Author Archives: Barry Kelly

When Storm, who was doing the navigation, saw the Brandon McLean house, she said, “Dad, what kind of people are they? Look at this house. I’ve never even been inside a place like this. Have you?”

“Only at a crime scene. Notice they never act or talk as if they have real money. Jack is still a Marine and cop and Kathy is a spook. They are very good people, but hard. Jack and Kathy look like they’re the all-American couple but they can kill easily. Kelly is now almost there. She killed two professionals in a 15-foot shootout. That is just not natural. She has her mother’s DNA whose trade was killing on the field of battle. She was better than Kathy and equal to Jack. I do okay, but in a rare moment of honesty with my daughter, I’m not in Jack’s league.

“Remember, they’ll never make us do anything. We can always say no. The pay is very good. I believe we are on the side of the ‘white hats’ and we can contribute.”

They had only been sitting outside for a few minutes when Shadow came bouncing out and put his huge paws on the car’s roof. Storm took one look and said, “Dad, I think he wants you to come out first.”

“Sure, Shadow and I are old friends. That dog is smarter than most people.”

Lou got out and was greeted warmly by a sitting Shadow lifting his right front paw to shake hands. Storm said, “Do you think he knows I have a problem with huge black dogs?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him? Shadow come on over and say hello to Storm. She’s a bit afraid of you. Maybe you should sleep in her room tonight.”

“For God’s sake, Dad, don’t tell him that.”

“Why not? A dog that big sleeps anywhere he wants.”

Kelly came out and said, “Lou stop scaring her. Shadow hasn’t bitten anyone yet this week.”

Storm said, “That’s not a bit funny, Kelly.”

“Well, it’s true. Come on in. Kathy’s expected by dinner time. I’ll show you to your rooms and give you a chance to freshen up a bit. Jack’s downstairs in the gym doing an incredible workout. You can join him if you want a workout. He’s been helping me with my Hapkido.”

Storm said, “No thanks. I’ll pass for now. A hot shower is what I want.”

“You may change your mind. All the guests’ baths have deep soaking tubs with jacuzzi options. Follow me and I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Looking around her bedroom and attached bath, Storm thought I could get used to this. The entire house looks like it came out of a House Beautiful magazine. Storm was still exploring when Mrs. Minh said over the intercom, “Miss Kathy is here.”

While the Minhs were putting her light baggage in the master suite, Kathy ran downstairs to the gym. Jack had just finished his third set of 20 pull ups, when Kathy burst in and threw her arms around him. “I couldn’t wait to get here. You can’t believe how much I missed you. First, take me up to that beautiful master bedroom place and then walk me through the house. It looks like Lee has done a marvelous job.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to work out first?”

“Come with me now! No stops for a shower.”

After one of the Minh’s superb dinners of curried chicken, a Vietnamese noodle soup with shrimp and a dash of nuoc mam, and steamed rice, Jack said, “We’ll have coffee in the new command center. I haven’t shown the center to you yet. We’ll run our new operation from there.”

Kelly said, “Tell me, what was that sauce in the noodle soup? It was super. Did the Minhs make it or buy it?”

Jack laughed and said, “Nuoc mam is notorious. People either love it or can’t stand it. The Minhs bought it. The sauce is the result of a long process of distilling fish and that’s as far as I go.”

The command center was a 30-foot by 15-foot room with several flat screen monitors on the walls. Three stand-alone iMacs with quad processors, i7 intel cores and 27-inch monitors lined the far wall. When everyone had gathered around the table with fresh-brewed Colombian roast, Jack said, “I’ve accepted a very difficult mission. Some background. An al Qaeda senior leader is now running operations in the United States. The car bombs in Charleston, the burning of churches and the attacks on infra-structure targets in South Carolina are his doing. We now believe he is in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

“This man is skilled in the deployment and management of sniper teams. He honed his skills in Iraq. On a few occasions, I was part of a counter-sniper group to clean out the snipers operating in the Sunni Triangle. I don’t believe this al Qaeda leader was operating in the field as a sniper. A highly talented sniper, who was the leader of the sniper teams in Iraq, is now in the United States. There is no guesswork here. Surveillance cameras and other information confirm their presence. Kathy was the first to spot this high ranking terrorist in Charleston. She saw and photographed him leaving the rug shop a few weeks before we destroyed it. So far, nothing I’ve said is conjecture or speculation.

“The rest of this brief is at best projected analysis of the above facts or conjecture based on experience. Make no mistake, the threat is very real. The man who sometimes provides our missions believes there will be attacks in the Capitol area within the next few weeks.

“Our role is to identify probable sniper targets, locate shooting points, and develop plans to deny the snipers success within an area extending from a few kilometers outside the beltway to the Capitol. Questions?”

No one said anything. They all just stared at Jack. Finally Kathy said, “There are only five of us. The search area is huge, and there is very little time. There is one more fact. I think we have a clue in the cars our terrorist picked to drive. In Myrtle Beach, he drove a Cadillac CTS. He left that car in Myrtle Beach and drove a Passat north to Richmond. His car choices were made to fit in with his cover and pattern of movement. He did not want his car to call attention to him. Guess what he deliberately bought in Richmond? A used white Ford 150 4×4 pickup truck. He is not going to locate in an urban condo or in a downtown apartment with a pickup truck. True to his own internal security commandments, he bought the truck to blend in with his new environment.”

Kelly said, “You mean this guy is going redneck on us and live in a rural area?”

“I don’t know about the redneck part, but I’ll bet he’s now located in some relatively isolated rural area. Remember the four-wheel drive capability. He doesn’t want to be blocked by road conditions, and we are now in an area where snowstorms can shut down travel as late as mid-March. We need to search for the white Ford 150, as well as sniper nests.”

Jack said, “Excellent point, Kathy! You and Kelly allot some of your time to searching likely rural areas for the truck. The place would likely be within an hour of DC and I think to the west, areas like Leesburg and Poolesville, Maryland. He won’t want to be caught east of DC because of the natural barriers to car travel. That logic also makes south and north of the city less attractive. Now to the resources issue.

“I’m sure there will be other teams working the problem. Our job is to limit the area to patrol and come up with innovative approaches to foil multi-sniper attacks. We’ll have logistical and analytic support and special equipment. A helicopter for our sole use will be positioned at the Leesburg Airport tomorrow or the next day. There must be more questions.”

Lou said, “I’m sure you have an approach. Tell us your ideas and our questions can be more to the point. So far the mission is overwhelming.”

“You’re right, I’ve got a basic plan for beginning, but I’ll need help to flesh it out.”

For the next hour Jack laid out his initial approach. A lively discussion period followed. Before midnight they had a plan that gave them a blueprint to start.

Jack designated responsibility areas. He and Lou made up one search team. Kelly and Kathy, the second one. Storm was given the responsibility for running their command room, coordinating intelligence, integrating search team reports and keeping track of searched areas. Jack and Lou would assign search priorities. They could sleep in tomorrow, but after that, breakfast would be served at 6:30.

The next morning breakfast was over by 7:30 and all, except Storm, were out of the house. She was in the command center getting familiar with the equipment and setting up databases to handle the incoming information and channel it into files to organize and retrieve search results. Jack and Lou left to pick up the equipment Frank promised Jack from a local storage unit business. Before going to pick up the material, Jack stopped to rent a pickup truck. He thought the Professor’s logic made sense. For their search activities, pickups would blend in far better. He planned to get a number of magnetized signs to change the truck’s appearance from time to time.

After checking for anyone following them, Jack drove back to the house and they off-loaded the equipment into the garage. The box of maps and declassified images were carried into the house for Storm to sort and store. Kathy and Kelly, following Jack’s lead, also rented a pickup truck. Following Kathy’s hunch about the Professor using a remote rural area for his headquarters, they checked the records in the Loudon County courthouse in Leesburg and the Montgomery County, MD, records. Moving from Leesburg to Montgomery County, Kathy crossed the Potomac River at Whites Ferry. Kathy gave Kelly five dollars and told her to hold it out the window for collection. Kelly couldn’t believe a ferry, dating back before the Civil War, was still the site for a major river crossing. Kathy pointed out the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal just east of Whites Ferry.

Kathy said, “Look, kid, while we’re here I’m going to give you a bit of area knowledge. It will help put things in context tomorrow when we begin a serious search. Just ahead on Whites Ferry Road is a town called Poolesville. For a period in the Civil War, it was occupied by Confederate troops. We can get a quick lunch and then I want to browse a really good antique store, called Hearthside. The couple who run it know antiques. In my single days, I bought some things there. I was always treated well and never overcharged. Anyway, I like to mix a little fun and pleasure into our work. The man who owns the shop also does some work in real estate and may know if anyone bought a remote small farm in the past year or two.”

Storm was swamped with the maps and DVD images Lou and Jack handed off to her. She asked Mrs. Minh to please bring her a sandwich and coffee. She didn’t want to leave the windowless room Jack called the command center. She had now mastered the technology and swiped topographical maps, images and text from the iMacs to a series of monitors along the wall. She was ready to get on with the first search when Jack gave the word and selected a target.

Precisely at noon, Jack heard a tap on the hotel room door. Verifying it was Frank by looking through the peephole, he opened the door.

Frank looked around the suite, saw the table set for lunch with his sandwich under a warmer and said, “It is really very nice to have assets that can afford to pay for their own safe meeting place, not to mention the Reuben under glass, oops, silver.”

“My father taught me that, every once in a while, you have to cater to the proletariat. Please be sure to sign the guest book for the record.”

“If you remove the silver cover from my Reuben before it freezes, I can eat and pass on words of wisdom.”

As they sat down at the table, Frank said, “Has Kathy arrived yet?”

“Not yet. I expect her today.”

“She was very good when she worked for me. I’m amazed at how much better she is after 18 months with you. She is by far the best investigative asset I can call on. She has the ability to put herself into the mind of her target and pick up the trail. Once on the trail, she is like a pit bull. Nothing deters her. She just runs over anyone who gets in her way.

“The Professor would be more careful, if he knew how easily Kathy is able to back-track his movements. It’s almost as if she can visualize his every action. I can’t explain it. She just moves ahead where my other people would report the trail was too cold. You can’t teach what she does. That old story, you either have it or you don’t. What happened to her the last year and a half?”

“I can’t give you a good answer, but the change I’ve seen is in her confidence level. None of her movements, actions or thoughts are tentative. I thought she was always holding back and leery of committing herself. Not anymore! She has also taken on the mentoring of our new member, Anita’s daughter, Kelly. Kelly worships her and is rapidly becoming another Kathy Grayson. During the attack on our Charleston house, she killed two of the attackers face-to-face while she was totally naked. Afterwards she said, ‘I just did what Kathy taught me.’ I think taking Kelly under her wing has made Kathy even more positive. She no longer has any fear for herself. Anita’s death in some ways has strengthened her. You know Anita was her big sister and her mentor.”

“That helps. Thank God she’s on our side. We’re going to need her, if my thoughts about the Professor are correct. Tell me in more detail about the Hankins’ story and the shootout at Walmart.”

Jack recited the entire story, including the fight Kelly had with the killer, and the water boarding interrogation. Jack asked Frank about the CIA surveillance and capture of the one shooter who ran from the parking lot.

Frank said, “He was captured at a rented condo in Conway, SC. It was all done very quietly. His interrogation took too long for the intel to be actionable. You know, we have certain ‘law and order’ rules we must follow to ensure these dedicated terrorists are given their full rights. In this case the terrorist was an American citizen but had knowingly engaged in an active war against his country. Anyway, he told us very little. I don’t think he knew much. The Professor is a believer in ‘need to know.’ He compartmentalizes even the most trivial of information. He loses efficiency and initiative, but gains a strong security shield. According to this home grown terrorist, the Professor is going to carry his war to the Nation’s Capital, and he has a Jihadist hero to lead his campaign, but most of his soldiers are American-born citizens.

“We know the Professor likes to use sniper teams, and he is quite good about deploying them. We know his best sniper, Al Hasini, came into the country through the Minneapolis Airport last year. We don’t know where he went from there. Our facts end there. The rest is analysis from my shop and from my personal knowledge of the Professor and his work. I believe that Hasani was sent here early to get established. Primarily to put together a team of snipers. I guess the number to be less than ten. I also believe they are Americans who have been trained in the terrorist camps. A few of my analysts believe some of them got their training in survivalist camps in the US. A few of these camps have an ‘advanced’ shooting training. They are hard to monitor and we don’t have good information on what they do or who went there.

“I’ve two areas I want you to cover for me. The first is applying your knowledge of sniper operations and Hasani, in particular. I want you to think like Hasani would in attacking the Washington, DC area. The Professor will pick the targets, but Hasani will select the shooting sites.

“Assume you have 5 to 10 shooters on your team, and your assignment is to severely impact the life and functioning of the city and its people. Also assume the sniper operations will go on for several days. First, select the target or targets and then, the shooting sites for the targets. Use the capabilities of all your people. I can supply you with target information and any technical gear you may need, including ground and air transport. Oh, and I want you to begin now. What do you think?”

“Are you sure this job is hard enough for us? God, Frank, of course we’ll do our best, but this is an immense undertaking for five people.”

“Yes. I know, but your capabilities are special. You won’t waste time taking on the universe. My hope is that you will uncover our city’s weakness to sniper attacks and be able to focus on real targets. The professor is pragmatic and has only limited resources and a limited time to damage the well-being of our people. He will spend the lives of his team, including his own. He needs success and world media attention. I’ve put together an internal Counter Terror Center team to help. They can provide logistics, analytic support, research, satellite photography and whatever information the Government uncovers once the party begins. The Administration, for all its shortcomings on supporting the war on terror, has one clear goal and that is to reelect the President. Letting terrorists cause the population to lose faith in the Administration’s ability to keep them safe is not in their play book. You will get my total support.”

“Okay. We’ll need a helicopter on standby in some easily accessed place that will fly us around the metro area whenever we need it. If funds are a problem, just tell me and I’ll pay for the ride. Two pilots should be enough. Can you make that happen?”

“Yes. I’ll arrange for the helicopter and two pilots. What else?”

“Two Heckler & Koch PSG1 rifles and 500 7.62 x 51 NATO rounds, 6 x 42 telescope sights, 20-round magazines, sound suppression and the best night vision gear for two two-man teams. Detailed military tactical topographical maps starting from two klicks outside the Beltway and recent satellite photographs of the same area. To start, the resolution does not have to be the best. Add a couple of good imagery analysts to your team.”

“You got it. Call me and tell me where to deliver the gear. The chopper will be at the Leesburg Airport in two days. I’ll brief the pilots on getting approval for their flight plans and give them a phone number to call in any conflict with the authorities.”

“My team should all be at my father’s house by now. I’ll develop an approach to this operation and keep you informed.”

As Jack walked Frank to the door, Frank said, “You know your father would be very proud and impressed with your record. He was outstanding on espionage problems, but I think he would say that your skills in the counter-terrorist arena are better than his. If you weren’t so effective as an operator, I’d try to get you to do some training. This meeting place worked well. If you see no problems, we can do this again. Good luck.”

Before the Professor reached the outskirts of DC, he received a brief report stating Hankins was dead but not before he killed one of the martyrs with a hidden gun. The other two escaped. No police or people watching the recontact place were seen. Good, Hankins was a security threat just waiting to happen. It could hardly have been a setup. My people are very good at detecting surveillance, and Hankins had a loaded weapon. Who would stake out a trap with the bait armed, unless there was backup in the area to help him? The media reports would have more information. It still amazed him that so much information was given out by the various media outlets. Hankins was now history. He had to move on to his well-planned sniper attack that would shut down traffic in and out of DC. His campaign in Charleston was not a failure, but it was not nearly as disruptive as he wanted it to be. Soon he would be receiving internal criticism and hinted comments about funding. Hasani was the best. He and his people would remove any doubts his peers had about his war on America, in America.

He was going west along 495 and then Route 7 to Leesburg, Virginia. Three years ago he had used Arab money to buy a small, five-acre retreat on the west side of Mount Gilead four or five miles south of Leesburg on Route 15. He had never been there, but the descriptions of the log cabin and property almost perfectly fit the needs of his small group of dedicated Jihadists.

It was no longer as isolated, but the increased traffic would cover movement in and out of the country roads. He liked historical anomalies. Where better to attack American capitalism than from a former slave cabin dating back to the late 1700s? His Ford pickup truck would fit right in. Hasani should be there now. He loved to sit and talk in front of a big crackling fireplace. In addition to his skills as an assassin, Hasani liked to cook. He planned to enjoy himself on what surely would be his last battle against the West and their Christian God. There was no escape from this battle.

Using the GPS, he easily found his hideaway farm. Driving over a cattle guard up a steep rutted driveway, he parked next to a white Chevy pickup truck. Hasani came out to meet him. They embraced and the Professor let himself show a little emotion. He truly liked this simple talented fighter for Islam. With a thousand Hasanis, the war against the materialism of the West would have been over long ago. Hasani had no personal agenda. He always followed the guidelines given to him. Never complained. Never made special requests. Never questioned his superiors, even when he knew they were mistaken. He was a warrior from times past. He could have been a warrior in Saladin’s army, when it defeated the Western forces and the Templars at the battle of Hattin. Hasani would have loved battling the Templars. They had a similar code. Nothing for one’s self, everything for the cause.

He knew he was on the American most wanted list of terrorists, but they cannot know I am here within an hour’s drive of the White House. Over strong coffee, the Professor discussed the mission Hasani would undertake in two days. The campaign would start with two car bombs, one on the American Legion Memorial Bridge and one on Chain Bridge. Suicides were not required. In truth their only real use was the need to get a bomb near the target in the face of security forces. He didn’t have the resources to lose people without gaining an advantage. Two car bombs. Escape is simple, use four cars. The bomb cars are left on the bridges in any lane, and the drivers escape by getting into the getaway car right in front of them. The bombs are detonated by cell phone signals when the Jihadists are out of blast range. The only hard problem was to get the explosions within a five-minute period to increase the political effect. Traffic was always heavy during the morning and evening rush hours, but difficult to time precisely. He wanted the bombs to explode in the midst of heavy traffic. Using cell phones to coordinate timing would help, but there was always the unknown factor.

The car bombs were intended to get the authorities to focus on bridge defense and car bombs, while the main attack would be Hasani’s team of snipers attacking motorists on major arteries during rush hours. Since all the shooters could routinely hit a car-sized object at a thousand meters, it would take a while for the defense to catch up. By that time, he would have moved on. Hasani told him everything was ready. The car bombs were in the stable. The eight snipers, all American recruits, had their weapons ready and sighted in. Hasani always used his favorite rifle, the Barrett M82A2, a .50 Browning semi-automatic weighing 23 pounds. His team members were told to choose their own weapons. All elite shooters have a go-to rifle, and using different weapons makes it harder for the enemy to use ballistic forensics to back-track ammunition buys.

The Professor sat in the old part of the cabin made entirely of chestnut logs with new chinking and dabbing. The stone fireplace held a roaring fire, providing the only light in the room. It was against his beliefs, but all men have weaknesses and his was single malt scotch and strong cigarettes. The fireplace warmed the room. Staring into the fire with the flickering light dancing over the logs, he could see his part in the struggle against Western dominance in perspective. His name would not be recorded in the flow of history, but he felt fulfilled in believing he was on the right side in a fight that will last for at least another 1,000 years. He had a very small part to play, and he would play it as well as he could.

Just north of Richmond, Kelly pulled off I-95 and into an Exxon station. Jack had been awake for the last 50 miles and, after using the men’s room and walking Shadow, he told Kelly he would drive from here. The area was new to Kelly and she was fascinated with the development and heavy, high-speed traffic. Jack told her this was her mother’s world. She had spent years in the Washington, DC metropolitan area when not deployed.

Kelly asked, “What can you tell me about my mother’s life and death?”

“You know some of the story. I’ll include more details. I only knew Anita for the last year of her life. She joined our team just after my father was killed in the house we are going to now. The house burned to the ground. Anita, Kathy and I set up our living quarters in the apartment over the three-car garage. From there we planned operations to take down several terrorist cells run by a renegade KGB officer. Your mother played a crucial role in our success.

“The chase extended to India and Nepal. We located the meeting place of several al Qaeda officials above a shop featuring Tibetan artifacts. Your mother and I charged into the meeting room and found six men and one woman seated around a long table. We started firing and, just when it looked like the shooting was over, the woman, who turned out to be an assassin high on the wanted list, was shooting at me from under the table. She had been hit but not fatally. I yelled to Anita to watch out. The assassin turned her weapon on Anita and shot her high on her thigh. Anita dropped her empty shotgun and pulled her ranger knife from her boot and dove under the table. She was shot again in the chest but managed to kill the assassin with her knife. I got to her seconds before she died.

“Nothing could have saved her. The thigh wound had severed an artery and the chest wound itself was fatal. She was in my arms. She knew she was dying and wanted me to leave her. In the seconds left to her, she said, ‘Take care of my sister. Her daughter is my daughter.’

“Somehow a fire got started. There was no way I could carry her body out of the fire and make an escape. We had talked about these kinds of scenarios, and it was Anita who made us all pledge to protect the group. The critically wounded and dead had to be left. As a result none of us was ever charged, and I don’t think al Qaeda ever figured out what happened. Your mother saved my life. I will be forever indebted to her.”

Kelly gave Jack a moment to get the huskiness out of his voice and to wipe the few tears running down his cheek. She said, “Thank you. I wish I’d had a chance to know her better. Now, another question. How does your past with my mother affect me?”

“It makes you a special person to me. Anita was nearly ten years my senior. There was no romance. I still love her and miss her incredibly. She was the big sister I never had. Having you here, gives me a chance to keep and continue the memory. I could have taken care of you without bringing you into our group, but Kathy and I saw your potential and we needed a replacement. You are still here because of your own skills and courage. You are the real deal. I know Anita would approve. Will I try to protect you? You’re damn right I will. You are precious, but you still have to pull your weight.”

“Thanks, Jack. I’ll try hard to fit in. I have a lot to learn.”

“That’s a perfect attitude. Look ahead. You thought the traffic was heavy 50 miles back. What you see now is normal DC traffic. There is almost no slack time. We’ll soon be in the action capital of the world, and a beautiful city. I never tire of the DC skyline. In another 40 minutes, we’ll be in the driveway of the Brandon house.”

By the time Jack drove u the last uphill sharp curve, Shadow was sitting up, looking out the window and whining to get out. Jack hadn’t seen his father’s house since the rebuilding process. His attorney, Lee Jensen, had the responsibility to rebuild the house. Only occasionally had he asked Jack for guidance. Lee forwarded pictures from time to time, and Jack approved the plans before the building started, but he was not prepared for seeing the house. It was magnificent. It was fitted perfectly into the landscape. The planting was in progress. Lee told him that a series of rainy days put the crew behind schedule. They would need another week but the interior was finished and furnished.

Kelly was shocked by the presence of the house. She looked at Jack and said, “My God, how rich are you? I’ve never been in a house like this. I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like this in either Greensburg or Jeannette or even in Oakland, PA, the three areas I grew up in.” Jack laughed and said, “It is impressive but I assure you, this house can’t compare with some of the old mansions in Oakland. You just haven’t been exposed to this style of living. I am very lucky. My father made the money. My job is taking care of it and spending wisely. Give me a minute to let Shadow out.”

Shadow hit the ground running. He circled the house and came back to Jack’s side. He rubbed Shadow’s head and said we can go inside now, Shadow’s done his checking.”

It was almost dinner time. When Kelly entered, she could smell food being prepared. Jack grinned and said, “I asked the Minhs to close up the Charleston house and come up here. You will also notice that the landscape crew we had at the Johns Island house are here. They acquitted themselves well in defending us. They may not recognize you with your clothes on.”

“Will I never live that down? Next time there’s an emergency, I’ll get fully suited and booted with complete makeup.”

“Just don’t forget your SOCOM.”

“Don’t worry. I learned an important lesson that night. No matter what you think, always be prepared. Bad stuff can and does happen.”

“The house has several bedrooms with attached baths. You can take your pick. You could take your mother’s old room over the garage, but that makes extra work for the Minhs and separates the team. This place has been attacked once and it could be again. The last time, besides my father, the terrorists killed the house staff. Only one of the attackers got away. My father killed one. Shadow, though severely wounded, killed one. And the Nguyens killed another.

“Some days later, your mother, Kathy and I trapped and killed the leader and two of his shooters. Those men, who tried to kill us in Charleston, had ties to the same group. I forgot to tell you, the same group tried twice to kill me, Kathy and Shadow in Oakland while we were staying in the house I lived in when I worked as a homicide detective. Shadow saved us there.”

Jack settled in the master bedroom, far more elegant than the original had been. Now, besides a large bathroom in soft granite shades, a sitting room with a wall-mounted flat screen TV, computer station, multiple phones, a concealed refrigerator and comfortable overstuffed furniture, with a dining table for two overlooking the heated swimming pool and the small park adjoining the property, was screened from the sleeping area by a tasteful muted Japanese screen of random Kanji pictographs.

After a dinner of stir-fried vegetables, sticky rice and grilled filet mignon, Mrs. Minh showed Kelly to one of six guest rooms, telling her she liked this one the best. Kelly told her, she had never been in such a well-appointed room. Mrs. Minh laughed and showed her how to use the complicated shower, the TV that responded to voice commands, an iMac stand-alone computer, and house intercom system. She told Kelly, tomorrow Mr. Jack would show her the security features built into the house. She also asked if Kelly had her own weapon and did she need any more ammunition. Kelly kept a straight face but was sure that she was in the only house in McLean where the house staff made sure you had a weapon and enough ammo.

Just before leaving, Mrs. Minh said that it is a Brandon tradition to offer bed tea or coffee in the morning at seven o’clock. Actually, she said with a muted giggle, it was Miss Kathy who started it. Kelly was dead tired and decided to watch an old movie, maybe even a Western and get a good sleep. She needed a couple of restful nights. Only a man of her dreams could make this evening better.

Shadow showed up as she was getting in bed. She scratched his cropped ears, he licked her hand and continued on his rounds. As usual, Shadow had the run of the house. He could sleep anywhere he wanted.

Jack finished exploring his new house and went back to the master bedroom. It was only nine o’clock and he knew Captain Shorer would still be up. Captain Shorer answered on the first ring. Jack said, “Captain, do you have a few minutes? I’ve got a report for you.”

“Jack, good to hear from you. I wondered about you with all the action in the Charleston area. Sure I have time. Shoot!”

“Well, to start, you were right on about your Hankins perp. He was killed yesterday by two al Qaeda shooters. The little perp managed to shoot and kill one of his attackers. One of my new recruits, Anita’s daughter from Pittsburgh, saved a young woman he had tied up in his Georgetown, SC apartment for later pleasure. She saved the woman and fought Hankins off until Kathy arrived and flattened him. The Feds asked us to stake him out as bait, so they could catch an al Qaeda terrorist. Instead, it ended up in a shootout. We were not involved in the shooting. Kathy found some awful pictures of the young women he’d tortured and killed. Seems he only wanted to get pictures of the moment of death. I’ll send you a flash drive with the photos. I’m sure they wouldn’t stand up in court. I don’t know how to bring closure to the families of the dead women. There was no time for the niceties of due process.

“Thanks to your suspicions, six al Qaeda terrorists are now dead and I believe another captured. Five of those were killed in a fire. They were sleeping in an apartment over a garage. Two cars rigged with big bombs were in the garage to be used by suicide bombers the next day in downtown Charleston. It was impossible to tell all this to the police in Charleston, due to the need to protect an ongoing Federal Investigation. The division of justice between national security and law and order requirements is often weighted in the Feds’ favor, but not in this case.

“I had no approval to pass on this information to you, but I know you will handle it carefully. Maybe, at some point, more can be officially released to the pertinent authorities. We have moved out of Charleston and are now back in my father’s house, recently rebuilt. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Jack, my best to you and Kathy. I understand Shadow helped again when your Charleston house was attacked. Keep your badges and weapon authorizations until this thing is over. Thank you for the call. Now I can sleep a little better knowing the pervert who killed those Pitt coeds is dead and will not kill any more young women.”

The next morning at breakfast Jack told Kelly she would be on her own for a while, but to stick around the house until they heard from Lou and Storm. He expected them to arrive sometime today. Kathy would be in Richmond at least one more day.

When Jack called Frank and requested to see him, Frank said, “Glad you called. I want to see you today. Can you get a room at the Ritz where we can have a working lunch? I can’t think of anywhere else to meet with you and have no one who knows me see us together and begin to speculate. Some people in my office are beginning to realize that I have some damn good outside people helping out. I want to be careful as possible, even if it is inconvenient, to protect you and your group. I think Kathy told me that you favor Reuben sandwiches. Please ask room service to prepare one for me with some black coffee.”

“No problem. I can get a room nearly anytime. One of those perks rich folks like. See you at about noon. I’ll call you with the room number before then.”

When she was outside, Kathy called Frank and told him the Professor used the name Harold Hollingsworth to register in the Jefferson Hotel. His forensic team was now going through the room he used. Kathy said, “He’s going north and needs wheels. I have a lead on where he might have picked up a vehicle. I’m going out there now to check some used car dealers in the 3000 block of West Broad. I’ll call you when I learn anything more.”

Kathy found a curbside parking space on West Broad beside a fire hydrant.

She sat in the car and put herself in the Professor’s position. He needs transportation. He has fake documentation but he doesn’t really trust it. None of the used car dealers along this street is going to take a check from anyone without checking with the bank. I don’t know how much cash he has, but he will have to have it to buy a car. The rental option is nonexistent. It is too controlled. He’s not in much of a position to bargain. I doubt he wants to carry his bag up and down Broad Street looking for the best deal. He can’t ride a cab into several car dealers. It would call too much attention to him. So he’ll want to make a deal in the first lot he tries. His taxi was traveling the same direction I did, and he wouldn’t want to cross the street in front of his driver who would remember his strange client. He would also want to use a place that had a large choice of cars and a number of daily sales so his cash purchase wouldn’t stand out.

Using her reasoning, Kathy decided to try Commonwealth Auto Sales. It had a big selection of cars and trucks and was on the right side of the street. She pulled into the lot and saw a salesman walking toward her before she was even out of the car. When the salesman asked how he could help her, she opened her jacket, revealing her badge and handgun and then said, “I’d like to see the sales manager please.”

“He’s over to your left, leaning on the Cadillac CTS.”

He waved his arm and called, “Charlie.”

Charlie looked up and walked toward Kathy who was moving in his direction.

He said, “Car shopping?”

Kathy smiled and said, “Nope, perp shopping. I believe you sold this man a car last Saturday morning.”

The manager looked at the photo and said, “What’s this all about?”

Kathy gave him her cop smile and said, “That’s not the way it works. I ask the questions. Let me try again. What kind of car did you sell this man for cash on Saturday morning?”

From the look on his face, Kathy knew she was in the right place.

While the manager was making up his mind about what to tell her, Kathy said, “I’m not interested in your operation. When I find out about what this man bought, I’ll be gone. If you decide to stonewall me, you will have made your last sale for a few days, while we go over your books, question your staff and search the entire lot. Now, which is it?”

“Your information is good. He was in here Saturday morning, but he didn’t buy a car. He bought a Ford 150 4W truck, and he did pay cash.”

Kathy said, “Good choice. Now, if you will please get me a copy of all documents involved in the sale, including VIN, dealer plate number, and the truck’s description, distinctive marking or damages and history. I notice you have some camera surveillance. I’ll want copies of all the tapes that show the man in question, and a short talk with everyone he talked to.”

“Okay. Come inside and have a cup of coffee while we get what you want.”

An hour later Kathy drove off the used car lot and headed for Route I-95 and McLean. When she pulled onto I-95, Kathy used her hands-free iPhone to call Frank. When he came on the line, Kathy said, “I have some new information. The Professor, using the same alias, bought a used 2006 white Ford 150 XLT 4×4 with 41,032 miles and Virginia dealer plates, DHL 1450 for $21,495 cash from Century Auto Sales, West Broad Street, Richmond. The truck has no distinguishing marks. I’ve alerted your forensics team to pick up a package containing all the paperwork and some surveillance camera footage. I’ve no evidence but I believe he is still headed north on I-95. I interviewed everyone at the car lot who had contact with him. Nothing turned up. He was strictly business, no small talk.”

“Kathy, great work. Nobody believes you could get so much information in such a short time. You are acquiring a remarkable investigative reputation. Okay, come up and join the rest of your team.”

Kathy heard the dial tone and thought, I guess Frank said goodbye. She knew she was a good investigator but recognized she was also lucky. Kathy had expected to have to visit at least a half-dozen car dealers and maybe more. She had reduced the search by some common sense analysis, but lady luck certainly helped. Now it was time to put the pedal down and get home to McLean and Jack.