Vindicator

by Denney Clements

  After an hour of reading, he reached the Hutchinson Clarion, one of his favorite newspapers. Its editors still thought local and state politics was important. He lingered for 10 minutes over reporter Dave Constable’s latest report on the battle between Steve Jung and Mike Harmon for the Kansas governorship. Constable was the Topeka correspondent for the Clarion and several other independent dailies.

  Kendra Wendell, his new business partner, had already reported much of the background on this fight in The Vindicator. The governorship had become vacant a week earlier, after state and federal prosecutors secured indictments against Mabel Hodge and Vernal Barnes. Both resigned to avoid impeachment. The state Constitution left it to the Legislature to pick a replacement for Hodge.

  Jung immediately claimed entitlement to the job because he’d run for it and nearly won. Many senators and representatives, including most of the Democrats, agreed.

  Harmon, however, was a national hero. On Jan. 4, he had personally arrested Hodge on state charges of murder, conspiracy to commit terroristic acts, theft of public resources and abuse of power, beating Dan Deal – who’d also rushed to the Capitol that day – to the punch. Somehow, the FBI supervisor had gotten the impression the governor’s office was on the first floor. By the time Deal found correct locale, Harmon was frog-marching Hodge, in KCID shackles, down the second-floor corridor toward a throng of reporters and camera operators. Dozens of Capitol visitors grouped around the Rotunda were cheering their attorney general.

  At about the same time, the Highway Patrol stopped Barnes on U.S. 50 west of Emporia. He was heading home to Garden City in his black Mercedes Benz E550. The troopers arrested the former power figure, impounded the Benz, installed shackles on his hands and feet, took him to Topeka in the back of a Crown Vic and turned him over to the KCID.

  Most state and national media outlets, old and new, credited Harmon and the KCID with nabbing the top culprits in the Gunderson dam sabotage and murders. The political blogs and cable news infotainment shows crackled with criticism of Deal for allowing some hayseed small-state attorney general to upstage the FBI. To the critics, it was irrelevant that the feds had won the court battle to try Hodge and Barnes first, on charges of domestic terrorism and violating Ernest Complet’s civil rights. The state, in return, would get first crack at Natascha Schroeder, Gloria Munday and Harold Ramsey, who were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder and a plethora of lesser felonies.

  Also to be tried in state court on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated assault were thugs Edsel Richards, Hector Hardaway and Thad Vernon. The fourth remaining live thug, Marco Polanski, had reportedly agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault and would testify against the other three.

  Late in January, Harmon did a round of how-I-did-it appearances on “Today” and the other national network morning and Sunday news shows, never once mentioning the pivotal role The Vindicator had played in bringing down Barnes and Hodge. But that was OK. The Vindicator’s burgeoning readership knew the truth.

  After returning from his trip to New York and Washington, Harmon announced his candidacy for governor. Many senators and representatives thought he’d earned it. There ensued a political standoff.

  Constable’s addition to the narrative was that Harmon and Jung had reached a tentative agreement the previous week, only to see it fall apart after two days. The deal was that Harmon would become governor and appoint Jung to replace him as attorney general. But Jung also demanded that Harmon agree to step down after serving two years so that he, Jung, could have a clean shot at the governorship in the mid-term election. Harmon refused.

  As things stood late Saturday, neither man had enough legislative muscle to prevail over the other. Moreover, according to Constable’s sources, House Speaker Troy Ecklin and Senate President Ezekiel Sergeant both supported Jung but were unwilling to twist arms to break the deadlock. They were afraid of alienating Harmon. Jung and Harmon, Constable concluded, would have to resolve the stalemate themselves and that could take awhile. It was a pretty good story, Emery thought, one that Wendell would have gotten were she a little more seasoned.

  Emery paged back through the Clarion in search of other interesting news items. At the back of the B section, among the obituaries, he spotted a mug shot of a vaguely familiar face. The accompanying article noted that a private memorial service for fallen KCID agent Victor Paul Wofford had taken place Saturday in Newton. Showing unusual intrepidity for someone on obit duty, the reporter noted that the KCID had refused to comment on the circumstances of Wofford’s death, but that several family members had confirmed he died Jan. 4; at the KCID’s behest, his body was cremated a day later.

  The photo showed a clean-shaven man, perhaps in his late 30s or early 40s, with closely cropped hair. Who was this guy? Then Emery’s mind superimposed round steel-rim glasses, a mustache and longer hair on the image. “Holy shit,” he muttered.

  He carefully disassembled the newspaper and carried the obit page over to the reference desk, where Emily Renke, the sheriff’s niece, was on the phone. She was the assistant librarian. Once she’d rung off, he said, “Could you copy this article for me, Emily?”

  “Sure, Mr. Emery,” she said. “It’s 20 cents.”

  Once the copy was made and two dimes transferred to the library till, he headed home. He found Carol in the kitchen.

  “You’re early,” she said. “I thought I’d make us some chili for lunch.”

  “Let me be the sous chef.”

  He diced onions, tomatoes and a small jalapeno while she browned some beef in a saucepan. As they worked, he told her about Victor Paul Wofford, adding, “He was the guy who meant to shoot me in the Capitol basement. He also went along with Edsel Richards to kill Ernest Complet on Christmas Eve. And he was with the KCID, undercover, obviously. He infiltrated Alpha-Omega.”

  “This Wofford was the one Viviana killed with her throwing knife?” she asked.

  “Yes. The hyenas called him Wolfowitz.”

  Mayhem, he reflected, had become too prominent a part of their conversations. That needed to change.

  Now, she put her arms around him, saying, “It’s not over, is it?”

  “No.”

  “Do we have to go back to Topeka?”

  “No. I’m thinking that a new post on Wofford-slash-Wolfowitz is the way to go.”

  “Wouldn’t you have to reveal that you, Viviana and I killed those men? A post sounds like a bad idea.”

  “Not if it’s only for an audience of one.”

  Comprehension dawned in her eyes. “Ah,” she said, “Harmon.”

  “Let’s eat our lunch and then I’ll get to work on it.”

  Chapter 51: Ruthless S.O.B.

  February 7, 2:30 p.m.

  Two hours later, Emery called Carol back to the study to read his piece. As she settled into the desk chair and began scrolling through the story, he re-read it over her shoulder:

  UNDERCOVER KCID AGENT TRIED TO KILL ME

  Commentary by Joe Emery

  If the Kansas Legislature chooses Attorney General Mike Harmon to replace disgraced former Gov. Mabel Hodge, Kansans could not assume that an honest person at last has taken the state’s helm. Two days before the Kansas Criminal Investigation Division arrested Hodge on charges of conspiracy to commit terroristic acts and murder, she told The Vindicator that Harmon’s “only goal is to increase his own power at my expense.”

  Hodge had Harmon pegged. I can personally attest that his ambition is greater by far than his moral compass. My trust in him nearly got me killed.

  My part in this story began on Dec. 2, when Harmon persuaded me that my doubts about his competence, and that of the KCID, were unjustified. During that meeting, Harmon told me that the day before, the KCID raided the state-owned Garfield County facility that the mercenaries, part of an organization later identified as Alpha-Omega Construction, were using as a base of operations. On a background basis, he outlined his plans for findi
ng and arresting the goons. I was impressed with his apparent dedication to solving this mystery. We agreed to cooperate as fully as our disparate roles – his as a lawman, mine as a journalist – would allow.

  During December, I based several posts on information that Harmon provided me anonymously. As readers will recall, it was a tumultuous time in the unraveling of the Hodge administration. The murders of former Agriculture Secretary Eunice Swindle and her husband happened on Dec. 17. Ernest Complet, Hodge’s former general counsel, was murdered, in gruesome fashion, on Dec. 24.

  During a conversation on Dec. 28, Harmon told me that “we know” the men behind Alpha-Omega “are scared to death of The Vindicator.” That assertion struck me as interesting. Harmon could only “know” the thinking of Alpha-Omega’s remaining at-large members if the KCID had infiltrated the organization. Infiltration of criminal organizations is a valid law enforcement technique; he was under no obligation to tell me about it. So I didn’t ask him about it. I thought no more about it – until today.

  Today, I learned the true identity of the KCID infiltrator, whose undercover identity was Wolfowitz. Readers who viewed the Jan. 4 webcast from former Gov. Hodge’s office will recall that name. One of the mercenaries in her office that day, Buster Lonigan, now deceased, said that “Wolfowitz” and another mercenary, Edsel Richards, were sent to murder Ernest Complet, Hodge’s former general counsel, on Christmas Eve.

  Later on Jan. 4, I personally encountered this Wolfowitz – though I did not yet know him by any name – in the basement of the Kansas Capitol. I’d fled from the governor’s office because Mrs. Hodge ordered the mercenaries in the room, Lonigan and Fred Richards, to take me somewhere away from the Capitol and get rid of me. The basement is where I ended up in my attempt to elude the mercenaries, whom a third man – Wolfowitz – had joined.

  When I encountered Wolfowitz, I had just killed Lonigan – a strictly him-or-me situation. Wolfowitz had a silenced .22 revolver in his right hand. I had picked up Lonigan’s .22. Wolfowitz knew who I was. But instead of identifying himself as a KCID agent and offering to protect me, he pointed the gun at me, clearly intending to pull the trigger. Before he could shoot, a courageous friend killed him with a throwing knife. My friend and I then left the Capitol.

  Today, while reading the Sunday Hutchinson Clarion, I learned that the man who aimed a gun at me in the basement on Jan. 4 was Victor Paul Wofford of the KCID. Of this, there is no doubt. Wofford’s picture appeared with a brief story that a memorial service in his honor was held in Newton on Saturday. I recognized him immediately. His date of death was listed as Jan. 4.

  Did Harmon order Wofford/Wolfowitz to kill me? I don’t know. Did Harmon order Wofford/Wolfowitz to kill Complet on Christmas Eve? Was the AG’s goal to hang the crime on Mrs. Hodge in the event she escaped accountability for the Gunderson dam sabotage and murders? I don’t know.

  Hodge asserts to this day that she didn’t want Complet dead. She is federally charged with violating his civil rights by causing his murder, but conviction is no slam dunk. Once her attorneys learn that Wofford/Wolfowitz was working for Harmon and was present when Complet was murdered on Dec. 24, they’re certain to subpoena Harmon to testify at her trial. His testimony could provide reasonable doubt that Hodge ordered Complet’s death.

  Moreover, even if it was Edsel Richards who mutilated and murdered Complet, Wofford/Wolfowitz was on the scene and could have prevented the murder; as a sworn officer of the law, he had a legal and moral obligation to do so. It’s interesting that during my Dec. 26 conversation with Harmon about the Complet murder, the AG reported that the KCID found blood samples from one assailant at the crime scene. He implied that only one assailant went to Complet’s house that night when in fact there were two.

  For that matter, Wofford/Wolfowitz could have murdered the Swindles in their home Dec. 17. Like Complet, Eunice and Harry Swindle died of .22 caliber gunshot wounds. The KCID presumably recovered both .22s from the Capitol basement Jan. 4. But neither the agency nor Harmon has as yet announced whether one, both or neither of these guns were used in the three murders. Certainly, they’ve had enough time to figure this out.

  At the very least, therefore, Harmon is guilty of malfeasance in office. The KCID reports to him, so Wofford/Wolfowitz was working for him. If Wofford/Wolfowitz was acting on Harmon’s orders when he participated in the Complet murder and later tried to kill me, Harmon is guilty of impeachable crimes. If the AG was unaware of the agent’s rogue activities, Harmon’s ability to perform competently as Kansas governor is called seriously into question; when you’re the boss and your people do bad things, you’re responsible.

  Either way, these anomalies require unbiased investigation, perhaps by a special prosecutor – or perhaps by the FBI. Contacted for comment on this report, Harmon –

  “Wow, Joe, you’ve put him in a trap,” Carol said when she’d finished reading. “What now?”

  “I e-mail this to Harmon and ask him for comment. We’ll see what happens after that.”

  “Do it. Let’s get this over with.”

  So Emery opened a blank e-mail message, keyed in Harmon’s Yahoo! address, pasted his report into the message box and wrote above it: “Mike: This is going up on The Vindicator at 4 p.m. If you want your comments to be part of it, call me right away. Joe” He clicked the “send” button. Then he called main number of the AG’s office, told the receptionist his name and asked her to tell Harmon to check his e-mail.

  Emery’s phone chirped 11 minutes later. Harmon. “Of course I have no comment,” he snapped. “It’s a hatchet job.”

  “OK, Mike. I’m posting it now. Bye.”

  “Wait a minute, Think about what you’re doing. It’s an automatic libel suit against your blog LLC and you personally.”

  “Great. Discovery should be a lot of fun. I’ll alert Bernier right away. Bye.”

  “Wait a minute, Emery. This makes you look really bad. There are unanswered questions about what happened in the basement that day. I should have come after you and your friend, whoever he is, sooner. It’s not too late.”

  Emery worked some menace into his voice: “You don’t want to piss off my friend, Mike. My friend operates in unorthodox ways. I couldn’t guarantee your safety.”

  There ensued a long silence. Then Harmon said, “What do you want from me?”

  “I want to know why you tried to have me killed.”

  “You’re not recording this, are you?”

  “No,” Emery lied.

  “Before Wofford went undercover, we gave him broad operational authority. He might have gotten the impression it would be OK if you didn’t make it. I’m sorry. Let me make amends.”

  “Apology not accepted, Mike. What I want from you is your withdrawal from the governor’s race and your resignation as attorney general. You’ve been given an amazing private practice opportunity you just can’t turn down.”

  “I’m not going to do that.”

  “OK, bye.”

  “Wait, you cocksucker. Wait a minute.” Another pause. “You’ve really got me boxed in, Emery. I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  “Well, I’ll never forgive you for trying to have me killed. And just in case you have any thoughts of retribution after your return to private life, I’ve e-mailed a copy of this post to my friend. If my friend learns that anything bad has happened to me or my loved ones – anything bad at all – you’ll be the one with a knife between your shoulder blades. Or a pump-gun pellet in your brain. My friend is really good with weapons.

  “As further insurance, I’ve already sent the piece to my blog service, which has this neat little auto-post function. You set a time for future publication, at which point your post goes up automatically. My three e-mail services have a similar auto-send function. An e-mail of this post will go out to Steve Jung at a specified time unless I stop it. God help you if something happens to me and he receives it. He’s a relentless prosecutor, as you know. But as long as I reset the times eve
ry day, nothing will go out.”

  “What if you forget to reset the times?”

  “Believe me, I won’t forget. I’ll do it every day for the rest of my life – or yours.”

  “You little ratfucker.”

  “Good luck in private practice, Mike. I have a feeling you’ll do really well, so well that some day you’ll thank me for facilitating this career change.”

  “Fuck you, Emery.”

  “I’d better let you go, Mike. Your first auto-send deadline for the message to Jung is 4 p.m. You’d better make sure your decision to quit gets into the news right away. I’ll be reading and watching. Bye.” He broke the connection.

  “Nice bluff on the e-mail auto-send,” Carol said.

  “It wasn’t a bluff. It will go out to Jung at 4 unless I stop it.”

  Her eyes went wide. Then she smiled, saying, “You are one ruthless son of a bitch.”

  “Never with you, sweetie.”

  Then he called Kendra Wendell, already in Topeka to cover the battle for the governorship, to alert her that Mike Harmon might drop out of the race in a few minutes.

  Under the headline DOUBLE SURPRISE: Harmon withdraws from governor race, resigns as AG, Wendell’s story on Mike Harmon, popped up on The Vindicator at 3:35 p.m. She beat Kansas Educational Radio, the Dodge City and Garden City TV stations and the Wichita Examiner into publication, by about five minutes. In her exclusive video interview with Harmon, the outgoing AG, who was all smiles, explained that a prestigious Kansas City law firm, Gough, Pench and Finnegan, “has offered me an of-counsel position at a six-figure salary, an offer that’s too good for me to turn down. It’s been a privilege serving the people of Kansas during this dark time. I’m certain that my good friend Steve Jung will guide our state back into the light.”