are incredibly shrewd. In those cases where the crimes cross boundaries between our bases and the surrounding communities, we work closely with local police forces, and often, with the FBI.'
He paused to see if we had any questions. We didn't, and he continued, 'At Fort Hood, we have a ring specializing in munitions and weapons thefts. Once or twice a year they pull off something. This has been going on for… about five years. A file cabinet in my office is crammed with various investigations we believe are all interrelated.'
Jennie asked, 'And you believe the February 9 incident and those cases are also related?'
'I'm sure of it.' Becoming more animated, he bent forward and explained, 'Here's what's interesting. This group never repeats the same thing twice. For a long time, nobody even realized we were dealing with a ring. The thefts were so different, and occurred so infrequently, you couldn't detect a common MO.'
Colonel Johnson grabbed my left arm and confided, 'Ignore his modesty. It was Eric who uncovered the common thread.'
This compliment brought a happy beam to Tanner's face. Jennie leaned toward him and asked, 'What is that common thread?'
'The very fact that no two thefts are alike. I'm sure that's by design. These are smart people with a certain flair for stagecraft, and a characteristic boldness I've come to regard as their calling card.'
Jennie thought about that a moment. She said, 'Interesting theory. Give us an example.'
'Okay, take this February 9 incident. They probably came on post wearing uniforms, using forged military ID cards. Range control personnel are authority figures. They wear special armbands that allow them access to all ranges and license to poke around for safety violations, and to inspect and inventory munitions. So they hijack a range control vehicle, they show up at these three ranges, and they pilfer ammo while everybody thinks they're just doing their job.'
I tried to picture this in my mind. In truth, it was a diabolically clever way to steal from the Army. Range control people tend to be mostly senior sergeants who, despite their lower rank, are feared by the young officers who run firing ranges, because, as Tanner mentioned, their mission involves hunting for safety and procedural problems, and if they find them, they have the clout to shut down the range and cite the young officers. This tends not to go down well with the officers' superiors. But neither does having weapons and ammunition stolen right under your nose, and I was sure that three young officers at Fort Hood were busily sending their resumes to career placement firms.
Tanner continued, 'In fact, the thefts weren't even noticed till the end of the day, as units were closing up the ranges and doing their final inventories. By then, these crooks are swigging beers at the Lone Star Bar and Grill, laughing at how stupid we are.' After a moment, he reflected, 'These people really have balls.'
I sized up Eric Tanner for a moment. Clearly, this case was personal for him. That wasn't necessarily bad; neither was it necessarily good. It's healthy to feel some outrage over the crime. In the tough cases, that's what keeps you putting one foot in front of another to the end. But to get to the end, logic is the fuel, and emotion a poisonous indulgence.
As I said, Mr. Tanner was young, mid- to late twenties, I'd guess, and sort of baby-faced, so it was hard to pin down. Also, he was cocky, or at the least very sure of himself, if there's a difference. He spoke well, and presented his findings and his views in a linear, forceful fashion, which is sometimes the sign of a clear mind, and other times the trademark of a blowhard. But General Tingle, and Eric's peers, and Eric's superiors all thought highly of him, or he wouldn't have his responsibilities. For sure, he wouldn't have a seat at this table.
Still, as a prosecutor, I had a strong preference for older CID agents on the stand. Age implies wisdom and seasoning, whereas youth suggests greenness and impulsiveness, which make juries jittery. Physical impressions might be shallow or even misleading, but they are a factor, and they count. Eric Tanner should grow a mustache.
I looked at General Tingle and commented, 'This was an inside job.'
'Why do you say that?'
'Because Fort Hood's the largest base in the country. Because it contains hundreds of miles of range roads and many dozens of ranges. Because your perps understand how range management works, they're familiar with the tank trails, and because it looks like they knew which units were firing on which ranges that day'
'All good points.'
'Come on, General. Don't tell me you missed this.'
General Tingle found it amusing that some outside dunce could figure this out. He grinned at me and said, 'Hold that thought.'
Tanner added, 'It might also interest you to know, Mr. Drummond, that the soldier who flagged down the range control vehicle was a woman.'
'Oh. You got a description?'
'Better. Early thirties, slender, medium height, long blond hair wrapped in a tight bun. A looker, too-the witnesses all agreed on that point. In fact, we obtained reliable composite sketches of both her and her male accomplice from the hijacked range control crew, and from the witnesses at the ranges.' Eric allowed us a moment to absorb that, and then suggested, 'Off the top of my head, I think this case, and I think this ring, fits the parameters you're looking for.'
'Because of the woman?'
He hesitated, and then leaned toward me. 'Well-what if this same group is working with this guy Barnes?'
Jennie, however, looked at Eric and said, 'Slow down, champ. You're driving way too fast.'
I said to Jennie, 'What bothers you?'
'Everything.' She looked at the faces around the room. 'Criminal Science 101-cases are connected by commonalities, not disparities.' She fixed her chilly blue eyes on Eric. 'You said you suspect a ring because no two thefts were alike. That kind of counterintuitive logic is the antithesis of sound police work.'
From a technical and procedural standpoint, she was correct. Also, it was instructive to note from the expressions around the room that nobody really appreciated an outsider coming into the inner sanctum to announce that one of the fair-haired boys was full of crap. Least of all Eric, who responded, a bit defensively,' I know the science, Agent Margold. But there are times when you have to throw the manuals out the window.'
'Do you?'
'Yes. After five years of weapons and munitions thefts, all targeting the same base, all showing unusual creativity, all evidenced by a strong awareness of base procedures and vulnerabilities… I'm sure these cases are connected.'
Jennie did not immediately reply She studied Eric, and then said, 'I worked Behavioral Science at Quantico for five years before I got this job. You know what we hated?'
When nobody else pitched in, I said, 'What?'
'A city gets ten unsolved female murders in a year. The detectives come under intolerable pressure to achieve a few closures. Pretty soon, somebody cleverly rationalizes that because it's the same crime, because of the common sex of the victims, because of the common province of the murders, they're all related, and some horrifying serial killer is behind it. So they notify us, and we jump through our ass, and fly out a team, and we spend weeks poring over everything. They get the heat off themselves by shifting it to us. Problem is, it's not one killer, it's a bunch of killers. Also a waste of time.'
Everybody grew quiet. Jennie stared at Eric. 'So I'd like to know more about how you tied this together.'
Being the diplomatic type, I turned to Eric. 'Give us an example of another theft.'
'All right. Winter, two years ago. A unit was sending a two-and-a-half-ton truck filled with Ml6s off post to a depot facility to have the weapons reblued-that is, to have the exterior metal parts recoated with an antirust compound. Now, here's the first interesting fact. It's routine to send broken weapons to depot level to be repaired-nonfunctioning weapons that won't work till they're fixed-but the thieves targeted a vehicle filled with working weapons.'
I commented, 'Which would seem to imply inside knowledge.'
'Yeah, exactly. The truck got about thirty miles outside Killeen, when a car roared up from behind and nearly side-swiped it. The car had apparently been following and waited until the truck reached a lightly trafficked back road. Then the car got just ahead, and one of the thieves tossed out a bunch of oversized tiretacks. Our lab later determined that the tacks had been specially manufactured for this hit. The thieves wore balaclava hoods, and were armed. They made off with forty Ml6s'
