Silent Waters

Chapter 68

Two police cruisers took them to the station. Another ambulance had arrived before they left the scene, and the two EMTs declared the fifth passenger dead.

Amy and McCann were in the first cruiser, and Sarah and Bruce followed in the second. All of them, with the exception of Amy, who was dressed in borrowed scrubs, had shown identification. But they’d refused to make a statement, insisting on being taken to the station. The shattered window of the ambulance made it clear that Barnhardt had been shot, but there were still many questions about the stolen vehicle, why they’d been driving in excess of eighty miles per hour around New Haven green, and who the gun that Bruce had belonged to.

Sarah was glad their identification had carried some clout, since they hadn’t been searched or handcuffed. They were just asked to ride in the back seat.

The police cars struggled to cut through the crowds of curiosity seekers who’d forgotten their rally. As they crawled past, Sarah was blinded by the lights of the camera crews of the news station filming footage of the escapade.

“How far away do you think it is to the police station?” she asked Bruce as the officer driving their car blasted the siren intermittently to encourage people to step back.

“I don’t know, but I doubt Kilo and his crew would be stupid enough to try to stop us before we get there,” Bruce told her.

Sarah looked over her shoulder. People were closing the gap as the police car moved along. She couldn’t see the SUVs that had been in pursuit of them earlier.

“Do you think we might have jumped the gun,” she asked quietly. The police car turned right and picked up speed.

“About Barnhardt’s claim?”

She nodded. “What happens if we don’t find anything? Or if there’s no evidence as he promised?”

“Unless we’re just part of an elaborate set-up, which I don’t think is likely, there has to be a money trail.”

“True, but I would bet my life that it doesn’t reach the President,” Sarah said.

“That’s true,” Bruce admitted. “But we had no choice. Even on the surface, Penn is the only one who wouldn’t benefit from this hijacking. But I can’t honestly say who in the administration would go along with something this crazy.”

“If we’re wrong, then we’re taking Senator Penn’s career down with us.” Sarah said.

Bruce sighed. “But I tend to believe Barnhardt was telling the truth. Why else did they send those goons to kill him?”

Sarah looked out the window. The crowd was much larger now than it had been when McCann had been racing around in the ambulance. She wondered how it was that the rally could bring out so many after such a chaotic day. Perhaps it was exactly because of that. People wanted to be part of history.

Bruce broke into her thoughts. “Meisner is the only one who has me concerned. He should have been our first call, but in a situation like this, I have no take on him.”

“He had ulterior motives for choosing me for this case,” Sarah said. “He assumed I’d muddle the investigation. That doesn’t inspire confidence.”

“The same goes for choosing me.”

“Why?”

“I asked to work with you. Maybe he figured I’d be so blinded by your charm and beauty that I’d forget what I’m doing.”

“Come on.”

“Well, that’s partly true.”

“Were you blinded, Commander?”

“Of course,” he deadpanned. “If I’d paid attention to what the heck I was doing, this case would have been wrapped up before lunchtime.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “You sure know how to pick your moments, don’t you?”

Bruce’s phone beeped. He had a voice message. Sarah decided to turn on her cell phone, too, just in case Senator Penn wanted to contact them. She checked the display. She had three voice mails.

The police officer who was driving the car looked in the rearview mirror at her. “Officer, is it okay to check my messages? They could be important.”

The young man gave a half-hearted nod. He looked as if he didn’t know whether to treat them as criminals or to salute them.

Bruce didn’t bother to ask. He was already listening to his messages.

“First one, Meisner,” he told her. “The hospital called him about Brody. He doesn’t know where we are or what the hell is going on.”

Sarah dialed her own voice mail. An identical message was left by the admiral on her phone, as well. She saw Bruce sit forward, adjusting the phone to his ear.

“I have a forwarded message from Barnhardt. It’s also distributed to you, too.”

She still had her phone on. The message Bruce was talking about started.

“Here is something for your investigations, Commander Dunn, Lieutenant Connelly.”

Several clicks followed, and then the sound of a number being punched in. When the voices came on, Sarah realized she was listening to a taped conversation between the President and Barnhardt.

She listened to the conversation, hearing the President’s voice as he implicated himself in the hijacking.

Bruce and Sarah looked at each other when the conversation cut short.

“Everything is here,” he said quietly as he glanced at the cop behind the wheel. “Barnhardt was Mako and the other guy spells out his involvement.”

“Yes, but this won’t stand up in court,’” Sarah challenged.

“Maybe it will and maybe it won’t,” he admitted. “But it will definitely start the ball rolling for impeachment.”

She lowered her voice. “The election is tomorrow. A voluntary resignation might be the fastest way to get him out of office.”

“You’d let him walk after all this?” he asked.

“We’d be taking away his power.” She shrugged. “But who knows, maybe the money trail will lead to him, anyway. Or perhaps we can find the man they call Kilo. He seems to be getting his orders right from the top. There’s nothing like first-person testimony.”

“That’s assuming they let him… or any of us… live.”