‘I’m hoping for two but if I find enough it could turn into three. With everything else going on here I’d like it to be two. Flying first class will make the travel easier. I’ll be able to rest on the plane and get right to work.’
The absurdity of that idea got a real smile from Saguaro and his eyes lit briefly. But they changed just as quickly as he moved on.
‘When you say with what’s going on here, are you talking about the cabinet shop?’
‘Yes and no, I’m not on Ortega’s team and the Feds are taking the lead on the bomb casings. As you probably know, it’s become a terrorism investigation. Inspector Ortega’s team is working the murders, but I know Special Agent Mark Coe who’s heading the Fed end and Inspector Ortega wants me to keep talking with him. There may be other overlaps we don’t understand yet, and I’m part of looking for those.’
‘What overlaps?’
‘The Secret Service is also involved. There’s a cross with counterfeit money the cold case victim Alan Krueger was carrying. It’s in the same series as money passed at two banks last summer to buy explosives from a black market weapons dealer. That may tie to a threat to the President.’
Raveneau didn’t have to answer any of these questions, but he was comfortable with the commander. Saguaro wasn’t going to get on the phone and gossip. He might collect gossip, but he wouldn’t trade. Saguaro was a black hole.
‘And you’re sure this trip to Hawaii won’t get in the way?’
‘I’ve got to-’
‘I know, I know, you’ve got to follow the investigation. What you inspectors need is a pack of cards that you carry and that have all your answers on them, so when you come in here you can just hand me the card with the answer you want to give. It would save everybody time.’
‘Like the brass at a press conference.’
Saguaro smiled. ‘Yeah, like that.’ He signed his last signature with a flourish. ‘OK, you’re approved. Take your clubs, Ben. You’ve earned a couple of swings.’
‘There won’t be time.’
‘Hold it to two days if you can. We need you here. And keep every receipt. They’re all over me nowadays.’ As Raveneau reached the door he added, ‘Nice work finding those bombs. You’re the only one who would have gone through that plywood.’
Raveneau called Jack at Clement Street Travel, gave him the approval number voucher and said, ‘If I can I’d like to go out tomorrow afternoon, be there for two nights and return in the morning. Can you make that work?’
‘Give me one second.’ Raveneau heard him on the keyboard and then Jack’s, ‘Yes.’
Jack would book airline, rental car, and hotel. Anything else Raveneau would need to submit to the fiscal department for reimbursement, but in his career he rarely submitted for food or anything else and knew he wouldn’t on this one. So in his head the trip was booked and now it was a matter of accomplishing what he needed to there.
When he got back to his desk la Rosa was there.
‘You busy?’ he asked.
‘What’s up?’
‘I’m going to Hawaii tomorrow afternoon to see what I can learn about Captain Frank. I want to talk with you about some things first.’
‘How about if I just come to Hawaii with you and we can talk on the plane? I’ve never been and I’ve always wanted to go.’
‘I don’t think Saguaro will go for it.’
‘OK, do you want to talk now?’
‘Yeah, let’s take a walk and get some air. I learned some things this morning.’
TWENTY-FIVE
Raveneau told her about the drive with Nate Brooks but was having trouble communicating what was bothering him. It was the way he was wired. If you asked him he would tell you he was about facts, motive, and opportunity, but la Rosa knew that just wasn’t so. Raveneau stressed the rational gathering of information, but often was very intuitive in how he solved cases.
‘Brooks took me down to the Ferry Building to watch the light rail pass by with the President, the mayor, and a US senator riding along. With him narrating I could almost see their faces. It ended with Brooks holding his coffee cup from the bottom with his right hand, kind of balancing it there as he leaned back against the door of his car and said the Secret Service had more records on Krueger than the personnel file he was authorized to show me. He said I wouldn’t get anything out of the file but advised me to keep digging.’
‘What does he want in return?’
‘Not clear, but he wants to be kept in the loop with Ortega’s team and any contact I have with Mark Coe.’
‘He knows you aren’t going to agree to that.’
‘Sure, he knows.’
‘So why is he asking?’
‘He’s saying he wants to communicate. He’s worried. He can tell I’m bothered by what we found and he wants information anywhere he can get it. He’s casting a wider net than he would otherwise.’
‘He sounds to me like a guy unraveling. How much pressure is he under?’
‘Plenty.’
‘Is he angry?’
‘Maybe, but more frustrated than angry. I think he feels somewhat powerless. I understand that. You look at those bomb casings and your imagination just runs.’
‘Why don’t you stay here and figure out what Brooks is after and I’ll go to Hawaii.’
Raveneau smiled and was usually quick with a comeback but not today. La Rosa read that as him being focused on the Krueger investigation and this Hawaii trip, yet at the same time still very disturbed by the discovery of the bomb casings. She thought this whole walk was really about the bomb casings. She didn’t really believe he was concerned about Brooks.
‘Talk to me about Hawaii,’ she said.
‘I’ll be looking for anything I can learn about Jim Frank or anyone who knew him. He may even be there just waiting to talk. I’m going to find where Frank lived and I hope to find people who knew Krueger.’
They reached the corner of Seventh and waited for the light to change. Raveneau looked out at the traffic going by as he spoke.
‘The Secret Service ruled out Marlin Thames as a suspect back in ’89, but I borrowed a photo from him today and have asked for the FBI’s help getting it enhanced. I don’t think it’s him. It’s almost certainly not, but it needs to get looked at. That’s something I won’t tell Brooks, yet I couldn’t tell you why.’
‘You don’t trust him.’
‘It’s not that, it’s more that I don’t want to have to trust him.’ He turned to her. ‘I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him.’
‘Then what is it you’re picking up?’
‘He’s telegraphing that he’s not happy with the Secret Service. He’s telling me things he says he’s not authorized to tell me, but it feels like he’s trying to steer the Krueger investigation. I feel like I’m being led down a path.’
‘What’s he asked for?’
‘He asked about transcripts I read at the FBI. Coe showed me transcripts on the condition I not talk to anyone, though I told him I would share what I learned with you.’
Raveneau told her now about a Utah banker named Garner and the man code named Jericho who in a wiretap transcript was negotiating to buy weapons from an officer at a US military base.
‘A base here in the US?’
