Chapter 20

I was outside doing forms early Wednesday morning as I knew the day would be tough. Wanda appeared near me while my eyes were closed. The next time I opened my eyes; three more ladies were copying what Wanda and I were doing.

We ate a decent breakfast and hit the office early. Conish said she wasn't nervous, but that she wanted to get it over with. I called Frank to make sure the set up was ready so Conish would never be recognized.

At nine thirty, Wanda and Conish went down to the Bureau office as if on business. They were able to go in and be hidden into the interrogation room without being seen, by all but one agent. He was the one chosen to help at the door and was considered tops, in addition to being able to keep his mouth shut.

I came in, with my folder of information on Conish's estranged husband, so I could help answer questions as we went along.

When everyone was assembled, I was surprised to find that Jan was the agent chosen for the Bureau. She looked prepared and the corresponding file on the subject.

I addressed the group attending, "Thank you all for coming so the informant can do this all at once. When the informant finishes telling what is known, you will have the opportunity to ask for clarification, and in some cases, additional questions. The restrictions will be no relationship questions, definitely not the name of the informant, no residency questions, or any question that could identify the individual helping us. Should the identity or whereabouts of the informant become public, the informant would probably be dead in less than twenty-four hours.

I opened the mike into the interrogation room and asked, "To test the device one last time, please count down from five drawing out the numbers."

"Fiiiivvvvee, fooouuur, thaaarrrreeee, twooooooo, Ooonneee."

"Good, the masking device is working well. Please give us a description of what you know the suspect is doing that you consider illegal. Do not include anything he may have personally done to, or with, you."

Conish spent almost forty-five minutes telling everything she could, including the names of the others involved, places, dates, and some of the resulting activities. She even gave the suspected burial location of a law enforcement officer turned crook, who had been killed just because of what he had been before.

When the questions began, they were formed well and almost all were for clarification. Only one began delving into identity and I immediately said "Don't respond in any way. Please, Sir, respect the procedure outlined at the beginning of our meeting."

The DEA agent wasn't happy, but it was all that he was going to get.

At the conclusion of the meeting I said, "For your convenience, if you come up with additional questions, need additional clarification, or come up with a specific question that can be answered, please e-mail them to me at my office. As I have contact with the informant, I will respond to you. Because of the difficulty in seeing this informant, it could take a week to respond. I hope this helps you in your investigations. Please, get these men off the streets and, in some cases, out of our country. Thank you."

Several of the men went into the Bureau for coffee and to visit. Conish was prepared with a couple of magazines and a bottle of water. It took over an hour for the last of them to clear out and for us to check and recheck the hallways for stragglers. I sent Conish up the stairs to the fourth floor to take the elevator up to our floor. Wanda had gone with her to make sure areas were clear before they entered.

Upstairs, I congratulated Conish on an excellent performance. I told her how proud I was of her and that we were committed to keeping her identity a secret, as well as protecting her. I think she was very happy to have contributed.

Wanda went over what she expected of the two girls while she was gone, then taking a deep breath, said to me, "Okay, time for my first business trip and another airplane ride. I hate to admit this, but I am terrified of flying. I usually have several drinks before boarding but I can't today, so please bear with me."

"Wanda, you will be too busy while we are in the air to be afraid, so just relax."

I called the airport to tell John we were an hour before flight time. I called Ben to tell him the approximate time we would land. I called Randy to find out how he was doing. He advised me that he and Duane had our meeting set up with the other leaders and could even move up the time if I wanted. I told him it would depend on the new man's arrival. He then said, "If you mean Howard Benning, he's in the chair you occupied yesterday. So far, he has been delightful, and hasn't left my presence since arriving. He mistakenly feels I can train him for his new position."

This was good. "Tell Howard I have completed my presentation and will be flying out within the hour. See you in a few."

I heard at least four people say "Goodbye, see you soon."

I went by the station to say bye to Bobby and get a short watery-eyed kiss behind closed doors. She reminded me that Wanda and I had to stop by the clinic on the way to the airport. I told her I had planned on it already, but didn't feel we would need it. After saying goodbye to Marie and Sarah, Wanda and I went down to the car and drove to the clinic.

They were fast and efficient. They did a pelvic on Wanda and a dick check on me, washing it with some kind of liquid to see if I had some kind of STD. They took some blood and we were gone, heading for the airport.

I could see the fear begin to build on Wanda's face. When we got into the plane, I showed her the seats with PC screens, but she wasn't very accepting. She kept staring at the cockpit door. John perceived her fear and asked, "How about sitting up here with me. You can read off the checklist while I get us started and help me preflight, do the start up, and get off the ground."

She became more nervous at first, then I could see some comfort come to her. I found out later from John that some people, women especially, felt that if they helped with the checklists, they somehow were ensuring the airplane's safety. It also gave them confidence in the future ability of the airplane to stay in the air.

They went right down the list and when John yelled for me to shut the door, I did, and hollered check. Wanda's face was much more relaxed and I could tell that she now felt more in control.

I booted the PCs and began getting ready for my station transfer duties and to get ready for my Texas meeting. While waiting for the PCs to come up and the plane to get off the ground, I made coffee, and peeked into the cockpit to see and listen to the conversation. Wanda had a headset on, listening to John file his flight plan and ask the local tower for permission to taxi.

After buckling up, I was able to link up on the PC and wrote my report to John Scott in D.C. on the informant presentation. I next e-mailed him the existing schedule while in Dallas and advised him that the replacement had already arrived and was getting along with Randy.

When we were airborne and leveled out, I went to give coffee to the cockpit crew. John thanked me, but Wanda said, smiling, "I have work to do. I can't stay up here and play with the dials and knobs."

Wanda got out of the cockpit seat and came back, sat at the other desk with a PC, and began taking items from her briefcase. She was amazed the in-flight PC reflected her desktop because of the software we used. By the time John said we were descending, Wanda had the station transfer papers made up and had developed a meeting itinerary for the attendees. Our time in flight had been productive. I had downloaded and printed a complete dossier on Howard Benning so I could talk to him intelligently.

Ben was waiting for us at the executive airport and whisked us to the office.

When we came into the office, Glenda stood to greet me with a big smile. She warmly greeted Wanda, and showed her a desk she could work at while there but said she might have to argue with some deputies in the morning since space was at a premium.

I went in to see Randy. He was dozing, with Jean lovingly watching him. I could see Howard in the Chief's office so I just waved at Jean and went back out and around, instead of through Randy's office.

Howard and I introduced ourselves and I introduced him to Wanda. She handed me a stack of papers and we began going through them one at a time. I explained that since his quarters were temporary, he didn't have much inventory, and a great deal of what there was, was either at the local armory, or out at their safe house. We went over any training material he would need to review and that he had not completed prior to today.

It only took us an hour to get through the bureaucracy of making him a station chief. I kept glancing at Jean to see if Randy had awakened, and I could see the concern on her face. I went in to see her and she said, "I think he slipped into a coma. I knew the time was coming, but I didn't think it would be so fast."

I didn't think MS was so fast. Jean looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "His killer is the leukemia on top of the MS. He's been so coherent and in such a good mood, I thought we had a lot longer."

"Jean, what can I do? What should we do?"

Jean was working so very hard to keep her composure. "Have Glenda call an ambulance and I'll take him to the hospital. Ask her to notify his doctor at the University, as well. I guess now is the time to talk to that lady from hospice care. I've kept her away so far, but I guess I need her now."

Jean was petting Randy's head, almost making me cry. I've seen death and sickness, but when you witness the love and closeness of a mate and the imminent loss of one's mate, it is catastrophic. Jean straightened Randy's tie and suit coat before standing and pulling his wheelchair from behind his desk.

Jean said to me, "Chuck, Randy has everything up to date to the second. He's known this was coming and wanted to leave his office perfect. He's worked hard to make it this way. Let everyone know how much he appreciated John letting him continue right up to the last of his ability and effort."

Jean pushed him out into the office area. She had her shoulders back, head held high, proud of her man as she helped him leave his office, probably for the last time.

The ambulance attendants came and took over. I asked Ben to take Jean to the hospital and to remain with her. He should call me to let me know Randy's status and Jean's condition.

Wanda came up to me and asked, "May I go with her? I might be able to help. Please, may I?"

This was an unexpected situation, but I needed to be compassionate to the need. "Okay, go with her. Be protective and pay attention to everything anyone says to her so she has good info to make any judgments."

After watching them leave, I ended up having to hold Glenda as she wept. "Mr. Johnson, Randy was a good man. I'm not saying this because he may die, I'm saying this because I've worked with him since he first started with the service. He's given the service his all, even though he's been confined to the wheelchair and declining in his ability to work. Jean has helped him, interpreting what was within Randy's head."

Howard came from his office and said, "I was prepared to work with Randy. I've known people who overcame physical problems to make great contributions. I'm sorry for all of you who knew and cared for him."

Howard and I discussed his quick move some more. He had a wife and two sons that would be following shortly. She would be coming this weekend to house hunt. Howard said, "We put the house up for sale and we have a contract on it already. That's a relief since selling homes seems so difficult right now. I guess we priced it under market value. The realtor thought the valuation was correct, and we're satisfied with the price, so I guess that it's fine."

I said, "Let's go see the construction on the new federal building and courthouse so you have an idea of where it's at and where to look for housing."

Turning to Glenda, "Can you call one of the duty men and ask him to ferry and advise us?"

Glenda used the radio and found that someone was close. Five minutes later, a deputy walked into the station saying, "Wow, I'm allowed to come into the station early, that's unusual."

Glenda said, "Don't get used to it, we still don't have room for you."

She introduced us and explained what I wanted to do. He said, "I go by the construction site every day, and I'll take you out to a couple of houses that are forfeitures. We have some real deals on the books right now. You might like one of them."

The deputy was down when he heard about Randy, but he did show us the construction site, which looked like it was nearing completion. He said the government offered a major bonus for completion three and six months early. It looked like they were going to make the six month bonus.

We drove through some suburbs and looked at a couple of really big homes. He drove us by a home and pointed out that it was their safe house. So far, it had been held confidential for over six years. That was remarkable considering the trouble we had constantly had in Tampa.

As we headed back to the office, Ben called and said the deputy had passed away. The two ladies were in the administration offices at the moment. I told the deputy and he said, "Let's get Jean's car and take it home for her. She probably doesn't need to come back to the office. I know how she's been. She and Randy have kept the office running and he's been ready to leave for any reason for the last three months or more. I'm sure Jean doesn't want to come back."