One Hand On The Podium (12 page)

A smile of gratification crossed her face as she readied herself to take another sip of cream soda, her eyes fixed to the TV screen, envisioning herself sitting behind that desk, in front of those cameras, on that network, reading from that teleprompter. It didn’t seem so far out of her reach. Any goal was attainable and Steven Wagner was not going to get between her and those goals.

When the news ended she took her dishes to the kitchen and placed then in the sink. A knock at the door startled her as she was turning on the hot water. Realizing she hardly had any clothes on, she ran to her bedroom, put on a robe, then sprinted back into the living room to see who was at the door.

She looked through the peephole in the center of the door at eye level. Of the two visitors on the other side, she thought she recognized one. The other, with the red beard, she didn’t. She opened the door just enough to see what they wanted.

“Miss Ray?”

“Yes, oh! I thought I recognized you, Tony Bix.”

“Can we come in?”

She looked at the other man, smiled, then asked, “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah, we have to talk to you.”

She just stared at them with a blank look.

“Please, it’s very important?” Tony said, as he looked at the other man, then back at Rebecca. “Just give us fifteen minutes to explain. We need your help.”

She thought about it for a second, then opened the door all the way. She escorted them into her living room. Tony sat next to her on the couch, his companion sat across from them in a rocking chair covered with a multi-colored blanket.

“It’s been a long time, Tony,” Rebecca quietly stated.

“Yeah, a long time,” he answered sheepishly. His hair was messy and his clothes looked like they were taken right out of the dryer, very wrinkled.

“Go ahead. I’m listening.” She crossed her legs, pulled her robe together to cover them, propped her arm on her knee and rested her chin on her knuckles.

“I’ll let Tom begin,” Tony said, allowing the other man to start.

“Well, I would prefer that you do all the talking here, Tony. I have to be very careful what I say. I’ll lead you in the right direction though.”

Rebecca was very confused, “Wait a minute. Does somebody want to explain what you’re doing in my apartment? What’s up here?”

Tony said, “Okay, okay. Let me fill you in.”

“I certainly wish you would.”

“Alright then. As you know, I am no longer with the city.”

“Yeah, I heard you lost your job.”

“After Peg left me, I guess I went into a pretty deep depression. I just gave up. I lost everything important to me. The Mayor doesn’t tolerate an alcoholic on his staff, so he fired me. But I cleaned up my act. I really did. I joined AA. I went into private practice, doing family law, business contracts, bankruptcy and various other services.”

“Family law?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, I know. Ironic, huh? Anyway, last week, Tom here, came to my office and indicated he needed my help.”

“What kind of help?” she looked at the stranger.

“Well, to put it bluntly, he wanted to report a murder.”

“Murder?” She looked over at Tom then back at Tony.

“No, let me correct myself. I mean murders. Plural.”

“Why did he come to you and not the police, and why can’t he tell me all this himself? I don’t get it.”

“The reason Tom didn’t go to the police is because he is the police. Well, not the police exactly, but a federal agent. FBI.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“So, do you know who committed these murders, Tom?”

“Oh yes. He sure does.”

“Who?”

“You won’t fucking believe this.” He looked over at Tom, “Should I tell her?”

Tom nodded.

“It’s Simon Moss.”

“What? No way! Congressman, Simon Moss?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t believe you. You guys are putting me on, right?”

“Rebecca, I have every reason to believe what Tom has told me is completely true.”

“Well, I can see why you would believe anything bad about Simon Moss, especially after what he did to you,” she said in a skeptical tone.

“That has nothing to do with it. Everything that happened that led up to that day of the debate was my own fault. I admit it. I screwed up. But now, with what Tom has told me about Moss, we have a real powder keg here. ”

Rebecca looked at Tom, “We haven’t been introduced.”

“Sorry,” Tony said, “Rebecca Ray, news woman, this is special agent, Tom Merritt, FBI. Now, let’s get to the point.”

“Tom, where did you get this information?” Rebecca asked the red-bearded fellow.

“Well, this is not going to be easy for me, Miss Ray. I was against coming here.”

“But I felt we had no where else to turn,” Tony said. “We’ve spent the past week running into one obstacle after another. No one we can trust will listen.”

“Wait,” Rebecca interrupted, “for some reason, I’m still confused. Tony, if you don’t mind, let’s let Tom explain from the beginning, his reasons for going to you, then you can tell me why you came to me.”

“Fine. Go ahead, Tom.”

“As I was saying, Miss Ray, this hasn’t been easy. I have always been loyal to the agency. I’ve put loyalty above everything else, even sometimes above the law.”

“You’ve broken the law?”

“No. I didn’t say that. But, myself and others in the department have had to turn our heads the other way, purposely, not noticing certain crimes.”

“Why would you have to do that?”

“Because that’s what our orders were.”

“From who?”

“Higher ups.”

“What were the reasons?”

“Oh, it’s kind of like allowing a drug addict to continue using heroin because you know he’s going to lead you to the pusher eventually.”

“Simon Moss is a drug pusher?”

“Well, that wouldn’t surpirse me either, but what I know about Simon Moss is much more serious in my opinion than pushing drugs.”

“Murder?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Where do I start? We discovered the first body ourselves while investigating him on other allegations.”

“Something worse than murder?”

“Well, not to me. But to the United States government, yes.”

“The federal government has been investigating Simon Moss for the past four years and has never told the press?”

“That’s right.”

“So you knew about the killing while he was running for Congress?”

“Yes.”

“And you allowed him to be elected?”

“We didn’t just allow him, we helped him win the election. How do you think Tony, here, was set up? We were the ones who put that damaging evidence about Tony and his mistress, Michelle, in the hands of Moss.”

“Oh, you’re kidding? This is beyond comprehension.”

“There were reasons.”

“What reasons?” she stood up and started toward the kitchen. “Can I get you guys something to drink?”

Both men shook their heads ‘no.’

Rebecca sat back on the couch, dumbfounded by what Merritt was telling her. Tony continued, “Tom wants to right the wrongs, Rebecca. I, too, was stunned when he told me it was he and his partner who passed those two pieces of paper to Moss right before the debate. You see, I couldn’t be allowed to win that election, no matter what. They made sure of that. The government wanted Moss to win.”

“Does Moss know he’s being watched?”

“Oh, course. It’s a game to him. Simon Moss is being protected by our department. We struck a deal with him years ago.”

“What kind of a deal?”

“We were all ready to make our move on him before the election. Simon was selling classified documents for military equipment to the Syrian government to finance his political campaigns and unfortunately a young woman got in his way and got herself killed.”

“Why didn’t you arrest him then?”

“We discovered he might be only one of a larger group, and it was all being orchestrated by someone back in Washington, D.C.”

“Who?”

“Our agency was never privy to that information. But my best guess is that it’s someone on Capitol Hill. Some speculate it’s a well-known senator on the foreign relations committee.”

“A senator?”

“That’s the guy we’re really trying to nail. Moss is just a pawn. He doesn’t know it though. We just don’t want to make a move on the senator until we have concrete proof that he’s the mastermind of this operation.”

Rebecca became angry. “So, in the meantime, people are getting killed so the government doesn’t blow its case against this senator. Right?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“This is unbelievable, guys. I got to tell you. I don’t know. I’m not sure I buy it.”

Tony stood up and walked around the back of the couch, Rebecca turned her upper body to look at him.

“Tom came to me for advice. He wanted to know how Simon Moss can be exposed without risking his job with the agency. Tom has a wife and kids. They might be in danger if he was exposed as a whistleblower. But I’m not an employment attorney. I told him that. But he insisted I help him in whatever way I could. Tom knew I had my own dealings with that bastard and might easily buy in.”

“You can always get another job, Tom,” Rebecca said sympathetically.

He kind of laughed. “You don’t understand. When you disobey the rules with this agency there are no second chances. If they found out I did anything to ruin their case against this senator, they would see to it that I never worked again, anywhere. I may end up going to prison or maybe even something worse. They play hardball, Miss Ray, I guarantee you that!”

“This sounds so scary. To think— .”

“Yes,” Tony interrupted. “It is damn scary, and we have to do something about it.”

“We?” Rebecca asked hesitantly.

“Yes. Tom and I need your help. Do you realize the friends Simon Moss has in this town?”

“Yes, I do. He’s very popular and influential.”

“Exactly. We can’t go to the newspapers, radio or the police.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“What Tom has proposed is to lead the two of us in the right direction.”

“What direction?”

“He’ll give us the pieces, and we’ll have to put the puzzle together,” Tony continued. “Listen. He has the evidence or knows where we can obtain it. But it’s very important that we don’t let anyone know how we got the information. Tom’s identity must be protected.”

“I guess I can understand that.” She looked at Merritt. “So, you’ll tell us where to go to find what we need to get Moss?”

“No, Rebecca,” Tony explained, as he sat back on the couch next to Rebecca. “Tom can’t just tell us all he knows.”

“Why not?”

“Because, if we go someplace where we’re not supposed to be, Tom’s supervisors will put two and two together and eventually figure out that someone in the agency revealed it. They probably know Tom is on the lamb.”

“Well, Tom,” Rebecca asked. “What happens if someone does find out that you gave us the information?”

“I told you, I’d most certainly lose my job, and I can’t do that to my wife and kids. I can’t risk their safety.”

“So, you have children? How many?”

“Two girls.”

“The kind of work you do, isn’t it hard on them?”

“Not so much the work, but the places it takes me and the time I have to be away from them can take its toll, for sure. I’ve spent the last four years of my life trying to nail Simon Moss and most of that time away from my wife and kids. To put it bluntly, I really hate that guy! He is an evil person. A cold killer.”

“Yeah, that’s got to be tough.” She offered a sympathetic look, then turned to Bix. “But, Tony, why did you come to me? What can I possibly do to help?”

“Well, you can get the story on the air.”

“What do you mean? I can’t just blurt out on live television that Simon Moss is a murderer. I need proof. I need facts and someway of corroborating them. Something concrete. We don’t broadcast accusations, Tony. I’ll look like an idiot.”

“You’ll get your proof, Rebecca,” Merritt reassured her.

“Are you going to help us or not?” Tony asked.

“There’s a terrible risk of me coming out of this looking like a fool, you guys.” She shook her head in doubt. “I don’t know. I mean, what good would it do?”

“I’ll tell you what good it will do,” Tony said, raising his voice in anger. “It will cause the average citizens in this state to demand answers and explanations. If we have any semblance of proof, which Tom says he can get us, I have no doubt we can make Simon Moss pay for his crimes. People need to know that their Congressman is a damn killer! Don’t you think?”

“I’m not so sure, Tony. I’m worried.” She ran both of her hands through her hair nervously and sighed.

“Everybody else in this country would react the same way to all this as you and I did. I’m positive,” Tony said. “The idea of our government protecting a murderer is mind boggling. It may be more important to those right-wing, hard liners but not to the average guy on the street. People just won’t stand for it, Rebecca! Besides, it couldn’t hurt an aspiring anchor woman’s career could it?”

“I suppose not. No,” Rebecca sighed. “I guess it’s just the kind of break I’ve been looking for.” She stared blankly at the ceiling. “My boss will be a hard sell guys. He’s going to want to be in on it.”

Tony patted her bare leg sticking out from her robe. “In due time. In due time,” he said. “For right now, it’s our secret, okay? But don’t worry Rebecca, it will all work out in the end.”

“I hope you’re right Tony. Your friend Tom, here, won’t be the only one risking his job. Because if I make allegations on the air that I can’t substantiate, well, I can kiss that network anchor job goodbye.

“So, you’re in?”

“If everything you said is true, I have to help,” she shrugged. “What other choice do I have now that I know.”

Both men thanked Rebecca, shook her hand, then, left her alone to ponder all that they had just revealed.

***

At Agent Tom Merritt’s home in Hagerstown Maryland, an answering machine picked up a call. “We can’t come to the phone right now, but please leave a message, and we’ll call you right back.” Steve Frankano, recognized the recorded voice as Tom’s wife, Jenny Merritt.