The Third Coincidence Page 10

  “Mr. President, is this LW an American Carlos—a killer extraordinaire?” asked the reporter from CNN, making reference to the world’s most famous assassin, now in jail in Europe.

  “No.” The president fixed her with a stern stare. “There’ll be no cult status for this fellow.”

  Then the president pointed to Ms. Little, a local newscaster.

  “Mr. President, the Court is now three justices short. The Federal Reserve two governors short. It would seem the normal pace of dealing with replacements is slower than what is needed. Please tell us about your plans for processing nominees through the Senate’s confirmations committees.”

  At that moment, Senators Marshall Leland and Ruth Ann Mitchell, whose appearance the president had expected, stepped onto the rostrum.

  “You’re quite correct, Ms. Little,” the president replied. “The ordinary course, a reasonable pace under normal conditions, is inadequate in the current circumstance. Before dawn this morning, I met with Senators Leland and Mitchell.” The president gestured toward each as he said their names. “The leadership from both parties also attended that meeting. We reached unanimous agreement to fast-track the confirmations process. Let me emphasize that the nominees will all be worthy Americans who would graduate under the normal process. In no way will the Senate shirk its responsibility.”

  For the last question, in a bold move the president selected Ellen Sherman, the newest reporter on the White House beat. Talk was, she asked incisive questions.

  “Is it possible, Mr. President, that while his methods are deplorable, Commander LW may have a valid point in light of the absence of an election process for selecting these officials?”

  As if an unseen hand had twisted an invisible knob, the volume in the room went quiet.

  “Ms. Sherman,” the president began, “all of you, both here and listening everywhere, including LW, let me remind you that the people’s elected congressional representatives passed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, and an elected president signed it into law. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people that LW speaks of, enacted the Federal Reserve System.

  “Government does many good things. It also lives with the pressures of elections. Things such as lower interest rates and larger margins for buying traded securities could be very tempting ways to appeal to voters. We are fortunate to have the Federal Reserve Board making those decisions independent of the vicissitudes of politics.

  “As for what LW calls the ‘unelected Supreme Court,’ it is crucial these judges remain independent of politics, and, I might add, the Court has never exceeded its constitutional authority.

  “Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Senators Leland and Mitchell have agreed to remain to answer your questions regarding the work of their respective committees and the expedited process for confirmations. But please remember the committees chaired by these senators are very busy with this matter, so do keep your questions limited.”

  LW had watched the president’s press conference while eating his microwaved TV dinner. Tonight’s choice: meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans.

  He had heard what he had expected, the arrogance of power. Despite his avoidance of a direct answer, the president had been obvious. Steps were being taken to further protect the rats he planned to fumigate out of America’s house.

  He wedged the last slice of meatloaf into his small mouth without bothering to cut it, and then haphazardly stacked the sectioned plastic tray on top of the one from last night’s Salisbury steak, which sat balanced at an odd angle atop the one from the prior night’s southern fried chicken.

  Over recent days, the press had reviewed the top choices for nomination to the Supreme Court: Gerald Garfield, Sophia Washington, and William Ladd. For the Federal Reserve Board, the Senate’s Banking Committee had reported scheduling hearings for Dr. Manuel Acosta and Charlene Hancock.

  For over a year, Gerald Garfield had been strongly rumored to fill the next opening on the Court. As a result, LW had chosen Garfield for the honor of being the first nominee to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

  CHAPTER 24

  President Schroeder’s reported list of nominees includes few surprises.

  —A.P. Wire, June 11

  Rachel asked Jack to call everyone to the table so she could tell them about her intruder. Before she did, Jack told them all about his latest call from LW, steeling himself to remain calm while repeating the part about the death of his brother, Nick.

  Then Rachel gave them an overview, ending with, “After I found Jingles, I called in an FBI evidence team. I just got off the phone with them. Other than my dead cat, there’s nothing that proves anyone had come in.”

  “Had someone been in your home before last night?” Jack asked her.

  “I didn’t think so. Well, maybe I suspected, but now I’d say yes. What made you ask?”

  “Last night I found this propped against my front door.” He reached down and brought up a large manilla envelope. “It’s from LW. The lab found nothing that could help us.”

  “What was in the envelope?” Colin asked.

  “I hope this doesn’t embarrass you, Rachel,” Jack said, “but all of us need to know everything.”

  Rachel stroked her throat softly and nodded, then sat quietly with a questioning look on her face.

  Jack straightened the little prongs of the envelope’s metal clasp, pulled the flap up over them, and dumped a brassiere onto the table.

  “Son of a bitch,” Rachel said. “I thought I had put the bra on my bed but I didn’t see it after I showered. I have several just alike, so I blew it off after I found one on top in the hamper.”

  “Jack,” Colin asked, “how did you know LW sent the envelope and that the bra belonged to Rachel?”

  Jack reached inside the envelope and pulled out a sheet of plain white paper.

  “The words were clipped from magazines,” he said, “and attached with Elmer’s glue available in a zillion stores. The lab said he did not lick the envelope or touch the top of the glue bottle before applying it.”

  “Read the note, Jack,” Rachel said, her face now expressionless.

  He read:

  You might want to put this back where it came from, Jack. A nice size. I’m sure you agree.

  LW

  P.S.: I kept her panties for my own amusement. Maybe one of my militiamen will wear them as a mask.

  Rachel’s voice went husky. “I never missed my panties.”

  She didn’t give a damn about the bra. LW could hang his balls in the cups and hook it behind his waist, but her panties were personal. It sickened her to know that asshole possessed her scent as would a man with whom she had shared her love. She startled when Jack spoke again.

  “After I got that envelope, I ordered personal protection details for all of you. Next time Nora or Frank calls in, tell them. And let Frank know that protection is also set up for his ex-wife and his children. The same as is set up for the families of the targets.”

  “No,” said Millet. “No way. My house has the best security system in America. Set it up myself. I don’t want nobody messing around my place.”

  Jack pointed at the eccentric genius. “That’s it or you move into a CIA safe house and they’ll transport you back and forth daily. Take your pick. End of discussion.”

  “Crap! You always get your way don’t you, Mr. McCall?”

  “Yes, Millet, I do. Now which will it be?”

  “Shit. Have them come to my door tonight so I can familiarize them with my system before they set it off and embarrass themselves.” Millet slammed his chair against the wall and stormed over to the beverage area.

  “LW is telling us we aren’t off limits,” Jack said, paying no attention to the departure of the unruly Millet Yorke. “He’s telling us he knows who we are and where we live, and we don’t know him. Be careful. Don’t relax until you’re inside your homes and have checked the premises. The reporters who cover Metro PD reported that Fr
ank and Nora had been assigned to us, but to date, neither Millet’s name nor Colin’s has been reported. Still, we can’t assume just because the media doesn’t know about them, that LW doesn’t.”

  Millet stuck his head out of the kitchen door. “What about you, Jack?”

  “I get the same thing as the rest of you.”

  Rachel kicked off her shoes. “Let’s get our focus back on catching him. Millet and I stayed late last night. We’re organized. Before we quit today, we should have a decent guess at how big a list of air passengers we’re going to end up with.”

  “I’ve got good news,” Jack said. “Frank and Nora found a witness at the Resort at Depoe Bay, Oregon, one the locals didn’t have. There was a gardener working in some shrubbery about seventy-five yards away at the corner of the parking lot. He saw a van drive up and park. A man got out with flowers and headed up the path toward the honeymoon cottage. The gardener described him as white, medium height, about thirty years of age, an average build, wearing a red baseball cap. The gardener remembered the cap matched the roses.”

  “Did he see his face?” Colin asked.

  “No. When the deliveryman came back, he had the flowers in front of his face.”

  “He brought the flowers back?” Nora asked.

  “Odd, isn’t it. But the gardener was sure. The delivery guy brought the flowers back with him, and no flowers were found in the cottage.”

  “What about the van?” Rachel asked.

  “No company name and the gardener did not know the make. He only remembered a dark color and that it was quite new. The front desk had no knowledge of the flower delivery.”

  Jack glanced down at the notes he had taken while he had talked with Frank. “Neither the victims’ families nor their office staffs knew who sent the flowers. Nora found a florist in Newport a few miles south of the resort that made a sale of two dozen red roses arranged in a vase. A man picked them up. The clerk’s general description agreed with the gardener’s. The buyer came in at closing time and the store was busy. He doesn’t really remember the guy. Millet checked the statistics from the Florist Association and learned the overwhelming majority of flower purchases are paid with a credit card. This buyer paid cash. It doesn’t give us much, but at least the guy’s not invisible.”

  Rachel turned to Millet. “We need to concentrate on flights out of West Coast airports. Ask each airport’s security and the local police about abandoned dark vans. We can start with the airport in Portland, Oregon.”

  Jack pulled close a map of Oregon, found Depoe Bay, and ran his finger first to the north and then to the south.

  “Start with the airports in the San Francisco area and work north.”

  “Why start with the airport that’s farthest away?” Rachel asked.

  “Not because it’s farthest away, but because it’s to the south. For now, let’s assume the flower buyer in Newport and the deliveryman at the resort was our man. If he had been coming from the Portland Airport, he would likely have used a florist in Lincoln City to the north of Depoe Bay. But he bought the roses south of the resort.”

  Rachel shook her head easily and smiled, obviously impressed with Jack’s perception.

  “We believe LW has preceded each of his killings with thorough surveillance,” Jack continued. “The Breens had planned to honeymoon in Hawaii. Their D.C. security detail stayed with them until they went through airport security. The FBI office in Hawaii had agents at the airport on Maui. When the Breens didn’t show, Hawaii informed the bureau who learned of their flight to Oregon and began tracking from there. About that same time the locals in Depoe Bay ID’d the Breens and called it in.”

  “Why would Breen mislead the FBI?” Millet asked.

  “We can’t know for certain,” Jack said. “Perhaps to get away and be alone. Avoid the local media. Probably figured it would be more romantic. That if they told no one, not even the FBI, and didn’t use Justice Breen’s name or position they’d be safe by being anonymous. Truth is, judges are rarely recognized anywhere.”

  “But somehow LW tracked them,” Nora said.

  “Mrs. Breen’s mother, Mrs. Ashcroft, told the bureau her daughter informed her about Oregon by e-mail a week before the wedding and swore her to secrecy.” Jack went on. “Both the mother and father insist they told no one. That e-mail had to be the how LW knew. LW or someone in his militia must be a skilled hacker.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” said an inpatient Millet, running his fingers through his already tousled hair. “We get all that, but how does that make you give priority to the airports around San Francisco?”

  Jack swivelled his chair to face Millet. “We’ve reasoned that LW did surveillance on all his targets, so he had a San Francisco plan for William Powers, the Fed governor from that district. His plan for Powers likely included getting in and out of Frisco.”

  “So he used Frisco.” Rachel raised her eyebrows. “Even though it meant he had to drive to Oregon. Hey. Wait a minute. He sent his communiqué with FedEx in Redding, California, which he could pass through on the way back to San Francisco.”

  “Correct. But don’t fall in love with it,” Jack cautioned. “It’s still an educated guess. I just don’t see him leaving the place he had researched, San Francisco, to go through an area he probably had not researched, Portland. How do you guys react to this?”

  “It’s full of supposition,” Colin said, “but hey, we got nothing better.”

  Rachel pushed back her chair. “Let’s get on it.”

  There was, Jack realized, a refreshed sense of urgency in Rachel’s manner. And why not? She had become a target of LW’s twisted mind.

  Jack put up his hand. “If it isn’t looking right as you proceed, drop it, Millet.” Then Jack moved his attention to Colin. “What’s the latest on the lists of violent military people and agents?”

  “I spoke to the agencies an hour ago. They said tonight.”

  “That’ll have to do,” Jack muttered. “Hey, Millet. Can you work without Rachel?”

  Millet shrugged. “It’ll add some hours.”

  “Understood. You’re flying solo today then, at least for a while.”

  “Then leave me alone.” Millet abruptly turned and walked toward his desk.

  Jack looked at Rachel. “I’m sorry about . . . you know, having to discuss your bra and—”

  “No sweat. Now, what do you want me doing?”

  “Get with that great profiler lady at the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit. I want you, her, and the best here at the CIA to put your heads together and get us a preliminary psychological and physical profile of LW.”

  CHAPTER 25

  A Wall Street Journal article refers to Jack McCall as a shadowy figure of international intrigue.

  —Mel Carsten, D.C. Talk, June 12

  From an article in the Wall Street Journal, June 12:

  Jack McCall: A combination of official records and unofficial accounts disclose a muddled picture of the man President Schroeder has put in charge of the investigation into the deaths, and continuing threats to the safety of our Supreme Court justices and the governors of the Federal Reserve Bank Board.

  The first account, albeit it unofficial, states that a young McCall, after several years of Middle East postings, worked as the middleman between President-elect Ronald Reagan and a spokesman for the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the overthrow of then Iranian shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The sixty-six American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were released twenty minutes after President Ronald Reagan finished his inaugural address to the nation. McCall’s rumored role in that quick release has never been confirmed.

  The official records show McCall played an active role in formulating the plan for the possible removal of American personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of that country.

  In 1994, several years after al-Qaeda’s failed attempt to blow up the World Trade Center in New York, McCall was the on-the-ground leader in a covert oper
ation reported to have corralled Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The mission ended after the Taliban-ruled Afghan government publicly disclosed the planned American effort, demanding that U.S. troops be withdrawn from their soil.

  In the mid-to-late 1990s, McCall functioned as the liaison officer for George Tenet, the director of Central Intelligence, in his dealings with Saudi Arabia’s Intelligence director, Prince Turki al-Faisal. During those years the Saudi government’s intelligence agency tried unsuccessfully to capture Osama bin Laden.

  Jack McCall is rumored to have led a failed black operation in 2000, undertaken to bring back proof of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. That failure led to the establishment of a board of inquiry to determine whether or not McCall had been culpable in the failure. Two men died in the fiasco, including McCall’s younger brother, Nick. The board cleared McCall of all charges. The findings of that board concluded that the failure resulted from a leak traced to an intelligence officer in a Middle East country that had agreed to let the American force use its soil to stage the operation. After the hearing ended, McCall requested and received a sixty-day bereavement leave of absence. During that time, our sources report that the foreign officer who betrayed the operation was found dead.

  “We’ll be landing at Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport in ten minutes,” the Air Force captain announced. “Please fasten your seat belts low and tight across your middle and return your tray tables to their full upright and locked positions. We know you have a choice when you travel, so we thank you for flying with your United States Air Force.”