The General's Daughter - The General's Daughter Part 42
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The General's Daughter Part 42

"Yes, sir, and we've had a lot of on-the-job experience, though this case presented unique problems."

"I'm sure it did. Do you know who killed my daughter?'

"No, sir."

He looked at me closely and asked, "It wasn't Colonel Moore?"

"It may have been."

"I see you're not here to answer questions."

"No, sir, we're not."

"Then how would you like to conduct this interview?"

"I think it may be easier on everyone, sir, if you just start by telling us what happened on the evening in question. Beginning with the phone call at 0145 hours. I may interrupt when I need a point clarified."

He nodded. "Yes, all right. I was sleeping, and the red phone rang on my nightstand. I answered it, but there was no reply to my saying, 'Campbell here.' Then there was a sort of click, then... then my daughter's voice came on the line, and I could tell it was recorded."

I nodded. There were telephones in the fire control towers on the ranges, but they were secured at night. Ann Campbell and Charles Moore obviously had a mobile phone with them and a tape player.

He continued, "The message-the recorded message said, 'Dad, this is Ann. I want to discuss something extremely urgent with you. You must meet me at rifle range six no later than 0215 hours.' " The general added, "She said if I didn't come, she'd kill herself."

Again I nodded. I said to him, "Did she tell you to bring Mrs. Campbell with you?"

He glanced at me and Cynthia, wondering how much we actually knew, thinking perhaps we'd somehow found that tape. He replied, "Yes, she did say that, but I had no intention of doing that."

"Yes, sir. Did you have any idea of what she wanted to speak to you about that was so urgent that she wanted you to get out of bed and drive out to the rifle range?"

"No... I... Ann, as you may have learned, was emotionally distressed."

"Yes, sir. I think, though, that someone mentioned to me that you had given her an ultimatum and a deadline. She was to give you her answer at breakfast that morning."

"That's correct. Her behavior had become unacceptable, and I told her to shape up or ship out."

"So when you heard her voice at that hour, you realized that this was not just a random emotional outburst, but was in fact connected to your ultimatum and her response."

"Well, yes, I suppose I did realize that."

"Why do you think she communicated with you by recorded message?"

"I suppose so there would be no argument. I was very firm with her, but since I couldn't reason or argue with a recorded voice, I did what any father would do and went to the designated meeting."

"Yes, sir. And as it turned out, your daughter was already out on the rifle range, and she called you from there with a mobile phone. She'd actually left Post Headquarters at about 0100 hours. Did you wonder why she picked a remote training area for this meeting? Why didn't she just show up at breakfast and give you her answer to your ultimatum?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

Well, perhaps he didn't know at first, but when he saw her, he knew. I could see that he was genuinely grieved and was barely holding it together. But he would would hold it together no matter how hard I pushed, and he'd tell the obvious truths relating to fact and hard evidence. But he would not voluntarily reveal the central truth of hold it together no matter how hard I pushed, and he'd tell the obvious truths relating to fact and hard evidence. But he would not voluntarily reveal the central truth of why why his daughter presented herself to him staked out and naked. his daughter presented herself to him staked out and naked.

I said to him, "She mentioned killing herself if you didn't come. Did you think that she might be contemplating killing you you if you if you did did come?" come?"

He didn't reply.

I asked him, "Did you take a weapon with you?"

He nodded, then said, "I had no idea what I was going to find out there at night."

No, I'll bet you didn't. And that's why you didn't take Mrs. Campbell along. I said, "So you dressed in civilian clothes, took a weapon, took your wife's car, and drove out to rifle range six with your headlights on. What time did you reach your destination?" I said, "So you dressed in civilian clothes, took a weapon, took your wife's car, and drove out to rifle range six with your headlights on. What time did you reach your destination?"

"Well... about 0215 hours. At the time she designated."

"Yes. And you put your lights out, and..."

There was a long silence while General Campbell considered my hanging conjunction. Finally, he said, "I got out of the car and went to the humvee, but she wasn't there. I became concerned and called her name, but there was no reply. I called again, then heard her call to me, and I turned in the direction of the rifle range and saw... I saw her on the ground, or I saw this figure on the ground, and I thought it was her and that she was hurt. I moved quickly toward the figure... she was naked, and I was... I suppose I was shocked, confused... I didn't know what to make of this, but she was alive, and that's all I cared about. I called out and asked if she was all right, and she replied that she was... I got up to her... you know, it's difficult to talk about this."

"Yes, sir. It's difficult for us, too. That's not to try to compare your loss with our feelings, but I think I speak for Ms. Sunhill, too, when I say that during the course of this investigation, we've come to... well, to like your daughter." Well, maybe I wasn't speaking for Ms. Sunhill. I continued, "Homicide detectives often have feelings for the deceased even though they've never met them. This is an unusual case in that we've viewed hours of videotapes of your daughter's lectures, and I felt that your daughter was someone I'd like to have known... but I should let you tell us what happened next."

General Campbell was starting to lose it again, and we all sat there awkwardly for a minute or so while he took a lot of deep breaths, then he cleared his throat and said, "Well, then I tried to untie her... it was very embarrassing, I mean to her and to me... but I couldn't get the rope untied, and I couldn't get the stakes out of the ground... I tried... I mean, whoever did it drove those stakes very deep, and tied those knots... so I said to her I'd be right back... and I went to the car and to the humvee, but I couldn't find anything to cut the ropes... so I went back to her and told her... I told her... I said that I'd drive up to Bethany Hill and get a knife from Colonel Fowler... Bethany Hill is less than ten minutes from range six... In retrospect, I should have... well, I don't know what I should have done."

Again I nodded. I asked him, "And while you were trying to untie the ropes, you spoke, of course."

"Just a few words."

"But surely you asked her who had done that to her?"

"No..."

"General, surely you said something like, 'Ann, who did this?' "

"Oh... yes, of course. But she didn't know."

"Actually," I informed him, "she wouldn't say."

The general looked me in the eye. "That's correct. She wouldn't say. Perhaps you know."

"So you drove back along Rifle Range Road toward Bethany Hill."

"That's right. And I called on Colonel Fowler for assistance."

"Did you know that there was a guard posted at the ammo shed about another kilometer in the opposite direction?"

"I don't know the location of every guard post at this fort." He added, "I doubt I would have gone there anyway. I certainly didn't need a young man to see my daughter like that."

"Actually, it was a woman. But that's irrelevant. What I'm wondering is why you made the U-turn with your headlights off, sir, and why you proceeded for at least a few hundred meters with them off."

He must have wondered how I knew this, then he probably realized I'd interviewed the guard. Finally, he replied, "To be honest with you, I didn't want to attract attention at that point."

"Why not?"

"Well, would you? If you just left your daughter tied naked to the ground, would you want anyone else involved? I had it clear in my mind that I had to go to Colonel and Mrs. Fowler for help. Obviously, I didn't want this incident to become public."

"But the incident, sir, was a crime, was it not? I mean, didn't you think she'd been molested by some madman or several madmen? Why would you wish to keep that private?"

"I suppose I didn't want to embarrass her."

Cynthia spoke up. "Rape should not be embarrassing to the victim."

General Campbell replied, "But it is."

Cynthia asked, "Did she indicate to you in any way that she was willing to lie them while you went and got Colonel and Mrs. Fowler?"

"No, but I thought it was the best thing."

Cynthia inquired, "Wasn't she frightened out of her mind that the rapist or rapists would return while you were gone?"

"No... well, yes, she did say to hurry back. Look, Ms. Sunhill, Mr. Brenner, if you're suggesting that I did not take the best course of action, then you're probably correct. Perhaps I should have tried harder to get her loose, perhaps I should have put my pistol in her hand so she could try to protect herself while I was gone, perhaps I should have fired the pistol to attract the attention of MPs, perhaps I should have just sat there with her until a vehicle came along. Don't you think I've thought about this a thousand times? If you're questioning my judgment, you have a valid point. But do not question my degree of concern."

Cynthia replied, "General, I'm not questioning either. I'm questioning what actually went on out there."

He started to reply, then decided to say nothing.

I said to him, "So you drove to the Fowlers, explained the situation, and they went back to assist Captain Campbell."

"That's correct. Mrs. Fowler had a robe and a knife to cut the ropes."

"And you didn't see your daughter's clothes anywhere at the scene?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did you think to cover her with your shirt?"

"No... I wasn't thinking very clearly."

This was the man who, as a lieutenant colonel, led a mechanized infantry battalion into the besieged city of Quang Tri and rescued an American rifle company who were trapped in the old French citadel. But he couldn't figure out how to aid his daughter. Obviously, he had no intention of offering her aid and comfort. He was royally pissed-off.

I asked him, "Why didn't you accompany the Fowlers, General?"

"I wasn't needed, obviously. Only Mrs. Fowler was needed, but Colonel Fowler went along, of course, in case there was trouble."

"What sort of trouble?"

"Well, in case the person who did that was still around."

"But why would you leave your daughter alone, tied, naked, and exposed if you thought there might be any chance of that?"

"It didn't occur to me until after I was back on the road. Until I was nearly at the Fowlers' house. I should point out that the drive to the Fowlers took under ten minutes."

"Yes, sir. But the round trip, including your waking them and them getting dressed and driving back, would take close to thirty minutes. After waking them and asking for their assistance, the natural response of any person-a father, a military commander-would be to race back to the scene and to secure the situation until the alerted cavalry arrived, to use a military analogy."

"Are you questioning my judgment or my motives, Mr. Brenner?"

"Not your judgment, sir. Your judgment would have been excellent if your motives were pure. So I guess I'm questioning your motives." Normally, you don't question a general about anything. But this was different.

He nodded and said, "I suppose you both know more than you're letting on. You're very clever. I could see that from the beginning. So why don't you tell me what my motives were?"

Cynthia responded to that and said, "You wanted to make her squirm a little."

The fortifications had been breached, to continue the military metaphor, and Cynthia charged right through. She said, "In fact, General, you knew that your daughter was not the victim of some rapist, that she hadn't been attacked while waiting out there for you. But, in fact, she and an accomplice called you, played her message, and got you out there for the sole purpose of you and Mrs. Campbell finding her in that position. That, sir, is the only logical explanation for that sequence of events, for you leaving her there alone, for you going to the Fowlers and telling them to take care of it, for you staying behind in their house and waiting for them to return with your daughter and with her humvee, and for you not reporting a word of this until this moment. You were very angry with her for what she did."

General Campbell sat there, deep in thought, contemplating, perhaps, his options, his life, his mistake a few nights ago, his mistake ten years ago. Finally, he said, "My career is ended, and I've drafted a resignation that I will submit tomorrow after my daughter's funeral. I suppose what I'm thinking about now is how much you have to know to find the murderer, how much I want to confess to you and to the world, and what good it would do anyone to further dishonor my daughter's memory. This is all self-serving, I know, but I do have to consider my wife and my son, and also the Army." He added, "I'm not a private citizen, and my conduct is a reflection on my profession, and my disgrace can only serve to lower the morale of the officer corps."

I wanted to tell him that the morale of the senior officers at Fort Hadley was already low as they all waited for the ax to fall, and that, indeed, he wasn't a private citizen and had no reasonable expectation to be treated like one, and that, yes, he sounded a little self-serving and that his daughter's reputation was not the issue at hand, and to let me worry about how much I had to know to find the murderer, and, last but not least, his career was, indeed, over. But instead, I told him, "I understand why you did not notify the MPs that your daughter was staked out naked on the rifle range-indeed, General, it was a private matter up until that point, and I confess to you I would have done the same thing. I understand, too, why and how the Fowlers got involved. Again, I confess, I would probably have done the same thing. But when the Fowlers returned and told you that your daughter was dead, you had no right to involve them in a conspiracy to conceal the true nature of the crime, and no right to involve your wife in the conspiracy as well. And no right, sir, to make my job and Ms. Sunhill's job more difficult by sending us up false trails."

He nodded. "You're absolutely correct. I take full responsibility."

I took a deep breath and informed him, "I must tell you, sir, that your actions are offenses that are punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

He nodded again, slowly. "Yes, I'm aware of that." He looked at me, then at Cynthia. "I would ask one favor of you."

"Yes, sir?"

"I would ask that you do everything you can to keep the Fowlers' name out of this."

I was prepared for that request, and I'd wrestled with the answer long before General Campbell asked. I looked at Cynthia, then at the general, and replied, "I can't compound this crime with a crime of my own." In fact, I'd already done that by striking a deal with Burt Yardley. But that was offpost stuff. This was not. I said, "The Fowlers found the body, General. They did not report it."

"They did. To me."

Cynthia said, "General, my position is somewhat different from Mr. Brenner's, and though detectives are never to disagree in public, I think we can keep the Fowlers out of this. In fact, Colonel Fowler did did report the crime to you, and you told him you would call Colonel Kent. But in your shock and grief, and Mrs. Campbell's grief, the body was discovered before you could call the provost marshal. There are more details to work out, but I don't think justice would be served any better by dragging the Fowlers into this." report the crime to you, and you told him you would call Colonel Kent. But in your shock and grief, and Mrs. Campbell's grief, the body was discovered before you could call the provost marshal. There are more details to work out, but I don't think justice would be served any better by dragging the Fowlers into this."

General Campbell looked at Cynthia for a long time, then nodded.

I was not happy, but I was relieved. Colonel Fowler, after all, was perhaps the only officer who'd shown some degree of honor and integrity throughout, including not screwing the general's daughter. In truth, I did not possess that kind of willpower myself, and I was in awe of a man who did. Still, you don't give something for nothing, and Cynthia understood that, because she said to the general, "But I would like you, sir, to tell us what actually happened out there, and why it happened."

General Campbell sat back in his chair and nodded. He said, "All right, then. The story actually begins ten years ago... ten years ago this month at West Point."

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

General Campbell related to us what had happened at Camp Buckner, West Point's field training area. In regard to the actual rape, he knew not much more than we did, or, probably, the authorities did. What he did know was that, when he saw his daughter at Keller Army Hospital, she was traumatized, hysterical, and humiliated by what had happened to her. He told us that Ann clung to him, cried, and begged him to take her home.

He offered the information that his daughter told him she was a virgin, and that the men who raped her made fun of this. She told him that the men had pulled off her clothes and staked her on the ground with tent pegs. One of the men had choked her with a rope while he was raping her, and told her he'd strangle her to death if she reported the assault.

Neither I nor Cynthia, I'm sure, expected the general to provide these small, intimate details. He knew that this incident was only related to the murder in a peripheral way, and there was no clue there regarding her murderer. Yet, he wanted to talk, and we let him talk.