Breach of Protocol

by Nathan Goodman

  Jana said. “Yes, ma’am. In fact, we have some other questions about the bullet, but if there is no way to locate it, I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer to those.”

  For once, the doctor turned and looked at her. “What other questions?”

  “As I said, ma’am, this information needs to stay between us. This conversation can’t leave this room. Ma’am, it appears that there is a direct relationship between this murder and the murder of FBI Director Stephen Latent. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific, but certain evidence recovered at both scenes ties the two together, without a doubt. One thing I can share with you is that, in the case of Director Latent, the arrow that was used to kill him was fired from a crossbow. The broadhead of the arrow was removed and examined. It had been hollowed out and some evidence purposely stuffed inside. What we’re wondering is if evidence would have been embedded inside the bullet in this case as well.”

  “I’ve covered a lot of murders. I’ve never heard of anything like that. But like I said a moment ago, I might be able to help you. We may not have the bullet that killed Will Chalmette, but we do have the one that killed the truck driver.”

  “The truck driver?” Kyle whispered to himself. “There was a bullet recovered from his body? Why didn’t you tell us?”

  She looked at him. “You didn’t ask. But not from his body, from the driver’s side door of the truck. The bullet passed through the passenger door and entered the lateral thoracic wall at number eight, his rib cage. Anyway, then it angled down and stopped in the driver’s side door. Forensic analysis didn’t yield a match to any known or unsolved murders on record.”

  Cade averted his gaze, but said, “When were you going to tell us about this? We just got finished talking about the sheriff’s murder. Why didn’t you mention it then?”

  The doctor smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. I was just waiting to see if blue eyes over here was going to get around to asking about it. I like the way he talks. He’s got that kind of south Georgia accent going on, you know?”

  “You really are one of a kind, aren’t you?” Jana said. “So where is the bullet now?”

  “Oh it’s back here somewhere. Came back this morning from the forensic lab in New Orleans. They didn’t find anything unusual. Want to take a look?”

  “Yes, please,” Jana said.

  The doctor removed her rubber gloves and draped them across the body, then walked to a storage area. When she reemerged, she held a small paper bag with an evidence label on the side. She walked to a lab table, opened the bag, and poured the contents out. A single bullet spilled into a sterile dish.

  The bullet was characteristic of one having been fired from a high-powered rifle. Groove marks were etched into its side from where it traveled down the barrel. The front half of the bullet formed into a mushroom shape after having expanded upon impact with the truck and its driver. The bottom half of the lead bullet was encased in heavy brass.

  Jana said, “Do you have a dissecting microscope we could look closer with?”

  “Sure, honey. Now you’re talking my language.”

  Jana examined the bullet under the high-powered magnification, followed by Kyle.

  “See,” the doctor said, “there’s nothing unusual.”

  Kyle said to Jana, “Sometimes the brass casing around the base of a bullet gets separated. But not in this case.”

  The doctor said, “Yes, sometimes. It typically happens in less expensive ammunition. High-grade stuff like this though, you never see separation.”

  Jana said, “The casing sometimes gets separated? Wait a minute. Looking at the base of the bullet, there is obviously no hole drilled into it, but what if the killer first separated the brass from the lead, and drilled into just the lead portion of the bullet, then put the two pieces back together before firing?”

  Kyle nodded. “That’s a great question.”

  “Doctor, can we separate the brass base from the lead body of the bullet?” Jana knew that if the answer was no, she would simply commandeer the evidence and take it to the FBI crime lab for immediate analysis. But getting to the answer quickly was more important than bulling her way past a local official.

  “It’s a highly unusual request,” the doctor said. “But, this bullet has already gone through forensic analysis. They always record digital images of all evidence, so I suppose it couldn’t hurt. In doing this, we are definitely going to damage the evidence, but I think, with the photographic documentation already in place, we should be fine.” From a drawer she withdrew two pairs of stainless-steel, surgical-grade pliers. “We normally use tools like these to remove a bullet from a body, not separate one in half.”

  They watched as the doctor applied both sets of pliers to the bullet and began to twist. Within a moment, the lead portion of the bullet separated from the brass base and a few items spilled into the petri dish.

  “Look at that!” Cade said.

  28

  A SHOT IN THE DARK

  Office of the Coroner, Saint Tammany Parish

  “What the hell is that?” Jana said.

  The doctor studied the items.

  “Well that sure wasn’t put there by the factory. Someone planted this. It looks like a grain of wheat, if I’m not mistaken. I’m not sure what this other grain is, but it looks like a seed of grass or barley or something. And this mixture of liquids, maybe it’s just me but it almost looks oily.”

  Kyle squinted at the items. “Kind of congealed together. And what’s that? That looks like a flea. Am I right? Doctor, can we get this analyzed immediately?”

  “And we don’t have time to send it to the FBI crime lab,” Jana said.

  “Well,” Dr. Canray replied, “I’ll have to call technicians over at our crime lab. Then we’ll have to get this to them.”

  “How long will it take us to get there?” Cade said.

  “Oh, about thirty seconds. The crime lab is right next door.”

  Jana said, “And you said this wasn’t a small town.”

  “Well, I lied, sort of. We’re so close to the hustle and bustle of New Orleans, but we pretend to be a small community. It just doesn’t seem to work out that way.”

  Kyle interrupted. “Does the lab have the capability to analyze this material?”

  The doctor looked at him. “Yes. What do you think we are? A bunch of hicks?”

  “You’ll have to excuse Kyle,” Jana said. “He tends to get a little excited about things.”

  “Do not.”

  Cade smirked at him.

  Thirty minutes later as the analysis commenced, they stood at a long glass window and looked into the sterile laboratory facility. The technician was covered from head to toe with a white jumpsuit and face mask. He separated the items into different petri dishes and ran each into a TRACE 1310 Gas Chromatograph machine. It didn’t take long before the technician flashed them a thumbs-up as the last sample passed through. He pointed over their shoulders to a computer screen mounted on the cinder-block wall behind them.

  The screen displayed the results of the lab tests. As they studied the output, it was apparent there were four items detected.

  “She was right,” Kyle said as he read from the monitor.

  Wheat (Triticum monococcum)

  Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

  Red Wine (Vitis vinifera)

  Olive Oil (Olea europaea)

  Flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)

  Jana shook her head. “This isn’t getting easier, it’s getting harder. What are we supposed to do with this? I can’t get the thought out of my head that Jarrah is laughing at us.”

  “We are off the mark on this one.” Cade said. “And we’re not just missing something, we don’t even know where to begin. We’ve got to figure this out and fast. We all know Jarrah is planning something big. He’s leading up to it, he always does.”

  “Wheat, barley, wine, and oil?” Jana said. “A flea? What the hell does that mean?” She turned and paced the hallway. “Other than the flea, it sounds lik
e something out of the Catholic sacraments.”

  “Hey,” Kyle said, “that’s right. Remember when Jarrah questioned if you’d ever gone to church?”

  “Yeah. He said, didn’t you go to church as a little girl.”

  “There must be something there,” Kyle said. “Let’s get this evidence over to the FBI crime lab. They may be able to analyze it further and come up with other clues. In the meantime, does anybody have any ideas? These things we keep finding aren’t ringing any bells.”

  “I agree,” Cade said. “They’re not ringing any bells with me either. Let’s get on a call with Uncle Bill and tell him what we found. Maybe he and Knuckles have something. At this point, I don’t think we can take this investigation any further. Let’s head back to NSA headquarters.”

  Jana placed a call and explained the new evidence.

  Bill replied, “We couldn’t be sure you’d find anything, but you made it pay off. Good work.”

  “Bill, we’re heading to the airport. Have the pilot getting ready to go wings up. We will see you in about two hours,” Jana said.

  “Not so fast. You’re getting on that jet all right, but you’re not heading back here. You’re going to California. You’re not going to believe what we found.”

  29

  NARROWING DOWN A KILLER

  En route to the Greater Saint Tammany Regional Airport

  Jana’s phone vibrated in her pocket, but when Cade saw the look on her face he said, “Jana, what is it?”

  In a frantic set of hand motions, she waved Cade and Kyle closer and tilted the phone so they could hear.

  “A blocked phone number. It’s him,” she whispered.

  “Jana Baker?” she said

  “But, Miss Baker. You knew it was me calling, didn’t you?” Jarrah said.

  “As a matter of fact, just as the phone rang, a certain stench wafted through the air. So yes, I knew it was you.”

  “Did your mother not teach you any manners before she was gone? Oh, that’s right, you were young. She was never there for you.”

  “Jarrah, why is it you get so much pleasure in other people’s pain? Did mommy not love you enough when you were growing up in Syria?”

  “It was my father who taught me manners. Yours should have done the same, but he wasn’t around either, was he? And to answer your question about pain, it’s not that I enjoy inflicting pain on others, it’s that I enjoy inflicting pain on you. Your FBI director, your hiking friend, and now I see you’ve found the untimely demise of a certain old family friend.”

  “Fuck you, Jarrah!” Jana said.

  “Do you realize how easy it would be for me to kill you?”

  “If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it in Spain when you murdered my friend Gilda. No,” Jana continued, “I think you are enjoying this all too much. I think killing me would make you yawn. What fun would it be without an adversary?”

  “An adversary is a person to admire. You, however, have not proven yourself worthy of my admiration.”

  Jana’s hand began to shake. “That’s not how I see it. When I hunted down, then shot, your first disciple, Shakey Kunde, he squealed like a little girl.”

  “Do not test my patience, Miss Baker. I might change my mind about killing you. But we both know Shakey did no such thing. You are correct that you stopped me on my first attempt, but perhaps you are forgetting my second, the scorched earth and molten metal that used to be the headquarters of the CIA, the beast itself. It has been fun watching the news coverage over the last year since I detonated a nuclear device there. Such a large swath of the landscape now turned into gray ash.”

  “Is this why you called me? To taunt and boast about your pathetic accomplishments?”

  “Oh you know far better than that, Miss Baker. You know my calls have a purpose, and torturing you with them is simply a side benefit, a perk, you might say.”

  “More riddles for us, Jarrah? More lies, misdirection? Which one is it this time?”

  “You think everything I tell you is a distraction meant to send you the wrong way? Is that what you think?”

  “You went to a lot of trouble to misdirect us with the nuclear weapon you detonated. Which reminds me, Shakey Kunde’s little brother squealed like a little girl when he died too.”

  “The younger brother proved most useful in diverting you from the true location of the nuclear device. He was a martyr, a hero of Allah. And he sits with him now. Think of the glory, Miss Baker. To have pleased your God with such magnificence.”

  Kyle looked at Jana’s trembling hand and nodded to Cade.

  Jana’s volume erupted and her breathing became erratic. “Magnificence? You had a suicide bomber murder hundreds of thousands of innocent people. He isn’t sitting on the right hand of God, he’s burning in hell!”

  The sound of Jarrah’s voice became distant, as if he had pulled the phone away from his mouth. “I am become death, a destroyer of worlds.” His voice emboldened now. “Your inventor of the nuclear weapon, Robert Oppenheimer, had such brilliant words.” His tone deepened and reminded Jana of the sound of grinding metal. “It is near, Miss Baker. The time is near. I am close to completing my final objective and you are far behind.”

  Jana’s breathing shallowed and Kyle moved behind to catch her if she blacked out.

  “What do you mean you are near?” she said. “Near to what? If I am so far behind in the game, it can’t hurt to tell me now.”

  “The sun has been strong on my face in this part of your country. I’ve been here for many days, readying my next glorious success.”

  “Spit it out, Waseem. Are you planning to detonate another device on American soil?”

  “Of course I am, and you know I can do it. You know much of this story. There were ten original warheads. Two I used last year, two were recaptured by the Australians, two more were reported destroyed when Russians bombed my old stomping grounds, the Hindu Kush mountains, and the other four? Well, one never knows where they might be. But I tell you this. You will see the results of one shortly.”

  Jana’s heart rate increased. “You sold at least three more.”

  “Surely it must be frustrating. You have not been able to track the location of the other warheads, nor any source of funding I received when I sold them. I have all the funds I will ever need. Funds that my followers will use to carry on attacks long after I am gone.”

  “Long after you are gone?” Jana said. “You said the sun was strong on your face. Where are you? Florida, Texas, California?”

  “Oh, California. Such a beautiful place. It will be such a shame, so much beautiful country. And to think Allah lets you live on this land. The thought disgusts me. In fact, I believe Allah will be overjoyed when I vaporize the land, liberating it from such filthy pigs.”

  Jana’s grip on Kyle’s shoulder tightened. “California? Where in California?”

  “I’m not going to give it away so easily, Miss Baker. You have to figure the rest out for yourself based on the clues I have left. My only hope is that you will be on-site when the device detonates. The last thing I will say is this. Where this device is set will cause more destruction than any other spot in the land.” The line went dead.

  “Jarrah? Shit! He hung up. California, oh my God. We can’t evacuate the entire state. Where is he going to hit? We’ve got to get on the phone with Uncle Bill.”

  Cade leaned forward. “He said we could figure it out based on the clues he’s already given us. Dammit, we need the lab results from all of the evidence, and we need to see it in total.”

  “Come on,” Kyle said. “We’ve got to get on that plane and head to California. Uncle Bill must’ve found something important. He already knew where Jarrah’s next target would be. Let’s go!”

  Moments after the plane went wheels up, they were on a secure conference with Uncle Bill and Knuckles at NSA headquarters.

  “Bill,” Kyle said, “what have you got? How did you know we were supposed to go to California? We just talked
to Waseem Jarrah. He called Jana again. He specifically told us California was the target.”

  “I’ll tell you how I know in just a second. But what kind of target? What did he say?”

  Jana leaned in. “It’s nuclear, Bill. He’s threatening to detonate another device. He said last year when he stole the nuclear missile, they divided the warhead into its ten separate parts. He sold seven of them which is why he has so much cash on hand. One he used to detonate in North Korea, the other at CIA headquarters. It’s the last one, Bill. He’s got one more. We never knew if he sold it or was saving it for himself. California is the target, but he wouldn’t say where. He did say, though, that the device would detonate in the place that would cause more destruction than any place in the land.”

  Cade said, “That can help us narrow it down a little further as to the location, but not by much. It’s the evidence, I’m telling you. He’s leaving us clues at all the murder scenes to communicate something. What have you found?”

  “The strongest clues from the evidence collected at Stephen Latent’s assassination relate to the figs and the wasp. But first the stone. It’s a piece of rose quartz. Probably from Spain, a mountain called El Yelmo.”