Chapter 24: Now the Wheels are Turning
Murdock walked into the house to find Nancy standing in the kitchen, her timeline spread across the counter with a highlighter and pen, pacing and eating a PB&J sandwich, "Is that all you're having for lunch?" he asked critically.
Nancy smiled affectionately at him, "A wise man told me that PB&J is the meal of champions."
They met in the middle of the room and kissed lingeringly, then he turned to the papers on the counter, "Still the LaSalle case?"
Nancy's expression turned serious, "CIA Internal Affairs has picked up Tristan Caswell for the Columbian Cartel incident."
Murdock looked at her in surprise, "So the case is closed?" he looked confused.
"Yes," she said, and pursed her lips, "But I'm afraid he's not guilty."
"Let me get this straight," Murdock said, crossing his arms and looking at his wife appraisingly, "You were trying to put together a case to convict Caswell, but now you think that he isn't guilty? Then who is?"
Nancy pursed her lips, "LaSalle," she said simply.
"Your Uncle's colleague?" Murdock looked uncertain, "You sure your judgment isn't clouded where your Uncle is concerned?"
Nancy turned to the sink, rinsing her hands thoughtfully, "Sounds nuts, huh? I'm afraid that LaSalle is guilty of more than just the Columbian Cartel incident, though at the moment I don't have any evidence. At least not right at hand," she added quietly.
Murdock shook his head, "Nothing you get involved in is ever straight forward."
"I really don't want to be Uncle's messenger in this case," she said dejectedly, "But he's got to know the truth. If he doesn't distance himself from LaSalle he could get caught in the backwash from whatever does end up coming down the pike. I have a bad feeling that LaSalle has been involved in a whole host of these little 'incidents' over the last several years. I think Sam Germaine figured it out, and I think LaSalle killed him because of it."
"Whoa," Murdock stood, "Who's Sam Germaine and what's this about LaSalle killing him?"
Nancy drained her glass of milk, "Sorry, honey, I don't really have time to explain right now. I've got a couple more calls to make." She headed back to the front of the house where her office was located.
Murdock put his hands on either side of his head, "That woman is going to drive me right back to the VA mental ward," he said to himself.
In the office, Nancy picked up the phone and dialed Detective Jenkins in LA, "Hello Detective, it's Nancy Murdock in Langley . . ."
"Nancy," Jenkins exploded, "It's Les, remember? And what the heck are all these gobbledy gook files you had Jean Turner dump on me this morning?"
Nancy laughed, "Well, it's kind of a long story, but I think they may be the motive behind Sam Germaine's murder."
Leslie Jenkins seemed immediately interested, "I'm all ears - fill me in."
Nancy ran quickly over the basics of what she had deduced over the course of the morning, but declined to mention any names, "I really think that the same man who was responsible for the Rocky Flats incident, is responsible for the Columbian Cartel incident, and killed Sam Germaine to make sure that the Agency didn't figure it out."
"OK," Les said slowly, "So what do you want from me."
"You said you found some physical evidence at the scene, do you still have it?" Nancy asked hopefully.
Les exploded again, "Of course, we found some traces blood on one of the files. The perp had gotten a paper cut. We even had the lab analyze the DNA and run it against the federal database, but we came up empty-handed. If I can get a DNA sample from your suspect then we can tie him to the crime scene. Did he have opportunity?"
"He was in LA from February 16 until March 5," Nancy said.
"So, are you gonna cut the suspense and give me a name," Les asked eagerly.
.
"Phillipe LaSalle," Nancy said, "CIA Internal Affairs would probably be willing to cooperate if you tell them what you've got. They should also be able to decipher the files that Sam Germaine collected. I suspect that there is a lot of info there that IA would love to get their hands on."
"I'll call the Agency office here, I have a contact there that should be able to help," Les said, thinking out loud.
"Tell them to talk to Agent Edward Mitchell, Internal Affairs, Headquarters."
"Got it," Les said, "I'll let you know how it goes. I sure hope you're right, otherwise we're both gonna get cuffed around the ears."
"Yea," Nancy said uncertainly, "I hope I'm right, too."
As Nancy hung up the phone, Murdock asked, "Who was that?"
Nancy turned to where he was leaning against the door jam leading into her office, "Detective Les Jenkins, LA Homicide," she said shortly, as the phone rang.
She picked it up, "Adams Investigations, Nancy Murdock."
"It wasn't too hard to find what you wanted," Casey said without preamble, "Germaine was signed in every day between October 20 and October 26. I asked the receptionist if she remembered him and she asked how she could forget. Apparently the guy was insistent about seeing this manager and that manager, working his way up through the CIA ranks like a pro. He was itchin' to bend somebody's ear about something."
"Did he actually talk to any of them?" she asked.
"From what Paula, that's the front desk receptionist, she's been with us for years, he waited most days in the lobby, without anyone coming down to see him. I think they finally sent down my boss to get rid of him."
"Did you ask Allen if he talked to him?" Nancy asked, referring to Casey's boss Allen Hanson.
"No," Casey said irritably, "I'm not gonna go asking Allen about something like that out of the blue. He'll want to know why I want to know."
Nancy considered her lack of substantive evidence, "Alright Casey, here's the thing. I think LaSalle set Caswell up to take the fall for the Columbian Cartel incident. And I don't think it's the first time he's done something like this. In particular there was an incident while he was in Denver, involving an intelligence leak at Rocky Flats . . ."
"How did you know about that?" Casey said, sounding uncertain.
"Listen, I don't have any evidence, not at hand, but there's a homicide detective in LA, her name's Les Jenkins, and I told her to call Ed Mitchell. She's got DNA evidence from a murder scene, Sam Germaine's murder. And if my hunch is right, that DNA evidence is going to finger LaSalle."
Nancy heard Casey's chair squeak as he sat back, "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Tell Ed to cooperate with Les, because if the DNA evidence isn't enough, she's got a set of encrypted files that Germaine had in a safe deposit box that I'm betting contain the proof that LaSalle was involved in the Rocky Flats incident, and maybe others. That's why he was in DC last October, and I'd wager that's what he talked to Allen about."
"You do realize, don't you," Casey said evenly, "What a political morass you are wading into here?"
Nancy took a deep breath, "I don't give a shit about the politics, Casey. You've got a man, with high security clearance that is a chronic leak. IA needs to get its head out of the political clouds and start doing its job - no personal offense intended," she amended.
Casey chuckled, "That's what I always liked about you, Nan - you tell it like it is. No offense taken. I'll give Eddy a heads up about Jenkins. I may even feel Allen out about Germaine, though, I have a feeling that that conversation won't go well. If he ignored valid evidence of an IA screw up, he's gonna be on the hot seat."
"That seat will get even hotter if he makes the same mistake with Caswell," Nancy said.
"Point well taken," Casey said ruefully, "I'll let you know what I find out."
Murdock was still standing in the doorway, watching his wife with interest, when she hung up the phone again, "Got the wheels set in motion to bring LaSalle down, huh?" he asked quietly.
Nancy looked satisfied that she had done what she could on the case, "LaSalle is one smooth operator," she said, "I think that he's been setting Caswell up for years," she indicated the timeline, "I'd bet IA has a copy of this same disk now, and is busy going through the process of linking many of these incidents to Caswell, when in reality it was LaSalle that was to blame. That's why LaSalle was tracking Caswell through the Agency. When I started, I thought it was because he suspected Caswell of the various intelligence leaks, but that just didn't add up, there were too many inconsistencies. Then, when I started looking into Germaine's murder, I realized that it was the key. If I could figure out who did it, then I'd have the guy. And LaSalle was the only one that had opportunity."
She sat back and looked out the window, chewing her lip, "Now I just need to figure out how to break this to Uncle," she said quietly, "He wouldn't say it, but I really think that he considered Phillipe LaSalle a friend. This is going to hit him hard."
Murdock moved forward and put his hands on her shoulders, "You know, if the roles were reversed your Uncle would not give a second thought to your feelings in the matter, he'd tell you that you made a mistake trusting the man, and that you should think twice about ever doing it again."
Nancy nodded, with a thin smile, "I know, HM, but don't you think it's sad. This is going to make it even harder for Uncle to trust anyone in the future. And he already has a hard time with that as it is. I'd hate to live my life that way."
"Me too, Short Cake," Murdock said regretfully, "me, too."