Deliver Us From Evil Ch. 02

Once back upstairs, I phoned City Detective Tony Long and asked him to come to the home. "And bring a cadaver dog." I requested...

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

9:45pm, Monday, August 2nd. The street in front of the home was now crowded with City Police vehicles, some burning their lightbars. City Police CSI's were going through the house as I talked with Tony Long and Detective Sapper Warren in the den room.

"E.J. Jefferson is our official liaison to the FBI, since Julius Jefferson is his cousin." Tony had said when they arrived and came up to us. "So I brought Sapper Warren, since I know you trust him."

"I better trust him; he's bigger than me." I said jokingly, then shook Sapper's hand. "How've you been doing, Sapper?"

"Kicking ass, since you cleaned out that corruption at the top of the CPD." Warren said. (Author's note: 'Who Watches The Watchers?') "The whole CPD is better for it."

Some minutes later, the cadaver dog arrived. I 'introduced' myself with a good dog-petting, then his handler took him downstairs. A moment later we heard barking.

"He's got something." the dog's handler called up the stairs. CSI techs went down, then we followed, Teresa and I putting on our masks. Moments later, two decomposing bodies were discovered behind the wall behind the heater/AC blower unit. The on-site M.E. went to work examining them.

Now in present time, the bagged bodies were brought up and taken away for autopsies. The dog had found no more bodies anywhere in the house, and had been taken home.

The M.E. said as he came out of the basement: "They've been dead for a long time, probably years. From the wedding rings still on the fingers, it looks like one is male and one is female."

I said "I suspect that they're Fred and Ginger Thomas, the former owners of this house." The M.E. said he'd start with them in his identification process, and took his leave of us.

I said "Tony, you're going to need to research the ownership of this house. The last thing I found was that a realty company bought it out of bankruptcy, but someone is paying the light bill and the HOA fees."

"We're on it." said Tony Long. "By the way, how did you know to come here? Did you know there were two dead people here? And do you think this is related to the car bombing today?"

"I got a tip from a C.I." I said. "And I didn't know there were any dead people until the dog sniffed them out. And yes, it's related--- oh, shit!"

I could see the front door of the home past the hallway. Walking through that front door were FBI Special Agent Peter Page and Federal Marshals Tommy Dugan and Kurt Powell. And following them inside were FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone, Supervisory Special Agent Julius Jefferson, and City Police Detective E.J. Jefferson.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I thundered loudly at Page, getting everyone's attention.

"That's none of your fucking business, shit eater!" Peter Page replied loudly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Investigating a State-level crime." I fired back. "You Federal Agents have no place here."

"Yes we do, as part of a Federal investigation." Peter Page said. "And the nature of it is none of your business."

"Bullshit!" Sapper Warren said. "You either tell us why you're here, or we'll arrest you for trespassing on a City Police crime scene."

Page said, his voice ugly, "I am a Federal Agent. You are not. Mind your place, boy!"

Sapper Warren was black, Page was white, and everyone knew they'd heard a racist insult as surely as if the n-word had been used. Sapper grabbed Page by the collars of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Who you calling 'boy', you son of a bitch?!" Sapper asked, his voice more than menacing.

Page was choking, but his hand was going for his gun. But Teresa Croyle was too fast. She came up and grabbed his hand and the gun, and pinched the soft webby part of his hand between the thumb and index finger as she twisted his wrist, forcing Page to release the weapon.

"Let him go!" Federal Marshal Dugan ordered, drawing his weapon.

"Put that away, Dugan." I said with surprising quietness as I brandished the red crowbar. City Police Officers and Detectives had surrounded Warren; they had his back, and their weapons were drawn and pointing at the Federal Agents.

"That's assaulting a Federal Agent, Commander." Dugan said.

"A Federal Agent that just called a black man a racist epithet, and we all heard it." I replied. "Sapper, don't kill the little prick. Dugan, get Page out of here before I finish what Sapper started." Sapper slowly put Page back on the floor, then bunched his fist and slammed it into Page's belly. Page bent over double, coughing and almost retching.

After he recovered, he reached his hand out for Teresa to give him his gun back. Instead, the Iron Wolf released the magazine and handed it to me. I rapidly stripped the bullets out of the magazine and put them in my pocket as Teresa worked the slide and ejected the round in the chamber. Then she began dismantling the weapon, and parts flew across all parts of the room. She made sure to damage the spring, and she kept the firing pin.

Jack Muscone said "Dugan, Powell, take Page back to the City Federal Building. Page is going to have to explain why he's lost control of his service weapon, and I have not excused that racist comment he just made. Get him out of here. Go." The Federal Marshals made the wise decision to escort Peter Page out of there.

I peered at Muscone. "Still spying on me?" I asked softly but venomously.

"Not on you." Muscone replied. "We were watching Page and the other Swamp Frogs. Page led us here. I don't know how he knew to come here, but he left the Federal Building and made a beeline for this place."

"At what time?" I asked. Jack gave the time, and I said "That makes sense. That was when I called City PD for the cadaver dog. He must've been following Detective Long. My apologies, Jack. You're off the hook... this time..."

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

As Teresa and I drove the Black Beauty on the road home at a high rate of speed, burning the embedded blue lightbars in case speed traps were ahead (and they were), I said "Goddammit!"

"What?" Teresa asked.

"All those precautions I took, getting Cindy to bring the Black Beauty, driving around to make sure we weren't tailed, radio silence, burner phones..." I lamented, "...and the Swamp Frogs got right around me by following the City Police Detectives!"

"The best laid plans, as they say." Teresa said, trying not to chuckle at me. "Did Page know what was going on there? Or did he come inside to find out what was going on?"

"He didn't just follow Tony. I said that to let Muscone save face." I said. "I suspect Page got a call from whoever was following Tony, and he got his bodyguards and drove over as fast as he could. I suspect he already knows whose house that was. And that's very, very bad."

"Why?" Teresa asked.

"Because it means they very likely know about Kevin Thomas." I said. "I've got a lot of work to do to keep him alive, much less be able to testify. It also is likely that Page saw the Black Beauty, and he and his fellow Swamp Frogs will now be on the lookout for it."

As we neared the Town & County line, Teresa said "Don, I think I need to tell Father Romano what's going on. It's going to go public, and I'd rather he hear it from me than from Bettina Wurtzburg."

"Sure." I said. "If you bring him to my office, I'll fill him in on all of it. By the way, how are you doing? This has to be tough for you, and Madden's death on top of it."

"I'm fine." Teresa said. "I'm more worried about how you are doing. You asked Alison and her people to look into it, and now Keith's dead. And I know how you take things like that very personally. But you can't blame yourself, you know."

"I know." I said. "And yes, I'm feeling that responsibility in having asked them to investigate that. But... shigata ga nai, neh? Nothing we could do. And Keith's sacrifice might lead us to the goal: taking down O'Leery..."

Part 12 - Media Matters

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, August 3rd, from the anchor desk at the KXTC studios. "A car bombing claims a journalist's life!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Keith Madden, a journalist for the Town & County Examiner Online, was killed when a bomb in the car he was in exploded. Let's go to our colleague with our sister station KSB in The City, Tim Sioban, for more. Tim!"

"That's right, Bettina." said Sioban as the feed switched to him, with the crime-scene-taped parking lot behind him. "The bomb that killed journalist Keith Madden was detonated by a timer trigger that went off approximately one minute after the journalist got in his car and sat down on the seat. We have with us Special Agent Nancy Harding of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms."

The camera zoomed out to show Special Agent Harding standing next to Sioban. He said "Agent Harding, thank you for taking a moment to speak with us. What can you tell us about this bombing? Is it an act of domestic terrorism? Or was a Media reporter specifically targeted?"

Nancy Harding: "Tim, we don't believe it is an act of general terrorism, neither by Islamists nor more local White Nationalists. We don't know enough yet to say that it was targeting Mr. Madden because he was a journalist, or if there was another reason for the targeted attack."

Sioban: "Do you know what story journalist Keith Madden was working on that might have caused him to be targeted?"

Harding: "No, we're not that far along yet in our investigation. And I would refer you to the FBI, who is investigating those aspects of the case."

"Thank you, Special Agent Harding." said Sioban. As the camera focused solely on him again, he said "Sources within the FBI have told the SNN News Networks that Mr. Madden may have been pursuing a story about White Christian Nationalists sexually molesting boys. They are looking for several people in connection with the case, including Fred and Ginger Thomas, a wealthy couple who disappeared months ago, and a woman that Mr. Madden may have been meeting with just before he was killed."

Photos of Fred and Ginger Thomas where shown, as well as a grainy image of a woman with reddish-blonde hair as Sioban said "If you see any of these persons, the FBI requests you contact them immediately. They ask that you not approach these persons, as they may be armed and extremely dangerous. Bettina, our condolences to you on the loss of Mr. Madden. Back to you."

Bettina: "Thank you, Tim! That was Tim Sioban of our sister station, KSB News. Before joining The Town & County Examiner Online, Keith Madden was our colleague here at KXTC Channel Two News. Our condolences to his family on his loss..."

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

"So what was the occupation of the deceased?" I asked as Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle, Sheriff Griswold, Chief Moynahan, Commander Tanya P. Muscone, and Chief Deputy Cindy Ross joined me in drinking coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. "I couldn't tell. They never said."

"Really?" Cindy said. "Keith's dead, and you're sniping at the Media?"

"No disrespect to Keith intended. He was one of the good guys." I replied. "I'm just pointing out how narcissistic the Media is. When one of their own dies, they inundate us with the fact it was a (air quotes) journalist that was killed. They're still trying to make all the world hate Saudi Arabia for their Crown Prince having a journalist killed."

After an awkward pause, Teresa said "Changing the subject... they gave the parents's names, but not Kevin's. Is that good or bad?"

"How did they get those names?" asked Chief Moynahan.

I said "I'm sure the Swamp Frog Feds leaked like sieves. Peter Page showed up at the Thomas home, so he knew the address and could look it up. And I'm sure the Feds demanded priority for any video footage of the area of the explosion, including inside the diner; ergo, they have that photo of the woman that Geiger and Madden talked to."

Tanya said "Well, at least you know that whoever they talked to wasn't a ruse. They put her photo up." I shook my head vigorously in disagreement.

I said "That would be exactly the thing to do to give her cover, to make us believe she was legit and not a plant on their part, or the perps's part, by pretending she's a wanted witness. And either way, she's a witness that I suspect will never be seen again."

Sheriff Griswold growled bitterly: "And that was a dirty trick, saying that the perps are 'Christian Nationalists', which is a narrative the Swamp Frogs in Washington have been pushing more and more lately."

"Biased, dishonest, and corrupt." I replied. "The three adjectives that best describe the Mainstream Media and their actions." The Sheriff nodded vigorously in agreement.

Cindy said "Why even talk about any of that, though? Or did the Press go rogue and do that on their own?"

I replied "I sus-pect that the Swamp Frogs and their deeply biased, dishonest, and corrupt Media allies are doing that to warn the Enemy that we are onto him, without having to say who it is by name."

"And it doesn't matter." said Teresa. "Alison is going public with it in her Unresolved podcast today."

"Izzz that wise?" Chief Moynahan asked.

"Yes sir." I said. "I advised her to do it. The Public not only has the right to know, it has the need to know. And Jack Muscone will finally know."

"Don't go there." warned Tanya. "Jack is really upset that no one, not even you or me, would tell him what's going on. But I think EAD Owen Lange will, when Lange flies in today..."

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

"Hello and welcome." said Catrina Pierce at 8:00am, from the KFXU studios. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me is Priya Ajmani. Hello, Priya."

"Hello, Catrina." said Priya. "Hello, everyone. Here's what's in the news. Our fellow journalist Keith Madden was killed by a car bomb in The City yesterday. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives issued a statement saying that the car bomb did not appear to be an act of terrorism, but targeted at the victim."

Catrina: "The FBI countered with a statement that the attack could have been the work of 'Christian Nationalists', which Attorney General Derrick B. Harland says is one of the most dangerous threats to the Nation. However, the FBI did not give a motive for why any 'Christian Nationalist' group would want to kill Keith Madden."

Priya: "The investigation of the fatal incident is ongoing. The FBI issued a statement saying they wanted to talk with Fred and Ginger Thomas, a couple that resides in The City suburbs; however, the City Police discovered two bodies in that home that formerly belonged to the Thomases, and tests are being run to determine if the bodies are those of Fred and Ginger Thomas."

Catrina: "Keith Madden worked for the Town & County Examiner. Executive Publisher of the Examiner, Alison McFarland, said in a statement, quote: 'We are devastated by the loss of our colleague Keith Madden, and our prayers are with his family'."

Priya: "Ms. McFarland says she will address the possible reasons Mr. Madden was murdered in her world-renowned podcast Unresolved later this afternoon. And we at Fox Eight News wish to add our condolences to Keith Madden's family, and we are all feeling the pain of this devastating loss in our Journalism family..."

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

"Almost the same broadcast." said Commander Tanya P. Muscone as my three Angels and I watched in my office. "And making sure to remind us that Keith Madden was a journalist."

I replied: "Except that the Fox Eight broadcast highlighted the differences between the ATF and FBI statements, and also made sure to connect Derrick B. Harland to the propaganda about 'Christian Nationalists', as opposed to it being a real issue with this case."

Teresa said "And they one-upped KXTC by reporting on the bodies found last night." I pointed at the Iron Wolf and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Cindy countered: "But KFXU did not mention the possibility that Keith died because he was looking into a sexual molestation case, and KXTC did."

I said "Because it's not confirmed. KFXU tends to wait on stuff like that, while KXTC will just throw mud everywhere, and not worry if it sticks or not, or is true or not. It's gonna get them sued one day... oh, wait!"

Cindy got up to go, saying "You just will not give KFXU credit for anything, will you?"

"I am suing them, you know." I fired back. Cindy just shook her head as she exited the office...

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

9:00am, Tuesday, August 3rd. My assistant Helena French buzzed me to announce two visitors. I asked her to bring them in, and I stood up as she opened the door to admit them. They were Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle, and Chaplain (Captain) Alberto Romano.

"Come on in, have a seat." I said, shaking their hands as they went to the hot chairs. "Would y'all like coffee, or water?" I offered before I shook hands. Both politely refused. I sat back down in my 'Command Chair' and said "How can I help you?"

Teresa motioned for Father Romano to speak, and he said: "Sir, I spoke with Commander Croyle about some strange things going on, and she asked me to come in and tell you about them."

"Sure. Go ahead." I said.

Father Romano said "As you know, there are living quarters behind the Catholic Church on College Street. Three priests and four nuns live in them. There are also quarters behind the Catholic Center on the University Campus. One full-time priest lives there, Father Bosley, and the other quarters are assigned to me."

Father Romano: "Father Bosley told me last night that the good Fathers at the Church were all recalled to The City, and they left this morning. He, Father Bosley, was not contacted, and neither was I. He only found out about it when one of the Church priests called him this morning and asked if he was going to ride with them."

Father Romano: "Bosley and I called around, and we found out that Cardinal O'Leery called an 'all hands on deck' meeting. The Cardinal is going to fly to Rome, to the Vatican. His Holiness Pope John Paul IV is much more seriously ill than they are revealing to the Public."

I said "And Cardinal O'Leery is a leading candidate to succeed him as Pope."

Father Romano: "I'll go you one better, sir: he is the leading candidate. In fact, if I were a betting man, which I'm not, I would put my money on Cardinal O'Leery being elected as our next Pontiff."

Father Romano; "Anyway, for the rest of my story: I heard about Keith Madden's death, and the scuttlebutt around the Station here is that our former colleague, Detective Geiger, might also have died but for the fortuitous intervention of the Most High. And as I told Commander Croyle, here, I've... heard rumors, that they were investigating Cardinal O'Leery for... despicable actions."

I said "What do you know? And what rumors have you heard?"

Father Romano said "I've been lucky, in a way. I was a Detective with the TCPD before my wife and unborn child died in that car crash years ago, and I've been Chaplain with the TCPD after I graduated Seminary. I've never been assigned to a Church. As such, I've never been subjected to the... temptations that other have been."

Father Romano: "I have heard some rumors that Cardinal O'Leery had been in homosexual relationships with younger priests, and there are also whispers that he... 'helped himself' to boys and young men, college aged. It is to my shame that I closed my ears to such talk, and said nothing to anyone about it."