Justifiable Homicide

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  “Peter, you are here and,” looking with a friendly face at Toni, “who is this lovely creature?” She took off her coat and scarf and hung them on the coat rack by the door while she put on her indoor slippers. Turning back to the living room Toni noticed she was a very nice looking woman with middle length straight hair and when the light struck her eyes, eyes a cobalt blue sparkled with delight as she hugged her son and then turned to Toni and said, “Nice to meet you Toni, I hope my son has made you comfortable. We seldom get visitors of his anymore as he lives so far away. Well, we must see what we can rustle up for dinner as your father will be home in a little while,” as she plopped down on a granny rocking chair that was probably her mother’s at one time, but still in good condition. Toni saw her nice wide smile with laugh wrinkles around her mouth and eyes, but unlike some women, her wrinkles were becoming and made her all that more attractive. Toni also noted she had a nice figure even though she still had on her pharmacy uniform of light green which matched her blonde hair.

  Toni said with a voice that sounded far away to her, “I love your house Mrs. Holmes. It is so comfortable and makes we want to never get up and leave. Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. Sorry, I just meant it was so homey and that…" She looked at Peter and both he and his mother were smiling. Toni smiled too and continued, “I think I’d better leave now before my whole leg is in my mouth rather than just my foot,” as she gave Peter’s mother her best smile.

  “Don’t worry Toni, I know what you mean and feel right at home. We are old school here in Iowa and love to show our hospitality to others. Our ancestors came from Germany and we are your basic meat and potato folks. Oh, there is father now,” she said as she ran to the kitchen to see what they might have for dinner.

  Peter father was the opposite of his mother in that he came through the door quietly and hung his coat up then came into the living room to stand by the fire and shake hands with his son and to greet Toni. Toni felt a little guilty as she spied on him just a few weeks ago and was thankful she didn’t stare at his leg when he walked in noting the limp. He looked at Toni as if she were one of his prize Iowa steers being put up for auction. He looked her over carefully and then with a mischievous grin said, “Peter, I think there is more than meets the eye with this lady. I don’t want to know the details, but it would appear you and she would make a good hand to draw to in a poker game.”

  Toni had no idea what the hell he was talking about as that was one game she never played. It was only much later when father had a couple glasses of wine and loosed up some more. He told Peter he remembered when he called asking about someone out of the ordinary or different in his store. He told Peter it was Toni as he couldn’t forget the carrot top hair and the face with freckles going up and down the aisles. “She was stalking you Peter,” he said. Peter laughed and so did Toni with a rush of red matching her hair with being caught in an act of what she thought as covert work.

  Mother came in announcing dinner. She told them it was buffet style and each picked up plates, tinsels and what appeared as warmed up roast beef in gravy along with steamed veggies. Toni didn’t expect much as both worked negating the time for proper cooking. A fresh green salad and wine went well with dinner and afterwards both Toni and Gladys did the dishes chatting away with Toni telling her about her home in upstate New York. Peter and dad were talking about the usual things until both came into the living room to relax and share news. Toni squirmed a bit when the talk came around to the vigilante situation that the news carried most every night nowadays. Copy cats were targeting mostly drug dealers and the police and FBI were telling everyone to let them do their jobs, but protesters around the country were screaming for justice and action. Politicians told the citizens that jails and prisons were full to capacity and the protesters said send them to Alcatraz or like in Europe during WW11 razor wire and huts were good enough for law breakers.

  This was the hot topic and the news wasn’t about to let it go with the latest killing in Arizona of a senator who fit the profile of the vigilantes: a drunk driver killing someone innocent. Peter’s father said, “I disagree with the whole idea of vigilantes in this day and age, but it appears that, however primitive it is, it has the support of the people. I wish we could find another way as all this shows the world we are not ready for a civilized society. Russia has its Siberia and China has its clamps on society and the Middle East has its own methods of punishment. Tell me Toni, what do you make of all this taking the law into ones hands?”

  Toni had been waiting for him to toss the ball her way to see what she was made of. Her heart rate was up a bit, but she coolly said, “Whatever works and if a law breaker kills someone, regardless of weapon, they should pay the fiddler, as my father used to say to me when I didn’t do well on a test.” Father was looking at her hard with his blue gray eyes and it felt like he was boring into her soul. Peter had his hand on her leg for comfort, but she had been down rougher roads than this one. Gladys had her knitting out and the needles were flying like chickens wings running from a dog. She rocked back and forth and when it became obvious they or he wanted more, she continued, “On the other hand, if someone pays some punishment for the crime, then depending on the circumstances and the resulting years of redemption shown, ok then life goes on, but when a drunk plows into a car full of kids and the driver is hammered, killing our citizens he or she should walk away with no punishment just because they are rich or have some power in politics? What is your position on this Mr. Holmes,” she threw the ball back to him.

  “Ah, tit for tat and it is my position that you are mostly of my opinion, but one thing bothers me and that is the ease of which someone or somebody can hire a killer and take out, if you will, the person targeted so easy. And where does the money come for such operations? Lastly I’m confused when it comes to who chooses the targets. That person or persons are playing God and where does it all end?” He left it hanging there as the old grandfather clock in the hall way chimed away at the ten pm mark of the night. Like a signal it was time for most mid-western folks to hit the hay.

  Mother told Toni to follow her to the guest room and Peter told his father good night and went to his room with a sigh of relief that the conversation didn’t get around to what the FBI was doing about this new phenomena.

  Toni found the bed nice and soft and she went out like a light. Peter on the other hand stared at the ceiling as he recalled old times in town and the unknown of the future with Toni. He was extremely attracted to her, but what about Sandy? Sandy was a known and Toni was an unknown. Sex was good with Sandy, but it was terrific with Toni and she was such an outspoken person not afraid to voice her opinion about anything. Maybe even too strong and in Peter’s middle of the road upbringing a level too high for him. The last thing he thought about was her body under him and scratching the hell out of his back as he drifted off to sleep.

  46

  Back at FBI headquarters, in the main frame computer room, sat a guy, who along with Toni, were known as computer nerds. Ned Bates even looked the part. Tall and skinny with after teen acne scars and thick black framed glasses hanging off a nose like a fish hook and almost as thin. For days now he had been wondering what Peter Holmes was doing on the internet. First, he thought, Holmes asked me to search an e-mail and one more time he did the same, but nothing was there. Now at midnight while Peter was dreaming of making love to Ned’s counterpart Ned searched around in Peter’s delete box looking for something that was bothering him. The first flag of warning was there was only one e –mail in his recycle bin and that referred to a meeting with someone at the Washington Monument. Why would his recycle bin be empty save this one? Where did the ones he asked me to check go and why did Peter Holmes suddenly take a vacation when the vigilante case was on top of everyone’s list? Ned sat back and took his heavy glasses off and rubbed his dark brown eyes under a heavy brow. His head was way too large for his skinny body and he kept his hair cut short to cancel out the top heavy look.

  He looke
d around and saw the usual staff working around the clock in the center. Ned had been at it for almost twenty hours and now it was time to take a rest and he would report to his boss tomorrow his suspicions that something out of the normal was going on with Peter Holmes. Also the fact Peter’s boss was just murdered might account for the vacation time. Ned left more confused than ever, but it was his job to bring up an anomaly that waved a red flag somewhere in the whole system. For Peter Holmes his vacation was about to be cut short when the report from Ned Bates hit the top of the FBI echelon.

  ***

  Peter and Toni after breakfast said good bye as they planned on heading south in her motor home for some warm weather. Mother and father said the usual things, like stay awhile and so on, but really they had their own lives to live and a visit were good but short was even better.

  Peter had purposely left his cell phone in the motor home not wanting any interruptions with his parents. Now as Toni at the wheel and heading south on a grey, but free of snow, Peter check for messages on his cell. Only one message of importance was there like an etching on a grave stone: Call office soonest. Vital. And the number left was one number feared by all agents: the assistant director’s office. Peter looked at Toni who was concentrating on her driving and she looked at him seeing the color had drained out of his face and said, “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  When he recovered he said in a hoarse voice, “My office wants me to call immediately. I fear something is wrong or something has come up that they need me. I don’t like this feeling I have in my stomach and it’s not from mother’s breakfast.” He tried to make light of the situation, but Toni felt something was drastically wrong here and she pulled off just outside of town at the same truck stop she had breakfast a few weeks ago.

  Peter opted for a payphone and called the number while noting the time. The call was answered on the first ring and he was immediately placed to the number two man in the chain of command. A voice as beguiling as the position came on saying, “Peter we need you back here in the office to clear up a few things related to the vigilante case. How soon can you be here?”

  Peter took a deep breath and replied, “I’ll catch a plane and be there as soon as I can.”

  “Call my office when you arrive. And Peter, if you can’t get a flight out and be here by evening, we will send a plane for you.”

  “If you don’t hear from me I am on my way. If I can’t catch a plane out of here I will call back in a few hours and leave word with your secretary,” He said with a voice more professional than he felt. Now he knew he had shit up his neck big time. Somewhere somehow information unknown to him had surfaced and walking back to the motor home, he remembered the last message to Toni on his computer and if he had deleted it or not. Climbing in he asked Toni about the last communication they had about the meeting at the Monument.

  Toni thought a minute and then realized that maybe she didn’t go into his computer and delete the message. A scared look crossed her face as Peter saw it all too plainly for his liking. She said, “I think we fucked up Peter. Tell me what the phone call was about.”

  “The big boss wants me in DC ASAP. That means if I can’t get a commercial flight out, they will send a plane for me this morning.”

  “Jesus, we are up shit creek without the proverbial paddle. Where is the nearest airport?”

  “I can catch a plane from here. Head back to town and follow the signs to the airport. I guess this is good bye for now. Your secret is safe with me. If they trace you it is not because of me. I want you to know that. I have a story that will work unless they hook me up to a lie detector, which I doubt if they will,” as Toni heard his last comment it didn’t sound so convincing at all.

  Toni drove as instructed and an hour later after a deep kiss and hug she saw him walk away wondering if she would ever see him again. Instead of heading south she went west and then south later when the mood suited her.

  47

  Peter landed at Dulles International just before noon. A car was waiting for him with two special agents he’d never seen before. Not a word was spoken as they drove him to headquarters. Peter tried to remain calm, but inside he was churning like whipped butter he used to watch his grandmother make. Only this time the cream didn’t rise to the top, only bile was tasted in his mouth. My career is gone, he thought the worst. Like his mentor, how much should I refute and how much should I tell them. He sat up little straighter and realized that even going in, he didn’t know what they knew and the reverse was true also. Walk in with a confused look and play by the rules of logic. He remembered one story where Sherlock faced the Prime Minister and another powerful politician and when he was through talking they had nothing more to say. Maybe, just maybe, as they turned into parking area, I can do the same thing.

  Peter had never been to this part of the building before. It was all new to him and looked like a large corporate headquarters with plush surroundings. He didn’t have time to admire as he was led directly to a conference where upon entering he saw the number two man and four others he had no idea who they were. One was a woman who looked like she could take on a pit bull and come out winners. The other four including the number two man were typical looking special agents.

  Number two told him to sit at the end of the medium length table and without introductions began his question by prefacing the issue. “Peter it has come to our attention that you may have had contact with someone that might have connections or knowledge of this case of vigilantes currently sweeping the country. Now if you have any information and if that information is pertinent to our investigation please explain the e-mail we have received from your deleted system.” He read the mail that confirmed the meeting at the monument to Peter. After reading it the assistant director placed it neatly in a thin folder and looked down the table at Peter with eyes of suspicion, but not without some compassion.

  Peter took a drink of water and began by saying, “This contact with a person has nothing what so ever to do with this case. This person was playing games with me on the computer showing off how this person could reach inside the main frame and talk to me. This person told me she liked the way I looked on her file she hacked into and saw I was single and available. At our meeting I told this person that if she continued I would have to arrest her and we would have to prefer charges.” Peter left it there to see what developed and then one of the other special agents first looked at the AD and he gave the nod.

  He asked, “Peter do you have a relationship with this person now? And if you do how it is you know she won’t continue hacking into our system?

  Peter replied, “I believe I put the fear of God in her and she promised she would refrain from continuing on what is obvious a dead end in prison if she continues.”

  The Pit Bull spoke up with a voice that would quiet a convention of party goers and asked, “Are you to let us believe you let her go and now you are in a relationship with her?

  Peter now a little hot under the collar said, maybe a little bit too vociferously, “My personal life is my own and it’s doubtful that any of us in this room hasn’t bent the law on one or two occasions. We have hackers all over the world and even some working for us that went astray. What is so important about this one?

  “Well,” she replied, “We think she has a connection to something we might need to investigate further. I think it might be prudent in this case to bring her in for questioning. What are your thoughts on this Mr. Holmes?”

  “I don’t think that is necessary and in my professional opinion it is over and done with. She went her way and I went mine. A one night stand if you will. I just got a little lonely and stressed out when my boss got murdered in front of my eyes not so long ago.”

  The AD picked up on what he told them and said, “Let’s leave it here for the moment and we know you are on vacation, we would like to hear your thoughts on this case of vigilantes and who might be in back of it.”

  Peter sat back and kept his eyes on
the AD. He said, “I believe this phenomenon is headed by an organization inside the agencies of either city police and or at a higher level. What I mean is, someone has to have police reports and yes, that would take either a hacker or someone on the inside feeding others information. Pure logic tell us it is run by professionals in the field of law men who have become frustrated with which the system is turning away from punishment be it the rich and powerful or repeat offenders skating the system.”

  AD, with a look at the others at the table said, “Do any of you have any further questions for Peter?” The others shook their heads and with a slight nod from the Pit Bull no, he continued saying, “Well we leave it here and thank you for your time Mr. Holmes and sorry to have spoiled your vacation.” All stood and Peter walked through the door and down to his office to check his messages. He thought he would just as well spend the rest of the day working and then call Sandy to take her out to dinner. There was not a doubt in his mind that he was under the microscope and would be for a long time coming and when it came to promotions, forget it with this black mark on his record.

  Sitting down at his desk he checked his mail and nothing was worth noting, so he called Sandy for a relaxing evening. While he told her of his trip to Iowa and other bland conversation, his thoughts drifted to Toni and wondered what she was doing and where she was going. Dinner was set up and he went to work determined to find the key to this puzzle of who was heading up this vendetta of judge, jury and executioner. One question that always kept nagging was how this began and where would a consortium of law enforcement agencies meet to discuss or plan such an adventure. He felt he was close to putting his finger on it and wished he played the violin about now. Maybe it was time for a walk in the park and feed the ducks.

  Peter left his bag at his desk and put on his heavy overcoat and when outside, he noticed it starting to snow. Dime size flakes were coming down floating as if they had found a way to negate gravity. Peter hailed a cab and told him to take him to a park where the ducks were hungry. The cab driver with a turban on his head nodded and a half hour later a loaf of bread in his hand fed the noisy ducks around a mostly deserted park. Peter felt sure it was coming and after the bread was gone, so was the idea of who resided at the top.