Casting Aspersions Ch. 02

Tarleton said "She did not eat or drink anything in the ballroom. The bartender of the open bar said she asked for a glass of soda water, which he served her. We're checking him out, but so far no flags have come up."

"How did she go from the ballroom to the other room?" I asked. "She was on the backside of the ballroom? Did she go all the way back to the hallway door, or did she sneak through the back room?"

"The back door, through the employees's area, sir." said Tarleton.

"And that could be very important." I said. "By the way, did anyone mention anyone having a grudge against Louella?"

"No one we spoke to." Johnson said. "But nobody at KSB will talk to us."

"Hold on one moment." I said. I picked up the phone and dialed Tanya Perlman's office. "Captain Perlman, can you come to my office for a moment?"

A moment later the *whirrrrrrrrrrr* of Tanya's wheelchair could be heard, followed by her appearance at my door. My mom Phyllis was behind her.

"Captain, Detective," I said, "take these Officers to the Main Conference Room and brief them on the information we've found regarding Louella's columns."

"All of it?" Tanya asked, stunned.

"Yes." I said. "Hold nothing back. Work with them on this. And you guys..." I said to Johnson and Tarleton, "this is not an order, but I think you'll understand when you hear this information why it can be extremely dangerous to a lot of people, including my own family, and so I'll ask you to show discretion in who you talk to about it. Again, no orders to keep it suppressed, but use sound judgement. Okay, y'all go ahead..."

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

"Oh wow." said SBI Agent Johnson as Tanya and Phyllis finished briefing them. "I see what the Commander meant. The SBI has been a beehive about McGinty's Materials, and everyone in the world seems to be looking for them... and maybe out of fear."

"Yes." said Tanya. "If Louella's column had been published about McGinty's Materials, someone might try to kill Commander Troy or harm his family if they thought he had the materials."

"It's more than that, ma'am." said Tarleton. "It makes him a suspect, doesn't it?"

"I suppose so." said Phyllis. "But I also know he was at home with me and his family all night."

"Not that it absolutely proves anything," said Tanya, "but we have the metadata of his cellphone pings, his Police radio, and his Police vehicle's locations. And, of course, witnesses at the scene didn't see him, nor did he appear on any cameras."

"Sorry, but I had to ask." said Tarleton. "And we also have to ask if Commander Troy really did find the Materials."

"You're right to ask." Tanya said. "But Commander Troy has denied finding or having the materials, and I personally believe him. But there's more. Read this." She handed them Elsie Gringer's affidavit about the meeting with Louella Hopper and Phyllis scheduled for the next morning.

"Wow, this changes things." said Johnson. "So no idea what Ms. Hopper wanted to talk to you about?'

"No." said Phyllis. "But since I'm Commander Troy's mother and Louella knew it, it stands to reason that anything Louella wanted to say in my presence would be helpful, or at least not harmful, to Don's interests."

"You guys know I have to tell Inspector Maxwell about this, don't you?" said Agent Johnson. "We can't question a superior Officer, so she'd have to be the one to talk to Inspector Troy."

"Yes." said Tanya. "I've already told her, but you should also. And yes, she's the one to talk to Commander Troy about it."

"So where does this leave us?" asked Tarleton.

Phyllis said "We've been compiling a list of potential suspects. KSB's Tim Sioban is very much on the list; he was talking to Louella when she died, and he's refused to discuss it under the false pretense of being a journalist."

Tanya said "KSB itself is an issue, as well. One of the things we found on Louella's computer was potential evidence supporting the Federal Government's case against Bettina Wurtzburg for colluding with disgraced FBI Agent Les Craig. KSB and KXTC are close Press allies. They might give cover to the murderer, if Bettina was the reason for the murder."

Tarleton asked "Does that make sense that Ms. Hopper would want to talk to you, if that were the case?"

Phyllis said "Possibly. Louella might not know of the extent of the feud between my son and Elsie's niece Bettina, and may have thought that she was doing the helpful thing coming to Elsie and me about it. Maybe she found something that goes against the Government's case, and thought I would be the correct intermediary to go to my son with the evidence."

"I have to admit," said Tanya, "that this is a point upon which Detective Troy and I diverge. First, the war between Commander Troy and the Press is well-known throughout the State; I can hardly believe a gossip reporter of Ms. Hopper's caliber would not be well aware of it. Also, if she knew something helpful to Bettina and not helpful to the Government's case, she very likely would communicate that to Bettina's lawyers or to KXTC. And if she did intend to go through Elsie, I don't see her going to Phyllis Troy."

"If I may ask a question..." said a voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up to see Your Iron Crowbar standing there.

I came on inside, and said "While I agree that pursuing and discussing the motive angle vis-a-vis these articles is worth looking into, Louella Hopper has published many, many columns and video pieces, and could have made a great many enemies over a period of time. So I'd like to suggest that while you work together, Johnson and Tarleton might want to examine the means and opportunity angle, while Perlman and Troy continue to look into the motive angle."

"Anything in particular, sir?" asked Johnson.

"It occurs to me," I said, "that the means and opportunity are limited. Ms. Hopper came in to that dinner very late; indeed, it looked like she might not show up at all. So someone acted quickly, and very opportunistically. We also have to ask what is coincidence and what is true motive. That scheduled breakfast with Elsie and my mother, for instance: who knew about it? Did someone know what she was going to talk about at that breakfast meeting?"

"You sound like you know something, Commander." said Tanya.

"No, not at all." I said. "If I did, I'd be telling you who to go arrest right now. But there's another issue, and it is that I must recuse myself from this investigation, and let the four of you take the lead on it. Louella Hopper was about to go public with my name in connection with McGinty's Materials. That not only makes me a suspect, albeit a very poor one as I have my dog Bowser as my alibi, but if Federal Government sources were telling Louella those lies about me having the Materials, it's something I need to be working on from a different angle. So I'll leave you to it..."

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

"No, Jack, I can't make it to lunch today." I said into the phone. "And it's probably best that I don't while this Louella Hopper case is going on... no, nothing I care to discuss... yeah, keep in touch... bye."

As I disconnected, I looked up to see Cindy Ross in front of my desk, having very quietly come in without knocking. "Yes?" I said, more shortly than I intended.

"Everything all right?" she said. "I'm feeling the vibe all the way from my office. What's going on?"

"Have a seat." I said. As Cindy sat down, I said "Last night while we were at the crime scene, Jack Muscone said that the Feds had a sting going on where they passed some bogus information about Les Craig to Louella Hopper, to see if she passed it to Bettina. Jack said the info was that I'd found McGinty's Materials and passed info about Craig and Bettina to the Feds."

"Really?" Cindy gasped.

"I was about to rip Muscone apart," I said, "and he said he was just joking with me. I told him in no uncertain terms that it wasn't funny. But part two of this... we found on Louella Hopper's computer what her next column was going to be about. And one of the items was that she had confirmation from Federal Government sources that I'd found McGinty's Materials and was keeping them."

"Holy shit!" Cindy gasped. "Are you kidding me?"

"It's in our evidence servers." I said. "And I perceive that you understand the ramifications of that."

"It puts you in danger, doesn't it?" Cindy asked.

"Worse." I said. "Cindy, when Todd was taken hostage, the first thing I thought about was that they were going to demand McGinty's Materials in exchange for Todd's life. Turns out they wanted the Mutanix, and threw in asking for Peter Blassingame. And imagine if someone attempted to kidnap Carole, Jim, Molly's boys, or even Betsy... yes, they might go for your family, too... because they think I have McGinty's Materials."

"Oh, geez." Cindy exhaled. And then she caught on. "And you think that what Muscone said was true, that the Feds really did leak that about you having the Materials?"

"And/or 'confirming' it to Louella." I said, making air quotes. "Either way, it's a disaster. And a... betrayal. Jack may have been joking, but others in the FBI could easily have told Louella that. But what if Jack was not joking?"

Cindy stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I have something important to do." I nodded and she left the office. She went down the hall to the Main Conference Room, knocked on the door, and went in.

"Sorry to interrupt." she said. "Tanya, you and I need to talk. Right now..."

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

1:00pm, Tuesday, July 16th. SBI Agent Johnson and Campus Police Detective Tarleton came into the University Hospital office of Dr. Richard Searles. "I appreciate you being right on time." said Dr. Searles after having them sit down. "What can I do for you?"

"Thank you for seeing us, Doctor." said Johnson. "I'm sure you heard of the murder of that journalist at the University symposium last night?"

"To be honest, not really." said Dr. Searles. "I had a surgery early this morning, so I haven't seen any news at all. I did hear a couple of people talking about it at lunch."

"Her name was Louella Hopper." said Detective Tarleton. "Did you know her?"

"I... can't say that I did." said Dr. Searles. "I don't remember a patient named Louella Hooper, or Hopper. Why?"

"Before I answer that," said Agent Johnson, "let me ask you this: is it true you are dating one Mia McNamara, and plan to announce your engagement soon?"

"Why, yes it is." said Dr. Searles with a smile. "We were keeping it under wraps until the big announcement party next month, but yes, we're engaged to be married."

"Doctor," said Agent Johnson, "is there any reason at all why you, she, or anyone else would not want that announced prematurely?"

"Uhhh..." said Dr. Searles, "I sure wouldn't be upset about it. Mia loves the dramatic, being the actress that she is, but if it came out I doubt she'd be upset. And I do need to ask why you're asking these questions. Is there some kind of threat to Mia? Past lover or something?"

Johnson was about to answer when Tarleton stepped in. "Actually, Doctor, we need to ask you that. Are you aware of any threats to you or your fiancée? Any anger over your relationship and engagement?"

"No, none at all." Dr. Searles said. "She wasn't dating anyone when we met and I first asked her out, and her career is doing very well."

"Out of curiosity, how did you meet?" Tarleton asked.

"She has a new television series coming out, about a cardiologist in private practice." said Dr. Searles. "She called me about a year ago, and asked me if she could talk to me about being a cardiologist. And you know what they say about 'love at first sight'? For me, it was true when I met Mia. We began dating from that moment on."

"Doctor," said Tarleton, "I know you're pretty famous as a cardiologist. Is that how she knew to call you? Or did someone recommend you to her?"

"You know that soap opera that came here and filmed a few of their shows?" asked Dr. Searles. (Author's note: 'Soap Opera'.) Tarleton and Johnson nodded, and Searles said "One of their actors is named Benny Black, and he's related to the BOW Enterprises CEO, Todd Burke. Apparently Mr. Black asked Mr. Burke to ask Dr. Laura Fredricson to ask me to take Mia's call, and I did."

"Outstanding." said SBI Agent Johnson. "The reason we're asking these questions, Doctor, is because Louella Hopper was a gossip columnist, and was writing a column that was going to reveal your engagement announcement. Is there any reason you know of that someone would be angry about her revealing that, someone that would want to stop her from revealing it?"

"No, I have no idea." said Dr. Searles. "Like I said before, I would actually have been happy if that happened; I'm the happiest I've been since my previous wife died. I'm sure Mia's happy, too."

"We appreciate your time, Doctor." said Agent Johnson. He presented his card and said "If there is anything you can think of, or if you hear anything that might help us understand why Ms. Hopper was killed, I'd appreciate you giving us a call."

"I'll do that." said Dr. Searles. He shook hands with the LEOs and they left.

As they walked out of University Hospital, Tarleton said "Think he's a suspect?"

"As Commander Troy has taught every LEO in this State," said Johnson, "we have to have data before we can make any conclusions. We'll check into them, and I'll ask Inspector Maxwell to send someone to interview Mia McNamara in the City, but I'm not seeing anything suspicious... yet."

Part 10 - Intermediary

*Whirrrrrrrrrrr*

Tanya Perlman drove into my office at 3:00pm, and used the blue crowbar to shut the door behind her. She took off her badge, held it up, and said "May we?"

I took my badge off and put it on the desk next to hers. "What?" I asked.

Tanya said "I talked to Jack. He told me what he had jokingly said to you last night. He didn't realize that someone telling Louella Hopper that you had McGinty's Materials really was going to be in her next column."

"And worse," I said, "that the Feds 'confirmed' to her that I have the Materials."

"He understands how this looks, and he denies involvement in any of it. He wants to talk to you about it." Tanya said.

"So where is he?" I asked flatly.

"Uh... he's afraid to come in here without me paving the way." said Tanya. "Don, he genuinely is scared of you, and he and I both know how bad this is if you and he don't get it smoothed out."

"What if it doesn't get smoothed out?" I asked. "What if what Jack said was true... that the Feds really did tell Bettina's lawyers that I have McGinty's Materials, or whatever variant of it that they did say? You do realize what that means?"

"I'm trying not to realize it." said Tanya, and I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"By the way," I said, "I thought you didn't like being put between us and Jack."

"I don't." said Tanya, getting some steel back in her spine. "When I complained, I felt like I was being put in a position I didn't want to be in. But this is different, and it's something we've got to resolve, for good or bad, right now..."

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

5:00pm. Cindy was sitting on the sofa when Jack Muscone came in, a very worried look on his face, followed by Tanya. My gray eyes were boring clean through his.

"Tanya told me what y'all found on the computer." said Jack. "Honest to God, Don, I had no idea when I made that joke last night. And it was a joke. I'm sorry I made it, it was in bad taste, and I had no idea about all of this."

I could sense he was being sincere, but I wasn't ready to concede that. "You know I don't believe in coincidences, Jack. You made that joke, and then this stuff comes up. You had to know something, Jack, so stop bullshitting me and tell me what the fuck is going on. And no fucking '400 years ago' or 'nothing gets past you' bullshit. What's going on?"

Jack said "To be honest... to be candid, as you'd say... I don't know for sure. I think they're keeping stuff from me, too."

"Who is 'they'?" I asked, my voice menacing.

Tanya turned to her fiancé and said, her voice pleading, "Tell him, Jack! Please!"

"Okay." Jack said. "Don, you remember that photo of that playing card I showed you?"

"Yes." I said. "What about it?"

"I was asked to show it to you, to see if you recognized it." said Muscone. "I was watching you, like I was instructed to, and you're either the best actor in world history or you genuinely didn't know what it was."

"Why would I?" I asked. "And one more time: who instructed you to show it to me and watch me? Who is 'they'?"

Muscone said "The retired Deputy Director of the FBI. And here's the full story that I do know: Martin Nash and Julius Jefferson found a public storage facility storeroom that they believe was where McGinty's Materials were stored. When they went there, the rent had not been paid for the last half of the year, which would make sense if McGinty died earlier this year. Anyway, the storage room was completely empty, except for that playing card, lying in the exact middle of the floor."

"So someone in the FBI goes to Louella Hopper," I said accusingly, "and puts my family in danger by telling her I have McGinty's Materials. And then you make fucking jokes about it."

Jack started: "I know it looks bad----"

"YOU DAMN RIGHT IT LOOKS BAD!" I shouted, almost rising out of my chair. "And it's going to look one hell of a lot worse if I have to bury my wife and children because YOUR GOD-DAMNED FBI told a fucking reporter that I have those materials, and she was going blab it all over Kingdom Come!"

"I had nothing to do with that!" Jack yelled back. "I swear to God, Don! I didn't tell the Press a god-damned thing!"

"Then WHO DID?" I asked.

"I don't know!" Muscone said back.

"Find out!" I said. "And tell me."

Jack was about to say something when Cindy stood up. "Guys, I think you need to go. Let me talk to Don for a minute." Jack and Tanya exited the office. I turned to look at Cindy.

"Don, I think he's telling the truth." the Green Crowbar said. "I'm getting a vibe that he is genuinely concerned that he's lost your friendship, and he's not sure why. I believe him when he says he's being treated like a mushroom, and by his own people."

I nodded. "Well, so much for friendship, if I have to take my family into Witness Protection to keep them alive... and none of you will ever see us again if that happens, by the way."

"Come on, Don, is it really that bad?" Cindy asked. My gray eyes bored into her ice-blue peepers. And then I literally felt her get the insight:

"Oh my God." she said slowly. "How could you know how dangerous those papers are, unless you do know what's in them? You do know, don't you?"

"And that's why they've been destroyed." I said. "But that's not going to save my family's lives if people think they still exist. I've been given no time to control the narrative---"

*BUZZZ!*

Cindy literally jumped at the sound. I picked up the phone and said "Yes, Helena?"

"The Chief wants to see you and Commander Ross in his office, sir." said Helena.

"Okay, thanks." I said. "And you can go on home."

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

Cindy and I entered the Chief's office to find FBI Executive Assistant Director Owen Lange sitting in the chair in front of the Chief's desk.

"Have a seat, guys." said the Chief. Cindy and I took seats on either side of Lange. "Did you work out everything with Muscone?"

"No sir." I said flatly.

"I was afraid of that." Lange said in his scratchy voice. "Don, I don't expect you to trust me, either, but hear me out: I'm not sure what's going on, either, but I'm investigating it. I do think someone did an end run around Muscone. And I'm not sure why they were so irresponsible that they've put your family, and maybe your TCPD colleagues here at risk, but someone wanted to do you that dirty. Give me a chance to find out who it was, and why."