The General's Daughter - The General's Daughter Part 39
Library

The General's Daughter Part 39

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

Colonel Fowler called at 1645 hours and I took the call, telling Cynthia to pick up the other line and listen.

Colonel Fowler said, "My wife is available at 1730 hours, at home, Mrs. Campbell at 1800 hours, at Beaumont House, and the general will see you at his office at Post Headquarters at 1830 hours, sharp."

I commented, "That's cutting the interviews close."

"Actually," he replied, "it's cutting them short."

"That's what I meant."

"The three parties you wish to speak to are under a great deal of stress, Mr. Brenner."

"So am I, but I thank you."

"Mr. Brenner, has it occurred to you that you may be upsetting people?"

"It has occurred to me."

"The funeral, as I said, is tomorrow morning. Why don't you and Ms. Sunhill brief the FBI people, attend the funeral if you wish, then leave. The investigation will proceed nicely without you, and the murderer will be brought to justice in good time. This is not a timed exercise."

"Well, it wasn't, but the idiots in Washington made it one."

"Mr. Brenner, from the very beginning, you chose to charge through here like Grant took Richmond, with no regard to protocol or other people's sensibilities."

"That's how Grant took Richmond, Colonel."

"And they are still pissed-off at Grant in Richmond."

"Right. Colonel, I knew from the beginning that this case would be pulled away from me, from the CID. The Pentagon and the White House did the politically correct thing, and God bless civilian control of the military. But if I have about twenty hours left, I'll use it my way."

"As you wish."

"Trust me to conclude this case in a way that will not bring discredit on the Army. Don't trust the FBI or the Attorney General's Office to do that."

"I won't comment on that."

"Best that you don't."

"On another topic, Mr. Brenner, your request to seize the contents of Colonel Moore's office has gone all the way to the Pentagon, and they turned it down for national security reasons."

"That's the very best of reasons, sir. But it's odd that the people in Washington want me to arrest Colonel Moore for murder, but I can't get permission to examine his files."

"That's what happens when you ask. You know that."

"Indeed I do. That's the last time I go through channels."

"That's your call. But the Pentagon did say that if you arrest Colonel Moore at this time, they will fly someone down here with the necessary clearance and authority to assist you in going through the files on a selective basis. But it can't be a fishing expedition. You must know what you're looking for."

"Right. I've been that route before. If I knew what the hell I was looking for, I probably wouldn't need it."

"Well, that's the best I could do. What clearance do you have?"

"Oh, about five foot eleven." He didn't laugh, so I said, "Secret clearance."

"All right, I'll pass that on. Meantime, the Psy-Ops School is sending people down to Jordan Field to collect the contents of Captain Campbell's office and return everything to the school. You and Colonel Kent will not be charged with a crime for removing the contents, but letters of reprimand have been put in your files." He added, "You must obey the law like the rest of us."

"Well, I usually do when I know what it is."

"You don't confiscate classified material without proper authorization."

"Someone's trying to sandbag me, Colonel."

"Not only that, someone's trying to screw you. Why?"

"I don't know."

"You've made inquiries about Captain Campbell's time at West Point. Correct?"

"That's correct. Did I ask the wrong question?"

"Apparently."

I glanced at Cynthia and inquired of Colonel Fowler, "Can you tell me anything about that, Colonel?"

"I know nothing about it, except that they're asking me why you're asking."

"Who are they they?"

"I can't say. But you hit a nerve, Mr. Brenner."

"It sounds like you're trying to help me, Colonel."

"Upon consideration, you and Ms. Sunhill may be the best people for this job. But you won't conclude this case in time, so I'm advising you to protect yourselves." He added, "Lay low."

"Ms. Sunhill and I are not criminals. We are criminal investigators."

"The letter of reprimand was a warning shot. The next shot is aimed for the heart."

"Right, but I'm firing it."

"You're a damned fool. We need more people like you." He added, "Be sure your partner understands what she's getting into."

"I'm not sure I I understand." understand."

"Neither do I, but you definitely asked the wrong question about West Point. Good day." He hung up.

I looked at Cynthia. "My goodness."

She said, "We definitely asked the right question about West Point."

"Apparently." I called Jordan Field and got Grace Dixon on the line. "Grace, I just got a tip that there are people en route to your location from the Psy-Ops School to reclaim Captain Campbell's files, and I'm sure that includes her computer."

"I know. They're already here."

"Damn it!"

"No problem. After I spoke to you, I copied everything onto a floppy disk." She added, "They're taking the computer now, but I don't think anyone could come up with the passwords to access those files."

"Nice going, Grace." I asked, "What are the passwords?"

"There are three: one for the personal letters, one for the list of boyfriends' names, addresses, and telephone numbers, and one for the diary." She continued, "The password for the letters is 'Naughty Notes,' for the boyfriends' names, addresses, and telephone numbers, she used the words 'Daddy's Friends,' and the password for the diary is 'Trojan Horse.' "

"Okay... hold on to that disk."

"It's close to my heart."

"Good. Sleep with it tonight. Talk to you later." I hung up, called Falls Church, and got through to Karl. I said to him, "I'm hearing that my inquiry about West Point got some people angry, upset, or scared."

"Who told you that?"

"The question is, What did you find?"

"Nothing."

I said to him, "This is important."

"I'm doing my best."

"Tell me what you've done."

"Mister Brenner, I don't report to you."

"Right. But I've asked you to use your resources to get me a piece of information."

"I'll call you when I have something."

Cynthia pushed a note toward me that read: Tapped Tapped? I nodded. Karl definitely sounded weird. I asked him, "Did they get to you, Karl?"

After a few seconds, he said, "All the doors slammed in my face. Proceed with the case without this information. I've been assured you don't need it."

"All right. Thanks very much for trying."

"I'll see you here tomorrow or the next day."

"Fine. Since you're not busy with my request, perhaps you can arrange a thirty-day administrative leave for me and Ms. Sunhill, and a confirmed MAC flight to a place of my choice."

"The Pentagon would like nothing better."

"And get that fucking letter of reprimand out of my file." I hung up.

Cynthia said, "What the hell is going on here?"

"I think we opened a Pandora's box, took out a can of worms, and threw it at a hornet's nest."

"You can say that again."

But I didn't. I said, "We've been cut loose." I thought a moment, then added, "But I think we can go it alone."

"I guess we have no choice. But I still want to know about West Point."

"Karl has assured us it's not important to the case."

Cynthia stayed silent a moment, then said, "Karl disappoints me. I never thought he'd back off from a criminal investigation like that."

"Me neither."

We spoke for a few minutes trying to figure out where to go regarding the West Point inquiry. I looked at my watch. "Well, let's get to Bethany Hill." We got up to leave, but there was a knock on the door, and Specialist Baker came in with a sheet of paper in her hand. She sat at my desk and glanced at the paper.

I said to her, sarcastically, "Have a seat, Baker."

She looked up at us and said in an assured tone of voice, "Actually, I'm Warrant Officer Kiefer from the CID. I've been here about two months on undercover assignment for Colonel Hellmann. I've been investigating charges of improper conduct in the traffic enforcement section-petty stuff, nothing to do with Colonel Kent or any of that. Colonel Hellmann told me to get myself assigned as your clerk-typist." She looked at us. "So I did."

Cynthia said, "Are you serious? You've been spying on us for Colonel Hellmann?"

"Not spying, just helping. It's done all the time."

I replied, "It is, but I'm still pissed-off."

Specialist Baker, a.k.a. Warrant Officer Kiefer, said, "I don't blame you, but this case is explosive, and Colonel Hellmann was concerned."

I said, "Colonel Hellmann just took a dive on us."

She didn't respond to that, but said, "In the two months I've been here, I've heard those rumors about Colonel Kent and Captain Campbell that I told you about. That's all true, but I never wrote him up because I don't like doing that to people. I couldn't see one incident where he compromised his duties, and all I had was office gossip anyway. But now I suppose that's all relevant."

Cynthia replied, "Relevant, but maybe not evidence of anything except stupidity."

Ms. Kiefer shrugged. She handed me a sheet of paper and said, "I got a call from Falls Church a few minutes ago telling me to identify myself to you, and instructing me to stand by the fax machine. That's what came across."

I looked at the fax sheet, which was addressed to me and Sunhill, via Kiefer, eyes only. I read aloud, " 'Regarding the West Point inquiry, as indicated on the phone, all files sealed or nonexistent, all verbal inquiries met with silence. However, I phoned a retired CID person who was stationed at the Point during the period in question. That person spoke on condition of anonymity, and briefed me as follows: During the summer between Cadet Campbell's first and second year at West Point, she was hospitalized in a private clinic for a few weeks. Officially, she'd had a training accident at Camp Buckner Military Reservation during night exercises. My source says that General Campbell flew in from Germany the day after the 'accident.' Here is the story as my source pieced it together from rumors: In August, during recondo training, the cadets were engaged in night patrols in the woods, and by accident or design, Cadet Campbell was separated from a larger group and found herself with five or six males-either cadets or men from the Eighty-second Airborne Division who were assisting with the training. They wore camouflage paint, and it was dark and so forth. These male personnel grabbed Cadet Campbell, stripped her, and staked her out with pegs from their pup tents, then took turns raping her. What happened next is unclear, but presumably the men threatened her if she reported the rape, then untied her and ran off. She was reported missing until dawn, when she appeared at the bivouac area, disheveled and hysterical. She was taken first to Keller Army Hospital and treated for minor cuts and bruises, exhaustion, and so forth. Medical records do not indicate sexual assault. General Campbell arrived, and she was removed to a private clinic. No one was charged, no action taken, incident hushed for the good of the academy, and Cadet Campbell reported for classes in September. Rumor was that the general put pressure on his daughter not to pursue the matter-the general was probably pressured himself from higher-ups. So that's it. Shred this message and destroy fax activity report. Good luck. (Signed) Hellmann.' "

I passed the fax to Cynthia, and she said, "It all makes sense now, doesn't it?"