Termination Limits: Tom Kintrell Book 1 (Tom Kintrell Thriller Series)

by R. J. O'Rourke

  “Who told you that?”

  Kintrell decided it was time to lean on her.

  “Listen, Ms. Sodalski, we don’t really have time for niceties right now. The senator was seen leaving your house this morning by one of the neighbors. Now please answer our questions. We would hate to charge you with obstruction.”

  “Maybe we should run her downtown and get a warrant to toss this place,” said Stryker.

  “Wait, please wait, I’ll cooperate in any way I can,” said Sodalski.

  Kintrell, after a few seconds, said, “Okay, but I strongly advise you to tell the truth, holding nothing back.”

  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” said Sodalski.

  Stryker, behind the woman, winked at Kintrell.

  Alvarez started the questions. “State your full name.”

  “Kathleen Sodalski.”

  “Are you a citizen of the United States?”

  “Yes.”

  “In what capacity did you know the senator?”

  “We had a professional relationship. I’m a lobbyist for certain oil and gas interests.”

  “So, your relationship with the senator was purely professional?” probed Alvarez.

  The woman stole a glance at Kintrell, who was studying her intently.

  “No … we were also romantically involved.” The woman lowered her head.

  “What time did the senator arrive here?”

  “He got here just after seven, last evening.”

  “What was his mood? Did he seem out of sorts or nervous about anything?”

  “No, he was in a good mood. He was looking forward to, to dinner. We were celebrating his birthday.”

  Kintrell cleared his throat. “How long have you known the senator?”

  “For about eight years, we …”

  Kintrell interrupted. “Were you a lobbyist for oil and gas interests then?”

  The woman hesitated. “No, I was lobbying for the construction industry then.”

  “What was the senator’s birthday present?” probed Kintrell.

  The woman reddened noticeably. “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, what was in the package?”

  “What package?” said the woman, genuinely puzzled.

  “There was gift wrapping on the front seat of the senator’s car and some ornately designed pieces of tin.”

  She gave them a blank stare. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Just then a cell phone rang. Sodalski reached into her purse.

  Alvarez, thinking it may be the woman’s attorney, said, “Don’t answer that.”

  The woman turned the phone off.

  Alvarez asked the woman if there was somewhere Agent Kintrell and her could have a private conversation. The woman led them to a small office just off the dining room.

  When they were alone, Kintrell asked, “What do you think?”

  “I believe she didn’t have anything to do with this.”

  “Yeah, I agree, though she did react when we asked her about the gift,” said Kintrell.

  “She reacted that way because her gift was probably of a sexual nature,” said Alvarez chuckling.

  “Hmmm, can you describe the particular act most suitable for birthdays, Agent Alvarez?” asked Kintrell.

  “You’ll understand when you’re older,” Agent Alvarez.

  They made their way back to the living room. Kintrell spoke firmly to the woman. “Do not repeat any of this conversation to anyone but your attorney and don’t try to leave the country. Give us your cell phone number. Someone will contact you for a formal statement later.”

  After they left the house, Stryker said, “She’s pretty shaken up. Maybe I should stick around to comfort her.”

  Alvarez shook her head.

  “She’s way out of your price range, Norm,” said Kintrell.

  “Shit, I gotta birthday coming up too.”

  The three of them approached a bomb squad technician who was talking into a cell phone. They waited until he was finished.

  Stryker spoke first. “What’ve we got, Lou?”

  “Too early to tell exactly what kind of explosive, but it’s almost a certainty it was in a metal box. We haven’t found any evidence of how it was detonated—no evidence of a timer or cell phone. We did find what appears to be a crank, still attached to a piece of metal. The metal itself has a partial scene of what appears to be a clown.”

  “Thanks, Lou, and keep me posted,” said Stryker.

  “Norm, Lanny and I are heading back to HQ. I want to check on something. We’ll catch up with you later,” said Kintrell.

  In the car on the way to headquarters, Alvarez said to Kintrell, “You were pretty hard on her, Tom.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you remember when she said she’s known the senator for eight years and that she was then a lobbyist for the construction industry and now she’s a lobbyist for some energy interests?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Willing to bet that eight years ago, the esteemed senator was on a committee that had to do with construction and now has something to do with energy. She’s been screwing the senator for eight years and both her and her employers have been the beneficiaries of the senator’s largesse. She’s nothing more than a high-priced call girl, a cobra disguised as Marilyn Monroe, and the recently departed senator, it would seem, is no better.”

  “You don’t know that, Kintrell. Perhaps they were in love,” said Alvarez.

  “Let’s see. She’s a tall, attractive, thirty-something blonde. The senator was probably sixty-five or so, five feet six maybe, balding, and forty pounds north of his ideal weight. If I were a betting man, I’d say the love thing would be a bit of a stretch,” said Kintrell.

  “Fair point.” Alvarez punched a number into her phone. After speaking for a few seconds, she disconnected the call and informed Kintrell that the cyber boys would delve into the senator’s finances, and previous committee postings.

  ***

  Later in the day Kintrell and Alvarez were in Dede’s office for an update.

  Kintrell laid out what they had, adding the latest from the bomb squad, indicating the blast most likely came from a grenade that was in a tin box. The explosive matched the signature of a fragmentation grenade.

  Dede then asked Alvarez her thoughts.

  “I’ll start with the obvious. I can’t see the senator committing suicide by grenade, so he must have set the grenade off somehow. We know he was sitting in the car with the door closed and the car turned on so opening the door could not have set it off. As you’re probably aware, a pin needs to be pulled to set off the grenade, then the spoon releases and the grenade explodes three to eight seconds later…”

  Kintrell interrupted. “Wait a second, I have to check something out.”

  He pulled out his phone and speed dialed Stryker. A split-second later, Stryker picked up.

  “What’s up, Tom?”

  “Norm, did you say that a piece of metal with some sort of crank was found at the scene?”

  “Yeah, the metal was tin like, and had some ornate drawing on it, possibly a clown.”

  “Thanks, Norm, talk soon.”

  Kintrell then made another call to the Senator’s office in D.C., identified himself and asked to speak to the senator’s chief of staff. A short time later he heard the harried voice of one Rueben Tanner, demanding to know who was on the line.

  “This is Special Agent Tom Kintrell, lead investigator on the murder of Senator Ross. I need to ask you a couple questions.”

  “The FBI was here already, and I answered all their questions…”

  “Yes, I know, Mr. Tanner. This will only take a couple minutes.”

  Tanner, sounding put out, said, “Okay, go ahead but make it quick, I have a lot to do.”

  “So do I, Mr. Tanner. To your knowledge did the senator have any hobbies?”

  “What has that got …”

  Kintre
ll interrupted. “Just answer the question please.” An edge in his voice.

  “He played golf on occasion, and he spent time on his sailboat.”

  “Did he collect anything? Like baseball cards, things of that nature?”

  “No, not to my knowledge…wait, this is probably not important, but he did collect antique jack-in-the boxes. He started…”

  “Thank you, Mr. Tanner, I’ll need to know who had access to the senator’s schedule. I’ll have someone follow up,” said Kintrell, then disconnected the call.

  Tanner was saying hello into the phone until he realized he’d been cut off. One of the aides was watching him as he spoke so he said, “See here, Agent Kintrell, in the future, please contact this office through Miss Tyler, as she handles all my calls,” then hung up.

  Kintrell called Stryker back and put him on speaker. “I know what happened.”

  “We’re all ears,” said Dede.

  “The grenade was in a jack-in-the-box. The senator collects them. He saw the gift- wrapped package on the passenger seat and unwrapped it, thinking it was from his friend. He saw it was a jack-in-the-box and decided to try it out. The crank was connected, probably wired, to the pin of the grenade. As he cranked the handle the pin was removed from the grenade and bang.”

  Alvarez and Dede stared at him, nodding, thinking it through.

  “What do you think, Norm?” asked Kintrell.

  “That could work. Whoever did this would have had to remove the original grenade pin and replace it with a slightly smaller pin that was welded to the crank’s shaft— maybe engaging only one of the holes that holds the spoon in place—then wedging the grenade in one corner of the box. They must’ve shortened the spoon so it would clear enough distance inside the box so it would arm and detonate. My only question is how did the perp get it in the car without setting the alarm off?”

  Alvarez spoke up. “Whoever did this had access to the cars’ on-board computer, possibly through an app on a cell phone. He … or she could have snuck up in the dead of night accessed the car, shut off the alarm, quickly popped the door and put the package on the seat, then vamoosed.”

  Dede said, “We’re not up against a bunch of yokels here. Whoever they are, they are organized and competent. One other thing, the list you have of those stolen munitions from Camp Lejeune, may not be complete. We believe there are four stinger missiles unaccounted for.”

  “Shit,” this from Kintrell and Alvarez simultaneously.

  Stryker just said, “Perfect.”

  Dede then said, “We’ve had about forty claims of responsibility after the congressman’s shooting, most if not all from obscure right-wing wackos or ISIS wannabes. I’m sure we’ll have an equal number of claims from the left-wing fringe on this one. I don’t want you two to get bogged down chasing baseless claims, but we do need follow up. What do you recommend?”

  “There’s a guy down in DC in cyber-crimes who’s very good at sorting through things like this. Name’s O’Hanlon,” said Alvarez.

  “Okay,” said Dede, “I’ll get him on it.”

  Chapter 8

  The sprawling residence behind the gates sat on four acres of land meticulously landscaped. Azaleas generously dotted the grounds along with a smattering of dogwoods and a few cherry trees. Shrubs of all sizes and varieties surrounded the main house as well as the small carriage house adjacent to it. The residence itself was a stone structure dating from the 1920s with significant upgrades. A circular courtyard fronted the house with a fountain in the middle. A statue, reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus, rose from the fountain. To the left of the house sat the small carriage house, built from the same stone as the main house.

  A large circular foyer dominated the entrance of the main house, with a magnificent staircase that started at the rear of the foyer. A single set of steps ended at a landing, then the stairway branched off in two directions as it climbed the back wall of the foyer, ending at a second level that rose fifteen feet above the foyer. Corridors led off in both directions on the second floor. Corridors also branched off from the main floor of the foyer. The corridor on the right ended at an office that was circular in shape. The office was dominated by an antique mahogany desk. Six men faced a distinguished looking elderly gentleman, seated at a high-backed leather chair.

  The man behind the desk said, “First off, I would like to congratulate John on a job well done with the Senator.”

  Five of the six figures said, “Oorah.”

  “Secondly, I think it’s time we let our intentions be known.”

  “Agree, sir, except I believe we need to spread the demands across a wider spectrum. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the feebs could pressure the major media players to hold back releasing our demands to the public,” said Monte Steenbergen, former Delta commando.

  “What do you suggest, Monte?” said the older man.

  “There are a number of prominent blogs, both left-wing and right-wing, that I believe could withstand any pressure from the feebs,” said Steenbergen.

  The seven of them discussed the issue and after twenty minutes agreed to Broderick’s and Monte’s suggestions.

  Hopefully, we won’t have to initiate phase two,” said the elderly gentleman.

  They all nodded their assent but none of them believed their demands would be met.

  “Okay, men, same ex-fil as last time,” said the owner of the magnificent estate.

  “Roger that,” replied the men in unison.

  ***

  The following day Emerson Cole, former Green Beret, wearing an Orioles cap, sunglasses and fake beard, sat in a coffee shop in Havre De Grace, Maryland. Opening his laptop, he engaged an untraceable e-mail account and sent the demands off to all major news outlets, print, TV, and internet, including four popular blogs, each with circulations of over 500,000:

  To the recipient of this ultimatum, the following demands have been sent to a number of different media outlets. it would be inadvisable to sit on this story, no matter what pressure the Government or its agents bring to bear.

  Fellow citizens, so you know that it was we that terminated the congressman and the senator, the serial number of the weapon recovered at the scene of the congressman’s execution is mx347896201j.

  There are five hundred and thirty-five men and women who are directly responsible for the fix we find ourselves in, namely the members of the Senate and Congress. They have been bankrupting our country while at the same time enriching themselves. They have become what men like Jefferson feared, an aristocracy with all its attendant corruption. The pension plans they receive were voted on and approved by they, themselves. They skirt our laws, building wealth through advanced knowledge and favorable legislation that benefits their friends and families. If you believe this is an exaggeration, how is it that the late esteemed senator has a net worth that exceeds twelve million dollars after thirteen years in the senate when his net worth was less than three hundred thousand dollars before he was elected. His salary totaled less than three million dollars during his time in the Senate. Just a gifted investor? Just two years back a small loan bill was passed to help businesses through that latest crisis. Oddly enough, a number of representatives’ families were able to take advantage of these loans, Congressman Storchin’s, to name one. These men and women on both sides of the aisle have only two goals, getting to Washington and staying there. Instead of finding bipartisan solutions to the problems facing this country they spend their time sniping at each other like little children. We intend to put a stop to this. To that end, we demand the following:

  Term limits for congressmen/congresswomen: no more than four consecutive terms. For pensions to vest, the representative must have served at least three terms. He/she will then be entitled, at maturity, to receive thirty percent of base salary per year for four years. Four-termers will receive fifty percent of base salary per year upon maturity for four years. Term limits for senators: no more than two terms unless appointed by the Governor to fil
l a vacancy brought about by death or malfeasance. Then, appointed senator may run for office two more terms after initial term is fulfilled. Pensions for one-termers: zero. Two termers will receive thirty percent of base salary per year, upon maturity, for five years.

  Monies paid into retirement plans other than social security will be redirected to the Social Security Trust Fund.

  All expenses incurred and claimed by Congress will be audited by an independent agency. Penalties for fraud will be meted out in the same manner private citizens face.

  All air travel by Congress shall now be coach, on commercial aircraft. If they wish to upgrade, they may do so at their own expense.

  Health benefits will be comparable to the private sector and end ninety days after term expires.

  All laws applicable to the citizenry will now be applicable to Congress.

  The Act that exempts Congress from the Freedom of Information Act will now be repealed.

  In short, Congress shall now be bound by the same laws and punishments they have foisted on the citizenry.

  We realize the only way this can come to pass is by constitutional amendment. Therefore, it is incumbent on the House and Senate to approve said amendment and send it to the states for ratification within thirty days of today’s date. Should the deadline pass without action, the executions will commence and not only the members, but their families will be legitimate targets.

  Fellow citizens, what is happening in our country is not what our forefathers envisioned. Representing the constituents of this nation is a privilege and sacred responsibility, not a money-making proposition. Join us in this fight. Become like those patriots that fought to bring an end to tyranny. Remember, my countrymen, timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.

  Chapter 9

  The first call came in from the editor of The New York Times. Shortly thereafter, the switch board of FBI headquarters in DC was lit up with calls from every major news outlet in the country. The Director of the FBI spoke personally to the editor of The Times, was briefed on the demands, and asked the editor to e-mail him the list, promising him a statement would be forthcoming once he had all the facts. The Director then instructed his assistant that he wouldn’t be taking any calls, unless it was the president. After he received the information from The Times, the director called Special Agent in Charge Diane McGriff of the Philadelphia office.