Chapter 424

The evening conversation was lively; Lorrie was going to make an appointment to get everything checked out, and after a clean bill of health - let the fun begin. There would be a lot of questions, but all of us were happy, and this time there would be no secrets. It was a fun night.

I was up early - way early - the first thing I did was to call Sherman, and said; “Hold the box, Ching Lee will personally pick it up this morning and go over some information with you.”

The second thing I did was to call Eric, and said: “Do you know anything about a heist of explosives from a mining company in Canada in the last year, maybe a little longer?”

“Not off the top of my head. Why do you ask?”

“No particular reason, I bought my guys a new bucket and we are filling it with data and trying to verify some of the crumbs that are falling out on the floor. I was interested on how much explosives went missing in the heist?”

“Yeah right; and you are interested in buying a slightly used bridge from San Francisco to say Hawaii, because that is one long stretch of a tale that I would never have imagined coming from you?” Eric replied.

“I would call the wimpy triplets and ask them to help you but I am afraid you would hurt one of them. I will check into it for you,” he replied.

I knew that Robert could find the information but I wanted to see if I could pique Eric’s interest enough for him to make a personal visit to find out.

I drafted a letter for Ching Lee to take to Sherman and send to the college president. Cindy was going to tweak the copy to the college president for me:

Dear Mr. Wagner,

As part of the JBG continuous improvement and customer satisfaction program, your college had been selected for this year’s security audit. This audit will cover our personnel, policies, goals, access our equipment needs and replacement schedule.

Technology and it’s effectiveness in the security business improves almost daily. Should we find that some of the technology will improve security or response of our personnel, it will be installed as part of our contract at no cost to the college.

Some of the existing personnel are scheduled for required recertification at our training facilities in Maryland and with the extra audit personnel on site, this is an appropriate time to complete that training.

We will have a number of technicians and security personnel conducting this audit. The audit may take up to two weeks. This group of personnel will strive to do their work in a manner that will not disrupt any college classes or other college activities. Much of the work may be done after hours.

Thank you. BJ Jones President of JBG

I warned Ching Lee that she should not have the conversation in Sherman’s office, due to the possibility of the office being bugged, and suggested that they talk in his Suburban with the radio playing.

That brought another thought into my mind, that the office there should have a bug sweep and the phones checked. I wondered if I was getting paranoid again.

I made it to KCC on time - even with the delays - just in time. Chief Dustin and Major Ashley followed me in the door.

“County prosecutor says there will be no charges; self defense and the Good Samaritan law apply,” Major Ashley replied.

“I’m glad and sure Matt will be relieved. My shrink had a good session with him and scheduled a couple more,” I replied then I added, “The first time you have to kill is always tough, and hopefully there won’t be any more.”

“I have supervised a lot of officers over the years and been lucky that I have only had to deal with an officer killing someone one time. The officer was a long time getting over it,” Ashley replied.

The chief had a call and left. Major Ashley and I talked a while longer. I opened my portable office and gave him an envelope that Jason asked me to give to him. I had told Jason of our conversation about the pending retirement.

The envelope had a completed application that only needed a signature. Jason and Major Ashley had been friends a long time and worked together on special projects when Jason was chairman of the Governor’s criminal task force.