. “In one of our cases?”

  Jarrell nodded as he motioned for Nate to come back to their original position. “Do you remember the devices we found in the Kendrick’s case?”

  “The one that led to the ex-Mayor?” Nate asked.

  “No. The ones that were never identified.”

  “The second set of listening devices.” Nate nodded in understanding.

  “Right,” Jarrell stated. “It had the same signature. Very sophisticated; beyond my scope, which is saying something.”

  “We were able to locate the people behind the devices in the Chief’s and Mayor’s offices, but we did not follow up on the second set of devices.”

  “Because the Mayor sent us in another direction,” Jarrell reminded him. “So did the Chief.”

  “Why do you call him the Chief?" Nate interrupted. "He's your father. Why don't you call him dad, father or pop?"

  “You work with him. Does he look like the type you would call ‘father’?" He put up air quotation marks with his fingers.

  Nate frowned. “Not really."

  "Pop?"

  Nate shook his head. "Nope, can’t see that either.”

  “Daddy?"

  Nate chuckled, "Point taken. Chief is good. He looks like a chief to me."

  Jarrell shrugged. "My brothers and I learned long ago to keep it simple when it comes to him. When he was Captain, know what we called him?"

  "Captain," Nate guessed.

  "Damn skippy," Jarrell replied. "Now my sister, Ryan, she can get away with calling him daddy. Us boys," he shook his head, "we get that look."

  Nate laughed. "I know that look. I used to get it from my father, when we were on speaking terms, that is."

  "Man, you really need to work that out. When the Chief and my sister were at odds with each other, I told her life is too short to live it angry all the time."

  “The only thing that will make my father happy is if I go back to the law firm, where he can dictate what I will and will not work on." Nate shook his head. "I can't do it."

  “A man has to do what is good for him. He cannot live by someone else’s standards. You have to establish your purpose in this life.”

  Nate stared at Jarrell. “That was pretty deep for you.”

  “I have my moments.” He lowered his voice. “You remember on the Kendrick’s case I said those devices were so strong I thought it was using satellite power?”

  “Yes, I laughed at you then and I’m going to laugh at you now. Like I said back then, you have to have access through the government to use satellites.”

  "Say it again." Jarrell nodded.

  Nate glared at Jarrell. "You think the government is involved in the making of that microchip?”

  "It has some of the most sophisticated programming I have encountered."

  “Why would the government be tracking women?” Nate asked.

  “You thought I was wrong the last time I said this.” Jarrell tilted his head. “Here we are again. Skippy don’t bark but so many times before he bites.”

  Nate sat back. Jarrell may be on to something that could lead to Alex’s murderer. He wasn’t going to rule anything out.

  “You know my motto, follow all leads until it leads me nowhere. Then track backwards because everything has to lead somewhere.”

  “We left this track unanswered before, now it’s back.” Jarrell shrugged. “What are you going to do?”

  “Follow wherever it leads. With the government involved, where in the hell do you start?”

  Jarrell shrugged. “My logical mind would advise you to run the serial number?”

  “What serial number?” Nate frowned up.

  Jarrell pulled out a sheet of note paper with a 15-digit number and alphabets that began with 872. “Do you know what the first three numbers in this signify?”

  Nate glanced at the piece of paper then back up at Jarrell. “No.”

  Jarrell smiled. “872 identifies the country, USA. The next two numbers 82identify the state, VA. Those five digits tell me the chip was designed in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the good old US of A.”

  Nate sat back. “Do you know anyone with contacts in the Pentagon?”

  “I know a few people here and there.” Jarrell nodded.

  “Track it and let me know what you find.”

  “No matter where it leads?” Jarrell raised an eyebrow.

  Nate exhaled. “No matter where it leads.”

  Jarrell stood then put the chair back at Cory’s desk. “I will be in touch,” he said then walked out.

  “That seemed like a cozy conversation. You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Nate glanced over at Tony. “Not yet. I need a little time to sort this one out.”

  25

  Krystal left Evan’s office immediately dismissing the conversation. It was going to have to be up to her to keep the organization going in the right direction. The far-right of the organization’s thoughts of beating the Coloreds into submission was a threat to them all. She had to keep their purpose in the forefront until the higher levels interceded. Checking into the stability of the new CA replacement was the priority at this point. A small test of his abilities would demonstrate his ability to handle situations tactfully. She walked into her office to her telephone ringing.<
br />
  “Hello.”

  “Krystal, how good is the computer program you use?”

  “Probably one of the best systems in the country outside of the Pentagon.”

  “I hate to ask this, but if I send you some footage, can you do image tracing on it.”

  “Sure. What is it footage of?”

  “Reigns is locking me out of the case. But I checked out his computer when he was in the office with the Captain. He has shadow figures walking out of Burnett’s building not long after the time of death. If I can get a name, it would go a long way with the Captain.”

  “Send me the footage and give me five minutes. I’ll get a name for you.”

  Ten minutes later, Cory received a call back. “Thank you, Krystal. You are the best,” Cory said and disconnected the call.

  An hour later, Cory walked into the Captain’s office as if he was on top of the world. After delivering his information he followed Captain Daniels out to Nate’s desk.

  “While you were cozying up with the Chief’s son, Vaughan here was tracking down suspects,” Captain Daniels said as he dropped a file on Nate’s desk.

  “What is this?”

  “A suspect for you to question,” Captain Daniels hissed.

  Nate glanced at Cory, who had a smirk on his face, then back at the Captain. “Did you or did you not assign this case to me? If you do not have faith in my ability to handle this murder investigation, you have it in your authority to assign it to Cory.”

  There was no way Nate was going to give up this case, but he needed to establish who was and who was not running the investigation.

  “Maybe I should invoke that authority.” Captain Daniels smirked. “Tell him what you found, Vaughan.”

  Nate glanced over at Tony, then at Cory.

  “Well, thank you for the confidence, Captain,” Cory boasted.

  “Don’t make me regret this moment,” the Captain growled.

  “No, sir, I won’t.” Cory cleared his throat, “Late last night I took the initiative to go by Alex Burnett’s office, after I had surveyed the residents at the condominiums as you ordered, sir. While in the office I noticed files on Burnett’s desk. I recognized a few of the names, but one stood out, Liam Kavanagh.”

  Nate listened, fearing Vaughan had crossed the line into federal territory. “Low level member of the DeFazio Organization.”

  “Yes, well did you know he had a run in with Burnett outside the courthouse last week? Told Burnett he was going to ruin his name then kill him. Isn’t that exactly what happened?”

  “Saw it on the courthouse video.” Nate nodded.

  “I did too.” Tony leaned back in his chair.

  “I think that’s enough to pull him in for questioning, at the very least,” an eager Cory hissed. “Don’t you?”

  “Tell me, did you have a warrant to search Alex’s office?” Nate raised an eyebrow. “I can tell you, you did not. Was there reasonable suspicion of a life being in imminent danger, or let’s go with exigent circumstances at Alex’s office?” Nate shook his head. “There was not. So, you see, even if what you saw in Alex’s office led us right to the person who murdered him, it would all be thrown out of court. Any half-ass defense attorney would hit you with an unlawful search.”

  “The documents from Burnett’s office would have been eventually turned over to us. We would have known the names of the cases he was working on and would have found Kavanagh anyway. I did it a little faster.”

  “You are referring to inevitable discovery.” Nate exhaled.

  “Yes, that.” Vaughan nodded.

  “The evidence would still be fruit of the poisonous tree. Any evidence that is obtained illegally is considered tainted in addition to anything obtained from it. I don’t get paid enough to give a law class here. Fast is not the way to convictions, thorough, lawful investigations are.” Nate threw his hands up still struggling to keep his cool. “But hey, let’s say you have this person’s name. Boom there it is. You know where the person is located. Boom there he is. Did you check out his alibi?” Nate asked. “No, you did not. But I did. Did you know that the feds have had a tail on him for the last few weeks? No, you did not, but I did.”

  “I did too.” Tony nodded.

  “That doesn’t mean he could not have slipped away, committed the murder, or had someone take Burnett out for him. Did you think of that?” Cory suggested.

  Nate looked at the Captain exasperated then glared back at Cory. “Who made you a detective?” he asked again.

  “I got a suspect in the box,” Cory hissed. “I took the initiative and brought a suspect in for questioning.”

  “You got nothing but a one-hundred-and-ten-pound federal prosecutor about to come down on your dumb ass for interfering in her investigation of the DeFazio Organization.”

  “Not to mention the heap of hell the Chief is going to bring down on the Captain the minute he gets a call from the feds,” Tony added with a smirk.

  “Somebody want to explain to me why the feds are involved in our case?” Cory huffed. “Burnett was a local prosecutor for the city of Richmond, not federal. They have no jurisdiction over his murder. And while I’m at it, why is it that the team did not know all the details of this case?”

  “No need to get your bow tie in a twist,” Nate sighed as he tried to calmly explain to the man. “You are not in a need-to-know position, Cory. You are support in this case. Do the things we ask and when your time comes you will head up an investigation. We all appreciate your enthusiasm, but for now just do what we ask of you.”

  “Do not speak to me like I am an amateur,” Cory snapped.

  “Then stop acting like one,” Nate snapped back. He exhaled. “Look, it’s been a rough 24 hours. We have slim to nothing to go on. Why don’t I take a stab at interviewing Kavanagh before the feds come in and snatch him from us?”

  Captain Daniels nodded. “Go ahead. Vaughan brought him in, he’s going to sit in with you.”

  “Captain.” Nate stood to speak.

  “He’s got to learn. What can he hurt at this point? Hell, at the very least I can tell the Chief we’re talking to someone of interest.”

  “It is counterproductive,” Nate tried to explain. “Every person you bring in for questioning gives a defense attorney a suspect they can point to, allowing reasonable doubt. But hey, you are the Captain, not me.”

  “Good of you to remember that. Question the man then get him the hell out of here.”

  Nate watched as the Captain walked away.

  “You ready?” Cory asked with a smirk.

  Nate frowned at Cory who was just too eager for him, then glanced at Tony. Tony shrugged, and then turned back to his desk.

  “Calm the hell down, Cory,” Nate exhaled. “The first time you open your mouth the wrong way I’m putting you out.”

  “Whatever it takes to find justice, right?”

  Nate shook his head, then walked towards the investigation rooms. It was 6 pm, twenty hours into the case, he had to get something. He hoped like hell Kavanagh could give him something solid to follow.

  “What room is he in?” Nate asked as Cory followed him.

  “Number 3,” Cory replied. “You want me to be the bad cop?”

  Nate shook his head in disbelief. “I want you to be the quiet detective and listen.”

  “How are we going to find out anything that way?”

  Nate walked through the security door that led to the corridor of holding rooms. An officer ran by them as Cory continued talking.

  “If he resists, I think we should rough him up a little bit.”

  Nate stopped then glared at the man with an exasperated expression on his face.

  “Maybe not,” Cory cleared his throat.

  Nate continued walking as another officer ran from the hallway to his right. They turned left to see more officers on alert.

  Nate wasn’t sure, but he was willing to bet money that something was happening in holding room #3.

  “Call param
edics,” one officer said into his radio.

  Nate swiftly walked toward the crowd of officers at the door of room #3. He looked down at the man. His eyes were open, but not alert.

  “Seal the building,” Nate yelled as he pushed by the uniformed officers to check the man’s pulse. “He is still alive. Whoever did this might still be in the building. Get the AED,” he ordered.

  “Well, it don’t look like you are going to get anything out of him.” Cory sighed.

  Nate looked over his shoulder at Cory. In that moment, he saw a look in Cory’s eyes that he had seen before. It was only for a split second, but it was that look that said ‘yes, I did it, now prove it.’

  Nate stood as the paramedics arrived. He kept his eyes on Cory as they wheeled the man out. A question filled his mind as the scene unfolded. Who in the hell was this man?

  26

  Nate was leaning against the wall near the door in Chief Williams’s office as Skylar, in the pink coat raised holy hell at the sequence of events.

  Two federal agents, Captain Daniels, Cory, and Tony, all listened to the fierce reprimand.

  “Just to be sure I have the facts correct.” She glared at Vaughan. “You arrested one of my suspects, in a multi-jurisdictional investigation that had nothing to do with your case, simply because you saw his name on a file? According to you, you did not look inside that file because you did not have a search warrant. Yet, for some unknown reason, you decided to bring this person in for questioning on a murder case you are not assigned to. You do not secure him in handcuffs, or simply put another officer in holding with the suspect. Twenty minutes later, he is found dead. A man who was in your custody for less than an hour. To add fuel to the fire, there is no camera footage because no video surveillance was turned on in that room. Do I have the facts correct, Detective?”