by David Carner
“You really thought the three of you could keep whatever it is from me,” John said. “It’s been screaming at me from the beginning you haven’t been telling me the whole story. I admit, I have been a little rusty, and it took me a bit to put all of the pieces together, but it’s obvious there is more than what you have been telling me. Whatever it is, I’m sure you all did whatever you did with the best intentions, but we don’t have time for all of this right now. I have a lead on the Senator.” John turned to Chet.
“Chet, Arthur told me there is supposed to be a company that Archibald took over.” John said. “It was owned by his in-laws. The company is placed in a group of shell corporations that is owned by Archibald’s daughter. Supposedly there is one building that still physically exists.”
Chet nodded. John watched Chet and realized the spot he had just put Chet in. John smacked his head in front of them all. The three of them looked at John like he was crazy.
“I’m sorry, Chet, I forgot to tell you,” John began. “Your loan to Archibald has been paid off so you don’t have to tell him what we found out.”
As the look of shock registered in the eyes of his friends, John rocked back on his heels. You know, he thought to himself, sometimes it’s just hard being me.
Chapter 55
Chet stammered and stuttered and didn’t know what to say. John decided it was time to go ahead and let his other friend off the hook. He turned toward Jessica.
“Jess,” John began. “Did you know that Archibald had just bought out the company that owned your private loans for college?” Jessica, who had a look of shock on her face from the bomb John had just dropped regarding Chet, began to look very confused. She started to stammer and seemed very flustered.
“I am not a mole!” Jessica exclaimed, pointing down with her index finger for emphasis as she spoke very quietly but fiercely.
“Of course you’re not,” John said. “And neither is Chet for that matter.”
Trip looked absolutely stunned. Some of the biggest secrets Trip had ever been a part of and John had figured them out in a little over a week.
“Oh come on!” John exclaimed. “I mean you three have been obviously trying to hide something from me since this whole thing started. Ever since you and Chet,” pointing at Jessica and Chet, “stormed into my apartment you’ve been trying to hide something from me. It’s like holding up a sign. I don’t know what it is that you all are hiding, but I know you two are not moles. I know how everything is supposed to look.”
John paused a second and looked into the fire. He turned and faced his friends and continued. “I know someone went to an awful lot of trouble to set things up in a way to make me waste my time looking into something that wasn’t there. I know there is a mole in the FBI. I am not for sure who it is. I do have a pretty good idea, but I know it’s not you two,” John paused and looked at Chet. John rocked his head side-to-side, and decided to amend what he had said. “Well, Chet is, but he’s a double mole set up by you, I believe,” John said pointing at Trip. “My guess is Chet is running everything he is passing to Archibald by you.” John paused.
Trip’s jaw was nearly on the ground. “Un-freaking-believable,” Trip said softly. “You haven’t been around in three years physically, and the year before that you were so drunk, you didn’t notice anything. We bring you back in and you figure everything out. Un-freaking-believable.”
John nodded. He looked down at the ground. Everything could wait until after the case, except for one thing. There was one thing he had to know. He lifted his head and looked at Jessica. There were tears in his eyes. Jessica looked back at him with uncertainty. After all the things he had figured out in his own special way, there was one thing he needed confirmed.
“Did you know, Jessica?” John asked. “Did you know Sam was pregnant?”
Chapter 56
Tears came to Jessica’s eyes. She sucked her upper lip in, and slowly shook her head back and forth.
“Oh, John,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Oh no. Oh, John.” Jessica started to lose her composure. She placed her right hand over her mouth with her index finger over her upper lip, her thumb cupping her chin, leaving her hand extending out. She looked at John and then looked away. She did this several times, each time trying to speak and not being able to. Chet looked at John with absolute shock. Trip stared off into the fire, slowly shaking his head.
“She said you didn’t know, John . . . she said you didn’t know,” Jessica was speaking barely above a whisper, her voice breaking from the emotion.
“I didn’t know until a few hours ago,” John replied with tears streaming down his face. “I didn’t know until Madeline let it slip during my argument with Arthur.”
“I didn’t find out until after her autopsy was performed,” Trip said, never looking away from the fire. “It was my call not to tell you, Jessica and Chet wanted to, but I said no.” Trip turned toward John. “John, you have to understand after all you’d been through . . . “ Trip couldn’t continue. He stood there shaking his head. Trip’s face was filled with sadness; not only from his loss, but from the past finally beginning to catch up with him.
Chet stepped in between everyone to stand directly in front of John. Jessica stepped back to give him room.
“Are you ok?” Chet asked.
“I’m not ok, Chet,” John replied. “I’m not ok, because I should have known she was pregnant. She couldn’t share the one moment in her life she had always hoped for.” John paused, gathered himself, and continued. “The one moment that she had dreamt of more than anything in her life and I took it away from her. All she ever wanted to do was to have kids and have my support. Me and my alcoholism snatched away my wife’s greatest dream, and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
Chet repeated the words John had said in his head, and began to smile. John noticed the smile and gave him a confused and slightly angry look. Chet just smiled broadly.
“John, you didn’t say you were responsible for her death,” Chet said, with a grin.
“I know,” John replied angrily. He stopped and thought for a second. Chet had him and wasn’t about to let go. He pressed on.
“Why?” Chet asked. John looked at him, confused. “Why did you not say you were responsible?’
“Because I’m not,” John replied, irritated with being questioned. Jessica shoved Chet aside. She had a vicious grin on her face. John’s eyes widened. The last time he had seen that look on her face he had watched a suspect confess to every crime he had ever committed in his entire life.
“Step out of the way boys; it’s time for a pro to finish this!” Jessica said with a smile.
Chapter 57
“Mr. Fowler,” Jessica began. “The last time you and I discussed your wife’s death at length, you said you were responsible for her death.” John nodded. “Are you changing you story?”
“Do you mean when I was being interrogated by you about the explosion? John asked. Jessica nodded. John wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t like it. “Jess, what do,” John began, but Trip cut him off.
“Uh-uh, buddy,” Trip said. “You’re my agent now, and I am ordering you to answer her questions!”
John’s eyebrows arched up in surprise. Trip and Chet came to either of side of Jessica. Jessica continued.
“Are. You. Changing. Your. Story???” Jessica emphasized each word of her question. Her eyes were dancing.
“Well,” John stammered. He was in new territory. When Jessica had interrogated him last time he had been drunk. As bad as the interrogation was before, he never realized how intimidating she could be when she was in the zone, and right now, Jessica “The Hammer” Hammerstein was in the zone, and John Fowler was right in the center of her crosshairs. John swallowed, and tried to regain his composure.
“I didn’t kill her if that’s what you’re asking, Jessica,” John replied.
“Who did?” Jessica fired back quickly.
“I don�
�t know,” John said, extending his hands and shrugging.
“Why not?” Jessica asked.
“Because I haven’t investigated the crime?” John responded, almost answering the question with a question.
“Why not?” Jessica was rapid firing questions at John. John looked extremely confused.
“Answer her!!” Trip demanded.
“Because, I haven’t been an FBI agent.” John responded, angrily.
“Why not?” Jessica asked this question a little slower, slightly emphasizing each word.
“Because I quit!” John spat.
“Why?” Jessica asked quietly.
“Because I couldn’t save her! Is that what you want to hear!?! Some nut killed her and I couldn’t save her!” John screamed. Tears were in his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. John lowered his head and nodded slowly. “Because I couldn’t save her,” John said, barely above a whisper. Chet raised his hand, smiling, and Jessica gave him five without even looking at him. Trip nodded, jaw clenched.
“Do I have this to look forward to?” Trip asked John very softy but directly.
John couldn’t help himself and barked out a laugh.
“No, Trip, not if you let people into your life and you deal with your emotions like a grown-up,” John said, chuckling.
“So that’s what the problem was,” Jessica deadpanned. She had never broke eye contact with John and still had the grin on her face she had during the entire interrogation session. “You’re still not a grown-up, so you never had a chance.”
John smiled a fake “ha-ha” smile at her. “What do you want me to say?” John asked. “You were right and I was wrong?”
Jessica crossed her arms. “That would be a start,” she replied. Chet reached over and tapped Trip’s shoulder behind Jessica’s back. Trip looked over at Chet and saw Chet’s head gesture for them to walk away. They strolled away together, neither Jessica nor John noticing them leaving.
“You should probably get to searching on that building John was talking about,” Trip said.
“Will do, boss,” Chet replied. “Boss, did you catch what John said about a mole.”
Trip nodded, never breaking his stride.
“I did, Chet,” Trip replied. “Let’s find the Senator and then we go full bore after Sam and Thelma’s killer. I have a feeling Jessica’s right and they are the same person, but not a word to John; not yet. I need to be sure before I tell him what I suspect. He didn’t like that I earlier implied that Bruce was a sociopath, and he won’t like it at all that I think he might have had something to do with these killings.”
Chet nodded as he walked. The two men came to a FBI van and Chet started to get in to find the building Trip had mentioned. Chet stopped and looked back at Trip.
“I’m sorry, Trip,” Chet said, and climbed into the van. Trip turned back and looked at the house.
“Me too, Chet,” he said barely above a whisper. “Me too. I love you, Thelma; rest in peace. I promise you, we’ll get him Thelma. We’ll get him, and he’ll pay!’
Chapter 58
John and Jessica were still standing there facing each other. Jessica’s smile was turning into a smirk, and it was causing John to laugh.
“I don’t think you should be so proud that you broke down a fellow agent who was under orders to give you all the answers that you wanted,” John said.
“Did you tell the truth?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah,” John replied looking at the ground. He looked back up at Jessica. “Yeah, I did. I want you to know I’m not mad about you not telling me about Sam.” Jessica’s expression changed to concern.
“What happened exactly?” Jessica asked.
“Madeline kinda let it slip. Arthur and I were arguing like four year olds. I said I lost my wife, he yelled back that he had lost his child, and that’s when Madeline blurted out, so did he, or something like that. I think she was tired of me not knowing. I don’t think Arthur knew from the way he reacted. I didn’t have time to question him about it. See, you might say I,” John paused looking a little sheepish. He glanced around to make sure no one was close and leaned in. “Passed out.” Jessica’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. The hint of a smile played on the corners of her mouth. John smiled and continued.
“I guess I had an episode or something. I remembered the last morning I saw her before I went to work.” Jessica crossed her arms and listened intently. John continued. “I noticed, in the dream, or episode, or whatever it was, I noticed that she was pregnant. But that’s not what really happened. The morning I left she was trying to drop hints, and Jess,” he paused. Emotions were running through him again, but each time they came, they were less and less powerful. He shook his head and then looked Jessica right in the eye. “Jessica, I missed them. I was so drunk, hung-over, or self-absorbed, I missed it.”
John let out a deep breath and asked the question that had haunted him for three years.
“Jess,” he asked. “Did I miss something about her death? Did I see something and not catch it. Did she die because of it?” Jessica brought up her finger quickly to John’s face. She had the most serious look John had ever seen on her face.
“John Edward Fowler!” She admonished him. “You do not get to reopen that door! You do not get to undo all the progress you made! Do you understand me? If you missed something, yes, it’s tragic, but how do you think we feel?” John looked at her, confused. “John, the three of us cared about Sam as well. She was part of the family. Here’s the thing, if you missed it, then so did the three of us!!” She waved her arm around at the two men she thought were standing behind her. It was then she noticed that they were alone. “Where’d they go?”
“I’ve noticed that they do that quite often,” John began. “They leave when they think you and I are about to have a moment.” Jessica raised her left eyebrow and smiled slyly.
“Are we about to have a moment, Mr. Fowler?” Jessica asked walking towards him. John swallowed and looked around at his surroundings.
“While I think the fire is a nice romantic backdrop, it might be a little tasteless to have a moment here,” John replied.
Jessica stopped midstride. The smile fell from her face and she pursed her lips together, looking a bit sheepish. She pointed with her thumbs over her shoulder as she spoke.
“So I guess we should probably go and try to find Chet. We should probably see if he found the building, and make sure Trip is ok,” Jessica said, trying to recover from the embarrassing moment. John nodded and Jessica started to turn to walk away. John followed her.
“I’m not sure whether that’s hot, or scary,” John said. Jessica turned midstride on the balls of her feet. She had an inquisitive look on her face. She raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“You know,” John began, “the fact you’re hot and bothered at a murder scene as the house behind us burns to the ground.” John pointed toward the house burning with his thumb as he spoke. Jessica pursed her lips, shrugged with her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans. She tilted her head and spoke quietly.
“Maybe it’s scary hot,” Jessica said. She spun around and headed toward the van. John watched her walk away, replaying the words in his head. He started to speak several times, gesturing each time he started. He stopped, knowing he looked like he was having a fit. He smiled as he watched her walk away. He was pretty sure he was falling in love. Surprisingly the thought didn’t bother him. John looked toward the burning house. The sight of it did bother him. He sighed and headed toward the van.
Chapter 59
Chet was working furiously in the van as Jessica and John approached. Jessica started to speak, but Trip shook his head quickly. Chet was grinning as his fingers were flying. After a minute he spun around in the chair he was sitting in as a printer was beginning to print. Chet pulled the page off the printer and handed it to John.
“There you go, boss,” Chet said. “This is the only physical building left from the company you described to me. It’s i
n Baltimore on the docks. There are hundreds of warehouses down there.”
John pulled out his cell. He called Bruce.
“Bruce,” John said. “It’s John, get dressed. I think we know where your father is. Chet figured it out. See you in a few minutes.”
John turned toward his team and Trip. He looked at each one and took a deep breath.
“Is this,” John said, nodding toward the dying fire, “the exact same MO as Sam?” Trip, Chet, and Jessica all looked at each other. Jessica spoke up.
“We won’t know for sure until we get into autopsy,” Jessica replied.
John’s chewed on his bottom lip for a second waiting for Jessica to tell him more, but after a moment he realized he was going to have to come out and ask.
“What exactly are they looking for in autopsy that would connect the two cases, besides the obvious?” John asked. Jessica glanced at Trip and looked down at the ground. Trip muttered something and walked off, tears running down his face. Chet grabbed John by the arm.
“John,” Chet admonished. “This isn’t about you!” John was stunned at his friend. All John had thought about was solving the case. He never took a second to realize that Trip was still grieving.
“Since you’ve gotten to this crime scene you’ve managed to turn every conversation onto you! Trip is grieving. I know you think you’re about to find Thelma and Sam’s killer, but if it were you, knowing what you know, do you think it’s best for Trip to jump right back into the work, or maybe, just maybe, should we give him a little bit of time to deal with it.”
Chet turned and left John and Jessica. Chet went over to Trip and began to quietly talk to him. John was looking at the ground.
“I can be a real insensitive jerk, can’t I?” John asked quietly.
“Yeah, you can,” Jessica answered. Her arms were crossed, and the look on her face told John she was 100% serious. John sighed. Jessica uncrossed her arms and reached out and took John’s hand. “You obsess when you see a puzzle. You move mountains trying to figure something small and simple out. But . . . you can also be very sweet and thoughtful, but when you get wrapped up in a case . . . “ She let the thought hang. John knew what she meant. She pointed toward his car. “Go. Go save the senator, I’ll call the local LEOs and have them ready as back-up. Call me.”
