He took both of Sybil’s hands in his. “Frankly, Sybil, you can do whatever you want to do, and I’ll help you if I can, but I don’t want anything to do with her and neither does Alison.”
Sybil grabbed his arm. “What do we do now? I’ve got to see her. Let’s go over there right now.”
Grant shook his head and tried not to smile. She had totally ignored everything he had just said. “You can’t just barge in there claiming that she’s your long lost sister.” He squeezed her hands. “I’ll probably be going back there tomorrow. I’ll try to talk to her alone and see what she says. But, remember, she’s burying her husband Saturday. We probably should wait until at least Monday to approach her.”
“But, Grant, I’m her sister. I can help her through her grieving. I’ve been there myself.”
Grant shook his head for what felt like the tenth time. “No, Sybil. Remember, she apparently hasn’t wanted anything to do with us all these years. If you’re ever going to have a relationship with her again, you’ll just have to be patient.”
Grant could tell that Sybil wasn’t happy about that, but after a moment, she slowly nodded her head. “I guess you’re right Grant. But I just can’t imagine anything that would cause my sister to turn her back on me and her children.
Chapter Five
Kelly was having her normal hectic Friday morning which had been further complicated by a glitch in their computer software system. Now, even after that crisis had been dealt with, she still couldn’t concentrate. She kept thinking about a series of topics. First, the funeral tomorrow for her ‘father’ would race through her mind, then the break in at her grandparents’ home, then Jane, her newly discovered ‘step-mother’. Of course, if she were to be honest with herself, Grant Thompson was the one topic that kept pushing the other ones aside. And worst of all, she was trying hard not to think about him.
Her phone rang and she looked down to see that it was Martha on the intercom.
When she answered, Martha said, “Kelly, he wants you and Wayne in his office as soon as you can get here. The police detectives are back and there’s a man from the Air Force with them.”
Kelly had forgotten about this meeting. As she stepped into the hallway, Wayne came out of his office to walk the rest of the way with her.
“Any idea what this is all about?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but it must have something to do with Harry if the Air Force is involved.”
Kelly realized her mistake immediately when Wayne snorted. “If it’s about him, I don’t want to be there.”
She knew better than to say any more. They rounded the corner and stepped into the outer office only to have Martha wave them toward Harold’s closed door.
When they entered, they found their grandfather sitting in the conversation pit. The two detectives were sitting together on the sofa to Harold’s left and the other man, who Kelly could only describe as average in every way, was sitting on the sofa across from Harold. His clothes didn’t even set him apart. He had on black dress slacks and a dark gray polo shirt.
The three men stood and Harold gestured to the detectives and said, “Wayne, these men are Detectives Becker and Thompson.
Wayne glanced their way but didn’t move toward them or offer to shake their hands. Kelly wasn’t a bit surprised to notice that Wayne was giving Grant a thorough inspection.
Harold turned back to Kelly and Wayne, “This is Special Agent Scott with the Air Force.” He looked back at the man. “Office of Special Investigations?”
“Yes, sir, that’s correct.”
“Well, then, this is my granddaughter Kelly and my grandson Wayne, Harry’s daughter and son.”
The man shook hands with both of them then they all sat down. Kelly sat next to her grandfather across from the stranger and Wayne sat on the sofa on her right, opposite the detectives and kept his glare on Grant who seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable.
Harold started talking. “I wanted the two of you in here for this meeting, because we’re all equally affected by everything that is going on right now.”
Kelly knew that Wayne wanted to disagree, but thankfully he didn’t dare say anything.
“Agent Scott, I think we’re all ready to hear what you have to say to us.”
The agent looked at each of them before speaking, “First, I must ask that all of you agree to keep everything that is said in this room today totally confidential. Nothing can leave this room or it could damage a case that may have far reaching consequences, possibly even affecting national security. Do you agree to do so?”
Well, he certainly had their attention now. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any more, but couldn’t think of any polite or even convincing way to talk her way out of the room now that she was there.
Kelly and Wayne both nodded and said, “Yes,” at the same time. She noticed that her grandfather only nodded.
“Okay. I’ll start with an overview then see how many details I may need to divulge if any.” He looked intently into each of the three faces turned toward him again.
“Last week General Harold Newcomb was on a fact finding mission in Afghanistan that was supposed to last for two weeks. He was there with another general. They were each accompanied by their executive officers, two colonels, and their orderlies, two sergeants. At this point, l don’t think it will be necessary to mention the rest of the names.”
He paused presumably to let that sink in. So far, he hadn’t said anything that the three of them didn’t already know.
“On five August, the group was in a classified location away from Kabul when shots were fired from what later was identified as a Russian made AK-47 assault rifle. It’s not certain how many shots were fired, but two of them struck General Newcomb. No one else was hit.”
Still nothing that they didn’t already know.
He looked from one to the other again. “We are almost certain that the whole incident was planned in order to kill General Newcomb.”
That brought Kelly to the edge of her seat.
The agent watched the reactions on each of their faces. Kelly knew that her face had to have lost all its color. It was such a shock . . . at first. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn’t really that much surprised and had even suspected the very same thing in the back of her mind, especially after the break in the night before last.
Kelly spoke first as she turned to her left where her grandfather sat then back to Agent Scott. “You must have a reason for telling us this. You just indicated that this is not public knowledge.”
She could see a glint of something in his eyes, maybe respect when he answered. “Yes, ma’am I do have a very good reason.” He nodded toward Grant and his partner. “The police here have informed me of the intruder you had Wednesday night. What you don’t know is that someone tried twice to break into the general’s apartment in Washington.”
He paused to let that sink in. “We believe that General Newcomb had something that some other generals want. Whatever it is, it is possibly now in the possession of his widow. By the way, all of the rest of her and the general’s possessions are at this moment being unloaded at your home, Mr. Newcomb. So whatever it is they are looking for is probably now in your home.”
Kelly didn’t want to sound argumentative, but she didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “I’m sorry, but you still haven’t told us why you’re telling us all of this.”
He smiled this time, and Kelly could see a grin plastered on Grant’s face as he watched her.
“You’re right Ms. Newcomb. So here is what we need.” He turned his attention to Harold. “We need permission to place armed guards around your property, sir. We also need permission to search through your son’s possessions.”
Harold placed his hands on his knees, cleared his throat and said, “You have my permission for the guards, but you’ll need to get permission from my daughter-in-law to search through her possessions.”
Kelly was surprised by the emphasis that he placed on the word ‘her.’
Harold continued, “And I would like to be present when you do talk to her, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, sir. Would it be possible to stop by this afternoon some time?”
“Yes, that would be acceptable. Shall we say around three?”
Kelly’s mind was going in circles with all the ramifications of what the agent had just told them. She was trying to get all this arranged in her mind, but she didn’t have time for any more musings as the agent and detectives were leaving and Grandfather was motioning for her and Wayne to remain.
Once the door closed and it was just the three of them seated there, Harold cleared his throat and said, “I was already planning to hire armed security for the house until this thing is settled.”
Kelly was more than a little relieved to hear that. “I agree.”
Wayne didn’t say anything, but continued staring at the center table as he had done throughout the previous conversation. Kelly knew she’d be hearing much from him later.
* * *
Grant drove up to the front of the big two story house precisely at three with Agent Scott next to him and Stan in the back seat. They all got out and headed for the front door. Before they could knock, the door opened and Kelly stood there in the same white pant suit she’d had on earlier.
This time Grant took the time to admire how she looked in it. The contrast of her black hair and dark complexion with the white almost took his breath away. She seemed to be smiling directly at him, and again, he couldn’t utter a single coherent word. Stan seemed to be ready for that possibility and spoke to Kelly.
“Good afternoon Ms. Newcomb, I believe we are expected.”
Kelly turned her eyes on Stan, stepped aside and said, “Of course gentlemen, won’t you please step into the front parlor, right over here. The rest of the family is waiting for you there.”
They followed Kelly into the room they’d been in the first time he and Stan had come there. He couldn’t help noticing that even though she seemed to be trying to avoid it, Kelly was limping more noticeably that usual. This was the first time he’d seen her walk this late in the day but he was certain that her leg had to bother her more the longer she was on it.
Once introductions were over everyone was seated with the three of them on one side of the room and the four Newcombs, minus Wayne, on the other side facing them. Leo, the giant sergeant was standing in the doorway giving Agent Scott a malicious glare. Grant filed that thought away in his mind to explore later.
Now, even though he fought it, Grant’s gaze turned to Jane Newcomb, his mother? He could tell that his face was heating up with the anger that was coursing through his body. He wanted to shout at her, ‘Why did you desert us?’ He also wanted to know how she could sit there as if she wasn’t even aware that her own son was sitting ten feet away from her. How could she be so cool, so cold?
Then he noticed how nervous she was. It seemed as if her entire body was trembling. She couldn’t keep her hands still. They kept moving in her lap, and she kept clasping and unclasping them.
Finally, Agent Scott cleared his throat, looked directly at her, and said, “Mrs. Newcomb, I know that this is an extremely bad time to be disturbing you in your grief over losing your husband, and I would like to add my condolences to those of the entire United States Air Force.”
He paused, but when she didn’t answer or otherwise acknowledge what he had just said, he continued, “I wouldn’t be bothering you like this, the evening before General Newcomb’s memorial service, if it wasn’t extremely important. In fact, I would say that this is a matter of life and death.”
That got a reaction from her, but she still didn’t speak. Her head jerked up and her eyes finally focused on Scott.
“Ma’am, I have reason to believe that you unknowingly have something that some rather desperate men want, and I’m afraid that they may use drastic means to get this item, whatever it is.”
Mr. Newcomb spoke for the first time. “Agent Scott, do you have any indication as to what this item may be?”
Scott looked relieved to be speaking to someone who would at least talk to him in turn. “No sir, we don’t have any idea, except that it is probably some kind of information that may be either recorded on audiotape or written a computer disk.”
“What can I do to help?”
Jane’s soft voice startled every other person in the room. They all turned their attention to her, but she was obviously waiting for Scott to answer her question.
“I don’t want to alarm you ma’am, but . . .”
Newcomb interrupted. “It’s all right, Agent Scott, I’ve already told Jane that you think someone murdered Harry.”
Scott looked intently into her eyes and must have been satisfied with what he saw. “Okay, ma’am, I must tell you right up front that your life may also be in danger if they think you have what they want and they can’t get it any other way.”
Grant had to almost admire the way her chin came up and she said in a firm voice. “I’m prepared to face that possibility. I repeat, what can I do to help?”
“The first thing we need to do is do a thorough search of all of your and the general’s possessions.”
She seemed shocked. “My possessions too?”
“Yes, ma’am, there is always the possibility that the general put it in something of yours thinking that they wouldn’t look for it there.”
“Oh . . . I see.” She seemed to think about that for a moment then said, “Yes, of course, you may search through anything of mine or my husband’s.”
She had been looking down at her hands again, but jerked them up to look at Scott. “But, I would like to be present when you make your search, please.”
Scott smiled reassuringly, “Yes, ma’am, that will be fine.” He paused then continued, “Just so you know ma’am, there will be armed guards patrolling the property and Sergeant Cochran will be on duty near your room at night.”
She simply nodded her head and rose. “If that’s all for now, I don’t feel well, I need to lie down. I’ll be out by the garage in fifteen minutes, if that will be okay.”
Before Scott had time to agree, she left the room with Kelly and the older Mrs. Newcomb following along behind her.
Scott spent a few minutes with Mr. Newcomb and Leo going over the new security measures.
After that, Leo led them out to a four car garage and showed them where all the things that had arrived this morning were stored. As they began to section off the area so they could begin their search, Leo opened a garage type door that was attached to the side of the house and another smaller garage. Four men, dressed totally in black, walked in and Scott immediately put them to work by assigning each of them their own section of the stored items.
In exactly fifteen minutes, just as she had said, Jane arrived with Kelly by her side.
After two hours in which every box and each item within had been searched, Grant was tired and disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to get Jane alone to talk to her.
Leo escorted them out the garage type door and out onto the front circle drive where Grant’s car was. Scott stayed behind with his men to position them around the perimeter of the property and the house to begin guarding it.
By then, Grant was only too glad to head home for a much needed night’s sleep. Tomorrow was the funeral and it promised to be interesting to say the least, and possibly even dangerous.
* * *
Kelly drove home from her grandparents’ deep in thought. She hadn’t wanted to like Jane, but she couldn’t help it, she was beginning to. There was just something about her that reached out to Kelly and made her feel warm and comfortable, even though Jane seemed to be uncomfortable much of the time Kelly was around her. Maybe that was one reason she liked her.
She didn’t think it was pity. No, it was more that she could identify with Jane’s unease with an unfamiliar situation especially the death of her
husband. And the way Jane was facing all that drew Kelly’s admiration.
Also, the way she had handled all that the Air Force agent had thrown at her this afternoon was almost shocking. Kelly was impressed. She hadn’t thought Jane had it in her to be that strong, especially as she stood and watched them search her personal possessions for almost two hours.
Kelly took off her brace, changed into her sweats, and fixed a quick salad then sat down to eat. When she finished, she settled down in the living room, with her legs up, to read for a while.
A couple of hours later, the doorbell rang. She grabbed her platform crutches and made her way to the door. When she peered out through the peep hole, she smiled and opened the door for her brother.
As she stepped back to let him in, she glanced at her wall clock and her smile turned into a frown. “Wayne, what are you doing ringing my doorbell at this time of night?”
Wayne didn’t say anything as he passed Kelly and headed into the living room plopping down on one end of the sofa then propping his feet up on the coffee table.
Kelly sat next to him on the sofa, putting her feet up on the coffee table beside his. She didn’t say anything. But knowing her brother as well as she did, she knew he had something heavy on his mind. When he had the right words, then and only then, would he begin to tell her.
After several minutes of staring at the cold fireplace, Wayne finally said, “I’m so mad at Harry for staying out of our lives, and I’m mad at Grandmother and Grandfather for letting his wife move in with them. She’s putting them into danger just by being there. And the worst thing of all is that I don’t know what to do about it. Since Harry’s dead, I can’t even confront him about it. And you know how Grandfather is once he makes a decision.”
Kelly smiled in spite of the seriousness of her brother’s demeanor and the subject. She took a stab at what she thought might be the real problem. “Did you and Cassie have another fight?”
Lost Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 1) Page 9
