Domestic Affairs (Tiara Investigations Mystery)

by Lane Stone

  He steadied me. “Who sings it?”

  “Sings what?”

  He gave my waist a squeeze and headed downstairs. Since he was two steps down, our heads were level and he leaned in. “If you treat me like a dog, I’ll act like a bitch.”

  “I don’t know!” I turned and headed for my upstairs office. Victoria and Tara were laughing their asses off and I didn’t want him to hear.

  His cell phone rang, and he chuckled and walked away to answer it. He has two mobile phones. I noticed the one he answered usually meant he had to leave quickly.

  “I gotta go. I’ve got some eavesdropping to do on the home front.”

  As I hung up, I could hear Vic and Tara yelling, “Call us back!”

  Jack was putting glasses in the dishwasher, and I came up behind him and rested my head on his broad back. He took my hand and led me to the family room sofa. “They’re sending a car for me. It’ll be here in a little while.”

  I waited to see if he could tell me more. “I’m going to DC for a few days.” We snuggled, and I closed my eyes. “If I lost you, it would be like losing my right arm,” he said into my hair.

  “No, it would be like losing your penis because that’s what I would cut off. What brought this on?”

  “I’m trying to say I love being married to you.”

  “And?”

  “And everyone should be married.”

  I sat up straight. “Waaait a minute. Paul got to you, didn’t he? He wanted you to ask me to talk to Tara about marrying him. Is that what this is about?”

  “You got all that out of what I said? I’m glad you’re on our side. He’s afraid she might prefer a Southern man over a New Yorker.”

  “Who wouldn’t?”

  “I couldn’t exactly say that to him.”

  “Thank you for trying to get to know my friends. I know you don’t care for small talk.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Do you think this couch needs replacing?”

  “Huh?” Jack looked around, like it was news to him that we were sitting on a sofa. To me, it was a reminder of how busy the agency was and how hard keeping all the balls in the air could be.

  “Never mind. I’m glad you came back.”

  “I may have been pouting a little bit.”

  I smiled knowing that Vic, Tara and I were getting closer to telling them about our agency, and how much simpler life would be once we did. “When is the hearing you’re invited to attend?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s something not being said, and if I don’t get answers I’ll return to the field.”

  “You’ve testified several times before. Why the suspicion now?”

  “Every time I’ve testified, the hearing has been closed. Not this time.” He squeezed me in a bear hug. “I know how you feel about night raids. And it makes me appreciate your support that much more. Would it help if I explained that Afghan soldiers have always been involved in night raid operations? And that searches are conducted by Afghan security forces whenever possible, and female personnel are always used to search women and children? In over nine thousand night operations there have been only twenty-seven people killed or wounded.”

  I pushed away because I wanted to say my piece. And he had to listen to my rant. Call it a marriage penalty. “No, that doesn’t help. The fact that not as many people are killed as is generally thought does not a success story make. The public anger and distrust isn’t so much over the chance of being killed, it’s the invasion of their homes. And night raids don’t seem to be very effective. Only about five percent of those killed and about eleven percent captured are leaders.”

  Jack ran his hand over his head. “We are getting the targeted individual or a close associate most of the time.”

  I placed my hand on the side of his face and waited for him to open his eyes and look at me. “I have always supported you and you don’t have to convince me that you’re good. The difference is you’re a commando force. Al Qaeda, the HIG, the Commander Zero Group are all networks, so you have to contend with wheels within wheels, within wheels. Your Memorandum of Understanding is putting lipstick on a pig. Instead of this council approving night raids, why not look for options outside of targeted killing?”

  “Just believe in me a little longer.”

  “I’ll never stop believing in you.”

  In another half hour, a car was there to take him to the airport for the short flight from Atlanta to Washington. He turned around at the door and grabbed my waist. “I didn’t finish realigning the doors on the Jeep. Will you be okay with just the Toyota?”

  “Sure. The service department said it would be ready this afternoon.”

  In about thirty-one minutes, I was on the phone with the other two Tiara Investigations detectives. They told me their work was done, and we had another satisfied customer. Take that however you want.

  I had so much to talk to them about. “Want to come here for lunch?” After all, who can pass up my cooking? Don’t answer that.

  “Do you have time to cook?” There was a slight hesitancy in Tara’s voice.

  “If you’re too busy, we can go to Cracker Barrel,” Vic added.

  “I’m not too busy. I just have to Ken-again since Jack put dirty dishes in with the clean ones, but I can cook for us. We need to talk about what to do with that napkin in Tara’s handbag.”

  “It’s not in there anymore.”

  “Where is it?” A part of me wanted Tara to say she’d thrown it away, but that would be taking evidence tampering to a whole ‘nother level.

  “I can’t find it.”

  “What?!” No part of me wanted her to say that.

  “I have too much in my handbag. I was going to put it someplace for safekeeping. You know, so it wouldn’t get tampered with.”

  “Heaven forbid.”

  “Anyway it wasn’t in there. I lost it somewhere.”

  “Leigh, do you remember what it said?” Victoria was doing that loud talking thing you do when you’re on a speaker phone.

  “Buford Dam. Intermittent denial of service. First step,” I recited. “Like I said last night, I don’t think he’s talking about the water supply. That’s a good thing. Remember, Bryn Marie Leandro from last night? My friend that works for the Army Corp of Engineers at Buford Dam? I’ll call and see if we can visit her after lunch.”

  I threw the ingredients for pizza dough into the mixer and started it. Then I chopped and roasted some veggies. While that flurry of domestic activity was happening, I telephoned Bryn Marie to arrange a meeting. A few minutes later my phone rang.

  Victoria walked in the door talking because she didn’t see I was on the phone. “Can we stop by and check on Bea? Frank said they released her this morning. Have the police found out who kidnapped her? And why?”

  Tara walked in talking too. “I haven’t been able to find out why someone stole the clothes off Paul’s stepfather’s body. Do you think Janice Marshall had something to do with it?”

  “I’m on the phone with Julio. There was no airline ticket waiting for him at the airport.” I rolled my eyes to say, ‘We knew there wouldn’t be.’

  Tara shook her head. “Put a load of two by fours on my backside and call me a pickup.”

  “How did Janice Marshall know he was our trainer?” Victoria was exchanging her prescription sunglasses for her regular glasses.

  I rephrased it for him because I wanted to keep him out of anything malevolent we three had one way or the other gotten him mixed up in. “How did you meet uh…”

  “Alyssa.” Tara filled this in for me.

  I put him on my cell phone speaker. “When Tara, Victoria and I were leaving the theater at the mall on Saturday, she came up to me and asked if I was a trainer. She introduced herself and said if I ever needed a substitute to call on her and she gave me her email address.” No need to ask how she knew he was a trainer. If you saw the guy, you wouldn’t exactly mistake him for a librarian. I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “That a
fternoon I heard I won the trip, and emailed her.”

  “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. We’ll see you on Friday. I’ll leave your check in the mailbox. It includes a bonus.” Then I hung up.

  Tara patted my back. “I’m glad we’re giving him a bonus.”

  “That little bitch set the whole thing up.”

  “The military word for civilians getting hurt is collateral damage, isn’t it?” Victoria asked.

  “Like when Paul had to make the arrangements for his step-father’s funeral because I was working….” Then Tara had another thought. “That girl was in this house. Have you counted the silver?” She scanned the kitchen, breakfast room and family room. I have an eclectic taste in decorating, so rooms are dotted with antiques and American folk art. Tara seemed to be counting each.

  “She was never alone.” Victoria sat on a bar stool at the kitchen island.

  We settled down and covered the issues one at a time as I put the finishing touches on lunch. “How did Janice Marshall connect Julio to us? The viewing was last night, Sunday, and she put this little plan in action on Saturday. Could she have followed him from here on Friday morning?” I rummaged for the pizza cutter and finally found it.

  “She could have followed Tara or me on Saturday when we went to meet Julio,” Vic said.

  “Either scenario says she knew us, or at least Victoria and me, before Sunday night.” Tara rubbed her forehead. “Wait, Leigh, she thought you were me on Sunday night.”

  I put a couple of utensils in the dishwasher. “Our first priority is to meet with Bryn Marie to tell her what was on the napkin, in case the dam is being targeted for a cyber attack.”

  “Cyber attack?” Tara’s fingernails tapped the granite countertop.

  “Sure. That’s how an intermittent denial of service would be achieved. Structural damage would either not cause harm, or it wouldn’t be intermittent. Right, Vic?”

  “Right. Tara, hon, if you’re nervous about the meeting, you can just sit there,” Vic said.

  I handed Tara the tea pitcher to take to the dining room table and tried to see how she took Victoria’s suggestion, but she was too fast for me. She’d already followed Victoria, who was still talking, with the pizza and salad. “And we’ll go from there to see Bea and Kelly? I want to know what the police told her about who they think kidnapped her. We don’t know for a fact that it had anything to do with Pop Tart’s death.”

  “I got my ha-a-ands up for that.” Tara danced a couple of steps. “I’d love to see Kelly’s baby again.” She’s one of those women who love every child ever born. You can spot these individuals by how they refer to anybody newborn to twelve years old as a “baby.”

  I’m not saying I’m a great cook, but I will say I did right by them with that meal. “Please Lord, don’t let Kelly’s baby be ugly. I can’t say the things other people say when they see an ugly baby.”

  Tara laughed. “Leigh and Victoria, you both can just sit there.” We needed that kidding. We had a lot on our plates, literally and figuratively.

  I refilled their ice tea glasses, and offered fresh lemon wedges. “I talked to Jack about the wetware they found in Thomas Chestnut’s body.”

  “And a heavenly body it was.” Tara waived her fork like a baton.

  “He said these can be implanted in you or worn on your uniform. That might explain why they stole him and undressed him. Someone was looking for it.”

  Tara squinted to concentrate better. “Was it Janice Marshall who brought it to us? That would mean she wasn’t involved in stealing the body.”

  I passed the parmesan cheese grater. “No, the funeral director gave it to us. She was in the background, though.”

  Victoria dabbed the corners of her lips with her napkin. “Since she worked there, why wouldn’t she have looked for the chip while the body was being prepared?”

  “Remember yesterday was her first day working there, so she probably didn’t have the opportunity,” I said.

  Tara rose and took her plate to the dishwasher. “She’s up to something or she wouldn’t have come in here under false pretenses.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Continuation of statement by Leigh Reed. The lobby of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers office at Buford Dam––Lake Lanier, was decorated, using that term loosely, with numerous post-taxidermy animals. I’d call the style early education. The receptionist’s desk was behind thick glass. In case the animals came back to life pissed? I looked at the cover of the book she was reading. On it, three women in a car drove around Lake Lanier and Buford Dam throwing tiaras out the window. “Looks like it could be about us.”

  Tara craned her neck. “How do you know Bryn Marie?”

  “One of my park service assignments was at Lake Lanier. I forgot what she was doing at the time, but last night, she said she’s the Natural Resources Manager. And here she is!”

  I gave Bryn Marie a quick hug. “You remember my friends from last night, Tara and Victoria.”

  “I’m very glad your other friend was found unharmed.” Then she led the way down the hall and around a corner to her office.

  All of a sudden, I had more than Clairol on the back of my head. I felt Victoria’s and Tara’s eyes. Later on, we’d discuss Bryn Marie’s definition of unharmed.

  Suddenly Bryn Marie turned to me. “Leigh, I have a favor to ask. We broadcast water release data each day on 1610 am radio. We’re going to start using local celebrities to read the script. How about it?”

  Victoria smirked. “Yeah, Leigh, you’d be great!”

  “Tara was first runner up and Victoria was Miss Congeniality. You’ll want them, too.”

  That wiped the smile off Vic’s face, and Tara cleared her throat. She was already preparing to be the voice of Buford Dam. Whether or not Buford Dam was ready for her performance, was another matter entirely.

  When we got to Bryn Marie’s office, “Wow,” was all I could say. One wall was a window looking out on pine trees and the lake. Across the inlet, we could see other types of trees with leaves I didn’t have words to describe. Considering the way I feel about the outdoors, that scene was like going to church, and I hated to start in lying but that’s what had to be done. “Did you hear about the man who was found dead in a restaurant near the mall on Friday?”

  “Yes, that was terrible.”

  “He had written a note mentioning the dam, and I thought you might want to know about it.”

  “Can I see the note?”

  “The police have it.” To cover myself, I didn’t specify Gwinnett or Forsythe County.

  “Oh.”

  I recited what the note had said. “Buford Dam. Intermittent denial of service. First step.”

  She wrote it down, but I got the impression that was more of a nervous gesture than anything else. “We haven’t had any power outages lately.”

  “Are there plans to build a room here for secure communications, a SCIF?”

  “If that’s in the works, it hasn’t filtered down to me.”

  “Since the powerhouse is located 150 feet below Buford Dam Road, it might be a good place to locate a structure like that, right?” I asked.

  She hesitated. “Someone from Homeland Security paid me a courtesy call this morning, but we didn’t discuss that. He was here last night too, said he was helping a detective from Gwinnett County PD out.”

  Victoria grinned. “Good looking guy?” I knew she was going for an ‘oh, you can tell me anything’ look. Hated to tell her she didn’t need to try.

  Tara cocked an eyebrow. “A man so good looking he can eat at Chick-Fil-A on Sunday?”

  “Oh, yeah.” A grin came with Bryn Marie’s nod. “Is there a connection between the death at the restaurant and what happened to Mrs. Englund last night?”

  “We don’t know,” I said. “They were engaged to be married, and she had last been seen at the funeral home where he is.” I knew that was long story short, but I ask you, did we really need to get into him being there, not there, in a wool suit, in
a birthday suit?

  Tara must have sensed my discomfiture because she turned the conversation. “Several times in the last few days when I’ve tried to call Leigh, when she’s been around here, the calls have dropped. Has anyone else mentioned that?”

  “That’s happened to me, too. I thought it was my cell phone service provider.” Bryn Marie frowned and underlined first step.

  “Could that affect dam operations, though? Cell phone service interruption?” This time it was me leaning in. “There are no operators here, right?”

  “Right.” The look on Bryn Marie’s face told me she knew where I was going with this. “The Buford Dam generators are actually controlled from Carters Lake in Ellijay.”

  I looked back to the view behind her of the lake and intake side of the dam. “What would happen if communications between the two was interrupted due to a cyber attack?”

  “We have staff here trained to operate the dam.”

  “What if you didn’t know the link was disrupted?” Vic asked.

  “I can’t answer that.” She just had.

  CHAPTER 11

  Continuation of statement by Leigh Reed. Tara was speaking a foreign language to Anniyah, Kelly’s baby, which left Victoria and me free to grill, I mean question, of course, Beatrice. The house was in Duluth, and I was trying to remember if I’d been in it since the week after Kelly had the baby. A year ago when her husband, David, was killed, the house was barely decorated. Now there were traditional comfortable furnishings in every room. The plethora of floral throw pillows was the first clue that no man was in residence. We sat in the living room drinking tea. The lemon pound cake Bea had cooked was on the coffee table. Kelly’s linen napkins and dessert plates sat alongside. The tension between the mother and daughter was so thick you could cut it with a knife. That surprised me because of how close they’d always been and because of what had happened the night before. Anyway, it wasn’t any of my business.

  Back when I was in school they taught us that the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. Trusting that hadn’t changed, I asked Bea, “Did Thomas have any enemies?”

  Bea transferred a cake slice to the top dessert plate. “He had a falling out with someone at the CDC. Thomas was a consultant for them on infrastructure protection, water safety specifically. They started out as friends, but had a difference of opinion. The guy went a little overboard trying to prove his point.”