Witness to Death (43 page)

It hadn’t snowed in New Jersey since that Saturday.

It had actually gotten warm, climbing into the fifties.

Peter Callahan spent two and a half weeks in the hospital. The injuries to his ribs had caused internal bleeding. He was taped up, just like when he was a kid. They did other things to stop the bleeding, but didn’t tell him what. He didn’t ask.

The weather didn’t hold when he got out.

Peter Callahan hated DC in the winter. Everything felt half-assed. None of the fountains ran. The reflecting pool was empty. And the wind whipped off the Potomac snapping the flags surrounding the Washington Monument straight out, as if they’d just been ironed. No one else was around, as the sun had set hours ago.

That’s why he wanted to meet Duffy here. With the wind and the different raised monuments in the way, the chances of them being bugged successfully were slim.

Callahan stalked past the Monument toward the World War II Memorial. In the distance, he saw the Lincoln Monument, lights illuminating the President in his seat. An airplane angled across the sky on its approach. As he looked, the wind was so strong it made him squint and gasp.

He stepped into the memorial and studied the pillars—one for each state. Callahan headed toward the New Jersey pillar. Right where he’d met Weller for the first time.

Duffy came from across the monument, hands jammed in her pockets.

“How are you feeling?” she asked when she was in earshot.

“Getting better.”

“When are you going to come in and officially debrief?”

“What are you talking about?” Callahan spread his hands.

“You broke a direct order from me to stay out of it. You’ve been AWOL for three weeks. We need to get the official story down. You need to come to headquarters.”

Callahan nodded.
So this was how it was going to go.

“Why didn’t the team you promised show up?”

Duffy’s face and ears were red from the wind. Her hair was tucked under a thick, fur hat. “We couldn’t get someone there in time. We tried. But no one would believe me.”

“That’s very interesting,” Callahan said. “I don’t think it’s what happened. You had the picture of the bomb I gave you from Sandler. There was enough proof. You had my word. That should have been enough.”

Duffy didn’t speak.

“I think you were a part of this.”

Duffy laughed and took her hands out of her pockets. They were empty.

Callahan shook his head. “When no one showed up at the tunnel
,
I got suspicious. Then, no one came to see me in the hospital. No one came to tell me to keep quiet.”

Duffy didn’t say anything.

“When I got out, I went up to Sandler’s hangar. It had been burnt to the ground. No one was there. There wasn’t even a sign of anyone being there. Not even the fire department. If you had sent men there, someone would have responded. You would have gotten the fire trucks up there to try and save some evidence.”

Duffy’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly shut it.

“Weller found out, didn’t he? He discovered you were a part of it. I mean, he was working the Sandler case with me. I was feeding him all sorts of information. Anything I got from my contact.”

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Duffy said.

Over her shoulder, Callahan saw movement. He tensed a bit.

“Once Omar disappeared, you went to see Weller, right? You thought he was on to you and had arrested Omar on the docks, but didn’t tell you. So, you confronted him, and when he wouldn’t tell you where Omar was, you killed him. Even made it look like he flipped in case someone caught on to you.”

Callahan forced himself to relax and leaned against the monument wall. Smiled.

“This is all bullshit. Who told you this?” Duffy asked.

“I thought of it all myself. I even think there’s more to it than that. Your rep is that you’re a hardass. And yet, you were really nice to me that day. You were barely shocked I was alive.”

Duffy took a step back. Over her shoulder, Callahan could see someone walking toward them. He couldn’t make out who it was in the dark. It didn’t matter, he only had one more thing to figure out.

“How much did they offer you?” Callahan asked.

Duffy gritted her teeth and Callahan thought she might attack him.

“It wasn’t only that,” Duffy said her voice tight. He’d finally gotten to her, found the piece that would get her to talk. “It was Ameritech. They were screwing us around. They were selling weapons to terrorists. That picture wasn’t faked. And I’ve seen more than the photo you showed me. I have a higher clearance than you. I know more. Ameritech was helping us and screwing us. They had to go.”

“And Sandler’s way was the only way?”

“It was going to show everyone. No one was listening to our info. It had to be bigger than that. People had to die so the big guys over there”—she nodded toward the Capitol—”would learn.”

“Tell me how you figured it out. It was you, wasn’t it?”

Duffy didn’t say anything.

“You knew I was getting closer to Sandler, somehow. You were the one who gave me up.”

Duffy looked at something and stood up a bit straighter.

“You want to know how?” she asked. “I hacked her upload. She had information for you, uploaded it to the server. I checked it and changed it to the message you saw.”

“How’d you know?”

Duffy shook her head.

“I’m in charge.”

Duffy turned around, as if she was going to run. She stopped when she saw Hank Manfra standing behind her. He was wearing a dark blue FBI jacket. Slowly, Duffy turned back toward Callahan, a smile crossing her face.

“I guess you got me,” she said. “We’re all going to be worse off because of that.”

Three other agents emerged from the shadows carrying hand guns. Duffy watched them, and raised her hands. Manfra started to read her rights while hand cuffing her. Duffy didn’t struggle. Two agents escorted her back toward the road.

“Thank you,” Manfra said.

Callahan nodded. “I think I’m supposed to be thanking you.”

“You gave us the head’s up.”

Behind Manfra, one of the other agents was peeling something off the wall of the monument. Probably a piece of surveillance equipment they’d placed there after Callahan had contacted the feds.

“I used to be in the CIA. I know all the tricks and I have a lot of connections Duffy didn’t know about. Hell, once they heard I wasn’t dead, the Agency even wanted me back,” Callahan said.

“You going to go back?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Too much baggage.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I have some things to take care of,” he said.

Manfra nodded. “After you called and told us about the meeting a few of our agents raided the office. We found some good stuff. Wonder who’ll be the new boss?”

Callahan held up his hand. “Think of it as a new start. A clean slate.”

“And what’s next for you?”

Callahan shrugged. “I have a lot to make up for.”

“Saving the New York City’s not enough, huh?”

“You know the job. There’s always something new to worry about”

“How are your friends?” he asked.

Callahan didn’t answer

“We haven’t found Christine yet,” Manfra said. “No sign.”

“Keep looking. Last I saw, she had beaten up some cops and ran off. She’s dangerous.”

Manfra nodded again. Callahan reached out his hand and shook Manfra’s.

“Good luck,” Manfra said.

He turned without saying goodbye and walked back toward the Washington Monument.

Out on the street, traffic rolled along, slowly. A few men stood on the corner smoking cigars.

He hailed a cab.

Once he got in, he told the cabbie to get him to Dulles.

Callahan leaned his head against the window of the cab, closed his eyes and tried to nap.

Michelle stayed in the hospital for two weeks. She wasn’t released until after her father’s funeral.

And Ashley’s.

And John’s.

Callahan had missed them all too. He wanted to make sure Michelle had someone by her side.

Now he stood in the Sandler kitchen—the one she’d inherited—waiting for her soup to cook. Outside, the sun began to set, the sky turning from orange to deep blue. A few kids bounced a basketball past the house and down the street..

Callahan thought about Michelle’s school. He wondered what administration was telling the students. What their parents were saying.

The microwave beeped and Callahan opened it. Some smoke poured out, and he needed a dishrag to lift the bowl without burning his hand. He placed a spoon into the bowl and left the kitchen with it.

He climbed the steps, pausing after each step to make sure he didn’t spill. He didn’t, and when he came to Michelle’s room, he had to go in back first to push the door open. He turned on the light, flicking the switch with his elbow.