“This bears on Elizabeth Walsh’s death?”
“Yes, I think so. And unfortunately, it may corroborate my own misgivings about what really happened to Elizabeth. “
“I’m all ears,” she said, finishing her salad and packing up the plate and wrapper.
Sherman nodded and went to his desk. He sat down and put his palms up to his face and rubbed his cheeks.
“Last night, I went home to change before going over to Elizabeth’s.
Went through the mail. Usual stuff-bills, catalogs. And one letter.” He paused and gave her a long look between his fingers. “A threatening letter.”
“A threat? What kind of threat?”
“This relates to something that happened in Vietnamwhen I was a lieutenant. An incident that I suspect the Navy would not want to have come out, even after so many years.
So for now, I won’t disclose what it was. But because of what happened, a certain individual swore revenge- against me. And he apparently understood the old rule about revenge being a dish best savored cold.”
Karen was baffled. “And that’s what this letter was about? Revenge?”
“Yes. Back in the early seventies” this man told me he would get even with me for something we-l-had done.
But he said he would wait until I had something ‘of value to lose. And that when he came back, he would give me one warning.”
“Which is what this letter was.”
“Yes. It wasn’t signed, but it has to be him. Galantz.”
“Galantz?” Karen wished she had had her notebook out, but was unsure she should go digging for it just now.
Yes. Galantz.” He spelled the last name for her. “Hospital Corpsman First Class Marcus Galantz. Last known duty station was as a member of SEAL Team One.”
“A SEAL! Oh, dear.”
He paused and rubbed his face again, then looked across the room at the far wall, his eyes focused out about a mile into space, his lips pressed together in a flat line. She was beginning to understand his concern. A threatening letter from a SEAL. Lovely. “what did the letter say?” she asked finally. “It said,”Sherman: Time to settle up. Things of value, remember? Walsh was the first.’
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah.’ “Admiral, we have to get this letter to the police. This changes everything. It also means that Elizabeth-” She stopped, seeing the sudden flash of pain on his face. “I’m sorry, Admiral.”
He nodded but did not say anything for a moment. Then he continued.
“At first, I didn’t know what to do. And I’m not sure I’m ready to bring the police into this. Or at least I wasn’t sure until I went to talk to my sea daddy, Admiral Galen Schmidt. You may remember him: He was Chief of Naval Personnel in early ‘93, when he had to quit because of heart problems. He’d been my mentor ever since my first Bureau tour back in the late seventies. He’s retired and living in Mclean now, not far from my house.”
“Yes, I remember him. Everyone said he was a prime candidate to be the next CNO.”
“Yes. Great guy. Anyhow, after getting that letter and going to Elizabeth’s house, I went to see him. I told him about Elizabeth. He knew her, liked her a lot. I also told him about the letter, and most of the story behind it.” . Which you won’t tell me, she thought. But that detective will surely want to know. “He wasn’t familiar with the incident back in Vietnam?”
“Very few people are, and probably no one still on active duty. It was all news to him. Long story short, I asked. him whether or not I ought to tell the cops about the letter because of what it implies about Elizabeth’s so- called accident. His advice was that I should tell them.”
“But?”
“But I’ve got two problems with that. First, I’m not sure I’m ready to open that can of worms, especially outside the Navy. Or even inside, for that matter. And second, I no longer have the letter.”
I ” What?’ He got up and started to pace around the office. “When I got home from Galen’s house, I found my front door unlocked-not open, but definitely unlocked. I never leave my door unlocked. In fact, it locks itself when I pull it shut. I thought about calling the cops-you know, maybe somebody in the house. But instead I went in and checked the place out. Nothing was missing. So I secured for the night, then took some paperwork upstairs. Only later, around eleven-thirty, when I was ready to go to sleep, I thought about bringing the letter in. I went back downstairs and discovered that’s what was missing-the letter, the envelope, the whole thing.”
“Wow. You think somebody, maybe even this Galantz guy, broke into your house and retrieved the letter? After he was sure you had read it?”
“That’s exactly what I think, yes.”
Karen thought about that. If that was the case, then the ad imiral had to have been under surveillance.
“This is stalking, you know,” she said, speaking the thought that had just come to her mind.
“Stalking?” he asked, frowning.
“Yes, sir. There’s a whole new area of criminal law covering exactly this kind of thing. Where there’s a persistent threat of a criminal act but nothing’s happened to the stalker’s target yet. There are federal and state laws against it.
“I’m not sure an ex-SEAL bent on revenge will be worried about breaking the law. Especially this SEAL, since he doesn’t officially exist.”
“Excuse me?” He sighed and sat down again. “I’ve already told you more than is probably wise, Commander. May I call you Karen?”
“Of course, sir.” His request was not improper. Most admirals throughout the headquarters called staff subordinates by their first names. In return, subordinates were graciously invited to address the admiral by his first name: Admiral.
“HMI Galantz was officially listed as MIA. I happen to know personally that a few years later, he was alive and back in the States. But, once again, I can’t reveal how I know’that, and I’m not sure anyone else knows that. Like I said, this is very complicated.” He had said he didn’t want this story to get loose either outside or inside the Navy.
“At the risk of sounding impertinent,” she said, “why are you concerned about this story getting out inside the Navy?”
He gave her a long, speculative look. There was some steel in that look, which made her feel she might have overstepped some bounds. But then it receded and he nodded.
He got up and started pacing around the office again. “Fair enough,” he said. “I’ve got to keep reminding myself you’re on my side.”
Remembering Mcnair’s comment earlier that day, she almost replied to that, but he was already going ahead.
“I’m a fresh-caught rear admiral. To everyone who’s a captain and below, flag rank is the apotheosis of the career ladder. The man with the stars. But the truth is, I’m really not even promoted yet. I’m frocked.
I can wear the uniform, I have the responsibility, and I can enjoy the title. But until someone who’s currently on the flag registry dies or retires, I have to wait to make my number. I even get paid as a captain.
People think this is a fluke of the Defense Manpower Act, with its grade quotas. But the truth is, I am, like every other new flag selectee in any of the services, very much on probation.”
“How long does this go on?”
“For nearly two years. I probably won’t be promoted to 0-7 until about the time I go off to my second assignment as a flag officer.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “So the association of your name with a homicide and a long-buried, potentially embarrassing incident back in Vietnam could mean you’d be invited to retire instead of going on to that next assignment. I I He nodded. “Precisely. And, as you might imagine, there happens to be an infinite supply of eager young captains ready and willing to take my place.” He, looked at his watch. “We’re about out of time. You’ll need a while to think about this. So do 1. And now, of course, you have to figure out what to tell Admiral Carpenter.”
She felt a sudden flush on her face as she looked up at him. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Karen, look,” he said gently. “You’re the king’s eye here. We both understand that. All I’m . asking is that you keep
