Timing Is Everything
Chapter 14
Wednesday, September 3, 1997
Norfolk, VA
To
Washington Navy yard, SE
Hearing that Tate was Limon's bookie, Gail and John realized that Limon was lying about his involvement in the whole affair. They knew they had to speak with Limon.
After leaving the Drinking Lamp, John called Traci on his cell phone, "Traci, is there any news on the BOLO for Tate?"
"No sir, Commander Rabb and I are with Special Agent Pocchi at Tate's residence now. It looks like he packed in a real hurry and left. He hasn't even returned to work since before my attack. It seems he went into hiding." Traci answered.
"Well if that's the case we don't need to stay in Norfolk anymore. We have to get back to DC and speak with Limon. He's been lying to us and everyone else involved with the case." He told Traci about what Rock told them.
"Okay since we're all checked out of the hotel, we can go directly there. Commander Rabb and I will head back to DC with my car. We can meet you and Gail at JAG headquarters later this afternoon."
"That sounds good Traci. I'll call when Gail and I arrive in DC. I'll see you soon." John said.
Traci acknowledged him before they hung up. Turning to Gail he asked her, "By the way where do you plan to stay while you're in DC?"
Gail smiled sweetly before she said, "At your place. My stuff is already there."
All John could say was "Huh?" Then he recovered his wits as he asked, "How did you get into the house? I have an alarm and everything."
Gail let him off the hook as she said, "I shouldn't tease you so much, you get so literal. I should have said my rental car is in your driveway and my suitcase is in the trunk. When I first got here after Peter called me and after I got him into Navy custody, his wife Valerie put me up at their house in Portsmouth. I called your mom to get your phone number and address from her. I told her that I needed to get your help with Peter's case, so she gave them to me. I drove into DC from Portsmouth very early yesterday morning, parked my car in your driveway and took a cab from your place to the Navy Yard. I called from the cab and left that message you got."
John just shook his head then he had another thought. He picked up his cell phone and called, "Traci change of plans. After you drop Harm off pick up Sarah and come to my place. Gail and I are going to the Navy Brig to speak with Limon. After we do that, we'll meet at my place and based on what Gail and I get from Limon, we'll plan what our next move is."
"Aye, aye sir," Traci acknowledged.
1630 Local Time
Navy Brig
Washington Navy Yard, DC, SE
As he thought, it was late in the day when John parked at the Navy Yard Brig. He and Gail stopped at his house so that he could change back into his uniform. Gail changed into one of her power business suits.
They called Lt. Carolyn Imes to inform her that they wanted to speak with her client. When they got there Imes said, "Petty Officer Limon has agreed to speak with you. The only condition he has is that he will only give you information if you can help him get a better deal with the convening authority."
John replied, "Based on what he tells us I'll speak with Mattoni and make my recommendations accordingly."
Imes agreed. John started off with, "Mrs. Grayson and I spoke to a guy named Rock. He is with the Sons of Fire. He told us that you offered to sell him and his gang some material or as he said it, 'set up a pipeline'. Can you verify anything he said?"
Limon was going to answer but Imes shook her head no and he remained silent. So John pressed on, "Does Senior Chief Tierney have anything to do with the theft of the drugs from the hospital?"
Imes nodded for him to answer as he said, "No he didn't."
He wanted to say more but Imes stopped him saying, "Only answer the questions that are asked."
"When Tierney found out you pilfered the drugs, what did you tell him?" John asked.
"I told him I owed a lot of money to my bookie from losing at gambling on baseball and the horses. I just needed to make a big score to pay it off." Limon answered.
"Who was your bookie?" Gail asked.
"Commander Tate." Limon answered.
"Did Tate tell you to pilfer the drugs?" John asked.
"Yeah he said that we could make some money and I could pay him off. He said he would doctor the books to make sure no one missed anything. Tate controlled all the record keeping. He didn't think Tierney would find out," Limon answered.
"When Tierney caught you pilfering the drugs, why did you two go to meet the Sons of Fire?" John asked.
"He insisted on going with me after I told him that I wanted to sell them surplus stuff just to make money to pay my bookie off. He didn't believe me. He thought that I was selling drugs. He said he would try and get the gang to back off me. When we got to the parking lot, Tierney told the 'Sons' that they weren't going to get any drugs from the hospital. I saw that the Sons had no idea what he was talking about and they were starting to get ticked off. I told Tierney we had to leave and I pulled him to the Humvee. When we got into the car I panicked and tried to get out of the lot to fast and I tried to go while the car was still in reverse. I ran over some of their bikes. That's when they started shooting at us.
We saw the police car when we left the parking lot, but they didn't follow us. Tierney was yelling at me to stop the car. I just ignored him. Then when we saw the road block on the interstate, I panicked again. I only tried to get around them. That stupid cop had to move his car onto the shoulder to block me. I couldn't avoid hitting him. I wasn't trying to kill anyone and I wasn't going to sell any drugs," Limon whined.
"No you weren't. You were going to use them."
The statement didn't come from John but from Gail. All during the interview she was observing Limon. She saw that he was agitated, looking at the clock on the wall, sweating, wringing his hands, bouncing in his chair. She knew the signs of addiction as she saw them all during her time on the NYPD.
"How long have you been using the Oxy?" Gail asked.
Limon knew he was found out. "I've been using Oxy since I hurt my back a year ago. The pain just won't go away."
"So you thought you could try morphine," John asked. He was so proud of Gail for picking up on Limon's addiction.
Limon nodded yes.
"So you started stealing some. Did Tate help you steal it?" John asked.
"Yeah he did. He did it to keep me under his thumb. I already owed him a lot of money from the gambling. He figured I could sell some of the morphine and that would help me pay off my gambling debt. He said it wasn't costing him anything to get the morphine so it was a win-win for him," Limon said.
"So not only was Tate your bookie, he was your supplier," John asked him.
"Yeah he was," Limon admitted.
"Would you be willing to write your statement down detailing all that as well as Senior Chief Tierney had nothing to do with your activities and him being your passenger when you tried to run the roadblock?" John asked.
"Yes he would in exchange for dropping the charges of intending to sell the drugs and he gets recommended for treatment," Imes asked.
"Yeah I can suggest that Mattoni and Roberts do that, but as for the attempted murder and assault charges for running the roadblock, you're on your own Carolyn," John told her.
Carolyn nodded saying, "Thanks John."
At that John and Gail left the interview room.
1845 Local Time
Marshall Residence
Florida Avenue, DC, NW
Back at John's house Sarah, Traci and Ann Marie were talking at the kitchen table. Traci and Sarah were already changed out of their uniforms and into casual clothes. The two stopped at Traci's apartment in Columbia Heights, not five minutes away from John's house on Florida Avenue, so she could change.
They were laughing along with Ann Marie. Ann Marie was recounting how Sam Seaborn and Josh Lyman were responding to a blog. "No matter what they posted, the blogger had a response. Pretty soon the press corps picked up on it. After I tapped danced through that mine field, I found the two of them in Sam's office. They were still blogging. So I pulled on Josh's ear and then I signed off from the blogger's site for them. I said if I ever caught them blogging again, I'd crucify them on the south lawn."
Traci and Sarah shared a laugh at that. Just as Ann Marie ended the story John threw the door open and shouted, "Hey Annie, guess who I brought home for supper!"
When Gail entered the kitchen Ann Marie squealed when she saw her cousin. She got up and embraced her enthusiastically.
John gave Sarah a nice kiss on the lips and Ann Marie on her cheek. He took Traci's hand and gallantly kissed the back.
Traci just batted her eyes and deepening her southern drawl said, "Why thank you suh."
Everyone shared a laugh. As John went upstairs to change into his casual clothes, Sarah, Gail, Ann Marie and Traci set to prepare dinner. Traci and Sarah stopped at the market to get the groceries on the way home. They were making linguini with an Alfredo clam sauce. Because of her leg, Sarah was sitting on a stool as she prepared the salad at the counter. As the sauce was being cooked, Ann Marie would dip the stirring spoon and bring a sample over for Sarah to taste.
As the women worked, there were the usual requests for ingredients, for tasting and generally much goodwill and laughter. This is what John heard as he came down the stairs. He stood on the landing between the kitchen and the living room listening to the happy sounds coming from his kitchen. He heard his sister, his cousin, his beloved and his colleague/adopted sister enjoying each other's company and he was immensely happy. He had to wipe at his eyes to keep from spilling the joyful tears that were welling up.
Taking a breath to calm himself, he stepped down into the kitchen and asked, "How are you doing ladies. Do you need me to do anything?"
He was totally taken aback as they all chorused as one, "NO!"
Ann Marie reached into the fridge and got a beer. Handing it to him, she said, "There are enough cooks in here already. Just go inside and relax for a few minutes. We'll call you when you need to set the table."
John shrugged in compliance and walked into the living room.
After the dinner dishes were cleared and the dishwasher was loaded Ann Marie excused herself saying, "I know you need to talk about the case. So I'll say good night. Gail, John folded out the sofa bed in the den and I'll leave you some fresh towels, sheets and blankets. I'll see you in the morning."
She went over to Traci and gave her brief hug saying, "Goodnight Traci. Thank you for coming. It was nice having you here."
Traci returned the hug and the sentiment with a simple, "You're welcome. It was my pleasure being here."
As soon as Ann Marie went upstairs, the four attorneys set to work on Peter's case.
"So here is what we can prove from Limon's statements. Because of his back pain he was stealing Oxy from the pharmacy for almost a year. When the Oxy became ineffective he graduated to morphine. Limon was also into his bookie, Commander Tate, the Pharmacy Director, for beau coup bucks from gambling with him. When Tate caught Limon stealing morphine, Tate thought he could sink his hook in deeper.
But Peter found the discrepancy in the morphine bookkeeping and confronted Limon. At which point Limon started telling lies about being in debt to a loan shark in the Sons of Fire. Peter thought that he could help Limon out by trying to get the Sons' to back off. But when Peter and Limon confronted the Sons', they had no idea what Peter was talking about. Limon panicked and ran over the motorcycles and shooting ensued. The police responded and set up a roadblock for the Humvee, which Limon crashed into seriously injuring two police officers.
Peter's only legal violation was a failure to properly report the discrepancy to his higher up, which was oddly enough Tate, who was aiding and abetting Limon's thefts," John summarized.
"Carolyn called me while you were on your way home. She told me that Limon would testify to everything at Peter's Article 32 hearing," Sarah said.
"So that should do it. What kind of penalty will Pete be facing?" Gail asked.
"He'll probably have to pay a fine in the low thousand dollars or a reduction in rank, but no brig time. Valerie will not be happy with that," John added.
"You're not kidding," Gail replied.
"Alright we'll see them in court tomorrow," Sarah said.
"Okay that wraps that up. Though it would be helpful if we could find Tate, he is as culpable as Limon."
"We'll see what Weatherly and Pocchi come up with their BOLO," John said.
They all agreed with that as John said, "Traci I'll see you tomorrow."
As Traci got up and collected her things she said, "Good night John, Sarah."
She shook hands with Sarah and she gave John a hug saying in his ear, "Thank you for coming after me John. I'll never forget it."
John said, "You're welcome Traci."
John walked her to her car and watched her drive away.
Thursday, September 4, 1997
1300 Local Time
JAG Headquarters
Washington Navy Yard, DC, SE
Peter Tierney's Article 32 hearing went just as his attorneys had said it would. Peter was ordered to pay a fine of $8,000.00 to be garnered from his pay and no brig time.
Peter was very appreciative. He, Gail, John and Sarah were walking out into the court yard with their lunch. John was carrying his and Sarah's lunch on his tray while Sarah moved along on her crutches.
They sat down at a table and commenced to eating. Peter said, "I can't thank you all enough. I can handle the fine and Val is happy that I can come home tonight."
"Well Pete just think before you become the white knight for everyone next time," John said.
"Yes sir," Peter replied.
They all finished their meal, got up and emptied their trays at the trash. Before they could walk back into the building there was a commotion at the entrance to the courtyard. People started to scatter as a man ran into the courtyard waving a gun.
It was Tate. After Traci interviewed him, he knew that he would eventually be found out and arrested. He was the one who attacked her. He did not intend to kill, merely slow her down enough to give him time to get away. Being that he was in the pharmacy, he had access to chloroform. After he knocked Traci out, he tied her up, gagged and blindfolded her and laid her in the linen cart under the sheets and towels. Then he had fled the hospital.
Thinking that it would be easier for anyone to find him if he had his car, he decided to leave it in the hospital parking lot. He only went and sat in it to retrieve some of his merchandise, namely the drugs he intended to sell as well as the cash he stashed away there. As he walked out of the parking lot he told the guard at the security booth that his car would not start and that he would grab a cab home. He was living in a cheap motel for the past two days.
As he sat in the hotel room, he thought of what he would lose his job, his pension and his freedom. He became so angry at Peter for finding the drug count discrepancy. That was the one loose thread that unraveled his whole operation. He wanted Peter and anyone with him to suffer as he did.
That day Tate got up and cleaned himself up. He dressed in his white uniform and set out for the Navy Yard. With is uniform and Navy Identification, he had no problem getting through the Main Gate. He arrived just before 1100. He parked his car, which he rented that morning for cash, so that he could easily look into the courtyard. If anyone came to the car they would find him reading the paper. He would say that he was waiting for his wife to come out from JAG for a lunch together. He was really waiting for an opportunity to kill Peter and then he would take his own life.
He saw Peter and Traci with a civilian female and two other officers, a male Navy Commander and a female Marine Major leaving the JAG building together carrying lunch trays. The marine was walking on crutches as the commander was carrying her food and his on his tray. They all sat at the same table to eat their meal. Tate waited and watched them eat.
Tate got up as he saw that they were finished eating. He walked into the courtyard with his hand in his pocket. As he got closer to Peter and the others he pulled his gun out and shouted, "Tierney, You ruined my life! Come join me in hell you bastard."
As he raised his gun to fire, two shots rang out, but they weren't from Tate's gun. Two spots appeared on his chest and blood spurted out as Tate fell dead onto the pavement.
Everyone turned to see who shot at Tate and saw Gail standing in a combat stance, smoke coming from her .38 automatic.
Despite her years practicing law in the entertainment industry, Gail still had not lost any bit of her police training, especially her eye for something amiss. As she and the others came out with their lunch, she saw a man in a car reading a newspaper. When her party got to the first empty table, Gail sat so that she could watch the car as she ate. She glanced toward the car now and then. She couldn't see the driver's face, but she did see him peak at them over the top of the newspaper, he was supposedly reading, a few times as they ate their lunch. Her time doing stakeouts in New York told her that he was waiting for someone. She saw immediately that when she and her friends got up, he got out of his car. She reached into her handbag and put her hand on her weapon. As Tate came closer, she saw him take his hand out of this pocket holding a gun.
Gail's police shooting training took over. As Tate was shouting she pulled her gun out and in a split second she aimed for the center mass of Tate's body and squeezed off two shots.
As she put her gun down she said to everyone, "Well I couldn't let him shoot us now could I?"
Her friends sighed in relief and amusement as Marine Guards came over and took over the situation.