Trilogy: The Darkest Night

The doors on the other side of the elevator opened into a dark space when it stopped. Laura and I stepped out with Heinz's body, and the doors closed, leaving us in near-pitch blackness. The elevator's light had gone out; it, too, was dead. Laura got a strong flashlight out of her purse.

"Some kind of maintenance room." she said. We could hear the machinery of the air conditioning unit.

"I see a crack of light over there." I said, pointing forward. We made our way to it. It was a metal double door that, fortunately, opened from the inside. Going out, we saw some steps that led up to ground level, outside the Pharmacy Building.

Putting Dr. Heinz's mortal remains down, I got on the radio and called Tanya to come around to the other side of the Pharmacy Building. When she arrived, wondering how we got there, all I did was tell her who Dr. Heinz was, and to do a quick toxicology on him. She called the EMTs to transport Dr. Heinz to the morgue.

--

"It is just so sad." said Dr. Wellman. He and his wife Sally had come to the Mountain Nest to see Laura after hearing the news of Dr. Heinz's death. "His students are devastated. I'm pretty devastated by it myself. And I know he was like a father to you, Laura."

"Yes, sir, he was." Laura replied. Also in the room were Jack Muscone and his girlfriend Elizabeth. They'd come from the City to pursue the legal case against the rogue CIA agents, including the recalcitrant bitch being held in my jails.

At that moment, my mother came into the room with little Jim. Everyone 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed over him, and then, knowing it was the correct thing to do, Sally Wellman and Jack's girlfriend went with Phyllis to see Carole in the other room.

"So they cleaned out the lab?" Wellman quietly asked.

"Yes sir." I said. "Totally. And I'm not sure Dr. Heinz died of natural causes. I'm having my Crime Lab do a toxicology screen. I'll know more tomorrow."

"Wow, I didn't think Bartholomew Scott could make something like that happen that quickly." Jack Muscone said.

"I don't think Scott was the one behind this." I replied. "Jody Corrigan, maybe, but I think someone else came in and cleaned this up."

"By the way," Jack Muscone asked. "Any idea who those four shooters were that came in with the heavy firepower and saved you?"

"No." I said. "I figured it was Laura's or your guys, but you're both denying it. Whoever they were, I owe 'em a case of beer." I did not mention that I'd thought about just that... the identities of those guys. I did think that it was very possible they were the same guys or from the same group that had saved me from Ned at Ward Harvester. I had guardian angels, and was grateful for it.

"Okay, I'm beside myself wanting to know," Jack Muscone said, his small eyes getting as close to twinkling as they could, "how in the hell did you do that to Scott's desk?" Everyone looked at me, also wanting to know how I'd destroyed Scott's desk with one blow.

"Oh, you can't expect a magician to tell all his secrets." I replied. Neither Muscone nor Dr. Wellman would let me get away with that. "Okay, I'll tell you." I said. "I went from the hospital to the Pharmacy building and broke into Scott's office. I sawed the wooden desk from underneath until it was barely holding on, then cleaned up the sawdust. So when I popped in the next morning and hit the desk with the crowbar, Shazam! I figured I'd get the bastard's attention."

"You got that, all right." said Dr. Wellman. "He sent his resignation that night and I haven't heard from him nor seen him since. The desk is still there, by the way, still split in two. Whom do I bill for that mess, Lieutenant?" I hoped he was kidding.

"Just get whoever cleaned out the basement lab to clean that up." I said. "I have never seen a place made so empty so quickly, since they obviously had to work in night-time hours only."

"That's true." said Wellman. "I talked to Mr. Wargrave today, and he was totally shocked by the news, though I know he'd given money grants to some of those projects as well as the aboveground ones..."

Wellman caught himself and quickly moved to change the subject. "Okay, Laura, Dr. Heinz's students know you're going to take over what projects he had left, and at least get them to their advanced degrees before shutting it all down. I'll let you handle all that, and I appreciate you doing that extra work."

"Thank you, sir, I'm glad to do it." Laura said. "By the way, Don is doing all the funeral arrangements."

"Ah, that's good." said Dr. Wellman. At that moment, Mrs. Wellman, Elizabeth, and my mother showed back up, and the Wellman and Muscone parties made their goodbyes. It was late and Laura was barely hanging on. After checking up on a sleeping Carole in her crib, we went to the master bedroom, where little Jim was sleeping in his crib.

Laura was just standing there. I took her into my arms and she finally broke down and began crying. I held her for a very long time as she let it all out...

--

Supervisor Tanya Perlman came to my office the next morning. With her was Dr. Lawrence Woodrow, whom Tanya had called in to consult upon Barry Oliver's advice. He introduced himself by saying "Go Wildcats!" as he shook my hand. "Go Wildcats!" I replied; I liked him already. We made a few moments of small-talk about our mutual Chemistry degrees from our School before getting down to business.

"Hemlock." Tanya said. "I've never seen it before, but it's hemlock, the same stuff they gave Socrates to drink to complete his death sentence."

"I haven't seen this in years, myself." said Dr. Woodrow. "And that time was almost by accident; I just happened to be in the right time and place in Prague when someone committed suicide by it."

"Any signs of trauma or force on the body?" I asked.

"No sir." Tanya said. "But CMB said Dr. Heinz was almost dead of cancer as it was. He may have just decided to end his life."

"Not from what I know of that man." I said. "He was no quitter." There was no doubt in my mind that the destruction of that secret lab had included the destruction of Dr. Heinz's mind and body...

"Dr. Woodrow, I can't think you enough for consulting with us on this." I said.

"Lieutenant, it was fun." Dr. Woodrow said. "Although the occasion is sad, I really enjoyed working with Supervisor Perlman, and I hope I can work with your Crime Lab again."

"I'm sure we'll find opportunities to do just that." I said. I just love it when things fall into place. And a call to Molly confirmed that Cindy was getting better and better...

Part 6 - Plotting and Planning

"You're covering the death of some old Jew?" Katherine Woodburn said to Bettina Wurtzburg and Diane Williams, who were standing before her desk.




"He wasn't Jewish," countered Bettina, "but he saved a lot of them from the Holocaust. He was a hero for us behind the Iron Curtain, as well. The Israeli Knesset made a proclamation honoring him."

"So fucking what?" said Katherine Woodburn witheringly.

"University President Wellman has called and asked us to mention Dr. Heinz on our broadcast." said Diane Williams in her soothing but 'you-are-a-dumb-shit' voice. "But if you like, we can cover Daniel Allgood's campaign comments upon Cindy Ross's bravery." Woodburn grimaced; Diane Williams was not working out as well as she'd hoped, and she was proving as disloyal as Bettina.

"Okay, go with the Heinz story, but keep your comments brief." said Katherine. "We don't need to be praising some fucking Jew on this good station. Make sure you get something good about Harold Malone into your broadcasts as well." she called out to the backs of her reporters as they left the office.

Outside, Bettina said "Well, Diane, I think you might be blowing it in your opportunity to replace me here."

"I don't care." said the blonde reporterette. "I'm already sorry I left my last job for this. The pay raise isn't worth it. That woman is going to get this place shut down."

"I think there's a few things we can do." said Bettina. "Meanwhile, I have a couple of good stories for us to pursue, if you want to help me..."

--

State Bureau of Investigation Agents Richard "Dick" Ferrell and Steven "Ass" Ikea walked into the lobby of the Marriott Grande Hotel in the City and to the elevator that went to the suites on the upper floors. They had to show their badges to the security people, but their names were on the list to be admitted.

"What's this about?" asked Ikea as the rode up the elevator to the 18th floor.

"I'm not sure." said Ferrell as he watched the numbers tick up. "Director Lewis told us to go to Room 1822 and meet with a VIP who would explain things to us."

They knocked on the door to Room 1822. The door was opened by a short, husky man with a thin mustache and goatee beard, wearing a suit that did not adequately hide the firepower underneath the jacket. This man was security.

"Come in, gentlemen." said the security man. "Make yourselves at home. My boss will be in to talk with you very shortly. Can I offer you a drink, some water, green tea perhaps?" Both men declined. The security man left for a moment as the two agents looked around the room. There was money in this, Ikea had decided. Ferrell observed the sterility of the room; they were meeting someone in a 'neutral location', a place where none of his secrets could be given away. Likewise, anyone seeing them walk in would not know who they were meeting.

They did not have long to wait. The security man was back out within five minutes, and asked them to come into the back room. It was a makeshift office.

"Gentlemen, thanks for coming." said the man behind the desk. Both men recognized him. He was the billionaire Henry R. Wargrave. Wargrave had not gotten up to shake hands with them. He instead waved at the seats in front of the desk. "Please, be seated."

"Josh, hand them the files, please." Wargrave instructed the security man, who took two files from the edge of the desk and handed one to each agent. "As you gentlemen can see, this is a bit of information I put together. It seems that several enemies of our nation have been assassinated by a hit team. I have been able to show that there are only three people who took airplane flights to all of these places in the timeframe of the assassinations.

"One of them is an FBI agent, who I am sure you recognize, Agent Ferrell. I believe he beat the living shit out of you during the Jonas Oldeeds murder investigation." said Wargrave. Ferrell looked up at Wargrave over his eyelids, not raising his head, not liking having that hideous memory brought out so strongly.

"Another is one of the highest level CIA operatives in the country today." continued Wargrave. "I am sure you recognize her as the wife of a man who whipped you very badly a couple of times, Agent Ikea." Ikea nodded, his face a grimace.

"The third is the assistant of the second person, they flew to each of these places together." said Wargrave, then paused.

After looking at the materials, it was Agent Ikea that spoke up. "Mr. Wargrave, if I may ask, just what is it you'd like us to do with this information?"

"Agent Ikea, there is one other assassination that occurred, and in the same town where all of these three people were on that same day. Perhaps it will occur to you." said Wargrave. Ferrell looked stumped, but Ikea's eyes shot up.

"Jonas Oldeeds!..." Ikea said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Yes, Mr. Ikea." said Wargrave. "While I doubt Agent Muscone is the murderer, Dr. Fredricson is authorized by the CIA to lead what I call 'wet' teams. And her assistant, now Mrs. Daniel Allgood, is far and away the best marksman- er, -woman in the State, and among the very best in the country."

"I can see the great opportunity here, Mr. Wargrave," said Dick Ferrell, trying to assert himself into the conversation, "but where do you want us to take this?"

"Keep watching them while they're in our State." said Wargrave. "I suspect there is going to be an opportunity to catch Mrs. Allgood with her favorite sniper rifle... and you will spring in with a warrant to confiscate that rifle. Ballistics will very likely match the bullet that exploded the Reverend Oldeeds's head, and you will then be able to bring the Reverend's killer to Justice... and in a way, I might add, that will bring great pain to your buddy with the crowbar and his FBI friend."

Ikea's eyes sparkled at this most pleasant but unexpected opportunity. "I can't thank you enough for this information, Mr. Wargrave. I don't want to seem to be looking a gift horse in the mouth, but... why are you doing this for us?"

"Mr. Ikea," said Wargrave, "do you remember when Captain Malone let you down, threw you to the dogs and let the Iron Crowbar beat the living shit out of you? It really felt like you had the rug pulled out from under you, and by someone you trusted." Ikea nodded, his face a mask of hatred as Wargrave continued "Well let me just say that I feel your pain; I've had a similar experience, and I want to administer some payback. You get your Reverend's killer, you both look like the best agents this side of Elliot Ness for solving the Oldeeds case, humiliating Muscone in the process, and bringing pain to the Iron Crowbar and his family. What more could one do with such a few simple strokes?"

Wargrave moved to close the meeting. "Gentlemen, if you will just leave those files on the desk, Josh will escort you to the door. Have a good day, and best of luck in solving the Oldeeds case."

The agents left. "We'll have to recreate those airline records," said Ferrell, "but that'll be easy enough, and then we have several judges we can go to which can help us out. Director Lewis is going to be ecstatic about this. It'll bring 'Operation Restoration' a huge boost."

"Yes." said Ikea. He was much more thoughtful. He wanted to find the killer of Oldeeds badly, and this might be his inroad with the Oldeeds Ministries... but he still had deep concerns about Henry R. Wargrave's true motives. He had no illusions about someone like himself playing in that man's circles, unlike that idiot the Iron Crowbar...

Part 7 - The Hope

Dr. Heinz's funeral was held in the University Chapel. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people came. Dr. Wellman and his wife were there, of course. Dr. Heinz's students had come, many professors of the Psychology, Chemistry, and Biology Departments and their spouses attended. Martin Nash came with his girlfriend Sandra Speer; in fact, Jack Muscone's entire team and many other FBI agents were in attendance. And there was international representation: the German Government had sent a representative from their consulate in the City.

But the biggest surprise for me was when a distinguished older man came up to me and introduced himself. He was the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, and he spoke during the funeral: "On behalf of the Prime Minister and the People of Israel, I wish to express the condolences of Israel upon the passing of our good friend." he intoned before giving an account of the many lives Dr. Heinz had saved over the years, many who had emigrated to Israel, many who now had children, grandchildren,... great-grandchildren.

Laura had said she didn't think Heinz was ethnically Jewish, and he'd accepted Christianity when he came to America. The Presbyterian minister who Dr. Heinz had been friends with for years gave the eulogy.

I was dressed 'to the nines' in my most formal police uniform. Medals instead of ribbons, the Medal of Valor around my neck. The University ROTC Ranger Company had asked to be pallbearers for Dr. Heinz before I could even approach them (had Laura contacted them?), and of course I accepted their offer. Dr. Heinz's coffin was draped with an American flag: he had died a CIA officer after years of service to his adopted Nation.

I'd had no trouble getting the Town & County Council to allow Dr. Heinz to be buried in the hero's area of Cemetery Hill, in a place of honor not far from where Officer Pete Feeley's grave was. Dr. Heinz's grave site faced East, the only death request he was known to have made.

The Cadet Rangers ceremoniously folded the American flag and handed it to me, and I presented it to Laura, who was as close to family as the old man had. My wife was wearing all black, with a lace veil. Tears streamed down her face under the veil as she accepted the flag. I didn't know it at the time, but that flag would remain in Laura's office until she would retire, many years into the future.

The saddest yet most uplifting part for me was when the Israeli ambassador and his entourage asked me to stand with them as they sang the 'Hatikva', the eons-old anthem of Jewish hope and Israel's national anthem. I felt very honored as they sang...

Kol ʻod balevav penimah

Nefesh Yehudi Homiyah

I could not hold back tears, knowing that one of the people Dr. Heinz had saved was my great-grandmother. Without him, I was not even here...

Ulfa'atey Mizrakh Kadimah

ʻAyin letzion Tzofiyah

Dr. Heinz was at Home, his eternal Home... even so, I vowed that he would be avenged here on this earth. It was a dark night now... but with Cindy recovering, there would be a new dawn, I promised myself...

ʻOd lo avdah tikvatenu

Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim

Lihyot am chofshi be'artzenu

Eretz Tziyon v'Yerushalayim

--

To be continued.