Big in Japan Ch. 05

"So the whole operation in Texas was a sham?" asked Dwight Stevens.

"No, it was real." I said. "And they really were trying to take down a smuggling ring. They just didn't realize the tiger they had by the tail. The Chinese tiger, that is."

"Don," Cindy suggested, "why don't you just tell us everything, and there's no one here to correct you if you go astray... which you won't." Everyone chuckled.

"Okay." I said. "It really started years ago, when Teresa and Easton Windham annulled their marriage and went their separate ways. Teresa ended up with us... thank God Almighty... while Easton went in another direction... to Texas. Records are still very spotty, and that suggests to me that he was involved in smuggling operations."

"The Yakuza?" Dwight Stevens asked.

"No, and let me circle back with you on that." I said. "So Easton took a job with an oil company, ostensibly for research, but actually to gain access to the company's assets for smuggling purposes. That got him noticed by two groups of people: the Federal Government, and a group of smugglers that turned out to be Jen Esterson Sakai's group of spies, using smuggling as a front for their espionage activities."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Jen Sakai and her husband Hideo Sakai found that they could siphon off molasses, a byproduct of the sugar production for Bessemer Cookies, and sell it on the black market to make rum. That expanded into whiskey, and they actually did have idea of putting together a company with Weston Windham to legitimately make rum and whiskey. But Clarissa Belvedere Esterson, Teresa's aunt, put the kibosh on that, at least as far as the Bessemer company having anything to do with it."

Your Iron Crowbar: "And let me touch on that, since I brought it up. Weston Windham was Easton's older brother. He met Teresa's cousin Tessa Bessemer 17 years ago, and they were married and had two children, Beatrice and Eugenia. And like Teresa's father, he found that he did not like most of the Belvedere family, and they didn't like him very much."

"Nobody told me that." Teresa said.

"He was dead." I said. "They didn't want to speak ill of the dead, especially in front of the girls. And they didn't want to dredge something else up, which I'm about to tell you about:

I went on: "Weston and Tessa moved away, to Baton Rouge. They did keep in touch with State Senator Robert Edwards and his wife Clara Bessemer Edwards. But maybe things will begin to make sense when I tell you that Weston Windham had been recruited into the CIA."

"Oh." said Cindy. "Yeah, that puts some puzzle pieces in their places." Teresa looked inquiringly at her BFF.

"Yes, it does." I replied. "So what happened is that the 'Company' had gotten wind of Jen Sakai's spy ring, but rather than tell the FBI like they were supposed to, they had Weston Windham investigate it. He dutifully did so, and he pretended to form a friendship with Jen and her husband."

"And then... things went sideways." I said. "Weston was trying to get into Jen's spy ring, but unbeknownst to him or the CIA, Easton Windham was already in Sakai's smuggling ring. At this point I must say that I am not sure who exactly did it, but I can't see Jen nor Easton not knowing about the arrangement to kill Weston Windham by sabotaging his plane and causing it to crash in Mississippi."

"Which explains why the FBI closed that case so quickly." Jack Muscone said. "The CIA probably told them to drop it, and the FBI did."

"Wow." said Karina White. "That's pretty hardcore of Jen, to kill her cousin Tessa off, as well as Weston."

"Oh, that's right!" Teresa exclaimed to herself. Then she recovered and said "Sorry. I just remembered that there was something that Aunt Clarissa told me and Cindy: Tessa originally wasn't going to go with Weston. It was a last-second decision to go to the Grand Ole Opry. I'll bet Jen didn't know Tessa was on that flight... until it was too late."

"I think you're right." I said to Teresa. "Anyhoo, Weston was eliminated, ending the threat to Easton's exposure. So, let's now move up in time a little bit. Last April, some of us went to Teresa's hometown, where we learned some truths. One of those was that Teresa was the heir to her mother's portion of the Belvedere inheritance. To prove the family link, Clarissa Belvedere Esterson was contacted, and provided a mitochondrial DNA sample, which did prove Teresa's membership in that family." (Author's note: 'Centuries' for all of that.)

Your Iron Crowbar: "And now we get back to our current Director of National Intelligence, Brendan Chapel. Chapel is an odious, evil man, and his avarice for money is unappeasable. He was behind Lindsey Black showing up in Teresa's hometown after trying to keep her from going to her hometown. He wanted that $100 million in his own pockets, but in that he failed miserably."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Chapel has been a longtime high-ranking member of the Intelligence Community, so it is not surprising that he became aware of the Sakai spy ring. And it is likely Chapel that directed the CIA to not tell the FBI of the ring operating on American soil. And it is further likely that Chapel was ultimately behind the betrayal and murder of Weston Windham."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Chapel basically made Jen and her husband an offer they could not refuse: he took a huge cut of their operations. I'm sure that in exchange he helped keep any heat off of them, maybe opened up a few ports, via air or sea, to do their operations. In fact, Chennault International Airport (CWF) is next to Lake Charles, and is an 'International' Airport because it has a Customs office. But it doesn't handle passenger traffic, just freight traffic. A perfect setup for Chapel."

Your Iron Crowbar: "So Chapel is making a lot of money at the expense of the Red Chinese and maybe the Yakuza. I was told while in Japan that the Yakuza thinks Chapel is a very dishonorable man, which is one of the worst insults they can use. I now realize that when the Sakai ring was slowly becoming exposed, Brendan Chapel had to cut bait. And that meant bringing down the Yakuza operations in America, with which Chapel had close ties."

I said: "We know that ATF Agent Nancy Harding had been trying to bring down the Yakuza operations for years, but with near-total failure. In fact, she was getting heat from her superiors about it. The reason she was failing is because Brendon Chapel was making sure she failed, and protecting his Yakuza buddies from her."

"But then," I said, "Chapel needed the Yakuza gone. So he makes Harding an offer... she redirects her loyalties to him, personally, and she'd get her career-making takedown of Yakuza America. The Yakuza knew that, of course, which is whey they despise the two-faced Chapel so much."

Karina groaned. "And she took the deal." After a moment, she said "Guys, I really have to apologize for vouching for her. She really was a good Agent, back in the day."

I said "I'm sure she was. But Brendan Chapel has a way of corrupting people, of making them abandon their integrity, either through threats or offers of reward, or both. But he is truly the Snake in the Garden of Eden. Nancy Harding believed his lies, and would have murdered Jen Sakai... and Teresa... and me... and Laura... and Lindsey Black was ready to kill us all, also."

I said "And I'll add here that EAD Owen Lange had Agent Kevin Pitts in that meeting as well as Harding, to see if Pitts would reveal himself as a Swamp Frog. Harding failed the test; Pitts, however, appears to have passed."

"I heard," said Dwight Stevens, "that Pitts never was a true Swamp Frog like Lindsey Black, and that he got really disenchanted with her and with Nash. So EAD Lange is monitoring him, but he's also giving him a chance to show he's all right."

I nodded,then said: "Anyhoo, we're circling back to the point that it's the same Brendan Chapel that was involved with Sakai and her ring."

Cindy said "Is that how Chapel came across the knowledge of Teresa'a inheritance? From Jen Sakai?"

Teresa said "Jen didn't know about me, until Aunt Clarissa was contacted for a DNA sample. Or did she?"

I said: "The timing is most very interesting. We barely beat the Swamp Frogs to your hometown on that, so I think they only found about it just before we got out there. I've also had 'thoughts' that someone destroyed your mother's headstone to entice us to go out there. But did Jen know who you were before all that? All I can say is that someone did. Okay, what else?"

"Easton's murder." Cindy said. "In our County."

"Retribution." I said. "For Weston and Tessa Windham's murders, and maybe for the attack on you and Cindy with the Vision plane. And that's a perfect segue into the rest of this mystery."

Your Iron Crowbar: "One thing that Teresa, Todd, and I knew, that apparently no one else did, was that Takaki Mariko had gone back to Japan because her father was ill, and indeed he died. But we kept being told things like the FBI operation down there involved Mariko, that Mariko was trying to get Jen and her husband to turn back to our side, and become double agents or to rat on the Red Chinese."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Now I believe that Eduardo and Rosalyn Escobar are good people and good, honest Agents, so I considered it likely that they were being given a big ol' package of 'hooey'. And with DNI Chapel in the mix, one has to take that into consideration. So my suspicion is that all that was a red herring, part of the same story that it was the Yakuza trying to kill Mariko and ending up sending Easton Windham here to kill her."

Your Iron Crowbar: "It also ties into the sabotage of the Vision plane. I believe Easton Windham was brought to our Town & County to identify Teresa, who was marked for death after appearing in Lake Charles and surviving that sabotage attempt. I have no proof of this, but I think someone, maybe Easton, identified Teresa at Lake Charles Regional Airport, thought she was there to get information from Clarissa, and felt the need to eliminate the possible threat. Only Jen Sakai or Easton Windham could identify Teresa, and the probabilities are very strong that it was Easton."

'The son of a bitch." muttered Teresa levelly. "No wonder I wanted to annul our marriage."

"I'm not sure he actually did the sabotage," I said, "but he was a part of it. Anyhoo, you didn't die, but the FBI operation was somewhat exposed as a result of your plane accident. Easton was then drawn up to our Town & County, ostensibly to help kidnap Takaki Mariko, we were told. But Mariko was in Japan and Teresa and I knew that. So what remains, and it's not improbable, is that Easton was brought up here to identify you, Teresa, and that you were the intended victim of what happened to him."

Your Iron Crowbar: "But Fate, and someone else, intervened. Windham was quickly and brutally interrogated, probably broke very fast, and then was brutally molested and left to die. That shows a personal hatred, and a thirst for vengeance. In any case, he would bother us no longer."

"After that," I said, "some of us were invited to go to Japan by someone that one does not say 'no' to, that being the Emperor himself. We had the very sad but honored occasion to attend the death and funeral of Takaki Misaki-sama. And while there, I learned some things, including that the Yakuza had no part of the cases we were investigating."

"After that," I said, "we got word that Jen Sakai was coming up here. I believed it was to surrender to me and Teresa, because she correctly didn't trust anyone else with her life."

"I have a question." Cindy said. "Why Laura? I mean, yes, Laura is your wife and that did get your attention... but she could've been shot in an instant, or subdued by Laura herself."

I replied: "I have almost no data for this theory, but we know that for some strange reason Dr. Robin Isley has great respect for Laura, though it is not reciprocated at all. If Jen Sakai and Isley had any contact, Isley may have told Jen about Laura, and maybe even told her to contact Laura if anything went sideways. And Jen really does have a way of talking with people, making friends with them, so she may have found more of a friend than she realized in Dr. Robin Isley."

"Jen does have that way about her." Teresa said agreeably.

I saw the slightest hint of 'something' in Cindy's ice blue eyes. "You have a different idea?" I asked her.

"Naaah, it's probably me being a dumb blonde again." Cindy replied. And no more would she say.

"Well, we can investigate what she told you," said Jack Muscone, "but we have to get some solid proof. It'd be nice if she stashed something somewhere, but unless she tells us or gives it to us, we don't have much."

"Let not your heart be troubled." I said, with a gleam in my gray peepers.

"Oh boy." Muscone groaned. "I hate it when you do that..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As the party began dying down, I bought two pours of Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey and gave one to Jack Muscone. "Here's to you, for having my back today." I said. We clinked glasses and downed our shots. Jack asked for a second round for both of us.

"Here's to you, for having my back against Nash." Muscone said. After we downed our shots, he said "Nate Grimes of the FBI's OPR office told Owen Lange that he didn't think there was anything to the investigation of me, and he's tried to close it... three times. But it got re-opened every time, and DepDirector Lawrence Lance was called by DNI Chapel personally and told not to try to close it again."

"Yeah, keep your head on a swivel." I said. "I get the feeling this is just their opening salvo. They've got something else up their sleeve, just waiting to spring on you."

Meanwhile, Cindy and Tanya were watching us from across the room.

"I'm glad they're talking again." said Tanya. "I was getting worried, there, for a minute. And Pete's been miserable, not being able to play with Jim and Ross."

"And Carole." said Cindy, very sure. Lady Ironside just glanced over at the Green Crowbar, who just smiled a little bit as she returned the look.

And yes, Jack and I were on better terms again. But there was always a barrier there; we kept it more professional than personal. And Jack never said '400 years ago' nor mentioned any burnings at the stake, ever again...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1:00am, Tuesday, September 22nd. Selena Steele let Teresa and me into the J.P. Goldman Bank, and led us to the safe deposit boxes. I inserted one key into its slot in one of the boxes, and Selena put the bank's key in the other slot. We opened the door and I took out the box inside, put it on the table, and opened it as Teresa filmed us with her Police iPhone.

"Solid gold." I said as I looked at the papers inside. I took them and the jump drives and put them into an evidence bag, sealed it, and made the proper annotations, telling the camera what I was doing every step of the way.

Teresa and I were wearing all black, and we left the Bank by the backdoor and got into the TCPD paddywagon that had just driven up. Corporal Hicks drove us to Police Headquarters, a drive of not much more distance than the length of Courthouse Square. Other Officers screened us as we went inside. Once inside, we went to the basement, to the I.T. area. Myron and Mary Milton were there, waiting for us.

"It's all here." I said. "A lot of dirt on Federal Agents. Put every bit of it into the evidence servers, make multiple duplicates and copies." Myron and Mary went to work very enthusiastically...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Why all the secrecy and playing the shadows?

Jen Sakai's Morse Code message to me was to tell me the bank and safe deposit box where she'd secured evidence, proof of Brendan Chapel's criminal wrongdoing. After I'd finished talking to her, I called Teresa into my office.

"Remember when we got back from lunch after you got back from Louisiana?" I asked. "Well, I took the protective cover off your Police iPhone, and I found this." I opened my hand, and a safe deposit box key was revealed.

"How did she get that there?" Teresa gasped.

"She didn't." I replied. "She gave the key to her mother, Clarissa. Either you or Cindy told me that Clarissa had finished taking photos of Weston Windham while you and Cindy washed up for lunch."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Teresa said. Then it all hit her. "Jen gave the key to her mother? But they didn't like each other much."

"True," I said, "and there are reasons for that. But they both knew this was Jen's only chance to survive Brendan Chapel. I kept the key in a safe place, but I didn't know the bank or box number that it goes to. Now I do... and Jen's statements give us 'probable cause' to get a warrant..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Back in live time, Teresa and I were in my office. "Yes," she said, "I saw the vehicles following us earlier today, and you found those trackers on our vehicles. They must really be desperate."

"They should be." I replied. "What little of that stuff I saw was damning. Having said that, don't get your hopes up that this'll get Brendan Chapel out. But it should be enough to keep Jen Sakai alive."

"But how do we get it out there, to the Public?" Teresa asked. "The Press sure as hell won't help us."

"Ohhhh, I think Senator Bill Nunn is the way to go on that." I replied...

Part 32 - Bayou Bengals and War Eagles

Dawn, Saturday, September 26th. The BOW Enterprises plane landed at Ryan Field, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR), and we taxied to the General Aviation hangers. We secured a rental car and Teresa insisted on driving, so I rode shotgun as we got on Interstate-10, bound for Lake Charles.

"Nice place." I said as we drove up to the Belvedere Estate.

"It's a lot nicer in the cooler weather we're starting to have now." Teresa said. We went to the front door and rang the bell, and Charles the Butler opened the door.

"Madame Clarissa is expecting you, Madame Teresa." said Charles. He led us to the dining room, where breakfast had been laid out. Sitting at the table was Clarissa Belvedere Esterson, her niece Clara Bessemer Edwards, and her great-nieces, Beatrice and Eugenia Windham.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, my dear." Clarissa said as she came up and hugged Teresa.

"And you, Aunt Clarissa." Teresa said. "May I present my uncle-in-law, Commander Donald Troy."

"Oh my, yes you may." Clarissa said, her eyes lighting up as I shook her hand formally, and 'old school', but not bending over far enough to kiss her hand. "What a handsome young man you are, Commander."

"Please, call me Don." I said. "And it's an honor to meet you."

Teresa said "This is my cousin Clara. And these young ladies are Beatrice and Genia." Both girls were stunned.

"Wow, the Iron Crowbar!" Beatrice exclaimed, seemingly in awe. "You really are ten feet tall!" I couldn't help but laugh merrily at that.

"You must be hungry after your flight." said Clarissa. "Charles, some coffee for our guests. Teresa, Don, help yourselves to the buffet." We did so, and I got plenty of eggs, bacon, and grits. Yep, we were in the South. I was just glad it wasn't a French Continental Breakfast(!).

We made small talk as we ate, including Teresa's bombshell announcement. "My husband gives almost as much money to Auburn as he does his own alma mater." she said. "He gets Auburn season tickets, but usually gives them away to business clients. But he got two away-game tickets to the Auburn-LSU game tonight, so I'm taking this here Wildcat to the game, to show him what real college football is about... the SEC."

"And I certainly did not refuse the invitation to be schooled." I replied.