Sweepers (31 page)

Tough guy indeed.

“This concerns your father,” she said.

The change in Jack’s face was dramatic-an immediate hardening. With the cigarette poised to go in his mouth, he stopped and looked at Karen as if she had just invoked the devil. “Then it don’t concern me, lady,” he snapped.

“We think it does,” Train said. “We want to know why you made an appearance at Elizabeth Walsh’s funeral, and again at the Naval Academy cemetery during Admiral Schmidt’s funeral.”

Jack made a slow business of sticking the cigarette in his mouth and getting it lit. Then he exhaled a solid stream of smoke in Train’s direction, an insolent look on his face. “Who says?”

“I saw you at Saint Matthew’s Church,” Karen said.

“Last Wednesday evening. On a motorcycle. Your father saw you, too.”

“And I saw you at Annapolis. Up on that hill. You left on a motorcycle.”

Jack shrugged. “Beats me. I get around. It’s a free country, last time I checked. How about you, lady? You free?”

Train moved in closer, staring down at the kid’s sneering face but turning slightly sideways so that his left forearm was in position to block any sudden moves. “Let me put it this way, Sherman,” he said.

“We’re helping the Fairfax County Homicide Section investigate two homicides. So far, they don’t know about your little cameos at the funerals.

You can either talk to us or talk to them. But’let me tell you something. You don’t know hassle until you’ve seen homicide hassle. Now, why were you there at those ‘funerals?”

Jack didn’t budge an inch under the physical force of Train’s massive presence. But his eyes betrayed him as they darted from Train’s looming face to Karen and back. Then his expression changed again. “Maybe,” he said with a crafty smile. “Maybe I was celebrating. Yeah. That’s it. I remember now. I was celebrating.”

“Celebrating?” Karen asked. “Celebrating what?”

Jack looked at her, then stepped back away from Train.

Then he looked again, a studied, staring, lascivious appraisal, from her shoes to her hair, point by point, as if he was sizing up a piece of meat, or a whore. Train got that itch in his palms again.

“Celebrating that bastard’s loss,” Jack continued. “You know, he lost some things of value. Yeah, that’s it, man.”

““Some things of value,’ “

Karen repeated, focusing on the familiar phrase. She looked over at Train.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “And I suppose you’re the new main squeeze, huh, lady? Commander, I mean. Excuse me. Commander, ma’am. Or is it ‘sir’?

Naw, it’s ‘ma’am.’ ” He stared intently at her breasts. “Those are definitely hooters.

Ma’am.”

Karen. never saw Train move, but suddenly Jack was stumbling forward, toward the Suburban, his right hand enveloped in Train’s left hand, his middle finger bending backward and his feet arching up against the pain, cigarette and jacket failing to the ground as he, was spun up against the Suburban. Train clamped down hard and put his face an inch away from Jack’s grimacing features.

“You … watch … your … mouth … dickhead,” he growled. “That is your name, right? Dickhead? Yes? You agree? Nod your dick head, dickhead!” Jack was almost kneeling now as Train bore down on the finger, bringing tears to the kid’s eyes. Train could see Karen off to one side, staring at him. “Good boy, dickhead. Now listen to me. Listen real good. We know you’re in this. Tell your buddy Galantz we know you’re in this’ That the whole god damned government knows what this is all about. And you dickhead, are a stupid little patsy if you’re helping him: understand? Think about this, dickhead: What’s he going to do to you when he’s done screwing around with your father, huh? You think he’s gonna give you a medal, huh?” Train bent down, getting eyeball-to-eyeball. “Now you talk to me, asshole. What’s your piece of this?”

Jack cried out as Train gave the finger an extra little nudge. His eyes were streaming and his face was red and straining. He was almost on the ground, trying to escape the crushing pain. His pack of cigarettes had spilled out on the concrete like a handful of nails. But he was still defiant.

“Fuck you, man,” he spat in a low, hoarse voice as his elbow touched the concrete. “Fuck you! I just do what my old man tells me to do, okay? So fuck you!”

Train, surprised, let him go then and stood up. He looked over at Karen, whose expression was a mask of shock. He wasn’t sure if it was over the way he had manhandled this punk or if she had heard what Jack had just said.

“Get out of here, asshole,” he said to the figure crouching at his feet.

“And remember, you can run, but you can’t hide. “

Jack grabbed his jacket and-scuttled backward, holding his right hand under his left armpit and clumsily wiping the tears off his face with the back of his left hand. But as soon as he was back out in full public view, he straightened up and sauntered back toward the hangar, head up, never looking back, as if nothing at all had happened. Train walked over to Karen. From the disapproving look on her face, he had a pretty good idea of what she was mad about.

“Sorry about that,” he began.

“No you’re not,” she snapped.

Okay, so now we know, he thought. “No, I’m not,” he agreed. “I just didn’t like the way he was-“

“You don’t listen so well, do you?” she said, those green eyes blazing.

“Let me say it again. When I need your protection, I’ll ask for it. We came here to find out something, and now that kid will never talk to us.

Now what are we-“

Train put up his hand to interrupt her. “Did you hear what he said?”

She checked her anger. “Yes, I did.” Some things of value.’ That phrase-“

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. That last partwhere he said he was just doing what his old man told him to?” She stared at him. “What?

He said that? Working for his father!” She sighed and looked away across the airfield.

Train decided to say nothing for a moment. It wasn’t as if he had any answers, either. But finally, he felt compelled to break the silence.

“We need to go back to Great Falls,” he said. “It’s time to think. We need to get Gutter programmed f I or your perimeter. I didn’t like that crack he made about you being his father’s new girlfriend. I know, I know,” he said as her eyes started to flash again. “But remember what he just said. It’s time to think, Karen. That kid is definitely part of this. And as far as that little creep is concerned, you’re the admiral’s new girlfriend. Suppose Galantz thinks the same thing?”

At 9:30 that night, Karen was sitting in the study, doing some household paperwork, when the phone rang. Train had gone home about an hour ago.

Gutter’s ears perked up when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Karen, this is Tag Sherman.”

Karen sat up. They had agreed not to tell the admiral about their encounter with Jack until they had had time to talk to Mcnair. “Yes, sir. Hello,” she said. “Did you meet with the police today? Is everything okay with that?”

“Peachy. They brought a consultant in, some ex-IRS guy.”

“Ugh. Was it human?”

“Marginally. But I have my taxes done by a pro, and they’re really not that Complex. or they weren’t. Galen’s estate is going to complicate life a bit. This guy was having trouble not licking his lips. Anyhow, there apparently was nothing there that the cops cared about.”

“What did Mcnair say when it was all over?”Thank you for your cooperation; we’ll be in touch’?”

“That’s exactly what he said. But I was hoping you had some feedback.

And I apologize for the late-hour call.”

“We haven’t talked to or heard from the police,” she said, wanting to minimize what they had learned at Quantico. “We’ve been working on building a picture of where your son, Jack, is and what he’s doing.”

“And?”

“He works down at Quantico, at -the Marine base. He’s apparently a rigger in the helicopter-maintenance section.

We’re waiting for some more information from the NIS database.” She was getting uncomfortable with the lies.

There was a pause on the line. “I’ll be interested in … well, how he is, what he’s like, when you finally interview him. I’d thought of maybe going along.” When she did not reply, he said, “Well, I guess that wouldn’t be very smart.”

“No, sir, it probably wouldn’t,” she replied, grateful that she had not had to say it. “We’ll give you a debrief when we have something.” Then a question occurred to her. “Admiral, you’re on leave right now?”

“Sort of,” he laughed, but without much humor. “I’m actually up at the Bureau, heading up a selective early retirement board for senior chief petty officers. That’s not for publication until the board reports out, by the way.

Which is why my office is saying I’m on leave.”

Karen wanted to ask how long this little temporary additional-duty assignment had been scheduled, but she held back. The Navy went to great lengths to keep selectionboard membership confidential, so the sudden assignment was plausible. But it was also a very convenient way of “Convenient, huh? I suspect Kensington instigated th lower my visibility in Opnav while this current mess sorted out.

“So this had not been in the works for some appreciable time?”

“Would you believe as of eighteen hundred last night The board’s been scheduled for a while, of course. The president’s slot was supposed to be filled by another officer, who was suddenly unavailable. So, yes, now officially incommunicado for the next three days. Any velopments on Galantz?”

Karen hesitated. She wanted to tell him about what I had found out from his FBI contact. And about the visit had received. But Jack’s last words on the tarmac thrown them both for a loop.

“Not yet, Admiral,” she said. “But Mr. von Rensel been talking to some people.”

“I hope he’s getting somewhere.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, at a loss as to where to go f there. He seemed to sense that the conversation was on

“Okay, Karen. And, again, thanks for everything yo doing. I thought when I made admiral, I’d be the gu, control. These past days, I’ve begun to feel like a wood in the rapids.”

“That’s just what this guy’s trying to accomplish, miral,” she said.

“But I think having Train von Re working it is going to help-a lot.”

Sherman agreed, thanked her again, and hung up. Slig embarrassed, she put the phone down and patted Guti head. She thought about Jack Sherman, his overtly inso demeanor and the brazen way he had looked at her. father had probably seen a lot of that sneer before the vorce. She dreaded the thought of finally sitting down i Sherman senior and telling him that his son was still a sli ball, or worse.

they’re really not that complex. Or they weren’t. Galen’s estate is going to complicate life a bit. This guy was having trouble not licking his lips. Anyhow, there apparently was nothing there that the cops cared about.”

“What did Mcnair say when it was all over?”Thank you for your cooperation; we’ll be in touch’?”

“That’s exactly what he said. But I was hoping you had some feedback.

And I apologize for the late-hour call.”

“We haven’t talked to or heard from the police,” she said, wanting to minimize what they had learned at Quantico. “We’ve been working on building a picture of where your son, Jack, is and what he’s doing.” 6”And?”

“He works down at Quantico, at the Marine base. He’s apparently a rigger in the helicopter-maintenance section.

We’re waiting for some more information from the NIS database.” She was getting uncomfortable with the lies.

There was a pause on the line. “I’ll be interested in … well, how he is, what he’s like, when you finally interview him. I’d thought of maybe going along.” When she did not reply, he said, “Well, I guess that wouldn’t be very smart.”

“No, sir, it probably wouldn’t,” she replied, grateful that she had not had to say it. “We’ll give you a debrief when we have something.” Then a question occurred to her. “Admiral, you’re on leave right now?”

“Sort of,” he laughed, but without much humor. “I’m actually up at the Bureau, heading up a selective earlyretirement board for senior chief petty officers. That’s not for publication until the board reports out, by the way.

Which is why my office is saying I’m on leave.”

Karen wanted to ask how long this little temporary additional-duty assignment had been scheduled, but she held back. The Navy went to great lengths to keep selectionboard membership confidential, so the sudden assignment was plausible. But it was also a very convenient way of putting the admiral on ice while the Galantz thing played out. He must have read her thoughts.

“Convenient, huh? I suspect Kensington instigated this to lower my visibility in Opnav while this current mess gets sorted out.

“So this had not been in the works for some appreciable time?”

“Would you believe as of eighteen hundred last night?

The board’s been scheduled for a while, of course., But the president’s slot was supposed to be filled by another flag officer, who was suddenly unavailable. So, yes, now I’m officially incommunicado for the next three days. Any developments on Galantz?”

Karen hesitated. She wanted to tell him about what Train had found out from his FBI contact. And about the visit she had received. But Jack’s last words on the tarmac had thrown them both for a loop.

“Not yet, Admiral,” she said. “But Mr. von Renset has been talking to some people.”

“I hope he’s getting somewhere.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, at a loss as to where to go from there. He seemed to sense that the conversation was over.

“Okay, Karen. And, again, thanks for everything you’re doing. I thought when I made admiral, I’d be the guy in control. These past days, I’ve begun to feel like a wood chip in the rapids.”

“that’s just what this guy’s trying to accomplish, Admiral,” she said.

“But I think having Train von Rensel working it is going to help-a lot.”

Sherman agreed, thanked her again, and hung up. Slightly embarrassed, she put the phone down and patted Gutter’s head. She thought about Jack Sherman, his overtly insolent demeanor and the brazen way he had looked at her. His father had probably seen a lot of that sneer before the divorce. She dreaded the thought of finally sitting down with Sherman senior and telling him that his son was still a slimeball, or worse.