Devil’s in the Details, page 32
I frowned looking at my phone as I shoved it in my pocket, I needed to wait longer before I asked her to give up her crappy, drafty apartment and move into this big empty house with me.
I still had to work out how I would navigate my second life with her in it, another thing that I had to talk to Dani about. An eventual exit strategy and or a retirement plan from Voltaire.
In the BMW, I called Dani.
"I was just about to email you, Professor." Dani's tone was less snarky than usual.
"I’m on the way to meet with Scarlett. She was knocking on my neighbor's door this morning." I felt my irritation rise, this meeting was going to be a struggle to keep calm and not resolve to other tactics I knew would work better than polite conversation.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I had gotten a ping from her phone when she made a call out from your address, I missed it. The basement has spotty signal and I was elbow deep in Scarlett secrets."
I gripped the steering wheel tighter as I left my subdivision, "And?"
Dani cleared her throat, "Let me head to the bathroom, I need to pee."
I sighed hard at Dani's code talk. Telling me she had to pee was her way of letting me know she had sensitive information. A minute later Dani cleared her throat again and sounded like she was in a tunnel, "Sorry. I had to zap myself before I continued. I dug deeper and it turns out that nosy Nancy applied to a ton of federal agencies in hopes of becoming a LEO at the highest level. DEA, FBI, ATF, border patrol, and even TSA, all kicked her back since her degree wasn't as diverse as desired these days. So I dug deeper and found that she did pick up a one year internship with Army Intel."
Dani paused, "A certain fat bird happened to be at a recruiter's office when she went in to try and join up for the cause. He rerouted her to an internship, promising her the same bullshit he promised us."
I felt my jaw clench as I flashed back to the practiced speech I heard sitting in a secured room in the Pentagon, listening to the fat bald fucker talk about how intelligence was the heart and soul of any war effort and that female officers were the future.
If I only had the sense to see it was just a sales speech and he was selling me all the swampland in the world. "Continue."
Dani chuckled, "I knew this would get your whiskers in a twist. Sadly, the good detective was not cut out for the "internship." She was smart but not smart enough for what the Colonel was looking for. She finished out her internship and was given a thanks, but no thanks, and cycled back down to local police and that brings us to the present."
Dani heaved out a sigh, "The thing is, if she got the same training you and I did, she will be able to pick up on certain characteristics about you, Victoria. The same diversion tactics we both rely on in conversation and all the other details that will point her in the direction that you were the masked marauder in the metro station. It could be why she is super focused on you. Any idiot who knows how to use Google, will find pictures of you with the President, the first lady and the fat fucker grinning like he won the goddamn Super bowl standing next to you. If she's relatively intelligent, she will put A next to B and maybe end up at C. C being that fucking piece of shit Colonel."
She took another slow breath, trying to calm down her own building rage at the man who had a hand in altering both of our lives into this morbid cloak and dagger one. "Now, I double backed and scrubbed your record down to the basics, your navy history and nothing else. I’m currently doing some other digging in places I do not belong and see if Jennifer Scarlett ever met anyone from Voltaire while in the internship."
I groaned, looking up to see a ubiquitous old grey police cruiser pull into the parking lot of the coffee shop, "Shit." I watched the detective exit the car and walk inside the shop. "I'll have to go the teacher route. Put on the same act I do every day for my students." I rubbed my temple, "Any suggestions?"
Dani chuckled, "Aside from throwing Dante on her ass, and hacking the police department mainframe and having her fired for evidence tampering, no, Professor, I have nothing. This is a smelly pickle for sure. A pickle who I think has an agenda that might be more than just tying up a cold case. I’m still extracting Voltaire files through the backdoor and am only on the third year you and I were in. I’m nowhere near anything that would suggest if either the patriots or the tea drinkers are going rogue and contracting out to root out moles. The old lady has been spazzy lately. Speaking of spazzing, you should have a blue envelope in your mail. I shoved it in your mailbox early this morning, hand delivery of our yearly face to face review with the old lady and old man after your vacation."
Still rubbing my temple, feeling my head throb harder as I forgot that every spring, Dani and I had to sit in front of our "employers", I squeezed my eyes shut, "Keep an eye on...everything." I sat up straighter in the seat, "I'll message you after this meeting." I hung up, taking a deep breath to shake away the heavy feeling I now had, to try and replace it with the easy going attitude I would need to deal with the detective and be the good, professional military Professor who just happened to be a Good Samaritan one night.
Walking towards the coffee shop, I absently smoothed down the brand new, non-Navy, shirt I put on. I didn't want to do this today, or really ever. I wanted to be home, with Alex. That was what was infuriating me the most. That this detective was taking time away from us. It was already terrible I had wasted so much of it over the last year, and the last few days hiding. Now I had another new issue to deal with, one that inevitably had me hiding and burying things.
Stepping into the coffee shop, I spotted Scarlett immediately, throwing her a quick wave with a smile as she sat in the furthest corner of the half empty shop. She smiled back, a tight lipped one, but it was a smile. I already didn't like how this was going.
"Afternoon Detective, I apologize for having you come all the way out to my side of town, but it was the most convenient, as I’m still on vacation and really won't be back near the city for a few weeks." I set my phone and keys down, waving to the one waitress to bring me a drink menu, "Can I get you anything?" I glanced politely at the detective.
She shook her head, "No thank you Commander, I don't drink coffee." She clicked her pen open as she reached for her notepad, "I appreciate you fitting me into your vacation. I had tried to get in touch with your secretary, but I kept getting redirected to an answering machine."
I nodded as I pointed out the coffee I wanted to the cheery waitress, "That does happen. I have put in a request for a new secretary, but I doubt that will ever come to fruition." I smirked, "You know how the government works." I leaned back in the chair, "As for fitting you in, you're welcome. I figured after you went poking around in my nice old neighbor’s business, it was time to cut to the chase and sit down with you." I watched as Scarlett's pupils dilated for a second before returning to normal. I was already getting under her skin and it was throwing her off.
"I happened to find your address and tried to knock on your door." She cleared her throat, "Anyway, I just have a couple of questions and then I will leave you be."
I held my tight professional smile, watching the woman fidget and scribble on her notepad. I could clearly see why the Colonel dumped her from his internship. She had too many spontaneous and uncontrollable movements that would give her away under the easiest interrogation.
Scarlett straightened up in her seat, "First off, are you in contact with Ms. Ivers? She mentioned that you had been friends but were drifting apart."
"We’re still friends and working on reconnecting. She had actually called me after you stopped by the hospital and it kind of started a new conversation for us. So, yes I am in contact with Ms. Ivers and we are friends." I looked her directly in the eye and didn't waver, smiling more as she had to look down from the intensity of my stare.
"Okay. Now going back to that night Ms. Ivers was attacked. Is there anything you can tell me about that night? When you were on the platform?"
I looked away from the detective, taking the large coffee mug from the waitress, whispering a thank you before I turned to make eye contact once again. "First, I wasn't on the platform during Ms. Ivers' attack. I heard a scuffle from the street as I walked past. It sounded like a moaning, groaning. I peered down the staircase and that's when I saw Ms. Ivers trying to climb up, or rather drag herself up the stairs. I rushed down to help her, carry her up and that is how I ended up taking her to the hospital." I picked up the coffee, sipping it. The detective was good, but not as good as I was. She had purposely said when I was on the platform, hoping I would take the bait and lead into how I was on the platform.
Scarlett scribbled, keeping her head down. "You didn't see the whole platform? Or anyone that stuck out of the ordinary around Ms. Ivers?"
I shook my head, "No. As I said, I only went a few steps down to Ms. Ivers, no further."
Scarlett glanced at me, pausing to see if I had anything else to add. She started to tap her pen against the tabletop, a sign that she was trying to think of a new route to take with me. My answers were firm, no hesitation and direct, telling her that I was being honest and accurate with my placement on that night. "Can I ask you about your military service? What was your duty station in the Navy?"
I raised my eyebrow, setting the mug down, "I can tell you already know. You probably did a web search of my name?" I smiled pleasantly at the woman.
She nodded, her mouth curving in an embarrassed smile, "I did, yes." She shrugged, "I won't press if it's too difficult to talk about, you survived a lot and I respect your service to the country." Her face flushed a bit, "I just need to know if you possibly had any advance warfare training, tactical training or do any martial arts in your spare time."
I chuckled shaking my head, "No, no. The only physical training I have under my belt is the basics I learned at the Naval Academy. The whole big padded Q-tip fights on a log over a mud pit?" I grinned as the detective laughed with me, "After that, it was only the basics, the yearly training, and nothing more. I was an Intelligence Officer in the Navy, but even there I was more of an ambassador for refugees and the United States. My commanding officers sent a few female naval officers into some of the villages around Baghdad to help with aid for women and children." I reached for the coffee, "Not to be morbid, but if you read the press about my incident, you'll see that I’m clearly not a fighter, just a survivor."
Scarlett kept her smile as her face grew a deeper red, "I did and I’m not judging you at all, Commander. Many of us believe you are a hero." She cleared her throat again, I was succeeding in making her feel awkward and throw her off me in every little aspect she thought she had me. "I just had to follow through on a few hunches. Patch up a few ideas I had of who possibly could have murdered Ms. Ivers' attackers."
I faked surprised interest, "I thought that was ruled a junkie on junkie crime? That the men responsible turned on each other due to PCP or meth?" I blinked a few times, "Are you suggesting that I might be responsible?" I chuckled incredulously, "You must have read in my service file that I was medically retired from the Navy due to my injuries, and it took me years to fully heal. Even now, I still have some mobility issues from nerve damage and burn scars."
"I did, yes." Scarlett was now shifting uncomfortably in her chair, "The reason why I needed to meet with you, is one of your hairs was collected as evidence. It was the only clue I had in a year, and you were never formally a part of the investigation, just the woman who helped Ms. Ivers to the hospital." She paused, "Like I said, it was a new clue. A hope you were a witness to something that could help me find some more leads."
I kept my gaze on her, "Well, I can assure you, I was only there to help. I do recall it there was a breeze that night and my hair was down." I sipped from the mug, "But I understand your determination in seeking out proper justice. Junkies or not, murder is murder. All I know is that I have seen a lifetime of fighting and death overseas that I’m more of a peacekeeper. I don't even attend the Academy boxing matches or the drill weekends. I choose to teach my students how to survive in a fight based off of my experiences and then fill their heads with boring facts about generals and historic battles."
Scarlett looked in my eyes, watching me for a second as her own gaze softened. The hardened detective looking at a possible suspect had faded into a sympathetic woman sitting across from a weary war hero. "I understand Commander Bancroft." She closed her notebook and set her pen on top of it, "I appreciate you meeting with me."
"Of course." I went to reach in my pocket for a few dollars when Scarlett held up her hand, digging in her suit pocket.
"Let me buy your coffee, least I can do for interrupting your vacation." She smiled genuinely as she set a ten dollar bill on the table before she grabbed her notepad and pen and stood up.
She then extended her hand. I stood up and took it, shaking her hand firmly. "Thank you for the coffee Detective Scarlett, I’m sorry I wasn’t more of a help to you."
Releasing my hand, she shook her head, "You have done plenty, I can now cross a few more things off my list and go back to the drawing board." She took a step away, "I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation, Commander Bancroft."
I whispered a polite thank you, and watched the woman walk out the coffee shop, get into her plain grey police cruiser and drive off. I let out a breath, letting my boring and innocent facade slip away.
Picking up my phone and keys, I dug out another ten dollar bill and laid it on top of Scarlett's. As I walked out of the shop, I dialed Dani, not even waiting for her to say a word, "Scarlett is a dud. I can see why the Colonel dropped her from the internship."
Dani blew out a harsh laugh, "Really? Because her phone just pinged an outgoing call to a number that is attached to a bank of servers in the Pentagon, redirecting her call to a false front."
I stopped in my tracks, "Don't say it."
"Too late, I'm going to say it anyway, a false front that Voltaire uses, particularly one of the Colonel's favorite. Somerset Exports."
"Fuck me." I bit the inside of my mouth to hold back screaming, "What do you think this means Dani?"
"It could mean a few things. Since the police departments are riddled with Voltaire people, one of my contacts could be rerouting her to one of ours. It could mean that she is being played and this is the means to an end for the case of nurse blue eyes." Dani's voice was slightly higher, meaning she was curious about why Scarlett would have a Voltaire front's information. "Big conspiracy theory thought? I need to start hacking deeper into the mainframe, find out if that fucking fat bird is still alive."
I walked quickly to the BMW, "I thought he was a casualty of that embassy explosion in Syria three years ago."
"If dreams could come true, but nothing is as it seems with Voltaire." Dani started clicking rapidly on a keyboard in the background, "Let's play it cool, I’m running pings on everything I have right now. I will make a few calls to my metro boys and I will get back to you. I say if twenty four hours goes by with nothing, we are in the clear. Case closed and you can go back to disrobing your nurse and I can go back to being the reason why the old lady is losing her mind about mainframe hacks."
I hopped into the BMW, starting the car before the door was closed, "Jesus Dani, be careful." I had known for years Dani was internally hacking Voltaire's mainframe since the moment she handed me my unedited mission file from Baghdad. She was on a mission and was peeling apart layer after layer of the secrets Voltaire hid from the world and the people they worked for.
She laughed, "I will, always am. She trusts me implicitly ever since I exposed Banks three years ago for his own mainframe debacle. Anyway, I need to get to work and you need to get to nurse blue eyes. If you don't hear from me, consider it a good thing. Enjoy your vacation and try not to get her pregnant."
I opened my mouth to curse at her, but was hung up on in the middle of her obnoxious laughter. Throwing my phone into the console, I left the coffee shop and raced home. My gut was all over the map, mainly pointing in the direction that Dani was right. Scarlett was probably being rerouted by one of our inside guys. Trying to clean up the mistakes they made when the evidence didn't disappear with the case file after it was closed a year ago. But deep down, something nagged at me. In particular, the vague connection she had to the Colonel, the internship and to one of his favorite fronts he had used to recruit Dani and I almost ten years ago.
The only thing that kept me at ease was the fact that I had successfully thrown Scarlett off of me. I could see it in her eyes and the way she felt she needed to buy my coffee. I had succeeded in giving her the impression that I was nothing more than what I presented at that table. Not the killer she was looking for, the woman who eliminated four men without breaking a sweat.
* * *
When I arrived back at my house, I couldn't help but smile seeing Alex's car parked at a crooked angle in the driveway. My heart starting to race as I couldn't wait to see her, more as I got out of the car and could hear her voice mixed with Mary and Dale's as they laughed, talking about flowers and shrubs.
Inside, I tossed my keys on the side table right inside the door and went for the back patio, when I glanced at the den and remembered what Dani had said about the blue envelope. Taking a quick detour, I moved to my desk and snatched the thick blue envelope. I already knew what was inside, the date and the time, things that never changed from year to year. Dani and I would always meet on the same last Thursday in June at exactly one p.m. exactly, and spend exactly one hour receiving our yearly performance review. I would always receive some sort of pay increase, Dani would be given an action plan and a promise of possible promotion within the next year. Dani and I would then leave the office at exactly two p.m. She would gripe and bitch as I took her to lunch at the diner down the street. We would then go our separate ways and not speak unless it was for a new job.
