Chapter 20

Day 16

Eddie and May went to breakfast at the diner across the street from the tea factory. They sat drinking coffee until Bart opened the front door. He walked onto the sidewalk first thing, as was his habit. He looked west toward the river and east down the main street. That street became an old County Secondary Road just outside of town. It eventually merged with a State Secondary Highway. It did finally intersect with an interstate highway after a few miles.

Eddie: Well, let's go see how persuasive I can be, shall we.

May: You know I am a lawyer, maybe I should try to persuade him. I might seem less threatening.

Eddie: Let's just see how it goes. If you come up with a compelling reason for Bart to talk, feel free to break in. Otherwise, I will take the lead.

May: Fair enough.

Eddie and May walked across the small paved main street. Then they stepped up to the doorway. Eddie hadn't noticed on the first trip, but the floor of the Tea factory was above grade by a couple of feet. He supposed it was in case the river overran its banks. In the old days the factory had been a farmer cooperative exchange. If the river reached over the foundations there would have been a lot of merchandise ruined.

They opened the door and went inside. Eddie remembered the way to Bart's office, so they didn't bother to call out. They just went on back.

Bart (looking up concerned): What can I do for you two, so early on a Monday morning?

Eddie: It's really what you can do for Rose Seabold, I think.

Bart: Well, there is nothing I wouldn't do for Rose, so name it.

Eddie: While we were here last time someone broke into our office back in D.C. They cloned our computer and planted bugs all over the place. They also ran our computer whiz off the road and put him out of commission over the weekend.

Bart: I'm sorry to hear that, but I had nothing to do with it.

Eddie: I didn't think you did, but here is the problem. They got all my investigative files from the murder of a mid level drug dealer in D.C. a couple of years ago. Now that particular murder was a professional assassination. It was done a while ago, but as you might or might not know, there is no statute of limitations on murder, especially a murder for hire.

Bart: Very interesting, but I still have no idea why this is of interest to me.

Eddie: Well, I became convinced that Swamp Dog, who by the way we have no jurisdiction over for their work outside the country, is operating a domestic clandestine service from a place called Church Camp. Now you did a job for Church Camp once. That job also involving Rose Seabold, who I like a lot for the Drug Dealer assassination.

Bart: I have no idea what you are talking about.

May: Let me explain. It's really Investigation for Dummies. Who ever got in to clone our computer has the file on the murder. They also have a surveillance picture of the suspect. Which alone means nothing. We had all that several years ago.

Here is where it gets sticky. You see also on that computer were files of one Iris Martin aka Rose Seabold and her history. Well, at least as much as we could piece together.

Eddie: Now we want to talk to Rose maybe make her a deal to fill in the blanks. I am pretty sure the people who broke into our computer want to be sure she doesn't talk to us. They will likely go as far as ending her life to prevent her from bringing down a big time politician.

The people who broke in may have been from Church Camp. I certainly hope not, since it means there is an assassin cleaning up after them. It also means you are a target. I have to admit that isn't very likely.

May: We are willing to offer you protective custody and even witness protection relocation, if you talk. You would also nullify the damage Rose could do, so they would most likely lose interest in her.

Eddie: So what do you say?

Bart: I can't help you. I also can't hurt Church Camp. That one trip to the Caribbean was my only job. We have already been cleared in that fiasco. Before that job I did work some protective details overseas, but nothing ever happened. So I have nothing to say.

May: Okay then help us save Rose's life. You left her to rot once. Don't do her dirt again.

May's choice of words surprised Eddie. She said exactly the right thing, but he just didn't think she had that kind of understanding.

Bart: (Bristling) I would go protect her myself, if I knew where she was living. If she doesn't want to be found, you will probably never find her.

Eddie: You better hope we find her first. Unlike us, Swamp Dog or whoever is looking for her doesn't have her well being in mind. They want to shut her up I am sure.

May: Any ideas where we can look?

Bart: She disappeared for a couple of months before she disappeared for good. It corresponded with a wilderness survival course that the PT instructor at Church Camp ran. It is not supposed to be affiliated with the camp. It's just a way to make a buck or two while Church Camp is lying low. I thought at the time that she might have been there. Rose's specialty is reinventing herself.

Eddie: We will check it out. Keep your head down and don't do business over the phone. I'm not sure that it is Swamp Dog after her. It might be some shadow government operation. No matter who it is we don't need to feed them information.

Bart: Government outfit like you?

May: Not like us, but you have the idea.

On the sidewalk out front Eddie sent the coded message to Wes that ordered him to raid Church Camp. He also advised him to find the PT instructor called Killer.

While Eddie did that, May arranged for a search warrant. They were supposedly looking for unregistered machine guns. She had creditable evidence from a confidential informant that there were fully automatic assault weapons stored there.

Wes managed to limit the personnel to just the DEA Regional Officers and the Rural Police's Swat Detachment. Of course, everyone wanted to be in on the raid, so it took some effort but they managed.

Once inside the compound the hastily arranged raiders began searching everything in sight. Even the safe houses were not exempt. The residents were allowed to hide their faces.

Wes: So you are the one they call killer?

Killer: It's just a nickname it means nothing.

Wes: Bullshit you are the hand to hand combat and fitness instructor for this training facility. I'm not a cop, so don't worry. I have only one interest in being here. That is to locate and save Rose Seabold.

Killer: What do you mean?

Wes explained about the investigation and where it stood when the computers had been breached. Killer understood the ramifications instantly.

Wes: Someone wants to cover up the Church Camp involvement, or make sure the name of the person who protected the Assassin never comes to light. Either way Rose Seabold is expendable under their plan. I and my friends intend to stop that. She might even get immunity, if we can get to her and she talks. Either way, we want to save her life.

Killer: I honestly can't help you and I'm glad that I can't. I would be tempted to help, if I could. I like Rose, I always did.

Wes: I get the feeling she was about ready to reinvent herself when she came here. So what can you tell me about that?

Killer: She wasn't all that much a traditionalist. If she went to live in the woods, she didn't plan on building a log cabin herself. She just didn't have the skills or the bulk to do that. She might have been able to bluff it before her time in that island prison, but not after. She wasn't frail or anything, but she couldn't manhandle a ten inch tree either.

Wes: Thanks.

Killer: For what I didn't do anything.

Wes: (Into the burner phone) Mike, go over Rose's computer files again. Look for any searches that appear off the wall. Hell, pull all her searches.

Mike: Eddie called a couple of hours ago with the same information. She was doing research, but it might not have been on her computer or she destroyed the trail.