Undercover Rose
Chapter 20

Copyright© 2013 by carniegirl

The few minutes turned into an hour and a half, during which time I drank two cups of coffee. The coffee was as bad as I remembered it from my earlier stay at the Camp. I watched recorded TV shows, since I remembered how their computer system worked. The cabin was a rubber stamp of the one I stayed in last time, but it wasn't the same one.

I wondered why I hadn't been taken to the admin building. Then it dawned on me that I was being held in isolation while they checked me out. I hoped the visit wouldn't get back to the Controller until after we talked. Then if they felt like I needed reporting, so be it.

I was half way through a comedy movie that was only about six months old, when the Camp Commandant came limping into the room. He was walking with the aid of a metal walker on wheels. I had a feeling there were at least two shotgun shells hidden in the frame of the walker.

"Well Rose what a pleasant surprise," the Commandant said.

"Thanks, I've missed you too," I lied.

"Now that you two have that bullshit out of the way, lay it out for him," Liam said from over my shoulder.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked.

"To be honest sir, I really don't know. Under the cover identity I have begun meeting people. If they seem questionable I have been having my Control Officer check them out. Before I went into deep cover last time I met an ex con named Rachael Rankin. She seemed to have either guessed or known that I had been inside before," I explained.

"I suppose there are certain traits that one ex con would recognize in another," the commandant said.

"Since I couldn't admit it, I just ignored it," I said. "I took Rachael Rankin to a swingers party before I knew I was leaving for the assignment. I was having Control check out the people who hosted the party as well as Rachael. I really didn't have any real reason to be suspicious, I was just being careful," I said.

"That seems the best course of action, when there is the least doubt," he agreed.

"Control could add nothing to my information base, so I just forgot it till the assignment was complete. When I got back home I attempted to contact the Rachael Rankin woman and found that she had left town abruptly, just after I went deep undercover. When I asked around no one seemed to know why she left or where she went. They did say her Parole Officer had looked for her. I have no idea if that is true or not.

According to my Controller she is not in the system and there are no pickup orders out for her. I did find out she has been involved with a low life name Marcus Black," I suggested.

"What do you know about Marcus Black?" the Commandant asked.

"Little or nothing," I said. "He has a rap sheet filled with petty crimes of opportunity. He doesn't sound like a criminal mastermind or anything."

"So what do you think Rachael's involvement was?" he asked.

"Possibly a boy/girl relationship which would give me no problems at all. She might have been steering Marcus to people in the area for something less than legal," I suggested.

"Like what," he asked.

"The main thing that ties people to burglaries, other then fingerprints, is their relationship with the victim. If Rachael were steering Marcus to the victims there would be no trail back to him," I suggested.

"Okay, but why would she disappear suddenly," the Commandant asked.

"Maybe a falling out between thieves or maybe she was scouting at the party I invited her to attend. If the intended victim is not such a nice guy, she could have left a trail or something. It could be that the hosts were capable of disappearing her," I suggested.

"Well that's lousy grammar but a definite possibility," he admitted. "So why not turn it over to the Controller?"

"I have and they seem reluctant to do anything, but round up the usual suspects," I suggested.

"So you plan to run your own investigation. Might I remind you that you are not an investigator, you are at best just an operative. There is a huge difference in the skill set needed," he informed me.

"So you are telling me I am wasting my time coming here?" I asked.

"Not at all, what I'm telling you is that neither you nor anyone here at Church Camp is qualified to run such an investigation." He paused a long moment then his phone rang.

"Yes ma'am," he said into the phone. Then he placed it on the table.

"Can you hear me well enough Rose," the phone asked.

"Yes, who are you?" I asked.

"I'm someone who is qualified to run such an investigation. But there are some strings to it. If I help you figure this one out, no matter what the outcome, you will owe me. My debt is more than what you owe to those SBI clowns," the voice said. "I might have to call on you for a favor and I would expect as much discretion as I am going to show you. Is that acceptable?"

I had no idea what I was getting into. I did know that the people at Church Camp were the real pros. All the other people I worked for were the blind leading the blind. "One for one," I said.

"One for one is agreeable. So the first thing you need is a time like. When did you last see her?" the voice asked.

"I last saw her at 3 AM on the Saturday before I left for the deep cover job," I replied.

"Did anyone else you trust see her after," the voice asked.

"Yes Helen her employer said the Parole Officer came by to talk to her on that Sunday. According to Helen, Rachael talked to him and then left. She gave no explanation. She just didn't show up for work the next day," I explained. "It might not have even been her Parole Officer. Since I didn't talk to him I don't have any idea what the Controller asked."

"I can most likely find that out for you. If it wasn't the Parole Officer, you will need to know who it was, since it sounds like he spooked her. Why don't you ask your party host how she left things with them, since you say she saw them alone," the telephone voice asked

"Since they are still not cleared in a background check, I was going to hold off till I knew more," I explained.

"You may not be a trained investigator, but you are a world class liar, so find a convincing lie to tell the hosts of that party. You might even have to bite the bullet and tell a half truth," the voice suggested. "Then you need to deal with this Marcus Black, but questioning him won't do any good. He also doesn't sound like the computer type, so you may have to work him for his information. That is where your training is, isn't it?" the voice asked.

"Yes it is," I agreed.

"First there is one other thing on which we need to agree. None of our people can help you openly. If you want information from a source we can hack easily we can help. We can guide you in the direction to move, but I can not put people in the field for you. I am sorry."

"I wanted some advice and some technical support nothing more," I said.

"What kind of technical support?" she asked.

"I am probably going to need to clone Marcus's phone at the very least," I said.

"Get the real one not the burner, if you want to clone it. You are going to need to put the Wilson Pickup Device within five feet of it with both phones turned on and activated. They will need to be in position for two minutes," she said.

"Where do I get this Wilson Pickup Device," I asked.

"The Camp Commander will give it to you on the way out. After you have the clone turn the device off and take it to the post office of that day," the voice said.

"How will I know where to make the dead drop?" I asked.

"We will have a phone number for you to call when you are ready, do not use it for anything else. We have a first rate recovery man and he will get the information from the phone to me. I will get what you need to you, if there is anything," she promised. There were other details but mostly I left Church Camp with a plan and a feeling that someone believed in me. It was a first for me.

"When you go around the gate be careful to stay on the path. When you get in your truck back it at least a hundred yards before you turn it around," the four wheel driver explained. I listened carefully since it was dark out. I followed his directions exactly and got back to the road fine.

The drive back home was uneventful. It was also filled with trying to understand what had happened. The woman on the phone made it sound as though Church Camp was only a part of the operation. I couldn't figure out what it was, but for the moment I didn't need to know. They had agreed to help me find out what was going on. For now that seemed good enough.

The phone lady knew her shit. At least that's what I thought, but then I didn't know shit. I hadn't even thought to check Rachael's place. In looking back that would seem to be the first thing to do. To make sure she was missing and to find out if there were any hints in her house. I checked my email and found a message from the Geek. Either he had a line to Church Camp or he read minds. The draft email had Rachael Rankin's home address. He advised it was also the home address of Anna Rankin Thomas. Since it was too late to go there when I got the email, I made a note to go first thing the next day.

It was after 9 PM when my current burn phone rang. "Hello," I said carefully.

"Is this rose?" the woman's voice asked.

"Yes it is how may I help you?" I asked. I wasn't sure who it was so I didn't guess.

"This is Professor Bradshaw, I have decided to take you up on the modeling offer," she said.

"You offered, I agreed provisionally. So when?" I asked.

"That will be a bit difficult," Bradshaw admitted. "Since you insist that I paint you with both of us naked, I can't do it at the school's studio. I obviously can't do it at my home. I don't think the baby would mind but my husband might."

"We could invite him to watch," I suggested.

"Maybe later, if I just do sketches and pencil drawings the kit is pretty portable," Joan said.

"Tell you what, you can do one session at my place, then you are going to have to come up with somewhere else," I said.

"Fair enough, after one session I will know, if I want more or not," Bradshaw said not realizing how that sounded.

"Yes, I am pretty sure you will know," I said bursting into laughter.

She laughed as well. "You are incorrigible," she said.

"I have heard that before. So when do you want your first session?" I asked.

"Tomorrow would be good before I lose my nerve," she said.

"Well do you want directions to my home?" I asked.

"Of course," she said.

"Do you have GPS," I asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"Then enter 2023 Roaring Gap Rd. and it should bring you right to my door. It's a small Spanish designed building," I informed her. "What time?"

I don't have any classes tomorrow afternoon I was hoping around 1 PM."

"I'm sure I can arrange it," I said.

I went to bed and spent some quality time with my memory of Professor Joan Bradshaw. When I finished I was completely relaxed and ready to sleep. I vaguely remember thinking I had lots to do the next day, but I didn't lie awake worrying. I just slipped into the arms of Morpheus.

 
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