Memoria (45 page)

"Who is it, then?" Jessup reached the body first and turned it
over
to
ward
him.

Frank stopped next to him, gasping.

"This guy is a cab driver," he collapsed onto the grass. "You see this scar? He gave me a lift. I remember him
...
"

More shots rang out, this time inside the plane. Three
of them, then all went quiet.

"What cab driver?" Jessup looked up clutching the revolver.

"From La Guardia.
This was
Dickens'
plan A.
He killed Kathleen in my apartment, and his people had
to kidnap me from the airport
...
exactly what he planned to do after that, I don't know."

A soldier
stuck his head
out of the hatch.

"Clear!" he reported and jumped out onto the grass.

"What about
Claney
?" the captain asked.

The
team pushed the
handcuffed Congressman out of the plane
, then jumped out themselves
.
One of them had his helmet
split, his bulletproof vest dented, but he
stood up with confidence.

"No casualties on our side," the leader reported.

Sirens wailed from the airfield. Everybody turned their heads to the sound. Frank scrambled to his feet. Several army
Jeeps sped to the plane followed by patrol cars
, their lights flashing
.

"That's Archer," the capta
i
n grinned.
He looked at Frank and explained, "The Federal agent who took your case from me."

"Do you trust him?"

"I'm af
raid I don't have much choice under
the circumstances.
I had to show him the tape you got from Memoria and then lost in the camp."

They turned to
Claney
. Frank stepped to
ward
him and
was
stopped in his tracks
by his disdainful glare.

"One of these days you'll be the next one,"
Claney
smirked.

Frank looked into his face, silent. He
didn't have enough strength to continue the exchange. He turned away and shuffled off to the chopper on the strip. Behind his back, Jessup started reading
Claney
his rights.

T
he day promised to be warm. By midday, thick clouds hung over the city. Frank wished he'd
brought a raincoat with him. He stood on the granite steps in front of the police department building and looked
up at
the gloomy sky
thinking of everything that had happened three weeks earlier
.

It didn't sound like a long time, but despite all the offices involved in the investigation, too many questions remained unanswered.
Possibly, for good.

Passersby streamed to
ward
the pedestrian
crossing opposite the building, some in a hurry overtaking the rest. Cars
bustled and honked. The
wailing of an ambulance or
a police car resounded from a
neighboring block, on their way to help someone. O
r could it be the fire brigade?
Frank glanced at his watch.
Barney
was taking his time.

He shifted from one foot to the other, about to start up the stairs, when a cab
pulled up
by the
pedestrian crossing.
A young dark driver
jumped out of the car
, ran around it and opened the door, helping his passenger out.

Barney
hadn't lost any muscle. His face, though, was hard to
recognize. Blood blisters still showed in a couple of places, but they were nothing
, as were the bruises and grazes. The veteran had gone completely bald. His massive forehead glistened in the sun that's
forced its way through the clouds. His skull was unnaturally smooth. Nothing suggested the thick head of dark hair he
once
used to b
oast
.

"Thanks
,
"
Barney
grumbled. "I'll manage."

He leaned on his stick and
hobbled heavily through the crowd to
ward
the
steps,
gloomy as a cloud and large as a bear.

Frank hurried to
ward
him.

"I'll manage,"
without looking up,
Barney
stepped onto the staircase and stopped. "Have you been waiting here long?" He glanced at the street. For some
reason, he avoided Frank's gaze
.

"Everything all right?" Frank
looked
in the same direction but saw nothing but houses, cars
and passersby crossing the street at the green light. Nothing special.

"You didn't an
s
wer my question,"
Barney
said without changing his posture.

Frank smiled weakly,

"Nervous
, sir
?"

"
Fuck you
!"
Barney
turned his broad face to him. "Since when do you call me sir?"

Frank looked at him without saying a word.

"You'll be calling me M
r
.
Douggan
next.
What are you smiling at?"
Barney
was obviously
in a mood
. But at least he was the same old
Barney
, strong, stern and focused. "You think I don't know
Maggie ran off to see you?"

Frank's smile
faded
.
He squinted at the sidewalk and rubbed his chin not knowing how to answer.

"All right,"
Barney
rattled and coughed into his fist. "Let's go. Help me up."

His strong arm lay o
ver Frank's shoulder. Together, they took the steps to the doors.

In the department, they were met by Lieutenant Salem who took them to the elevators.
Together they went up one floor.
Salem led them through the pool to the Captain's office and left without saying a word.

"Take a seat," Jessup left his desk,
shook their hands and pointed to
the chairs. "Coffe
e
?"

"Water," the veteran mumbled. Groan
ing, he lowered himself into a
chair and stretched out his leg
wounded
during the taking of Memoria.

"I wouldn't mind a coffee," Frank nodded,
"no sugar."

The captain buzzed the secretary through the intercom, asked her to bring up some drinks and returned to his place.

"So?" he rested his hands on his desk looking at
Barney
. "How's health? How's the leg?"

"It's okay,"
Barney
shifted in his chair
for a more comfortable position.

The secretary appeared in the doorway. She nodded to the visitors, placed the tray on the desk and
left.

"Help yourselves,"
t
he captain sighed and sat back.

Barney
poured the water down his broad mouth
.
Frank took a sip of his coffee and placed the cup back
on its
saucer.

"
Let's get down to bu
siness, Cap," the veteran said.
"
We've made statements at
just
about e
very office in the country
," he looked at F
rank and turned back to Jessup. "That's not why you
've
asked us to come, is it?"

"It's not."

A tense silence set in. You could feel that
Barney
was still mad
although the reason was n
ow different: he didn't like
being there. That was probably why he was late, deciding whether to come or let Frank go without him.

"You do know, don't you," Jessup
clasped his fingers
together, "that the Memoria case is a Federal one?"

"Why are we here?"
Barney
asked.

The Captain
splayed his shoulders and
rose
. The visitors looked up at him.

"I wanted to say good-bye. And t
hank
you.
"
He buttoned up his jacket
and smoothed his
gray
hair.
"I've been transferred to
DC.
Thank you all," he
extended
his hand
to
Barney
.

"Is that it?" he chuckled. Leaning on his stick, he got up. "
You should have said so from the start."

Frank
shook
his head, speechless.

"Congratulations,
"
Barney
grumbled and added over his shoulder, "I'll wait for you by the elevator."

Frank gave Jessup a guilty lo
ok but didn't dare stop
Barney
, for fear of one of his angry outbursts when the veteran could explode like an overheated boiler.

The veteran left. Jessup eased himself back into his chair.

"Forgive him, sir," Frank hurried to smooth over the embarr
ass
ment.
"
Barney
has an awful temper."

"I've noticed,"
Jessup's face remained detached. "It's all right."

"Where are they transferring you to?" Frank asked.

"What? Ah, that," The captain
perked up. "To the
Justice Department
."

"My congratulations, sir."

Jessup thanked him and added something along the lines of ne
w
times and trends
. But Frank missed most of it, his ears still burning from
Barney
's outburst. He decided to leave, too.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again," he said rising from his chair.

"Wait," the captain
gestured him to stop, his face now serious and decisive. "Two minutes. I've got something to tell you."

* * *

When Frank left the office and rejoined
Barney
by the elevator, they nearly
quarreled. Frank tried to explain that Jessup had suspected Memoria's bosses from the start and conducted a secret investigation of his own
. He had risked his job and hi
s rank
doing so
, he'd broken
the rules and regs, but ultimately, he'd been right and earned his promotion.
It wasn't his fault that the case had now been handed over to the Feds for further inquiry, and it definitely wasn't his problem.
He'd already done more than he could.

"He's got a promotion,"
Barney
tapped his stick on the elevator floor
in indignation. "And
Max
got his place in the graveyard. As did lots of other people."

"You," Frank
very nearly prodded him with his finger, "you-" he turned away to the doors.
"We could have learned what happened to Bow. Whether they found him or not. He could have told us what it was in those capsules and why you've lost your hair.
Jessup was about to share some information. He won't do it now."

"Never mind. You'll learn it all in
DC.
" When the elevator doors opened, he shouldered him aside and wa
lked out into the spacious lobby.

Frank stepped out after him and stopped looking at his broad back as the veteran headed for the doors. What a
n ass
hole
. How did he learn about Frank's
DC
trip? It was classified. Only a few people knew about the new talks with the migrants.
Frank hadn't spoken to anyone about it, not even Maggie.

He caught up with
Barney
by the exit.