had more information we could act on. The specter of another anthrax scare loomed over everything. Fred Hohenstein from Iowa’s Emergency Management Division said, “This is much more manageable. It’s got a solid mechanical vector, and the incidence rate is falling off. We know where it came from, and where it went. Very localized. It’s not like an indiscriminate mailing.”
I, for one, felt better.
For a moment. Carson Hilgenberg sidled up to me and asked if I thought there should be a separate “County Attorney’s” news conference.
“Absolutely not,” I said. I thought that was pretty restrained, since I didn’t add “you idiot.”
He looked hurt. “Well, I’ll go with what you guys want. But I just was thinking we should, ah, emphasize that the local officials are, ah, in control.”
“I think,” I said, as nicely as I could manage, “they’ll be really happy that the state and feds are on the case. Relieved, even.”
It was nearly 11 P.M. when I got home. Sue was waiting up, but very nearly asleep.
“Why are you so late?”
It was a good question, but since I’d just been required to sign an agreement that I wouldn’t talk about anything with anybody at any time, it was going to be tough to explain.
“I can’t tell you, dear,” I said, as I leaned over and kissed her hello. “National security concerns.” I thought she’d think I was joking.
“I understand,” she said.
“What?”
“I understand. It must be really busy for you right now. Did you see the KNUG news at ten?”
Uh-oh. “No, I really was busy.”
“I know. I thought you might miss it, so I taped it for you.” She picked up the VCR remote and turned the tape on.
I was appalled. Judy Mercer and her cameraman had managed to get almost everybody who had attended the meeting on camera as they came through the parking lot. The only ones she’d apparently missed were George, Hester, Bligh, McWhirter, and me. I was never so glad I’d used a back door in my life.
She did get Volont, Thurgood, and Hawse, though. That camera had quite a zoom, apparently. The worst part was, she identified Volont correctly, and although she didn’t name Thurgood, she did say that she was a counterterrorism agent who had “testified in the Cedar Rapids Federal Court for the Northern District of Iowa.” Hawse she didn’t ID, and that was at least a blessing.
Judy Mercer’s voice-over was, when not identifying attendees, busy outlining the “mysterious death” of “an unidentified worker” at the plant in Battenberg. “After a mysterious death in Battenberg, is there any reason for Eastern Iowa to be concerned about an infectious disease? “She then cut to about fifteen seconds of an interview with Fred Hohenstein, from Iowa Emergency Management. Good old Fred simply stated flat-out: “There is no involvement of an infectious agent. There was some contamination with a toxic substance, and we’re here to make sure there is no further exposure.” Judy Mercer didn’t repeat what he had said. That worried me. I knew she was pretty damned good, so I was now wondering just what she’d heard about the New York connection. I was pretty sure that wasn’t going to take the major networks too long to piece together.
When it was over, Sue asked me if there was any reason to be concerned about the unspecified disease.
“Do we need shots or something? “was what she said.
“Nope. Noncommunicable. Absolutely no problem.”
“Okay…” But she sounded just a teeny bit uncertain.
I showered and shaved just before I went to bed. You learn to do it that way, so you’re at least half presentable if you get called out early the next morning.
CHAPTER 16
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2001 08:11
One of the things I hate about working a major case is that I always seem to be getting wake-up calls about an hour too early for me to be really rested. Today was no exception.
I turned over on my right side, pushed the covers down far enough for me to reach an arm out, and picked up the phone. As I did, Sue murmured, “What?”
“Just the phone.” I picked it up. “Yeah?”
“Hate to bother you,” said George’s familiar voice, “but we have a development you should know about.”
“Good or bad?”
“Both, maybe.”
“Okay, go for it,” I said, sitting up and throwing the covers aside. That created a breeze, disturbing Sue, and earning me an angry mutter.
“Linda Moynihan,” said George. “She’s surfaced.”
“Alive or dead? “I had a bad feeling he was just being polite about a drowning victim.
“Oh, very much alive, according to her attorney.”
That woke me up. “What?”
“Yep. We were contacted by Ms. Moynihan’s attorney about an hour ago. His client will turn herself in, if we promise her immunity and protection.”
“What?” The protection didn’t bother me a bit. But a request for immunity came at me from left field.
“That’s what he says. He won’t say where she’s at, but since he practices in Madison, Wisconsin, I’d guess she’s not all that far away.”
“That lying little shit,” I said. “Does Hester know?”
“Volont just called her. She’s in the room next to us here in the motel. Want to meet us for breakfast?”
“Give me ten,” I said. “Maybe fifteen. Where you want to eat?”
“How about your jail kitchen?” he said. Local restaurants, especially during a major investigation, were a bad idea. Way too many ears.
“How about here instead,” I offered. “The media won’t be outside.”
I heard him ask Volont something. “Sure. Okay if we bring Gwen?”
“Sure. Absolutely. And Hawse, too, if he wants.”
George chuckled. “He left last night, went back to Cedar Rapids. He didn’t like the accommodations.”
“That’s too bad… it’s a long drive, especially late at night.”
“Not for him,” said George. “He took a helicopter.”
As I replaced the phone on its cradle, Sue said, “Did I just hear you invite some people over here in ten or fifteen minutes!?”
“More like twenty, I think,” I said. “I’ll just run to the bakery and get some rolls, and put on some coffee…”
She’d have none of that. While I dressed, walked one block, and spent ten minutes investing in pastry, Sue managed to dress, put on some makeup, start scrambling eggs, and make two quarts of orange juice. When I got back home, she was all set.
Two minutes later, Hester and three hungry FBI agents came through the back door.
Volont sat back in his chair and put his hands on the dining room table. “Sue,” he said, “that was a truly great breakfast.”
Sue smiled. “Anytime.” Well, I knew better, but the feds sure didn’t.
Hester, George, and I helped clear the table, and then Sue discreetly went back upstairs, ostensibly to give us some privacy. I figured she’d be collapsed on the bed and out like a light in five.
I called the office and told Sally we were all at my place. Then, over coffee, we tried to sort things out.
“The immunity request tells me she’s got some complicity in what’s going on here,” said Hester. “Either that or her attorney is just being very cautious.”
