Lost Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

  A man about Grant’s age, who looked vaguely familiar, answered the door. Grant immediately realized that even though he was not in uniform, he had to be military with his buzz-cut hair and stiff, formal bearing.

  Scott stepped up to the man, flipped open his badge wallet and said, “OSI Special Agent Scott to see General Walker.”

  Grant was surprised to see the young man almost blanch when Scott made his little announcement. The OSI must bring about a certain amount of fear wherever they go. Grant also noticed that Scott didn’t introduce him and Stan. Apparently, it hadn’t been necessary with this man who was only the general’s orderly.

  Without making a sound, the an moved aside to allow them to enter a large red tiled foyer.

  “If you’ll wait right here, Sir, I’ll announce you to the general.”

  With that he walked down a hallway and exited through sliding glass doors at the end. When he stepped back into the hallway, he only walked half-way back to them before he said, “If you’ll come this way, Sir, General Walker will receive you on the patio.”

  He motioned to the doors he had just stepped through, and the three of them filed out onto the patio.

  When he stepped out onto the patio, Grant saw a tall man standing, facing them with his body held ramrod straight. Grant wondered if he looked at the guy’s back, there might be something attached to it to make him stand so straight and stiff.

  Grant hadn’t been able to get a good look at General Walker at the funeral. He was tall, lean, and trim with crew-cut sandy hair mixed with silver streaks. All of this was topped off with the most piercing blue eyes Grant had ever seen. The man’s posture and glare told Grant wonders about the man himself. As Scott had warned, here was a man who was used to walking all over anyone in his path and not looking back afterward. Even in a golf shirt and casual slacks, he was rather intimidating.

  It was then that Grant noticed two more men sitting in lounge chairs behind General Walker. Grant’s first thought was that Walker appeared to be shielding the others. Grant had looked at all the photos carefully and knew that even though they were also dressed in casual civilian clothes, these men were the other two generals.

  Scott glanced past Walker at the other generals then stepped forward, almost in Walker’s face. In a clipped military manner, Scott flipped his badge wallet open under Walker’s chin and said, “OSI Special Agent Scott.”

  The general literally looked down on the shorter man then past him to Grant and Stan. His perusal took in their guns and badges before he said, “And who are these two . . . gentlemen?”

  Grant was ready for this question. He flipped open his badge wallet and noticed that Stan did the same. “I’m Detective Thompson and this is my partner, Detective Becker. We’re with the Sycamore Police Department.”

  Walker turned back to Scott and said, “What is the meaning of this intrusion on my privacy, especially when I happen to be on leave at the moment and entertaining friends.”

  Scott smiled, and Grant couldn’t help but think it was the kind of smile a cat might give a mouse just before he pounced on it.

  “General, we both know that you have freedom of movement at all times except when in a war zone.”

  The general nodded his head slightly. “I repeat my question then, what is this all about? I told some other agent from OSI everything I know about the incident back in Washington.”

  Grant couldn’t help but feel as if he were watching an intense chess match between two grand masters of the game.

  “As I’m sure you were told back in Washington, General, whenever a general officer is killed, even in a combat zone, there is always an OSI investigation to determine if there is any kind of conspiracy involved with the incident. I’m simply continuing with that investigation.”

  “And what has your investigation determined?”

  “I’m sorry, General, I cannot divulge any information concerning an on-going investigation. You know that if you want any information, it will have to either come from my superiors or from your own General Winstanley.”

  Grant watched as the general puffed up and his face turned a little red.

  “I order you to tell me what you have discovered so far, Agent Scott.”

  Scott smiled and went around Walker to speak to the other two generals. “General Preston, General Rennick. I assume you are also taking some time off.”

  The other two generals didn’t answer, but merely nodded their heads and continued to observe the conflict between Scott and Walker.

  At the sound of General Walker clearing his throat loudly, Scott turned back to Walker. Scott’s smile broadened. “Now, General, you know as well as I do that I’m not under your command. I repeat, you will have to go through your channels of communication if you want any information.”

  Scott smiled again, “And I can guarantee you that you will not get any information at all until the investigation is complete and our final report is turned over to the Pentagon. At that time, General Winstanley will probably also receive a copy.”

  Grant wondered how much longer this power struggle would continue before they got down to the purpose of their visit. His answer came quickly.

  The general turned red in the face but didn’t respond in any other way.

  “General, on the afternoon of 5 August, you and General Newcomb were in Afghanistan on a fact finding mission scheduled to last for two weeks. If my information is correct, this was the last day, the day your whole party was scheduled to return to Germany.”

  When Walker didn’t respond, Scott went on. “The two of you were in a classified location outside Kabul when you were fired upon and General Newcomb was hit twice, in the neck and the head.”

  He paused to look into the general’s eyes. “Witnesses tell us that you were standing very close to each other. General, could you explain to me how General Newcomb was hit, and twice at that, when you were so close to him when it happened and you weren’t hit at all?”

  General Walker shrugged and his smile was more of a leer. “I was just lucky, I guess.”

  Scott shook his head. “I don’t think so, General. Witnesses told me that both of you seemed to drop to the ground at the same time, even before they heard the shots. How do you explain that, General?”

  Grant was watching the general closely, and could only detect a slight flicker in his eyes. Even that wouldn’t give much away in a poker game. The other two generals were sitting there showing no visible reactions either.

  “I would say that your witnesses were mistaken.” He chuckled. “That flat, hot desert terrain can cause all sorts of optical illusions. That must have been all it was. They only thought they saw us falling to the ground at the same time. What they actually saw was Harry falling to the ground, then me dropping to avoid further fire.”

  “Was there further fire, General?”

  “You know as well as I do that there was not.”

  Scott seemed to take these evasive tactics in stride. “General, would you call your orderly out here for me, please?”

  Grant was beginning to understand the byplay that was going on here, and the fact that Scott’s statement was more of an order than a request.

  Walker didn’t raise his voice at all when he said, “Sergeant, would you come out here please.”

  The orderly appeared so quickly that Grant was sure that he had been just on the other side of the patio door listening.

  Scott stood and faced the orderly. “Sergeant, on the day that General Newcomb was shot, you were there approximately fifty yards away. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Could you tell me what happened in the seconds before you heard the shots fired?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean, Sir.”

  “What I mean is, did either of the generals hit the ground before the other one did?”

  The orderly had kept his eyes fixed on Scott’s forehead the whole time and without moving them, he answered. “Yes, sir, General Newcomb hit the groun
d several seconds before General Walker did.”

  “That will be all, Sergeant.” When the orderly was went back into the house, Scott turned back to General Walker and said, “I think that will be all we need to discuss today, General.” He stood, looked over at the other generals and said, “We’ll be in touch.”

  After saying that, Scott walked out with Grant and Stan close behind him. As they were walking to Grant’s car, a big black Mercedes pulled in behind them on the circle drive. Three men got out and stood by the car glaring at the three of them as they got into Grant’s car and drove off. Grant was pretty sure they were three of the colonels.

  Scott laughed loudly. “That was Colonel Hatch, Walker’s executive officer driving. The other two were the other two generals’ execs. I would bet that the sergeant called them to let them know we were here.”

  Grant shook his head and said, “They didn’t look surprised to see us, did they?”

  Stan spoke Grant’s thoughts, “Don’t you want to talk to Hatch. He was there too, wasn’t he?”

  Scott laughed again. “Yes, he was there, but experience and my gut feeling both tell me that he has the same story memorized that the general and his orderly just told us. I don’t want to waste any more of our time. We’ve accomplished what I came here for.”

  Once they were inside the car, Scott said, “For your information, gentlemen, I was baiting them back there. No one else told the story any differently.”

  They all laughed.

  This time Grant spoke his own question, “Why didn’t you question the other two generals?”

  Scott shook his head. “I’m not like you, Grant. A police detective can pretty much question almost anyone he thinks may have information pertinent to his case.” He paused for a moment. “On the other hand, I am not authorized to just question whomever I choose, especially generals. If I had questioned the other two generals who are not officially directly involved in this case, they could cause a great deal of trouble for me and my agency.”

  Grant groaned, “I guess you don’t have as much freedom at it seemed when you were talking to Walker.”

  Again Scott chuckled. “See, the difference with Walker is that he is directly involved and I can do almost anything with him and whether he likes it or not he can’t do a thing about it.”

  Stan whistled. “That would sure come in handy in some of our investigations.”

  Scott blew out a breath and said, “Well, the opening moves of our little game have been made, gentlemen. All we need to do right now is sit back and wait for their next move. And I might add that it was extremely beneficial for us that the other two generals were there and know that we suspect them.”

  Grant spoke for both of them this time. “Do you think they had something to do with General Newcomb’s death?”

  He shook his head slightly and snorted. “Last week, I wouldn’t have put too much money on that possibility, but right now, since all three of them were together, I am beginning to lean toward it.”

  * * *

  Grant had already had a long, difficult day and didn’t feel much like talking on the ride over to the Newcomb estate. Sybil did though. She talked constantly, telling story after story of her childhood memories of Sarah. Then she told him the story of his father being an alcoholic who beat their mother and finally was killed when his car went off the road into a ravine. He had been drunk at the time.

  She told him the story of how his mother had moved them to Phoenix and gotten a job in a grocery store to support them, how she met Harry there one day in her checkout line.

  Grant tried to show interest in all these stories he’d heard dozens of times while growing up. Sybil hadn’t run down yet when Grant pulled up in front of the huge house.

  She looked up at the wide two-story house and said, “Oh, my. My little sister is living in that?”

  He couldn’t help the smile that helped him break some of his own tension as he led Sybil up to the door.

  Harold Newcomb opened the door himself and escorted them into the front parlor that Grant was getting rather familiar with. He looked around as they entered. It was just Harold and his wife in there so far. Grant was relieved to see that Harold led them to a long sofa and seated them both there. This gave Sybil the comfort of having him close to her. He had been planning to sit beside her one way or the other.

  Grant quickly introduced his aunt to the Newcombs as he noticed Sybil looking toward the doorway. He knew she was watching for the woman who may be her sister to come into the room. Harold took a seat in an armchair which was next to a matching one his wife was sitting in. Grant noticed that the two chairs were positioned strategically to the side but between the sofa he and Sybil were sitting on and a love seat which faced the sofa. He had a feeling that the love seat was reserved for Jane when she arrived.

  They had all just situated themselves when Kelly entered the room first with Jane following close behind her. Kelly led the way to the love seat and waited for the other woman to sit then she sat next to Jane . . . Sarah . . . his mother?

  Harold cleared his throat, looked directly at Grant, and began. “I assume everyone knows why we are here this evening.” He looked at Sybil who nodded. “Good.” He turned to Jane/Sarah and said, “Jane as I mentioned to you at dinner, these people think they may be related to you, and are here today to see if we can determine if that is the case or not.”

  Grant forced himself to look at the woman who was possibly his long lost mother. He was shocked to see tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared intently at Sybil. Before Grant realized what was happening Jane jumped out of her seat and rushed from the room. Kelly, with a concerned look on her face, limped out the door after her.

  Kelly came back a moment later, alone. She looked at her grandfather and announced, “Jane said she needed to get something from her room.”

  They all waited for several minutes until Sarah returned carrying something cradled to her chest with her arms crossed over it. She walked over to Sybil, slowly reached out and carefully placed a framed 8x10 photograph in Sybil’s hands. Grant leaned forward to see and he was surprised to see that it was a photo of Sybil and Jane or Sarah standing in front of the same church like building that was in the photo that Sybil had given him.

  Sybil cried out, “Harry took that photo the day you two were married!”

  Grant didn’t know what to do, so he reached behind him and pulled out the other photo that he’d been hiding. He looked up into the eyes of his mother and handed the photo to her.

  Sarah let out a gasp and said, “How did you . . . ? Where did you . . .?”

  Sybil wiped at her eyes with both palms. “I took that one of you and Harry with my camera?”

  Sarah looked at the photo in Sybil’s hands then at the one in her own hands. She motioned to the one in Sybil’s hands. “Harry said that the woman in that picture was a friend of mine that I worked with.” She turned to go back to the love seat where Kelly was now sitting but half-way there she turned back to Sybil. “Who are you?”

  “Don’t you know me, Sarah? I’m Sybil . . . your sister. And this is Grant, your son.”

  Sarah’s eyes went from Sybil then to Grant, pausing briefly on each face. She let out a huge sigh, took an unsteady step back, looked over at the love seat where she had been sitting with Kelly and reached out her hand, but crumpled to the floor instead. Grant was out of his seat and caught her head before it could hit the floor.

  Harold’s wife and Kelly both leaped out of their chairs but Sybil was there first. They all four kneeled around Sarah. Grant felt strange holding this woman’s head. He studied her face but couldn’t see much with her eyes closed.

  Kelly leaned down to grab Sarah’s hand as Sybil grabbed her other one. Beth said, “I’ll go get a cold washcloth.”

  As Harold picked up the phone next to him he said to his wife, “You stay with Jane, I’ll get Maria to bring one. It will be quicker.”

  Maria came into the room almost at a run mutte
ring in Spanish under her breath. She gave Kelly the washcloth who immediately laid it across Sarah’s forehead. Both Kelly and Sybil continued talking to Sarah and slapping the backs of her hands in an attempt to bring her around.

  When Sarah’s eyes opened again, they fluttered several times before remaining open. She stared up at Kelly and said, “Are they still here?”

  Kelly smiled and motioned toward Sybil with her free hand.

  Sarah turned her head toward Sybil. “You are my sister?” Sybil nodded. “But, how? Harry said I was an orphan.”

  Sybil snorted. “Obviously Harry lied to you.”

  “But why?”

  “I guess we’ll never know for sure.”

  Beth asked Maria to bring drinks to everyone. The room was totally quiet while they waited for Maria to return.

  Sarah was staring at Grant and Sybil. She kept turning her eyes from one to the other and back again. Sybil was staring back at her, while Grant was watching both of the blond women. He was amazed at how they looked so much alike.

  As Maria was serving various hot and cold drinks, Sarah finally spoke again.

  “This may sound strange to all of you, but even though I don’t remember either of you, it seems as if I know you.” She turned to Grant with a pleading look in her eyes. “Can you understand what I’m trying to say?”

  Grant watched his ‘mother’ as she spoke. Was she the woman who had grown up with Sybil? Was she the woman who had given birth to him and his sister? She was also the woman who had stayed away from them for twenty years. Could she have been lied to for all those years just as they had been?

  Harold stood and motioned for his wife and granddaughter to do the same. “I think the rest of us are unnecessary right now. If anyone needs anything, we’ll just be in the family room.” He strode from the room with Beth and Kelly following.

  * * *

  Grant watched the Newcombs leave the room vaguely aware of how badly Kelly was limping. He’d have to think about her later, and he would.”

  He had a mother! It was easy to see that Sarah and Sybil were sisters. And Alison looked just like Sarah had in her wedding photo. But, what about him? He didn’t look like any of the three women who were now a part of his life. He had dark features with brown hair and eyes. He stuck out amongst all the blond hair and blue eyes.