Chapter 15d05
Chapter 15 (Draft 05)
An hour later at the police station, Robert was hugging Kari who was crying on his shoulder.
"Why would anybody do such a thing? AJ was so gentle." She looked up at Robert and sniffed. "I don't understand."
"I know," he whispered back. "We'll find out who did it Kari, I promise."
She looked at him again, "Oh my God, we have to call his grandmother in Richland. She'll be devastated. Andrew was her only grandchild. They only had each other."
"We've already taken care of that, Ms. Dietz," said another detective sitting across the table between them.
Kari looked at the man. "How did she take the news? Is she okay?"
"I… really don't know. I wasn't the one who made the call."
Kari fell into Roberts arms and started to cry again.
"We appreciate you coming in to talk to us." The detective looked at Robert. "We're finished here; we have a taxi waiting outside to take her home."
"A taxi?" Kari looked at Robert. "But… aren't you taking me home?"
"I can't, sweetheart. I have to join a meeting with the Captain and the FBI about Benny. I'll stop by to check on you just as soon as I can. It'll only be a couple of hours, but I don't want you hanging around waiting for me here.
She sniffed again and nodded. "Okay."
They all stood and the door to the interview room opened. "This officer will escort you out to your cab, Miss Dietz. Thanks for coming in and… I'm sorry again about your friend."
"Thanks for calling her a cab, Bob," Robert said to the other detective.
Kari nodded and then kissed Robert before leaving the room.
"Nice girl," the detective said to Robert, as he watched Kari continue her sobbing down the hallway. "If you'd like to go with her, I can fill you in after the meeting."
"He's staying here," said their captain who entered the room together with two other men dressed in suits.
"Detective Robert Coleman, this is Field Agent Anthony Ramirez of the FBI and Special Agent Roma Koslov." They all shook hands. "And this is "Bob Shoales. He's another one of my detectives who's been investigating the hospital murder."
"Tony," Ramirez said to Robert who was still looking at Koslov.
"Special Agent?"
"Roma is attached to the counterintelligence office in Washington. You might remember the Hanssen espionage case in Virginia a few years back? He was involved in that."
They all sat at the table together and Koslov opened a folder.
"Your man Kirill Bezuhov is one nasty customer." Koslov removed a black and white photograph of a man in a Russian Military uniform. "He was one of Stalin's personal assassins."
Robert looked at the picture and frowned. "How old is this photo? Is this the best we've got on him?"
"Afraid so — he's been attached to the Soviet Consulate in California since the Reagan administration, long before we required updated photos."
The Captain of Detectives looked at the photo and then passed it back to the FBI again. "Stalin, you say? How old is this guy?"
"Doctor Howard told me he's over a hundred," Robert answered.
"That makes sense," Koslov replied. "He was here when the first Soviet consulate opened in 1933 after diplomatic relations between the USSR and the US were initially established. That's really how he made his fortune. He controlled all the visas and passports prior to the war, so most of the Soviet black market was under this thumb. He was also one of the original founders of the Red Mafia." Koslov looked at Robert and frowned.
"You said this Doctor Howard… he actually saw Bezuhov?"
"That's what he said. He described him as old, in a wheelchair and dying."
"Yeah, well… he's been dying for a very, very long time. I heard he was dying when I first entered counterintelligence more than twenty years ago." Koslov looked at the photo again. "But to know somebody who's actually seen him recently is amazing."
"So what does this Russian want with Sally Carmichael?" Robert asked him.
Koslow closed the folder and looked up. "I don't know. Who is she?"
Robert filled everybody in on Sally's recent trips to the hospital, her relationship with Ethan Dodge, and his suspicions that Bezuhov was responsible for Ethan's attack and the murder of Kari's friend, Andrew Johnson.
"We got anything on the boyfriend… this Ethan Dodge?" Koslov asked Ramirez.
"Just a buyer and trader of rare books — his file is clean." Ramirez looked at Robert with a puzzled expression. "He's pretty young for your friend Carmichael, isn't he?"
"What do you mean?" The captain asked him.
Robert took a deep breath, looking somewhat uneasy as he glanced around the room. Perhaps it was because he had gotten to know Sally Carmichael a little better over the last few days that made him more respectful of her person outside her presence."Yeah, you could say that. Sally is ninety three years old."
"Holy shit. Your friend Dodge… he likes the geriatric?" said the other police detective.
"Shut up, Bob. You don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"What's to know? This guy's doing a ninety year broad? I'm just sayin'…"
"Hey — screw you, Bob."
"All right, knock that shit off. We've got work to do here," their captain fired back.
Robert was still glaring at his smiling friend when Ramirez spoke again.
"So what's the connection between Sally Carmichael and this other doctor friend of yours… this Doctor Howard Gladwin?"
Robert looked uneasy again as he spoke. "Glad is studying Sally Carmichael's case. He's some kind of aging specialist down at the university."
Ramirez opened another folder. "Specializing in gene expression and syndromes associated with human aging."
"Yeah, something like that — right."
"You called him Glad. Do you know this man personally?"
"The doc is his girlfriend's uncle," Bob said.
"So this Doctor Howard is Miss Carmichael's doctor?"
"Not yet, but he's trying. He wants Sally to check herself into the university for more tests." Robert hesitated again.
"Yeah, so what is it? Other than her age, what's wrong with the woman?"
"She has a very rare condition that Howard is interested in. Sally Carmichael is… ah… getting younger." Robert let these words settle in a bit before looking around the room again.
"Getting younger? What does that mean?"
"I mean she's… you know… getting younger. With every passing day, she looks younger. You can almost see it happening. It's really very startling." Everybody was now frowning at Robert.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true…"
"Wait a minute. What are we talking about here? Is she on some kind of new drug to reduce the lines in her face, or?
"No, no… you don't understand." Robert reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph. "I got this picture off a newsreel from a couple of nights ago so I'd have something to show you." He slid the picture across the table at them. "As you can see, Sally doesn't look her age at all." The picture showed Sally being pushed by a number of reporters in front of Ethan's townhouse.
"Oh yeah, I remember this, but I thought it was some kind of joke," Bob replied, looking down at the photograph. "Holy shit… she looks younger than me!"
Their captain picked up the photograph to look at it more closely. "This is Sally Carmichael, the woman that's supposed to be ninety three years old?"
"That's bullshit, man," Bob retorted with a chuckle. Even with all the gray hair that chick's a hottie! Hey… maybe I should start taking whatever med she's on. Can you get a script for that?"
"God damn it, Bob. Find some focus!" blistered the captain before looking at Robert again. "Are you sure about this?"
Robert looked frustrated. "I've watched the change myself over the last few months. I'm telling you the truth — she's definitely getting younger. My friend Kari has known her longer than anybody and that's why she contacted her uncle to take a look at her."
Koslov took the photo and frowned. "So what's all this got to do with Bezuhov?"
"I don't know, you tell me."
"You think Bezuhov has taken Doctor Howard's son? What's his name?"
"Benjamin Howard, and yes, I do."
"Why?"
"I — don't — freakin' — know!" Robert was getting angry. "Look, I'm convinced whatever this guy wants — it's all about Sally Carmichael. It's something about her condition. First, her friend Ethan Dodge is attacked and now Andrew Johnson is killed. Both of them were very close to Sally. The two thugs who were seen in the vicinity during these attacks work for Bezuhov. One was seen on a camera in the elevator talking to AJ right before the estimated time of death, and the cameras in the parking garage where Ethan was attacked were disabled — a real professional job. And now, Glad's all but admitted to me that this nut-job has his son Benny. I'm telling you, he's our guy!"
Koslov looked at Ramirez and shrugged. "Taking the kids of an enemy has always been one of Bezuhov's favorite tactics."
The captain motioned to Robert. "I'm still missing a motive here. First of all, why's he pressing so hard on the doctor?"
"It all comes back to Sally Carmichael again. He wants her. More precisely, he wants Howard working on her. It's become clear to me that Kari's uncle is scared to death of this guy to the extent that he's more interested in working with Sally than finding his own son. That tells me Bezuhov has Benny. Glad is working on Sally for the sake of his son."
"But you said Doctor Gladwin has been studying Carmichael's case since before Dodge was attacked. Yet the doctor's son was only taken yesterday. Why the sudden rush?" Bob asked him. "Why's the Russian so interested in an old woman gone young? If he really wanted her, wouldn't he just take her too?"
Koslov leaned back to think. "He most certainly would take her, but that only means he doesn't want her physically — at least not yet. It's obvious he wants what Doctor Howard can get from studying her." He looked at the rest. "It's got to be something really very important to him."
"Maybe we should bring Doctor Howard in and put some heat on him," the captain suggested. "Make him tell us what he knows. If we can break him down, we might have enough to get a search warrant for Bezuhov's place in LA."
Koslov looked doleful. "I don't think that'll work. We've tried numerous times to get a warrant to search Bezuhov's house without success. He has a lot of friends in very high places in our government. And even if you did get a warranty, you won't find the boy there. He's not that stupid."
"But if we sweated Howard some, we might understand what's going on a little better," Bob replied. He looked at Ramirez. "What do you think?"
The agent thought for a moment and shrugged. "In any situation where the details are not known, the default methodology is to take away something we know Bezuhov wants and then wait for him to make a mistake. Taking the doctor in house for a few days might get a response."
Robert looked somewhat afraid. "Normally, I might agree with that tactic, but in this case we have another problem. Glad said Sally was dying."
The men in the room looked surprised.
"Are you sure he wasn't just telling you that to get her into the university? If my son were at risk, I think I'd say just about anything to…"
"No," Robert said, cutting Ramirez off, "I don't think he's lying about this. If you saw the way Sally looked a few months ago and the way she looks today, you'd have to ask yourself… where does her condition finally stop? According to Glad, Sally Carmichael will continue to de-age until she becomes a baby again and then whatever comes after that."
"Jesus Christ," Bob said, shaking his head disbelievingly. "I take back what I said about getting her meds."
Robert ignored his friend. "It saw the panic Glad's face when I told him I wouldn't let him take Sally to his lab, but honestly… that might be the only place she can go to save her life."
"What does the woman want to do? Does she want to put herself under Doctor Howard care again at the university?"
"No, she doesn't…"
"So what are we talking about here? If the woman doesn't want to go…"
Robert sighed. "She doesn't know yet that her life is at risk. Kari was going to have that talk with her today, but that was before the kidnapping and now the Johnson's murder."
There was a pause before the captain spoke again. "Okay, let's assume Bezuhov wants the woman for… whatever reason. And let's assume he was responsible for killing Johnson at the hospital and kidnapping the Howard kid. Do we have a line on his soldiers in the field yet?"
"Yeah, I do," Robert replied, sliding over to pick up his own folder. "Ethan Dodge told me he overheard them talking in Russian in an elevator, saying they were there to guard Sally."
"Guard her? Your friend Dodge, he understands Russian, does he?"
"Enough to understand that much, I suppose. I got some pictures of the men from a hospital tape and through another connection I got a report on three of the four goons." He passed the pdf hardcopies he got from his friend Dan.
The FBI agents looked at the pictures and the names on the files and then the name of Bezuhov listed as their country sponsor. They looked at each other.
"Where did you get these files? This looks like Homeland Security stuff."
"Don't ask," Robert said with a smirk, ignoring their frowns. "Given what you've told me about Bezuhov, I'm a little surprised he would allow his name to be listed in the file as the sponsor of these thugs."
Ramirez was still studying the papers. "He wouldn't allow it. It was probably put in the file by somebody in-house, someone assigned to track movement around him."
"I know this man," Koslow said, pointing at one of the files. "Igorek Popov. He's a third tier maniac out of Kadykchan. His father worked in the tin mines there. You'll want to stay away from this one as best you can. And if he reaches in his boot in your presence, shoot him dead unless you like having your throat cut. "
"I want to know where these guys are today," said the captain. He looked at Koslov. "Can you contact whoever is watching Bezuhov and tell them to call us if he sees them?" Koslov nodded.
"Bob, I want you focused on the hospital murder. Get any film available into the lab around the time of death. Elevators, stairwells, corridors… check it all. I want to see something showing these guys next to Johnson besides just an elevator ride."
"I should be helping him," Robert added.
"No. I want you to stay on Sally Carmichael. Is she still staying at the Dodge house?" Robert nodded. "Good.
"Now, what are going to do about her going to the university? Are we going to allow that?"
The FBI agents looked at each other and nodded. "We don't have a clue where Bezuhov might be keeping the Howard boy," Koslov said. "If we bring the doctor in for questioning, or get in the way of their plans for studying the Carmichael woman more, we could be putting the kid at risk. I think we have enough evidence here to bug Howard's lab and phones at the university. With you and your girlfriend looking over Carmichael like a concerned friend, we might be able to get more while she's being tested. She should be convinced to go to the university for the sake of the kid and her own health."
"I don't want Kari anywhere near this mess. People are getting killed here," Robert answered.
"I understand your concern, but listen: her presence at the university is the only thing validating your involvement here. Bezuhov is going to know everything about every person connected to Carmichael. He's always very thorough. I guarantee you he knows about Kari Dietz, about you, about Ethan Dodge, about the doctor and his family; he'll know everything from your shoe size to where you like to eat. Given that fact, it would be best to keep Kari as close to you as possible."
Robert looked more concerned than ever, but nodded his approval of the plan. "Of course, this is all dependent on Carmichael's willingness to be tested more," he added.
"If she's been made to think her life is at risk, why wouldn't she agree?" Ramirez asked.
Robert nodded again, but knew if it were up to Sally alone, she would probably refuse to go. The detective was hopeful her relationship with Ethan Dodge would move her to comply.
"One more thing," Koslov added. "Your captain agrees with us that nobody but those in this room are to know anything about what we're doing when it comes to Bezuhov. He has moles everywhere."
"Oh come on…" Bob started to argue.
"Listen to me. I've been involved in too many investigations gone wrong where Bezuhov is concerned. There's no other way to say it: It's not if he finds out what we're doing, it's only about when he finds out."
"Yeah, but…"
The captain stood. "That's the way it's going to be. Don't tell anybody about this case and don't mention Bezuhov or Carmichael's name outside this room. Your reports will be verbal and only to me personally. No electronic transfers, nothing left in my mailbox or in my office. Does everybody understand?" The two detectives nodded.
"Good. Our best chance of saving this boy from this maniac is to make him believe we're all locked up investigating this murder at the hospital."
Kari had the taxi driver stop at Ethan's townhouse and soon she was being fawned over my Sally in the kitchen.
"Here, my dear, drink this." Sally was pouring her some tea and then looked at Ethan who was sitting at the table next to her.
"I'm really sorry to hear about your friend at the hospital," Ethan said apologetically. "Do they know who might have… you know… hurt him?"
Kari took a drink of the tea. "No, not yet," she said, shaking. She broke down and started to cry again.
Sally swooped in quickly to hold her. "Oh my sweet, sweet child. There-there, yes it's a terrible thing. Andrew was such a wonderful man to me at the hospital, a field of daffodils and tulips to a sick old woman. Who could do such a thing?" Kari wept into Sally's shoulder as her phone started to buzz.
"Oh… that's probably Robert." Kari said, quickly wiping her nose as she opened the phone. "Hello?
"Oh, Uncle Glad, hi… any news about Benny? No? How's Aunt Liz? No… Robert is still at the station. They were in a meeting about it when I when I left, so I'm sure he'll want to call you as soon as possible. What?" Kari looked at Sally in the chair next to her. "Ah, no, I haven't talked to her about that yet. I just got here. No, I understand the urgency. I just haven't had a chance…"
Ethan and Sally could hear Doctor Gladwin's voice increasing in volume over the phone.
"Yes I understand. I will, Glad, I promise. But… are you sure you're up to working? With Benny still missing, I thought you might…" Her uncle's voice was loud again.
"All right. Okay. I understand. I will. As early as I can tomorrow, all right. I love you and please… give Aunt Liz my love too." She closed the phone.
"Jesus, what a day."
"Any news about your cousin?" asked Ethan.
"No, not yet. Uncle Glad is still waiting for Robert to call him."
"My dear, if Ethan is agreeable, you should stay here with us. You really should be with those who love you at a time like this," Sally suggested, looking over at Ethan.
The man didn't hesitate. "Absolutely. There's plenty of room here, for both you and Robert if you like."
Kari wasn't sure. "Thanks, but I really should wait to hear back from Robert before making any plans." She looked at Sally again.
"Sal, I have something very important I need to talk to you about."
Sally seemed temporarily surprised. Assuming Kari needed her help more, she leaned in quickly to take her hands. "Yes, dear. I'll do anything I can to help you, you know that. What is it?"
"Thank you, but this isn't about me. It's about you and about some of the test results from the hospital."
Once again, Sally looked surprised. She slowly fell back, looking much more uncomfortable than the moment before."
"I… I don't understand. Is there something that you need to tell me?"
"Yes, I'm afraid there is." Kari looked over at Ethan who immediately understood his place.
"I should leave and let the two of you talk." Laboring to use his cane, he slowly got to his feet. Although the casts on his arm and leg had recently been removed, it still hurt Sally to see him struggling.
"No — please, Ethan," Sally stopped him. "If you would, I'd rather you were here with me." He smiled and immediately sat back down.
Kari leaned in, looking very nervous. "Uncle Glad told me to tell you that your condition is very serious, Sal."
"Serious? But I feel wonderful, never better."
"Yes, I know. In fact you're in perfect health… at the moment."
"At… at the moment? You looked worried, my dear."
"Yeah… well…Uncle Glad wanted to talk to you personally about his findings, but with Benny taken and all, he's… he's asked me to…"
"Enough of the pleasantries, young lady. I might look a little younger, but I've lived long enough to know life is too short to waste it with all the formalities — it's better to be frank. So what is your uncle telling you?"
"Well, like I said, your current health is fine, but he also said unless they find a way to stop the de-aging process, it's not going to stop. You'll keep getting younger until…"
"Oh dear," Sally said in obvious surprise. "I never thought about that. How young will I…?"
Kari took a deep breath. "Unless they can find a way to stop this, you'll go all the way back. Back to being a child, then a baby, and then de-mature to the point where your body cannot sustain itself outside a womb."
"My God," Ethan said, lowering his head.
Sally didn't seem all that concerned. "And does your uncle believe he can stop this?"
"He said there are a few things they would like to try at the university starting tomorrow morning. They need to…"
"To run more tests…" Sally finished for her.
"Yes, Sally, that's right. They want to run more tests to see what can be done."
"So, at the moment, he doesn't know if he can help me… or stop what's happening to me."
Kari looked at her friend and couldn't stop the tears stinging her eyes.
"I've seen that look in your eyes at my bedside before, child. I can see your heart as clear as the brightest moon on a winter's night."
"I'm sorry, Sal. I know you hate going back into the hospital again, but we have to do something. Otherwise we might lose you again."
Sally thought about it and then smiled. "I have seen so many seasons come and go. I've had a very full life and I'm looking forward to finally seeing my creator face to face." She paused and then, "I will admit over the last few years I've come to believe I didn't need all this extra time on God's good earth, to receive more than what I've already been given." She looked at Ethan. "But I know now I've been blessed again." He smiled back at her.
Sally stood and reached for the teapot on the stove again and returned to refill their cups. "So it would seem that I have a choice: I can spend the rest of my healthy days in a hospital as your uncle works to find a way to stop whatever is happening to me, or I can accept my fate and enjoy what remaining time I have with my friends."
"Sally, please, can I say something?" Ethan asked her. He looked worried at the choice Sally was about to make.
Sally was stoic. "Of course, Ethan, I most certainly would appreciate your input."
"I hope you decide to go to the university."
Sally looked surprised and then suspicious. "Really?"
"Yes — I do.
"In the short time I've known you I've come to realize you're probably the bravest person I've ever known. In light of the things you've already been forced to endure, in all of this, your courage has been stunning to me."
"But…?"
"But… if you decide to turn down Doctor Gladwin's offer… I wouldn't think of that as being brave; I think I know you better than that now."
Sally's expression fell. She was suddenly caught with the deepest but hidden feelings of affection. "And… so what, in your mind, would be… the bravest thing I could do?"
His lips quivered as he smiled and reached up to take her hand. "Live, Sally. To do whatever it takes to live longer." He stared at her lovingly and then slowly, almost remorsefully, he lowered his head.
Sally stepped forward to stand over him. "You seem to have shamed yourself, Ethan," she whispered. She reached out with a shaking hand to lovingly stroke his hair. "Why is that?"
He looked up at her again, his eyes wet with tears. "Yes, I have. I give you my advice admittedly with a selfish heart. I want you to live on, Sally. Live on… and be with me."
Kari covered her mouth to keep from gasping. She could see the love pouring out of Ethan's soul like the brightest light from an angel's center. And Sally standing over him, her own brightness shining forth to merge with his. Kari was about to look away, to allow that moment in time its due privacy, when Sally spoke again.
"Kari."
Kari looked up at her friend and then uncovered her mouth to speak. "Yes, Sally."
The woman was still staring down at Ethan's face as she spoke. "Kari, you are closer to me than any other person left in his world. I hope you know… I've come to think of you as my own daughter."
Kari began to shudder with emotion. "Oh, Sal. I love you so much."
Still, Sally never took her eyes off of Ethan. "You continue to bless me, child. But I need your honesty now. I need it more now than when you sat by my deathbed. I need it… because I find myself lost at the moment."
"I'll do anything for you, Sally."
Staring down at the man who had tears in his eyes below her, Sally finally asked, "What do you think of this man, Kari?"
Kari covered her mouth in surprise again and closed her eyes. Tears poured down her cheeks and then through her fingers.
"Kari?"
Kari finally spoke. "Sally, I believe Ethan Dodge is a wonderful man. He's kind, and so very gentle. You can see his heart."
Sally finally looked at her, her expression detached. "I would agree." She looked down and stroked his hair again and then turned away. She walked toward the door of the kitchen and had almost left the room before Ethan spoke again.
"Sally? Please…"
Without turning, Sally Carmichael raised a hand to steady herself against the doorway.
"I'm tired now, so very tired. But as tired as I am, I know I'll be up all night."
Kari stood and began to come forward.
"I pray you leave me be, child." Kari stopped. "I have much to consider before morning, so much to ask of our creator in the hours ahead. Good night."
She left the kitchen, and Kari and Ethan sat quietly together as they listened to Sally's footsteps slowly ascending the wooden staircase in the hallway. Her footfalls sounded unsteady and wavering like an old woman struggling to remain upright.
19
