rain. He had nearly lost it again when he found the knife lying on the dining room table-a little reminder that it had all been real.
A little message from the SEAL: I don’t need the knife anymore. But you might.
Now Sherman’s eyes refocused and looked over at Mcnair. “I was mostly ashamed when it was all over.
Ashamed for what we had done back there in the Rung Sat.
Ashamed that I had been scared to death in this guy’s presence. Ashamed that I had been helpless to do anything when he had my son up against the wall like a rag doll.”
Karen ‘remembered to breathe, and she swallowed hard.
Mcnair, who had been listening intently, reopened his notebook.
“This was when, Admiral? And you’re sure this man’s name was Galantz?
Marcus Galantz?”
“In 1972. February. And I’m sure about the name.”
“And you’re sure this was Galantz?” Mcnair asked again, his face a study in concentration. Sherman said yes.
Sherman looked drained, as if the memories had emptied him of all energy. He was slumped in his chair like a teenager.
“Well, this of course makes a difference,” Mcnair said.
“The fact that he came back proves he lived through what happened out there in Vietnam.”
“If he was that disfigured, he should be easier to find, don’t you think?” Karen asked.
Train shook his head. “That was 1972. Cosmetic surgery has come a long way since then.” He turned to Sherman.
Admiral; is there a possibility that he was still in the Navy then? That he was on active duty?”
“I don’t think so.” He took a deep breath, as if trying to make the memories go away. But then he looked over at Mcnair. “I’ve told you this story because now I’m more convinced than ever that she was killed.
Elizabeth, I mean.
But the Navy would not take kindly to having this story get out.”
“It’s been over twenty years, Admiral,” Mcnair said.
“Why would it be. such a big deal if it comes out now?”
Sherman rubbed his face with both hands. “We left one of our own behind, Detective,” he said. “‘In the armed forces, that’s a big deal. You don’t abandon your wounded, and you sure as hell don’t leave a guy out there just because headquarters makes some assumptions. You go back and get him. Guys count on that, in return for which, they’re willing to fight and die.”
“I understand, Admiral,” Mcnair replied. “But if Miss. Walsh was indeed murdered, that takes precedence, don’t you think? What I’m saying is that you did the right thing in telling me this. I promise to be discreet about this matter.
Although, now that I think about it, we may have a small bureaucratic problem here.”
“Which is?”
“The department has several cases that are clear-cut homicides.
The admiral nodded slowly. “I think I understand. Cases where there is direct evidence of a crime, as opposed to evidence that isn’t there.”
“Something like that,” Mcnair said. “Our lieutenant isn’t convinced about this, although he doesn’t know what you’ve told me tonight. But right now from an evidentiary point of view, this one’s still sort of a reach.”
Sherman looked perplexed. “But-“
“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, we can work this thing, okay? But it will help a lot if the Navy can help us locate this Galantz. Turn him into a living, breathing human, instead of a missing letter and a story from some twenty years back.”
Everyone looked over at Train.
“As soon as we have anything at all I’ll get it to you,” Karen offered.
“And I’m sure Mr. von Rensel can turn on some Naval Investigative Service assets.”
“That would help,” Mcnair said. “We need something tangible here.
Otherwise-“
The admiral was rubbing his face again. Karen’s heart went out to him.
His face had taken on an ashen hue with the inescapable conclusion that Elizabeth Walsh had been murdered. Train remained silent.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me, Adnidral?” Mcnair asked.
The admiral shook his head. “I can’t think of anything, other than to reiterate the need for discretion.”
“I understand,” Mcnair said. “And I need to reiterate the need for full disclosure, Admiral. If nothing else, it will save us all a lot of time.”
Karen stood up to indicate that’the interview was over.
Mcnair got the message and stood up as well, thanked the admiral for his cooperation, retrieved his coat, and left.
Karen saw him out, then came back to the living room.
Sherman was still sitting there in the armchair, staring at nothing, his chin in his right hand.
“Well, did we do any good?” he asked finally.
“I think so,” Karen said. “He’s certainly got something new to think about.”
“We all do,” Train said. “We’ve got to find this guy.”
Sherman let out a long breath. He looked as if he’d been through a mental train wreck. “You tell me how I can help you with that, Mr. von Rensel, and you’ve got it. For the Navy’s sake, it’d be better if you guys found him than the police.”
“Adjniral, I’ll get on this right away,” Train said, getting up.
“Commander Lawrence and I will meet first thing tomorrow.”
“And go see Carpenter?” Sherman asked.
Karen, feeling she knew more about the political sensitivities than von Rensel,. intervened. “Not yet, Admiral,” she said. “I think we have all the authority we need to turn on NIS help right now.” She was hoping Train would just leave it at that for the moment, and apparently he understood.
“So do I,” he said. “Karen, I’ll see you in the morning.”
After Train left, Karen came back into the living room.
The admiral was still just sitting there, looking emotionally sandblasted. Karen suggested that a drink might be in order.
An hour later, they were sitting in a booth at a small Greek restaurant.
Afraid that he would sit there and polish off the bottle of scotch, she had suggested they go get something to eat. And after watching him down a good-sized drink, she had even volunteered to drive. He had been silent during the drive down to the restaurant. She had tried to divert him from his visibly grim train of thought.
“Admiral, what’s done is done. And we may still all be wrong here. Even the cops feel they’re backing into a homicide. She really may have just fallen.”
Sherman was quick to shake his head. “No,” he said.
“Elizabeth was a competent woman. She was less of a klutz than I am, and I’m pretty agile for my age. She’d lived in that house for ten years.
Those aren’t treacherous stairs.
Now this letter, and then the business with my front door, and what we’ve learned about the forensic gaps in her house. I just can’t swallow all that as coincidence. Maybe if I’d just been there …”
She toyed with her salad, waiting while he wandered mentally in the what-if thicket again. “Sorry,” he said. “I was just kicking myself in the ass again. I guess I missed a good thing when I told her no.”
“Told her no?”
Sherman recapped ‘the story of their relationship, how they first met, and how well it worked out up until the point where Elizabeth began steering conversations around to the logical next step.
“I told her no. I was married once before and it was an unqualified disaster. Although that all seems a lifetime ago now.
“I’m. sorry to hear that,” she said. “Would it help to talk about it?”
