Chapter 10 - Dirty Tricks

"What was that all about?"

"Why you should trust me to do whatever can be done for Commander MacAdam."

"A look of recognition won't cut it."

"Three years ago, Commander MacAdam spirited me out of a small Moroccan prison. I owe her a lot."

"Good start, but it's not enough to build trust."

"She infiltrated the prison guards with a group of whores, actually mostly the wives of men imprisoned who were posing as whores. They drugged the guards and let all the prisoners go. It was a very sweet and neat operation she conceived and executed. I don't think I'll ever forget her pulling off her hijab and unloosing those red locks."

Lee nodded. "You hadn't convinced me until that last detail. I've seen that maneuver a dozen times, mostly from under knit caps!"

"Glad we know we're on the same side. Call me Saul. Now tell me what we're up against and what we have in our favor, Lee."

"You know the first bit. The police possess a gun that probably belongs to Rachael, which is likely the murder weapon. It bears her initials, was found at the scene and was warm to the touch when I found it."

"Pretty damning."

"Except she left it in Saudi. She hadn't seen it in nearly a year. The Marines were supposed to send it and her other personal effects to Roger Cresson's apartment last month, but Roger says the package never came."

"That could cut two ways. Go on."

"A second angle to consider is that the bride was pregnant. The groom wasn't the father. He knew as much and it was not an issue between them. That said, there might be a cast off lover out there who was unhappy about the situation. I should note that Rachael raised some doubt whether Melanie really was pregnant, but she didn't give me any facts to support that supposition. She was also convinced that Melanie was involved in some recreational drug use - cocaine to be specific. I'm less clear what the relevance of that might be versus passing off someone else's baby."

"I could drum up a scenario or two. For instance, if the dad was a heavy user or dealer, Miss Mattingly might have wanted to protect the baby by giving it to Mr. Cresson to raise. Anything else?"

"This may be a red herring, but the more I think about it, I find it damn odd. There were a series of car backfires which occurred just before the wedding and twice during it, once extremely close to the actual shot. I'm wondering how much of a coincidence that was or whether it was a purposeful distraction."

"All right. That's a lot to chew on. This could take some time to sort through."

"We don't have much time."

"Meaning?"

"Rachael said she'd give us five days."

"Then what?"

"She'll kill herself."

"She'll be under constant supervision in the Medical Center."

"That's probably what's driving her to the decision."

"I'll advise the staff to be extra vigilant. Lee, she'll get the care she needs here."

"I hope so, but I don't trust Johnson. He always has an agenda."

"I guess we'll just have to guard against that too."

"You could just be his shill."

"I could be, but I'm not. However, right now I've got nothing to show you one way or the other on that front, and if we've only got five days to protect her from herself, I'd hate to waste my time on that."

"I'd like to offer my services to help."

"Given our limited time, your familiarity with the players, and your extracurriculars for Johnson, I won't refuse although I probably should. You are a material witness, after all."

"What do we do first?"

"Find the baby daddy. You work on that. I want you to avoid any forensics unless I'm present."

"Understood."

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I want to make certain Commander MacAdam arrives at her destination without incident. Feel free to use my phone."