Chapter 2

Day 2

Eddie was in the cafe five minutes before Lucille entered. He didn't recognize her of course, so he had to wait until she moved toward his table. He didn't recognize her but he recognized the look of someone coming toward him, so he stood.

Eddie: Lucille I assume.

Lucille: Steady Eddie, you look just like your picture.

Eddie: I do hope you aren't talking about the dreadful ID photo.

Lucille: No the one of you coming out of the Senate Hearings on the Swamp Dog Mercenaries.

Eddie: So that's what this is about. I really don't know any more than I told the Senate committee.

Lucille: I'm sure you think that is true, but we would like for you to continue that investigation. You would give us a huge leg up.

Eddie: That case was closed with a 'cleared' notation. There is nothing to investigate.

Lucille: A man is murdered and there is nothing to investigate?

Eddie: The man who was murdered was a drug wholesaler. Everyone figured it was the cost of doing business. Nobody is going to miss him.

Lucille: Two weeks before he died, he is alleged to have had the son of a congressman killed. Some kind of message he was sending I heard.

Eddie: I don't know about that. All I know is a drug lord in Columbia claimed to have been responsible for the killing. It was his way of taking the heat off the drug trade, I expect. We were told it was no longer in our jurisdiction. DEA would be taking the lead.

Lucille: Don't you just hate when that happens?

Eddie: It was just a job Lucy, not a crusade for me.

Lucille: You can call me Lucille or Ms Martin, but you can not call me Lucy.

Eddie: Okay then let me explain that I am retired. I don't need a job and didn't come looking for you. So Ms Martin our business is done. You don't need to buy me lunch, since we are not doing business after all.

Lucille: Wouldn't you like to know who actually put that hole in Carlos' ear.

Eddie: Not especially. I was told the case was closed, so the case is closed.

Eddie wasn't nearly as cool as he acted. No cop likes to be pulled off an active case. When he found out the Congressman's connection, he was reminded that it was all political. He didn't really need that reminder. The last five years had been ripe with political decisions made by others.

Lucille: Did you put a name to the image?

Eddie: I assume you read the file.

Lucille: The file might easily have been sanitized.

Eddie: If you saw the image you know as much as I do, a woman with a blonde wig, great body, and large dark glasses. The Federal database couldn't find her. That was four years ago.

Lucille: Five years and two months since the murder.

Eddie: Nobody cares about a drug cartel operative who gets killed doing business.

Lucille: Senator Ames cares.

Eddie: Why? Is he going to run for President?

Eddie looked for a reaction. There was a small twitch in her face. He knew then that it was a political ploy. Nobody really cared. They just wanted to investigate so that they could keep the Foreign Legion thing alive till the elections. Of course it could be that the kid's father had hired the Swamp people to off the drug dealer. That would pretty much seal his fate. At least it would ruin his career. It would also mean any chance he ever had to run against Ames was gone as well. Eddie didn't like politics or politicians.

Lucille: So what's it going to take to get you on board.

Eddie: You don't have anything I want. Get yourself someone else to persecute the kid's father. You don't give a crap about some dope dealer. You probably don't care about Swamp Dog. It all just makes for good theater.

Lucille changed her tactic: What is it you plan to grow on your five acre mini farm.

Eddie: Goats.

Lucille: Why goats?

Eddie: Why not?

Lucille: Six months, that's the most this will take.

Eddie: Let me tell you something. You do not want me to take the job after this discussion. Because if I do and the facts don't fit your needs, they will come out anyway. If this begins to look political, I will go to the press. I don't work for the government anymore. For twenty five years I have played by the rules. I am going to be a decent human being and do the right thing in my final days. My non-disclosure agreement is no good anymore. So why not just go find yourself another boy.

Lucille: You have experience dealing with this thing. You have credibility and you have already testified before the Committee, so they probably won't call you again. Not unless we get some hard evidence about the blonde with the big boobs. So are you in?

Eddie: I know I'm going to regret this. I have given all my suits and ties to the Goodwill. If I work for you, the dress is casual.

Lucille: As long as you don't become a nudist.

Eddie had a grilled cheese and homemade potato chips. Lucille had a ham and cheese salad. Lucille paid the check as promised.

Lucille: Tomorrow 9 AM at this address.

She was standing on the sidewalk outside the New Town Cafe. She nodded then walked to her car.

Eddie: Where is that address? I don't recognize it.

Lucille: Google it. Now don't set a bad example by being late. You are going to meet the team and you are one of the bosses now.

Eddie: I was one of the bosses yesterday but I still had to put up with shit. Tomorrow I don't have to put up with anything. We are clear about that, right?

Lucille: You just have to do what you do, then tell us when it is done. We don't care how you do it.

Eddie: Then I'll see you tomorrow.

Eddie drove his brand new South Korean Econobox through the town of Bailey Crossroads and five more miles then into the driveway of his small three bedroom frame house. He was glad to see that the roofers were still driving nails. Eddie went inside after waving up at the roofer boss.

Once inside he opened a can of diet soda from Walmart, then turned on the new Internet TV. He unlocked what used to be the linen closet in the hall to remove the strong box. From the box Eddie removed an old style cell phone, then installed a battery. He dialed the number of the House of Representatives Office building.

Eddie: You were right she is obsessed with you.

Voice on the phone: My staff heard she was going to try to recruit you for the Senate Investigation. I suppose for a change they knew what they were talking about.

Eddie: How long has she been planning this.

Voice: The investigation has been ongoing. When she was told you were going to retire, they began making plans. You are considered the expert on Swamp Dog investigations. You didn't act eager to work for them did you?

Eddie: Of course not. This isn't my first rodeo. It might have been a while, but I know how to work undercover. (knock on the door) I have to run. I have to pay my roofing contractor. I'll stay in touch.

Eddie went outside to check out the roof. Just before he climbed onto the roof to inspect it, he tried to work out the story line for the intrigue in which he found himself at the moment. He gave up and just spit on the ground and muttered, "Politicians".

After he climbed the ladder he walked all over the roof. Only then did he hand over the roofer's check for eleven hundred more dollars.

Roofer: Call me if you have any trouble.

Eddie: Don't worry I will.

Meanwhile in the Senate Office Building Lucille was picking up her secure office phone. It was as secure as a phone could be by that time.

Lucille: May, your boss is going to be in to see you, if he hasn't been in yet. The first meeting is tomorrow at 9 AM at the Hole In The Wall. The equipment has been installed and we are already to go.

May: Good I'll be there in the morning. I still don't see why all this hung on one man. A retired Federal Cop for god's sake.

Lucille: That Fed has information that never made it into the report. All cops keep over half the information on a case in their heads. They at least know which paths to walk down. That kind of thing doesn't go into reports, but can save us months.

May: Alright but it has been my experience that cops and lawyers on the same team make a disastrous mix.

Lucille: Maybe, but we need him and I need you to play nice, understand? You are ambitious and he is not, so use that. So there shouldn't be any pissing matches.

May: I'll see you in the morning at nine.