Chapter 18

The entire house awoke at the same time Monday morning. The five of us went outside where Wanda and I lined up the three with no experience and faced them. She said, "Follow Chuck's movements. They will be slow and deliberate. You will know what he will be doing before he does it, but just stay in his rhythm. I will follow him too. Tomorrow, we can do mine. I wish we could hear Chuck's music; it would make our movements even more enjoyable."

I kept all of my movements in the basic forms, stretching my limbs for the good feeling it brings. When I finished, we all stood motionless for fifteen to thirty seconds, then I said, "Let's do some swimming."

We all swam hard, but not to exhaustion like we do after a workout. The outdoor shower was fun. It seemed we were all more comfortable being nude together after wandering around naked with a hundred or so other people.

While we were eating breakfast, Bobby commented, "I can't wait to have my family come up and we all go to one of those church services together. I think that was the purest I've ever felt in church. When I was growing up, it always seemed as if whoever was talking was trying to make me feel guilty. Yesterday, the man was making me feel good about me and the day."

Marie said, "That was different. I'm not sure how my dad would feel about it. My mom doesn't have an opinion about much of anything. The place would give her some peace though."

"I was happy to see some of my old friends there," Jan said, wistfully. "Maggie and I used to be pretty tight. We shared some happy times together. Funny how seeing all of the girls there brought so many pleasant thoughts, but it made me realize how full my life is now that I have included Chuck and everyone else here."

Bobby was blushing a little, "Before meeting you and Wanda, Jan, I never did really do anything with another girl. You two make it seem so natural and so intimate that our activities seem to just flow. Wanda, when I was so upset, you held me, almost mothered me, nurtured me. That was very special."

"When someone needs that type of comforting, it makes me feel very special to be able to offer it. I've been rewarded handsomely because of it."

Wanda rode with me this morning, while Jan and Marie rode with Bobby. I had to write incident reports and go over dozens of reports by the deputies and Bureau agents that had been involved this past weekend. I didn't envy Frank or his men, as they had to write up their raids. That means they had to relive the horrors of finding all those mistreated children.

It was lunchtime before I even looked at e-mail. I needed a break, so I called Bobby to see if she was able to break for lunch. Marie picked up for her and said she was at the courthouse, going over details for another report that had been requested. I was about to go to the greasy burger place down the block when Wanda came to the door and said, "The lady who stood you up before is asking to speak with you again."

I picked up the phone and said, "Charles Johnson."

"I understand it's Chuck Johnson."

"It can be."

"Mr. Johnson, I know I'm calling at the last minute, but would you join me and a few of my associates at the same restaurant as before for lunch. I guarantee I will be waiting for you when you arrive."

"What time, Ma'am?"

"Anytime, right now would be perfect."

"Would it be an imposition if a few of my business companions joined us? I'm sure you would find their company pleasant..."

"Bring all you wish, Mr. Johnson, it will be my pleasure."

I quickly said, "Since I'm starved at this moment, I'm leaving right now. I'll be there in less than ten minutes."

At her door, I asked Wanda, "Would you like to come for lunch with me? The strange lady is bringing others, so you would be welcome. Too bad Bobby isn't available."

We both went to the restroom for relief and to wash our hands, then rode down to street level and walked the couple of blocks to the big building that had the executive restaurant upstairs. As Wanda and I neared the desk a tall, sophisticated woman in an unusual business suit approached us. "Mr. Johnson?" The lady smiled very nicely, offering me her hand. "Veronica Highsmith."

I nodded and introduced Wanda as Ms. Wanda Johnson, my Office Manager. The lady almost frowned when she asked, "Relation?"

"No, just a coincidence, nice to meet you, properly Ms. Highsmith."

"Please call me Veronica. Come this way, we already have a table."

When we got to the table, surprise, surprise. Wanda and I had already met two of the people there. Veronica said, "Chuck Johnson, Senior U.S. Deputy Marshal, and Wanda Johnson his Office Manager." She pointed first at a smiling, nice looking, man in his early forties who was standing, "Bert Harper of Harper Construction and Management Corporation, Zena Parks, Marketing Manager, and Tom Parks, Supervising Architect."

Zena said, "I said I hoped to see you again soon, I didn't realize it would be so soon."

When Veronica and Bert look quizzically at Zena, Tom answered for her. "These two were part of a larger group visiting out at the park yesterday. I think they found us to be regular folks with a little bit different life style."

Bert eyed us, "I've found a second life out there as well. It is extremely peaceful and friendly in the park."

I asked Tom, "Aren't you busy enough with that group of restaurants and bars out there without being involved with this?"

"That's for fun; this is what I do for a living. The bed and breakfast and the cabins could be a living too, but they are a bit seasonal. Doing what I do with Bert's company gives me great pleasure."

"Let's order so lunch doesn't take forever," Veronica said, as a waiter stood next to her.

Everyone ordered various things, but a chicken and shrimp Caesar salad caught my eye. Bert said, "Excellent choice, the only thing better is the seafood Caesar. It has lobster and clam in it. You'll love the one you ordered though."

Wanda had taken Bert's suggestion and ordered the seafood Caesar.

While we waited for iced tea, water, and coffee to be brought, Veronica got right to business. "Since you have a great deal of influence as to where federal law enforcement is housed, I want to interest you in our buildings for the coming relocation of the ATF group, as well as the DEA group. We conveniently own the building next to the federal building you work out of. Ours is the building directly across from the garage you use. As a matter of fact, you lease the garage from Bert now. I propose that we extend the group of federal law enforcement into the adjoining building to keep the offices in close proximity. You could additionally benefit by sharing garage space as well. You might be able to even move other federal offices into the building."

I answered, "It's good to hear you so enthusiastic about helping us resolve a housing problem I wasn't aware was coming up. I will have to ask the agencies and D.C. about it. I'm very new in the position and have a ton to learn. Wanda will assist me in discovering what our needs are and what, if any, involvement I am to have in the selection."

Veronica gave her thousand watt smile again and said, "Perfect, exactly what I wanted to hear. From this point forward, Zena will be your contact and our agent to assist you. Should you lease from us, Tom would supervise your build-out needs. Bert and I just sit back and collect the money."

This must have tickled Wanda, as she began laughing almost uncontrollably.

I patted her on the back asking, "Are you okay?"

Veronica said, "I didn't think it was that funny."

Wanda said, "Having knowledge of the first attempted meeting you two almost had, the last sentence you said, Ms. Highsmith, was perfect. It just hit me funny after the fit you threw over Chuck not waiting for you before."

Veronica actually blushed, "Please forgive me for acting improper. I am somewhat egotistical and occasionally think it's cute to have businessmen wait for me to make my grand appearance. You proved not to be one of the weaker people who succumb to my arrogance. Again, forgive me for not valuing your time."

Zena said, "You see, Veronica, there are more men out there other than Tom who are not amused by some of your antics."

"Ah, but Tom amuses me in other ways."

Bert cut in quickly as if to head off something. "I do want for us to do business, Chuck. I also would enjoy knowing you better out at the park. Please make sure to have Tom or Zena call me when you're there."

Zena said, "I think Chuck should be commended for being so comfortable with everyone yesterday. It was probably very difficult for him to expose his leg to everyone."

When Bert and Veronica looked at Zena and me, I said, "I have a lower leg that is missing. I use a prosthesis which is an aluminum stalk that a shoe fits on."

Tom said, "When we were all having a good time with Zena's and my mom and dad, we didn't even notice. Because he is so comfortable with it, we all were too. Can I ask how you lost your leg?"

"I lost it in Iraq. I didn't keep it out of the way of a grenade."

Tom reached across the table to shake my hand and said, "Thank you for serving. I'm sorry you had to give so much for my freedom and protection."

Veronica had a shocked look on her face, "You're right, Tom, I didn't even think of it in that manner."

She got up and came around the table. She hugged me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, and you're still protecting us aren't you?"

The food had been served and was delicious. When I commented on it, Veronica said, "Bert will have you registered here so you can come up for lunch or dinner whenever you wish. They invoice your office monthly so it is ideal for business entertaining."

"That would be nice but Deputies don't entertain for lunch the same way you do. I'm afraid it isn't deductible since you indirectly pay my salary and our offices expenses anyway."

"We do, don't we?" Veronica said. "You do put things in a very simplistic manner, Mr. Johnson."

When Wanda and I were done eating, I said, "Thank you for inviting me to lunch. If you will register me here, the next time will my treat. This would be a nice place to bring one of my people for appreciation lunches."

I stood, "Wanda and I will find out what our needs are and talk to you soon, Zena. I don't mean to cut this short, but we do need to return to work. We normally do not take a break longer than a half-hour at noon. We are stretching it a little."

Bert said, "Nice to see you observe strict hours, Chuck. You don't expect that from government employees."

As I shook hands with Tom, he gave me a genuine smile and said, "Please visit us at the park again soon." He turned to Burt and said, "Chuck's friend and obvious partner is an extremely tall, large lady. She is really fascinating. Veronica, you would be stunned."

Zena said, "My goodness, it's your Bobby isn't it? She is magnificent. She's just so huge and beautiful."

Zena had voiced her description with reverence and a wistful look. Veronica picked up on it and said, "I will have to meet this splendid lady."

"Bobby wants to bring her family out next time. Her sisters are equally as large and tall, as is her Mother. You'll be amused that her father is very short, very slim. You'll enjoy their story. Actually, you'll enjoy the entire family as they are all full of life."

Tom said, "I'm looking forward to it."

Wanda and I said goodbye, leaving the four still at the table enjoying their leisurely lunch. Our walk back to shop was full of talk about the strange Veronica, and how unique it was to see Tom and Zena again so soon. Wanda said, "The two of them are very attractive with clothes on. As I remember, you were very impressed with her and her mother in the buff yesterday."

I looked at her thinking, 'These are business hours, be on your good behavior.' "Wanda, we'll need to talk about this later, so I don't say anything inappropriate during business hours."

"Thank you, Chuck, but this is still lunch until we hit that front door ahead of us. I'm only a stickler at work."

When we returned, Bobby was talking to Conish. I invited her into my office and told her about our lunch and seeing Tom and Zena in clothes. She laughed, "I'll bet you didn't get as excited as you did yesterday."

I asked, "So, is everything done and filed from yesterday's disaster?"

"Yep, I attended the five minutes it took for the judge to declare a mistrial, and he didn't allow any bail and told the prosecutor that he wants any motions on his desk by next Monday. If there is to be a new trial, it should begin promptly. That's a lot different than we heard it was going to be."

I agreed and added, "I don't think he enjoyed being shot at. I suppose that might influence his judgment a little."

Bobby said, "The ad we put in the online newspaper has worked wonders. We are taking care of our air responsibilities, as well as Orlando's, and they are now getting a lot of requests for part time work from recent retirees. We've picked up two more young deputies that liked the low housing cost and no state income tax. We're getting close to our staffing numbers. I think that's the first time in years. You'll have to watch my budget now, especially any of my overtime having to do with surveillance. You'll have to give some of it to the Bureau, but that won't help since you're responsible for their numbers too."

"At least I've found out now how to have stations get some transfers. They need to advertise what kind of advantages they have, like skiing in Denver or fishing in Seattle."

Bobby said, "I want to sit in on the interview with Conish tomorrow. I think we should video the interview as well. I just spoke to Tampa PD and they said they are organizing a task force to investigate all of this as well. It would be good to let others observe your meeting tomorrow. You can screen Conish so her face is not visible and you can have her voice masked so it is not recognizable. Considering the folks we've been dealing with, I think that would be prudent."

I said to Bobby, "Let me call my contact for the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) to see if he has someone that might need to come. I need to call Dan down at the DEA office too. I forgot him."

I made those two calls and then one to the Chief of the Tampa PD. He wanted to send one of his detectives who is being assigned to the task force. I reminded him that this was not a witness, only an informant. He understood, as have all the other people.

When I called downstairs to Frank, I told him, "There is going to be a large group. If you can have your techs set up voice screening and a visual screen so the informant can not be viewed by the audience and those with questions, I would really appreciate it."

"We're set up for it anyway, Chuck. We can put the informant in the interrogation room off the conference room. There is an excellent speakerphone system between the two rooms. I'll have the guys make sure our video with audio is set up for the meeting so we get everyone attending on camera as well. This will go a long way in the scheme of integrating agencies you seem to be doing."

"Good deal, Frank, I appreciate you hosting this thing. I'm going to have to find a place for these get-togethers if they are going to be frequent."

"Hell, hold them here. That way it looks like the Bureau is taking the lead. We need the good press."

"I can do that. Say uncle if it gets to be too much."

He laughed, "Some extra coffee would be nice."

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing paperwork and finding out what my responsibilities were regarding space requirements for other agencies. I called John and he said, "I forgot to tell you about that. In Tampa, you have to handle them all. I'll get you together with our property director. He'll know or is supposed to know what's going on everywhere. He'll use you often when you travel. He gets a copy of your itinerary, as do the budget people and HR, so you see how those schedules are important. We get to give you additional little jobs while you are on location. Now you know why I didn't want to travel often."

I was finishing up my e-mail when Wanda put through John Kensington, the property director.

"So, Wild Bill, are you ready to go get some office space for the DEA bunch and the ATF guns and bomb guys? Did they call up and tell you that their lease is almost up and the building owner is planning on tearing it down?"

"No, and my friends usually call me Chuck. I heard we need new offices sort of through the back door. A property management company approached me. They actually have a good idea, but I didn't want to even think about doing anything without someone to guide me."

"Well, that's refreshing. Everyone thinks my job is easy and wonders what it is I do all day."

"I know nothing about renting office space, John, so help me."

"What kind of deal do they have?"

"I didn't talk any numbers, but they have a building next to our federal building here in Tampa that is available. The same company owns the garage we lease a lot of space in now. Their contention is that we would have our agencies together in close proximity and we would have better use of the garage facilities."

John said, "Sounds good. Go ahead and make an appointment to look at the facilities. I'll send you the space dimensions we have now and you can speak with the people in charge of those operations to find out their forecasted needs. I'll send you any other agencies or departments we need space for, and you might be able to make a better deal if we take over the whole building. If you want, when you get to the negotiations, call me and I'll come down. I'd love to meet you and you can listen in while I negotiate. It'll give you a handle on what to look for."

I was nodding while talking on the phone. John couldn't see me, but I was thinking right along, "Yep, yep, yep, I need to learn."

After thanking him and exchanging e-mails, I pulled Zena's card and called the number. An effeminate male voice answered respectfully. I identified myself and asked for Zena. I was put on hold, and then Zena answered. "So soon, Chuck. How may I help you?"

I explained what I had been told and we set up a visit to the other building for Friday. My schedule was good so I agreed to Friday morning.

I sat back in my chair and thought, 'Good day, a lot accomplished.' I went up to Conish and asked her to visit with me for a moment. When she was in my office, I said, "I have you fixed up for tomorrow so no one will see you and your voice will be masked. They all know you are an informant and not a witness."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson, I was concerned about that. I am greatly relieved, but still happy to be able to tell everything I know about someone who is out to harm others and our country."

She stood when I did, and I couldn't help myself. I gave her a hug, saying, "Thank you, Conish, you are a good citizen."

She was a little flustered, as it was inappropriate for me to do that, but my door was open to both Angie and Wanda, so what's the harm. Conish smiled warmly and went back to work.

My cell phone rang.

When I answered it, my big Honey asked, "Are you buying me a beer or do I have to buy?"

"The Office?"

"I'm ready to go and half the office is about ready to run out the door. It's five oh one, so what's taking you so long?"

My desk was clear, so I put my laptop in my case and shut off my lights. Wanda was standing there with her purse, and when I turned, Angie and Conish were both looking at me expectantly.

"I've already been asked, 'What's taking me so long?' Let's go have some liquid refreshment."

My three ladies accompanied me out into the hall, locking our door behind us, and were met by the marshal's office people. The elevator was pretty full, but when it stopped on two, Marie reached out, grabbed Jan, and pulled her into the car. The others said they would wait for another car.

It was a happy group that waited for Bobby and me to put our homework into our cars and join them in walking down the street to The Office.

While we were walking to the end of our block, turning and walking down to the end of the next block, I thought, this place is just diagonally down from our back door. I wonder if it has a back door. This was really only a block farther from the employment office than the bar we used to go to there.

The place was hopping. Monday's are probably always busy since people want to hang on to a little of the weekend spirit they have left. There was some kind of beer special, but as long as it was cold and wet, I would be happy. We were stuffing popcorn and drinking beer when a feminine voice came between Bobby and me and said, "Twice in one day? Now that is a coincidence."

Zena was snuggled up to Bobby hugging her around the waist. As large as Bobby is, she does have a smaller waist than you would think. She's just big everywhere, that's all.

Bobby, in her usual exuberance, put her hands on Zena's waist and picked her up as if she were a twenty pound kid. "So good to see you, Zena."

Zena's surprise registered with Bobby and she put her down saying, "I'm sorry. I forget myself sometimes, but I am happy to see you."

Zena said, "That's all right, I haven't been picked up like that since I was three and my daddy did it. My goodness, you're strong."

Bobby blushed, "Chuck makes me work out every day, that's why."

"Don't believe a word she tells you. She worked out long before I showed up."

"Not nearly as much, and never as regular as we do now. You should see this little shrimp lift. He's really strong, and when he swims sprints, you better be in shape if you want to keep up with him."

Tom was next to me, talking to Wanda and Jan about how much fun they had yesterday at the camp.

The waitresses were really good. If they saw your pitcher was nearing empty, they would be bringing another. If you didn't want it, they would just go to the next table. Someone needed it.

A voice from the past said to me, "My glass is empty, can you be a gentleman and pour me a beer."

I looked down and son of a gun, "Tiani, it's good to see you." I picked up the cute little black girl, and she gave me a kiss that had Bobby peering around at me.

The girl was smiling from ear to ear, "I figured you guys came in here after being over at your house the other day. The other girls are right over there, but if you walk away from your table, it's gone. We don't have our private booth like the other place. Come say hi."

Angie hollered, "Hi Tiani, haven't seen you in a long time, Girl."