“Hey, Agent Maxell, can you come in here please?” Raleigh asked the agent who had walked past his door.
“Yeah, What’s up, chief? By the way, you can call me Chance. We are gonna be working together,” Chance said as he sat down in front of Raleigh’s new desk.
“I just wanted to let ya know myself, Sergeant O’Hara, and Major Chambers will be heading over to the detention center to start interviews. Major Chambers was able to get all the guards and visitors the day of the murders of Jared and Semeana Thompson, so I doubt we will be back today.” Raleigh leaned back in his chair then turned slightly to grab his laptop bag.
“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve got to run down some leads on Jahan and the Senator that Langley was able to track down for me. When I get some information, I’ll give you a call. If you find out anything, I’ll have my cell on. Otherwise, we will chat soon.” Chance stood up and extended his hand to Raleigh. “We both have jobs to do, and as long as we keep each other in the loop, I think we will work fine together.” Chance and Raleigh exchanged handshakes and Raleigh headed toward the door. Samantha and Matt were already waiting in the hallway to head out to get the interviews started.
“We’ll talk later, Chance. Be careful out there,” Raleigh replied as he motioned for Samantha and Matt to follow him.
“Will do, Chief. You too,” Chance said as he crossed the hallway to his office.
***
When they arrived at the detention center, a crowd of news reporters and cameras surrounded the entrance of the building, so Matt turned around and had Raleigh and Samantha follow him to the side entrance. “No need to mess with those news crews right now. We will never get away from them if we stop and give a quote. Besides, the general wants a lock down till we know something concrete.”
Raleigh paced himself a little quicker to catch up with Matt and left Samantha a few paces behind. “Hey, do you have any idea how many we are interviewing today? I got a couple things I wanna take care of before the end of the day, and I wanted to see if you could keep Sammie busy for an hour or so while I go do that?”
“Yeah buddy, sure. What’s the big secret?” Matt queried, trying to pry the details, but Raleigh stood steadfast.
“I promise I will tell ya but not right yet. Not here, gotta wait until Sammie’s not around.”
Matt gave Raleigh a grin and a raised eyebrow. “Oh, I gotcha. I will take her over to the Twisted Kitty, but I still don’t know how I am gonna get her to go with me and leave you behind.”
Raleigh thought for a moment. “Well, I hadn’t thought of that yet. I will let ya know. But we gotta be sneaky—she can spot a con a mile away.”
“I got that vibe about her. She is a lot like you,” Matt said as he patted his buddy on the shoulder then stuffed his hand into his pocket to retrieve the key for the side door before the reporters caught them and ran their way.
It wasn’t but seconds, and Samantha had caught up with them as Matt unlocked the door. Raleigh motioned for Samantha to go in first. “Ladies, first,” Raleigh said as he looked at her, giving her a smile out of the corner of his mouth, and his eyes lit like little fireflies. She walked past him, and the scent of her perfume filled his nostrils and shot right to his crotch.
Raleigh grabbed Samantha by the arm as she passed and pulled her in, whispering in her ear, “I love the way you smell. I especially love the scent of sex on you and how you smell when I have my face between your legs.” He smiled and let loose of her arm. Samantha turned to look at him, their noses almost touching. She smiled then winked and said, “Just wait till you see what I got for you tonight.”
“Oh, about that. I gotta run to the post exchange to get a haircut when we are done here, but I am gonna drop you off at the hotel and meet you at the Twisted Kitty for dinner and to hang out with the crew. Is that okay?”
Samantha smiled and said, “Of course, we don’t have to be together twenty-four-seven, only twenty-two-seven.” Then she winked and started toward the break area when she turned back around and said, “We have a lifetime to spend together. Besides, I wanna surprise you with something I bought anyway. So it works out. We will both get something we want. Let’s get in there, get some coffee, and get started, or neither of us is gonna get anything tonight.”
“I’ll be ready, darlin’. Then I gotta pack to fly to Bama to break the news to Jared’s daddy. It will be a quick trip there and back,” Raleigh replied as he poured them each a cup of coffee.
Samantha took a sip then asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you? I don’t mind.”
“I know, and I want you to, but I need you back here. I will only be gone until Friday, twenty-four hours, darlin’. And besides, I think Matty is gonna pick you up at the hotel and drive you over to the Twisted Kitty to meet up with the guys and me. I will have a surprise for ya when you get there.”
***
When Raleigh and Samantha entered the waiting area, it was filled with at least twenty soldiers all waiting to be interviewed. Raleigh turned to Matt. “Are these all the soldiers on duty that night, or does this clusterfuck also include the visitors?” Before Matt could even answer the question, Raleigh had his answer. He recognized one of the soldiers waiting, and it was one of his guys from the 9th, Staff Sergeant Zackary Adams. They had served together for years, and Raleigh hadn’t seen his friend in over a year. When the two of them made eye contact, it was as if the time had never passed.
“Adams!” Raleigh yelled, and he jumped from his chair and bolted over to Raleigh, shaking hands and exchanging courtesies.
“Chief, how the hell have you been? Haven’t seen you in quite some time. Where ya been hidin’?” Adams asked.
“I’ve been working in Birmingham with General Winfield. You remember him, don’cha?” he replied.
“I think so. Was he your buddy from back home?”
“One and the same. Whatcha doin’ here?” Raleigh asked, almost puzzled to see him.
“Oh, I got called in, not sure exactly why. Was told to report here, that I was on a list to be interviewed.”
“Gotcha, well we have had some crazy stuff happening the last several months, and we are just doing some routine interviews. Hang out, and I will try to get you in quickly so you can get back to work. Y’all are getting ready to leave soon, aren’t ya?”
“Yep, next week they say. Jenny is getting ready to pop any day now,” Adams replied.
“How many does that make now, man?” Raleigh asked.
“This one will make number three.”
“Do you know which it is?” Raleigh said, smiling over at Samantha, who was standing behind Adams getting a list of everyone’s names.
“Yeah, another girl. I don’t mind. Jenny, though, she might, but I will just keep trying till we get a boy,” Adams replied, smiling.
Raleigh laughed and said, “I bet. But I think Jenny might, once you get close to an offensive starting line-up.”
Adams let out a roar of laughter and replied, “Chief, yeah, I think you’re right. You are better with women than I ever was.”
Raleigh put his hand on his old friend’s shoulder. “Well, that’s true!” Raleigh laughed. “We will chat in a little while. I gotta go get set up. I will let Sergeant O’Hara know to get you in first. You got better things to do than to hang out in a waiting area all day.”
“Thanks, Chief, I appreciate that, but if you don’t mind can I wait and be last, so we can catch up some? Besides, if I go back now that means I will have to find something to do, and if I am here then I can just hang out and watch a little television. I wanna talk to you about maybe pulling some strings with the Colonel too. I really wanna stay here for Jenny when she goes into labor,” Adams said as Raleigh started to walk out into the hallway.
“I’ll see what I can do now that I’m back.”
“You’re back?” Adams said with pure excitement in his voice.
Raleigh stopped for a moment and told Adams all about it. “Yes, I’m back for good. I will be running missions soon, so be ready cause I am gonna run the shit out of y’all slackers.”
Adams laughed. “Bring it on, Chief. We’ve missed ya. Have you told anyone else?”
“Nope, brother, you are the first. I figure I will let the guys know tonight at the Twisted Kitty. You and Jenny are coming, right?”
“Chief, we wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Adams said as he sat back down in the waiting area.
“Great! I’ll see you in a few minutes. Let me head on back and get started,” Raleigh said as he headed down the hallway.
***
“We have a couple of officers we should probably talk to first then go from there,” Samantha told Raleigh as he walked into the interrogation room. “I have all your stuff laid out, and I have my note pad. The statement forms are on your right with some extra pens, and I put out your note pad and your favorite pen,” she explained as Raleigh got settled behind the table. Matt came in and sat next to him along with Captain Lance Bishop, one of the general’s JAG officers as witnesses.
The men exchanged pleasantries, then Raleigh asked Samantha, “Go ahead and bring in the first victim.” The men laughed, but with an air of caution. They didn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression, that they weren’t taking the investigation into the two murders seriously. It was also a welcomed laugh as Jared and Raleigh had been close. Some thought that Raleigh should recuse himself from the inquiry, but he had decided he could be open-minded, especially after he had spoken with JAG and got the okay to stay on the case.
Samantha called, “First Lieutenant John Nelson, are you still here, sir?”
“Yes, Sergeant, right here,” the lieutenant answered.
“Are you ready to go back, sir? The Chief and Major are waiting,” Samantha said as the lieutenant got up and followed her to the interview room.
“Wait right here, sir. I will let them know you are here,” Samantha explained as she knocked on the door and waited for Raleigh to call her in. When she entered the room, she told the men their first interview was a First Lieutenant John Nelson.
“Shall I have him come in now, Chief?” Samantha asked.
“Yes, Sergeant, show him in. Then be seated so you can take notes,” Raleigh requested.
Samantha peeked out the door and called to the lieutenant, “Come on in, sir.”
The lieutenant opened the door and stood in front of the two men seated, rendered his salute to the major, and reported in. “First Lieutenant John Nelson reporting as ordered, sir.”
Matt quickly replied, “Yes, yes. Lieutenant, please be seated, we’ll get started, and we’ll try to make this short and sweet.”
“Thank you, sir,” Lieutenant Nelson replied.
Matt looked to Raleigh and said, “Chief, why don’t you get started first?”
“All right, sir. Lieutenant, I will get right to the point. Why were you at the jail the other day? And why were you there in the middle of the night?”
He paused for a moment and replied, “Chief, well the reason I was there at three a.m. was because I had two of my enlisted soldiers get picked up for fighting at the NCO club, and I had to come bail their dumb asses out of jail. I will tell you one thing, those two idiots are still doing extra duty.”
“Ah, okay. That makes sense. Can you tell me, sir, did you see anything weird or hear anything that might be of interest to our investigation?” Raleigh sat waiting, anxiously hoping that he might have seen anything.
“Nope. Chief, didn’t see or hear a thing except my two soldiers bitching, then I had to tie a knot in their asses. I paid the bail and drove them to the barracks. I was there maybe twenty minutes. Most of it was spent in the waiting area for my two idiots to get processed.”
“Oh, all right, sir. I think that is all we need. If you can complete a sworn statement for us, we would appreciate it.”
“Sure, no problem, Chief.”
Raleigh handed the form over to the lieutenant and waited as he filled out the statement. When he was done, he gave it back to Raleigh and Matt to sign as witnesses, and Raleigh placed the statement in a file folder.
“Sir, thank you for your cooperation. We will be in contact if we have any more questions. Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, just give me a call.” The lieutenant shook Raleigh’s hand, and he left.
Raleigh looked over at Matt, his face grimaced, then he said, “First one down, twenty more to go.”
“Ah, fuck, Fitz! You had to go and say that shit. This is gonna be the longest fuckin’ day ever,” Matt complained then grabbed a piece of gum from his front pocket.
Samantha sat, still taking down notes, one leg crossed over the other and using her knee as a desk.
“Sergeant O’Hara, can you call in the next one, please?” Raleigh asked, leaning back in his chair and stretching as a twinge in his shoulder ached, and he let out a wince of pain.
“Do you need a Tylenol, Chief?” Samantha asked. She knew he was in pain, so she made sure she kept some in her backpack.
“Yes, Sergeant, that would be amazing.”
“No problem, Chief. When I grab the next soldier, I will grab you a cup of water and a couple of Tylenol.”
“Sergeant, can you make that six Tylenol please?” Raleigh requested.
She got up and handed him the bottle. “Here ya go, Chief. Here’s the bottle, take what you need, and I’ll grab your water,” Samantha said as she turned and walked out the door.