by David Carner
Bruce knew he wasn’t as good as a detective as John Fowler, but Bruce wasn’t as dumb as he let on. There was obviously something huge going on with the current case John was working on. Fine, let him have it. Bruce really could care less. He wanted to see John and his group of merry men booted out of the FBI, but Bruce knew you can’t always get what you want. As long as John was busy on this case, that kept him away from the murder case of his wife. Bruce didn’t think he could take John crying and moaning about his dead wife any longer.
Bruce smiled at John as his father left the building. Bruce’s mind was in motion. Bruce chuckled to himself, proud of how he had outfoxed John, his father, and the entire FBI. The best part was they had no idea.
Chapter 33
As John headed downstairs a cold shiver came over him. He assumed it was from seeing Bruce smile. John had never seen a snake smile before, but he was quite confident if one did it would resemble the smile Bruce just gave him. John had a nagging feeling that their conflict was going to come to a head, sooner rather than later.
As John stepped off the elevator and looked down toward the foxhole, he could hear the voices of his team and Trip. None of them sounded too confident. John smiled to himself. That would all change in just a moment when he told them what he had found and let the mad web surfer Chet do his thing.
“So does anyone want to know what I found out in Vermont?” John asked as he entered the room. Jessica’s eyebrows lifted up.
“You actually found something?” She asked in amazement. “What could you have possibly found there?” John pointed to the hard drive of the computer he had brought back from Vermont. Chet looked very happy.
“Not yet my friend,” said John wagging his finger back in forth in the air. “While you might find something interesting in that computer, I think the thing you’ll find most interesting is that the good Doctor Bradley did not live his entire life in Vermont.” This revelation got Trip’s attention. He had been leaning against a desk to the left of John with his arms folded. When John informed them of the new lead Trip unfolded his arms and turned toward John.
“Where did he live besides Vermont?” Trip asked.
“It seems he lived in Kentucky for a few years. Apparently he lived there sometime during his middle grade years,” John replied. Now Chet began to work his fingers on the computers. Chet started pulling up files left and right. He did look disappointed however.
“I got some of this information yesterday boss, and entered it all digitally. The problem is none of these kids lived in the same town, most of them went to different county schools.” Chet replied. He turned to look at John. John was looking at the screen. Something was bothering him. John looked closely at the name of the different counties. Something clicked in John’s head and his demeanor changed. Chet was confused by the small smirk that was growing across John’s face.
“Chet, I’m assuming you have the ability to pull up a county map of Kentucky and shade in the counties in which each middle school the victims attended is located in?” John asked. Chet gave him a look like John had insulted his intelligence.
“Sorry, Chet.” Chet shrugged it off. A map pulled up of the state. The counties were starting to highlight on the map. The four counties that were highlighting were all touching. Jessica and Trip both walked forward in amazement while John chuckled. John had found the connection where no one else could. He put his hands in his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels. It was something John used to do when he had cracked, or just solved a case. He had done it.
Chapter 34
“Did you know?” Jessica asked. John shrugged his shoulders; Jessica slapped his arm with the back of her hand. “HOW!?!”
John had a broad grin on his face. Jessica looked like she could slap John. He ignored her for a minute, and walked back to Chet.
“Now if you can, enlarge the map, and if you could keep on there any churches, oh, and if you can highlight the addresses of the victims, and locate what would have been the biggest plant or factory in the area. Once you do that, see if it has offices in Tennessee, Vermont, Illinois, and . . .”
“Florida,” Jessica said interrupting him. “Of course, of course!” She whacked John on his shoulder again. “Why else would these people move in and go back to where they came from!!” Trip looked all kinds of confused.
“Will someone please explain WHAT in the Sam Hill is going on!?!” Trip asked. John looked at Jessica and waved her on.
“I don’t understand it all myself yet, sir, but my guess is these folks’ parents worked for some factory or company that was based in the victim’s home states,” Jessica began.
“Archibald Industries!!” Chet exclaimed. “In 1984, Archibald Industries opened a plant in Kentucky and, it seems, brought in people from other plants to work in administration. Yep, that was the last one sir, all of these victims who moved back to their home states worked for Archibald. Apparently they went back home after a few years.”
Trip still looked confused, Jessica started to talk, but Trip held up his hand. He turned toward John. Trip pointed his finger in John’s chest. “Stop smiling, and tell me how? How did you know?”
John smirked and quickly wiped it from his face when Trip’s irritation level went even higher.
“Well, sir, Tom Bradley had a Cats’ calendar . . . the college basketball team sir?” Trip nodded very slowly, John continued. “He had one in his house so I simply asked his wife if he ever lived in Kentucky. When she said she thought he had, I managed to contact the high school he graduated from and got his transfer information. I contacted that school and found out no one else had gone there. The secretary did go on to say that was about the time the new plant opened and people that had moved in had a hard time finding housing already available in the county.”
Jessica snapped her fingers, “Of course! So they moved somewhere nearby and their children went to the county schools of the county they lived in.”
Chet looked bewildered. “County schools?”
Jessica smiled. “Oh did you fall asleep during our esteemed colleague’s tales of his home state?” Chet looked a bit sheepish. “How many counties are in Kentucky, John?”
“120 I do believe,” began John.
“So they all moved as close as they could to the plant,” interrupted Trip. He walked toward the screen. “And after their time was up at the plant or however they worked it out, they went back to their home states. Captain Jason Sparks was born in the county where the plant was located, so that explains his connection.” Trip walked away deep in thought. He was rubbing his forehead with his forefinger and his thumb. He stopped walking and a smile came to his face. He turned around and walked up to John. Trip looked quite pleased with himself. He looked John up and down, a bit smugly.
John and Trip had quite an interesting relationship. John was good and he knew it. When Trip needed something solved, he always gave it to John. Trip just wished John didn’t know he was so good. So whenever the opportunity presented itself for Trip to knock John down a peg or two, Trip relished the idea. Jessica was watching the whole exchange, smiling inwardly. This was the John and Trip of old, something she had so desperately wanted to see again . . . for John’s sake.
Trip looked John right in the eye, and asked him the question that he was sure would deflate John’s ego. “Where did they meet?” Trip asked very quietly.
“Well, I’m not sure,” began John. Trip smiled smugly and began to nod his head. John continued. “But if you made me guess, since they’re all roughly the same age, I would say it would be church.” Trip looked a little confused.
“Sir,” John began, “Kentucky is part of the Bible belt. If you’re an outsider and you want to fit in, especially if you’re coming in from the outside to start up a factory that you need the locals to run, you had best be in church. In this area, when someone is sick, has a child, loses a relative, or something like that, the church will make meals, help with childcare, or whatever a person needs.”
John looked around the room, noticing everyone was still with him. He continued.
“The church is a vital part of the community there. Not just for religious reasons. Sunday school classes have meetings all over town. In some of the larger cities, a group of men will meet at a restaurant on a certain morning each week and have a Bible class, but not just teaching and learning is experienced. You also have a fellowship and kinship with each other. If you are going to be a part of this small community and you want to really be ingrained, then you need to be in a church. My guess is, if the owner of the plant had anything to do about it, he sent them to a certain church. That could be wrong, but I’m guessing if you send me and my team to Kentucky we will find this church and the connection.”
John was rocking again. Trip was impressed. Three years away, a stone cold dead case, and John had found the lead. Trip really hated the words that came out of his mouth.
“No, your team is not going to Kentucky.”
Chapter 35
John looked like he had been punched in the stomach. He started to walk out of the room. Trip stopped him.
“John, wait, you don’t understand. I can’t authorize all of you to go to Kentucky. Someone in Washington will find out.” John quickly understood.
If this case was being watched by those on high, then the authorization of all three to go to Kentucky would stand out. John had an idea. He wasn’t crazy about it, but he knew it was their only shot.
“Sir, I could go. The case is dead, I’m done with it, and I could fly home to see my folks. I might make a slight detour, and if I should stumble across some information, then is it possible the FBI could reimburse me?”
Trip’s smile lit up the entire room.
“John, did I tell you I missed you being around?” Trip clapped John on the back. “Great work, Agent.” John looked at Trip to make sure he hadn’t misheard. The look on Trip’s face let him know he hadn’t. John sighed. Jessica walked over and put her hand on John’s shoulder to make sure he was ok. John normally would have said he was fine and pulled away. Today, he looked over his shoulder at her, and patted her hand on his shoulder. Trip motioned to Chet to leave the room with him. Jessica and John never noticed.
Outside the room, Trip turned to Chet.
“How long has that been brewing?” Trip asked.
“Honestly, for ten years now,” Chet replied. Trip looked shocked. “You misunderstand sir; they would never, ever admit they had feelings for each other when Sam was alive. There was never a chance either of them would do anything to hurt Sam. I’ll tell you something even the great John Fowler doesn’t know.” Trip looked very interested. “Jessica was very close with Sam. Jessica would call Sam often and let her know what was going on with John. In fact, they had lunch at least once a week together.”
Trip nodded. “I knew that.” Chet was surprised. Trip pointed his finger at John and Jessica. “So are they . . .”
“NO, SIR!!!” Trip jumped back. “I’m sorry sir!” Chet stammered. “It’s just those two . . . you know I tried to date her.” Trip nodded. “It was the worst mistake of my life. She only has eyes for him. She keeps saying she’ll find someone someday. She’s found him sir, and she’s not going to let him get away, but she would never do anything inappropriate.”
Trip nodded, “I imagine with everything John’s gone through with Sam he’s got the ‘game’ of a 14 year old?” Chet winced, but nodded. Trip sighed. “If he comes back, it’s going to be weird around here isn’t it?” Chet nodded again. “Are you ok with them . . . well whatever it is they’re doing?” Once again Chet nodded. Trip sighed and straightened. “Then I’ll guess we’ll let them do whatever it is they’re going to do. God knows John can’t afford any more setbacks right now.” Chet nodded. “To tell you the truth, Chet, I kind of think they deserve each other.”
Chapter 36
Trip peeked back into the foxhole. Jessica and John were looking on the computer at flights to Kentucky. They were standing very near each other. John’s left hand was less than an inch from Jessica’s right hand. Several times they brushed each other, but they never touched. As Trip started to pull away, he noticed Jessica stop looking at the screen and was looking directly at John. Then Jessica would begin to look at the screen and John would stare at her.
Trip turned and walked away. This was going to be like a bad romance movie for a long time. Trip and Chet walked to the elevator and headed upstairs.
When Jessica heard the elevator doors close, she took her right hand and slid it on top of John’s left. John froze. He swallowed audibly. Jessica was trying to keep a straight face but was failing miserably. John turned and looked at her. He swallowed and spoke.
“Jessica, I have a confession to make. I’ve only dated one person in my entire life.” Jessica’s eyes widened with surprise. She started to speak, stopped, started again, and then stopped.
“Wait . . . wait . . . you, Mr. I know-how-good-I-look, Mr. I-can-solve-any-crime-and-look-good-in-my-hat-doing-it?”
“You like my hat?” John interrupted.
She continued, ignoring his comment. “Mr. I-know-I’m-fine-as-wine? YOU???” Jessica was flabbergasted. “Are you telling me you’ve only dated one person in your entire life or are you saying . . . “
Jessica left the question hanging in the air. He held up one finger. His face was beat red. Jessica held her hands to her face trying to hold back the astonishment.
“John, wow, ok, look. First of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s rather honorable, but the big game you use to talk . . .” John kept looking at the floor not saying a word. She walked over to him, crooked her finger, and used it to raise his chin until he was looking her in the eyes. “John . . . We will take this . . . whatever this is . . . as slow as you need to. I have no idea where your mind, heart, or anything else is right now.”
John nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He brushed the hair out of her face. Jessica had forgotten to breathe. As he turned and walked away she almost gasped. She steadied herself. She called after him.
“John.” He turned around. He looked at her, deep in her eyes. Jessica had never seen him look like that at her before. Her legs went a little weak and she put out a hand on the desk to steady herself. She would have run to him, but she really couldn’t move. She lost her words. He tipped his hat and sauntered out the door, smiling to himself. It took a second for Jessica to steady herself after he left.
“Wow!” That was all she could say.
Interlude
David George
Chapter 37
David George looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing his military dress uniform. He was proud to serve his country; he only wished those in that office felt the same. He hated that those that served pretended to be something they weren’t. Actually there was only one person he actually knew that was true of.
David looked down at the letter he had received. He and three other soldiers had been cleared to have their picture made with the first lady in the Oval office. David had hoped it would not come to this, but he would carry out his mission, no matter what it took. He owed Beth that. David shook his head. Things weren’t going the way he planned.
He truly believed the note he left on the bodies at the funeral of Jason would have brought out the truth, but it didn’t and David only had one choice left. He wasn’t about to just kill Veronica. No, she had to tell what happened. She had to tell everything; every gory detail. She had to tell how it was her fault that Beth was dead and if it had been up to Veronica, he would have been as well.
The memories started to come back to him again. He thought of the small town where he grew up in Kentucky. When Veronica and the other kids showed up, everyone ignored Beth and David, except Veronica. In fact, it was almost like when Veronica found out how bad he and Beth had it, Veronica became more involved in their lives. David had to admit, for a while Veronica did make their lives better.
David never truste
d Veronica. He was sure it started out mostly because he thought she was trying to steal Beth from him. There was more than that though. There was something manipulating and calculating about Veronica. She always had to have everything her way. It was bad enough to watch her run over everyone at church, but when David overheard Beth talking to Brother Jim . . . David knew Brother Jim was right, Veronica couldn’t be trusted with Beth’s secret. Not because Veronica cared about Beth; no, that wasn’t it at all. The truth was Beth’s secret would affect Veronica. It was all about Veronica. It was always all about Veronica.
David looked down at the invitation to the White House. It was all about Veronica, and David couldn’t wait until she got the justice she deserved. In three days, David would be in the White House and he would get her to confess everything . . . and if she wouldn’t . . . David just smiled.
John Fowler
Kentucky
Chapter 38
It was Sunday morning, and John’s plane had landed a few hours earlier. Once again Jessica had rented him a car complete with satellite radio. The 80’s channel was blaring again, and John was singing along at the top of his lungs. John was trying to keep his mind off the fact he was less than 200 miles away from his parents’ farm. He was doing a pretty pitiful job of it, truth be told. He was in Kentucky, and all he could think about was going home.
His GPS went off, and John turned off the interstate. He had about a 45 minute drive in front of him on two lanes, or less, roads. John looked over the car and thought about how grateful he was for Jessica providing it for him. Then his mind drifted to Jessica. He shook his head. What a hot mess he became when she was around. He knew what he wanted to do, but was that fair? Was it fair to Sam? He looked over in the passenger seat and saw Sam.
John looked back at the road and then his brain just processed what he saw. He looked back. There she was. Real. She wasn’t some transparent apparition or ghost. It was Sam! John stopped in midsentence of the song he was singing.
