RESIDENCE OF HENRY AND BARBARA LINDSTROM
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
For the past hour there is silence in the Lindstrom residence. The girl who was presumed to be Sasha Lindstrom sits silently on the couch in the living room, digesting what she had just heard today. She wishes this was nothing but a nightmare, and that she will wake up knowing whom she is.
Commander Meg Austin hears the door open. She looks and sees a man in a United States Navy dress uniform. The chevrons on his sleeve indicate that he is a master chief petty officer. Instinctively, the master chief stands at attention to the commander.
"Hello there," says Meg. "Commander Meg Austin from JAG."
"Master Chief Henry Lindstrom," says the man. A few white strands can be seen in the blond hair on his head, and a few creases are visible on his forehead. "Ma'am, I presume you are hear to speak with my daughter about her application to Annapolis."
"Her application did lead to me being here, Master Chief," says Meg. "How long have you known her?"
"You mean, Sasha? All her life, ma'am."
Meg takes the milk carton. "Care to guess whom this is?" asks the commander.
"Looks like she's Alexandra Galvin," says Lindstrom. "Went missing in '92, it says here."
"The girl on the picture is the girl you call Sasha," says Meg. "When she sent in her live scan fingerprint, NCIS matched it to that of this missing girl. When I saw the milk carton, I asked for the photo album and that clearly shows that the girl you claim to be your daughtyer is in fact Alexandra Galvin."
The master chief sits silently.
"Master Chief, if you have an explanation for this, I would advise you tell me," says Meg. "I'll have to report this to JAG with the recommendation that you be court-martialed for kidnapping."
Master Chief Lindstrom turns to the red-haired girl. "Sasha," he says. "It's time for you to know the truth."
"Tell me," says the girl.
"It started when I went to high school with your mother," he replies. "I loved music almost as much as I loved her, and I also wanted to serve my country. I auditioned for the Navy band in 1969, and I was accepted. At the time, the Vietnam War was raging, and people in the service were not very popular. Barbara understood my decision. I completed basic training and was assigned to a band. It was that time that Barbara told me she was pregnant with my child. I decided to do the right thing and marry her. In 1970 we had a baby girl named Stephanie."
"What happened next?"
"We raised Stephanie as best we could, given my occupation. I continued performing uin the Navy band, getting to play all across the country- the band and I once even went to Vietnam back in '72. Stephanie grew into a teenager during the '80's, back when MTVwas starting to be popular. She also started to rebel. At first it was into partying and rock and roll and marijuana. After being arrested by the police for drug use, she decided to clean up. She made some new friends. They were clean-cut and friendly and not like the stoners she used to associate with. But then she turned against us, telling us we were not good enough. When she was seventeen she ran away from home."
"You told me she was dead," replied the girl. "And I remember being with her."
"Six years later she tracked us down," says the master chief. "She had you, a little girl, with her. She told us that she was in some nomadic cult. She told us she had you when she was nineteen. She couldn't deal with the cult anymore, and she didn't want you to grow up in the cult and end up like the other girls. She asked us to take care of you, she said the others were coming after her and she wanted you safe. Unfortunately, she was right about them. A month later, her body was found in a ditch near San Diego. That's why we took you in. You were all that was left of Stephanie. We decided to keep it from you until you were old enough."
"Except that she was not your daughter or granddaughter," says Meg. "She is Alexandra Galvin. Her parents are David and Catherine Galvin. She has three brothers and two sisters. All of them havbe been wondering what happened to her for the past fourteen years."
"You have to understand," says Barbara Lindstrom. "Sasha needed our help."
"Why didn't you tell the police about her?" asks the commander. "Why did you not ask the police to investigate this girl whom your daughter brought home."
"We just lost our daughter," says Master Chief Lindstrom. "You have no idea what it's like, to bury your own child. Sasha was all we had left!"
"Well, Master Chief, you don't understand what it's like for your child to be missing, to wonder if she is dead or alive, if she was brutally murdered or if she is kept alive while suffering horrible abuse. But the Galvins know what its like; they've been living that for the past fourteen years."
"What will happen to Henry?" asks Mrs. Lindstrom.
"I don't know," says Meg. "I'm going back to JAG Headquarters to deliver my report."
"Ma'am, I never meant any harm to Sasha or Alexandra or whoever she is," says Master Chief Lindstrom. "I took care of her as best I could."
oooooooooooooo
DAY 3
1522 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
"Good morning, ma'am," says Seaman First Class Jack Culp. "How was Florida?"
"A lot warmer," replies Meg, wearing a heavy overcoat over her dress uniform. "Is the general in?"
"Yes, ma'am. He's in his office right now."
Meg places her overcoat in her office and then walks over to the general's office.
"Commander Austin, the general is busy right now," says a woman with brown hair tied in a bun. Stripes on her sleeve indicate that she is a petty officer first class.
"I finished my report on the Lindstrom case," says Meg. "Let him know."
"Yes, ma'am."
The commander returns to her small office. Just three minutes later, the petty officer, whose name is Jennifer Coates, walks to her office.
"The general wishes to speak with you, ma'am," says Coates.
"Thank you, Coates," replies Meg as she stands up. She walks over to General Cresswell's office.
The office is much larger than Meg's office, with a finely-carved wooden desk and a carpet on the floor. A wooden bookcase holds dozens of books and a color television is set in a wooden stand.
"I've read over your report," says Major General Gordon M. Cresswell. "Give me a summary, Commander."
"Master Chief Henry Lindstrom, who claimed to be the girl's father, said that his daughter Stephanie ran away from home back when she was seventeen," says Meg. "Six years later Stephanie Lindstrom shows up with a little girl she called Sasha. She leaves the girl with her parents, and then runs off. She was later found murdered."
"Do you believe him, Austin?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you conclude that the girl known as Sasha Lindstrom is in fact Alexandra Galvin."
"Yes, sir."
"What do you recommend?" asks General Cresswell.
"I requested NCIS to take a closer look at the Stephanie Lindstrom murder case," says Meg. "I also faxed a copy of my report to the Cedar Rapids Police Department. As for Master Chief Lindstrom, at this time I do not recommend a court-martial. There's no evidence that he plotted to kidnap Alexandra Galvin. He simply took care of a girl he believed to be his granddaughter."
"So who gets custody of her?" asks Cresswell.
"A family court will have to decide that, sir," replies Meg.
ooooooooooooooo
DAY 4
0205 ZULU
MEG'S TOWNHOUSE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
Meg lies down on her bed watching the image on her Toshiba color television. A local area news channel is on.
"A girl missing for fourteen years has now been identified," says a voice. "We are going live to Cedar Rapids where a CBS affiliate is reporting."
Meg widens her eyes and ears as she sees and listens.
"I am right here outside of the Cedar Rapids Police Headquarters," says a man in a suit. "A girl reported missing fourteen years ago was found alive in Florida."
A man with tightly-curled black hair comes out. He is dressed in a business suit.
"What do youn have to say, Detective?" asks the CBS reporter.
"Alexandra Galvin, then three years old, was first reported missing in May of 1992," says the police detective. "We're not divulging details of this case, since it is still under investigation. We do know that she is alive, and that she has been living with a Navy sailor for at least the past twelve years. We're in contact with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps as well as the Galvin family."
"Do you have more?" asks another reporter from NBC. "How was Alexandra Galvin found?"
"We will not release details of an ongoing investigation at this time."
"Was there any sexual abuse?" asks another reporter.
"I have no comment," says the detective.
ooooooooooooooo
1253 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
"What the hell?" asks Meg as she drives up to the main gate of JAG Headquarters in her blue Infiniti.
A whole crowd of people are gathered just feet from the main gate, all wearing heavy coats. The commander can see some of them have cameras and microphones.
"Excuse me," says one of the people. "Do you have any word on the Alexandra Galvin case?"
Meg ignores the person and drives past the gate, parking her car in the parking lot. She gets out, enters the building, and enters the main office.
"Commander," asks Seaman Culp, "did you notice the crowd outside?"
"What crowd, Seaman?" she retorts. "Don't you have something to do, Culp?"
"Yes, ma'am." The seaman quickly scurries to another part of the main office.
"Seems to be a crowd outside," Meg hears a male voice say.
A man dressed in a Navy uniform with an overcoat enters. A hat covers his head, and thick lips frame his mouth.
"Let's just ignore them for now, Sturgis," says Meg.
"As long as it has nothing to do with me," says Commander Sturgis Turner, former submariner and one of the JAG staff lawyers.
"Anyone notice the reporters hanging out there?" hears Meg.
"Good morning, General," she says. "they seem to want more information about the Alexandra Galvin case."
"Well Austin," says General Cresswell. "go out there and tell them that we're still investigating."
"Yes, sir."
"Excuse me, General Cresswell," says Petty Officer First Class Jennifer Coates. "Admiral Calavicci is on the line."
"I'll take it in my office, Coates," replies the general.
ooooooooooo
1433 ZULU
The telephone rings, and Meg picks up the receiver in her office.
"Commander Austin here," she says.
"Ma'am," says Coates, "there's a Master Chief Lindstrom asking for you."
"Put him through."
"Yes, ma'am."
"This is Commander Austin," says Meg.
"This is Master Chief Lindstrom," says Master Chief Lindstrom.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Master Chief?"
"I'm really worried, ma'am. There's a whole camp of reporters at the front gate here," says the master chief petty officer.
"There's a lot of reporter camped out here in JAG Headquarters. It seems this missing girl case has gotten a lot of media attention."
"What should I do, ma'am?"
"Simple," says the commander. "Don't talk to the reporters. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you think they'll take Sasha away?"
There is silence for a moment. "It's very likely, Master Chief. You and your wife do not have legal custody of her."
"This could ruin her life!"
"Listen, Master Chief. Just don't say anything to anyone about it. Just let the family courts decide. If anything comes up, call me."
"I will, ma'am."
Meg steps out of her office/ she notices the lawyers and paralegals have their eyes glued to the color televisions.
"This is Stuart Dunston from the Satellite News Network," says a reporter whose image is on the phosporescent screen. "I'm here at the headquarters of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington, D.C."
A silver-haiored man approaches the building housing the NCIS Headquarters. The reporters crowd around him, and the image focuses on him.
"Do you have anything on the Galvin kidnapping case?" aska one of the reporters.
"Will any charges be filed against the sailor whom she was living with these past fourteen years?" asks another reporter.
One of the reporters bumps him, and some coffee spills on the NCIS agent's suit.
"I said no comment!" yells the agent, clearly exasperated by the questions of the reporters.
"Don't you have anything else better to do?" asks General Cresswell, looking at the staff lawyers and paralegals.
"Yes, sir," they all reply.
ooooooooooooo
1609 ZULU
Meg sits inside the JAG Headquarters officers' mess, eating a meal of salisbury steak and boiled vegetables. The mess is about as big as a high school cafeteria, with cloth-covered tables.
"Good afternoon, ma'amn," says a man with dark hair, standing a little shorter than the commander.
"Good afternoon, Commander," replies Meg as she sips on a Coke. "You ever worked on a missing person's case?"
"I prosecuted a deserter," says Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, one of the Navy lawyers assigned to JAG Headquarters.
"The case I'm working on is aboiut this girl who went missing from a shopping mall fourteen years ago. She came to be under the care of a sailor and his wife. She was found because she applied to Annapolis."
"I had an experience with a missing child," says Bud. "It happened to me."
"What happened?"
"Well, ma'am, my son, AJ, went missing from this entertainment center. He was missing for one night until my brother Mike found him."
"Was he kidnapped?"
"Oh no, ma'am. He ran away because he had trouble dealing with the new baby Harriet and I had. He stayed with this homeless family. He was lucky that he found them, and not someone else."
"He must have gotten into a lot of trouble over that."
"Yes, ma'am," replies Bud. "I should get my dinner. You have a good afternoon, ma'am."
oooooooooooo
DAY 5
0122 ZULU
JACKSONVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, located near the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida, is a huge theater for music amndtheater events. Since its opening in November of 2003, the arena has sponsored events such as rock concerts and high school graduations. The arena was built to seat fourteen thousand.
At the present time, the arena is hosting a concert bny the Jacksonville Naval Air Station Band. The Navy musicians, all dressed in formal tuxedo-like uniforms, play their instruments from violins to cellos to tubas and pipes. Among the audience are civic leaders, officers and crew from nearby military bases, and family members of the band members.
"And that was the Jacksonville Naval Air Station Band," says a voice over the speaker. "they will now go into intermission. Please use this time to use the restroom or get some drinks. There will be more coming soon."
Master Chief Petty Officer Henry Lindstrom puts down the cello he had been playing. He briefly looks at the audience, and at the conductor, Commander Roger Davis.
"I could definitely use a break, Master Chief," says a clarinet player.
"We all could, Petty Officer," replies the master chief.
As he gets up, he sees a lieutenant junior grade and two petty officers approaching the band. He notices that they are in service dress uniform. He also notices the badges.
"Master Chief Lindstrom," says the lieutenant.
"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" asks Lindstrom.
"Master Chief Petty Officer Henry Lindstrom, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Alexandra Galvin," says the lieutenant. "You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to appoint civilian counsel. Anything you say can and will be used against you."
One of the petty officers cuffs his hands behind his back.