Applewhite, Charlie Perry, and Clarence Thayer huddled at the far end of a large oval table. Thayer made a 'join us' gesture and Ingram took a seat next to Perry. Applewhite looked at him briefly, expressionless.
Ingram concentrated his attention on Thayer, noting the expensive black wool turtleneck under a perfectly tailored gray sport coat. He'd last seen Thayer in army fatigues with colonel's eagles on the collar when both had been tasked to the SWAMI project. Officially, Thayer had 'retired' to start APT Performa and Ingram had 'resigned' from the service to go FBI. In truth both remained serving officers, as did Applewhite.
That left Charlie Perry the only true civilian in the room and therefore the one most likely to be slam-dunked should the need arise.
'Good, you're here, Tim,' Thayer said in his Back Bay accent.
'Soon as I could make it, sir,' Ingram said, thinking that Thayer could easily pass for a Kennedy with his lanky athletic frame, good looks, and patrician style.
'This is your show, Charlie,' Thayer said, smiling graciously at the special agent.
'Bring us up to speed.'
Nervously, almost turned away from Thayer, Perry laid out what he knew.
Kerney had factual knowledge he was being watched; factual knowledge that Phyllis Terrell's murder had been cleansed; factual knowledge of Mitchell's probe into SWAMI; factual knowledge of the existence of the SWAMI project. Additionally, he had made a hard evidence connection between Father Mitchell and Phyllis Terrell.
'Are there any other holes that need plugging?' Thayer asked.
'One of the Santa Fe detectives made a copy of the Mitchell evidence Agent Applewhite seized under a court order,' Perry said.
'It's in Kerney's possession.'
Thayer swung his attention to Applewhite.
'Does that cause a problem?'
'Not for SWAMI, sir,' Applewhite replied.
'Although it could bring public attention to sensitive matters of an historical nature.'
'Which is not our immediate concern,' Thayer said.
'Anything else, Charlie?'
'Arrangements have been made to have the official autopsy report show that Randall Stewart's death was accidental. Kerney knows better. When the report comes out, he could decide to challenge the findings. The report won't be released until Monday. Stewart's body will be held until then.'
'That gives us enough time to set the problem aside for now,' Thayer said.
'By Monday we'll have closure.'
'Also,' Perry said, 'Kerney is moving for a court order to get Mitchell's e-mail correspondence.'
'The files have been sanitized, so let him have what's left. Is he acting alone or mobilizing his departments resources?'
'As far as we can tell, except for some minor paperwork assistance, he's doing this solo,' Charlie replied.
'The primary investigators, a detective and a lieutenant, are attending a law enforcement training seminar.'
'Very good,' Thayer said, smiling in Ingram's direction.
'I'm tasking Agents Applewhite and Perry on a special assignment and I need you to temporarily fill in. Monitor the situation and handle any cleanup items. You'll have full operational control.'
'Yes, sir.'
Thayer nodded and opened a slim folder.
'We shut everything down in forty-eight hours. Here's the preferred scenario if our difficulty with Chief Kerney cannot be resolved in a less extreme manner. A few years ago Chief Kerney earned the displeasure of a Mexican drug lord named Enrique De Leon In fact, he did it more than once, but I won't go into details. To retaliate De Leon approached a high-ranking Mexican army intelligence officer who happens to have his hand in the drug cartels' pockets while drawing a nice retainer from the CIA. De Leon asked the officer to make available two highly trained Cuban assets for the express purpose of removing the source of his annoyance.'
Thayer turned a page.
'Unfortunately, both men were killed in a plane crash while machine-gunning a squad of Mexican federal police who were protecting a drug shipment, so the officer has been unable to fulfill De Leon request.'
Thayer patted the folder and looked at Applewhite.
'Senor De Leon continues to express an interest in Kerney's demise, which has been well documented by several DEA agents in Juarez as well as a highly reliable Interpol informant.
De Leon is in Juarez expecting to meet with you and Agent Perry this afternoon in the hope that you might be willing to take the contract.
'He knows you're Americans, believes that you're former CIA field operatives, and that you're now freelancing in the States. He has no reason not to trust the officer who supplied him with the information, although you both will be carefully scrutinized. You're expected to leave enough of a trail so the Mexican authorities can document the visit. DEA, of course, will confirm the Mexican report.
Your true identities will not be revealed. Make your arrangements with De Leon and then come back to Santa Fe.'
'Is all this necessary?' Charlie asked.
'In terms of establishing plausibility, yes,' Thayer replied.
'In terms of taking definitive action, I hope not. But that will depend on what Chief Kerney does or doesn't do over the short term.'
Ingram knew that Thayer was placating Perry. Thayer wouldn't be talking about a removal sanction if the hit hadn't already been approved.
Applewhite must be creaming in her pants. Ingram kept his expression neutral, but inside his stomach turned over.
'Maybe I should talk to Kerney again,' Perry said.
'I think we're at a point where it's best to let Chief Kerneys actions speak to us,' Thayer replied.
'I don't like this,' Perry said.
Thayer nodded in agreement.
'None of us do, Agent Perry. But we keep our disagreements within the family, so to speak, which you apparently forgot last night when you made unauthorized contact with your superior and asked to be removed from your assignment. That request has been denied.'
Charlie's jaw dropped.
Ingram remembered a commercial that used to run on television when he was a kid.
Charlie, the talking tuna fish, would swim around in the ocean trying to get caught by the world's best tuna company. But Charlie wasn't good enough to get hooked, processed, vacuum-packed, and served up in a white bread sandwich.
Sorry, Charlie, you poor son of a bitch, Tim thought grimly.
Chapter 11
Molina pointed at the car containing Perry and Applewhite, tapped his finger on his chest to signal he'd take the tail, and followed the two agents down Rodeo Road. Bobby Sloan stayed put. Clarence Thayer and Timothy Ingram walked out the front door of APT Performa, Thayer talking earnestly, his hand on Ingram's elbow.
Sloan cracked his window, pointed a high-powered directional mike at the two men, and cranked up the volume. A gust of cold air wiped out everything but wind noise in his headphones. Whatever Thayer had said to Ingram made him stop in his tracks. The wind died down.
Thayer said, 'The order comes direct from CG INS COM Major. You're to backstop Applewhite and handle any contingencies.'
'Yes, sir.' Thayer said more, his words lost in another blast of air through Sloan's headphones.
