Senator Taylor returned to his home and the chauffeur dropped him off at the main front entrance opening the car door for him. He walked in through the huge leaded glass doors and shutting them behind him started down the long hallway towards the back when he stopped. He could hear his wife’s voice coming from behind the closed doors of the study to his right. He couldn’t hear what she was saying but he could tell by the now familiar tone of her voice that she was upset. He figured she had one of the house servants with her and was giving them a scolding for something. When he opened the study door and stepped inside, it startled her and she looked up to meet his inquisitive eyes. He quickly discovered that there wasn’t another person in the room… but she was talking on her cell phone instead.
I’ve got to go… John’s home… I’ll talk to you later and we can discuss this further…she quickly ended the call and started towards he husband. An old college friend… wants me to help with a project… what she told him WAS true… they had worked in academic circles years ago, and there was a project she was assisting with… she just had not told him all of the truth…
That’s one of the things I like about you. You’re always involved in some project or another… you could stay home and live a life of ease if you really wanted to, but you choose to share your talents with others… you’re the kind of person this country was built by… one person helping the other… building barns… clearing fields…
That’s very good John, but you can save your speeches for the voters… you already have my vote. She smiled at him and winked one eye.
But I’m thinking that you may be busy enough in a little while… not just little projects, but national programs… and maybe… you will be THE Lady. Things are happening that are putting me into a top political position… it’s happening very quickly… almost like it was destined to be… isn’t that great… looks like the people really want me… makes me feel a little humble… anyway, there’s plenty for you to do if you want to… but like I’ve always said since I started in politics, if you don’t want to be involved, that your choice… you have the right to live your own life and just because I chose politics it doesn’t mean you have to follow me… you can make your own lead if you want.
I know John, I have always known you were willing to let me go my own direction… but I choose to go with you. The fact was she not only chose to go with politics, she lead her husband in that direction in the first place with help from her old friend and she did it without Jonathan even knowing… she had an ambition… she wanted a position of power without all the public responsibility… it was something she had learned from her mentor… he would say that invisible power is the best kind and that the world won’t know you’re powerful if you use your power carefully.
…
Lee reached down to hold his side… STOP it Roger… you’re making me laugh… and it hurts when I laugh… he was talking rather slowly and with a slight slur.
Muffin roared a huge guffaw… I thought you’d get a kick outta that story… I’m just glad you’re feeling better Lee… but to be honest, I do want to ask you a couple of questions about what happened… you feel up to talkin?
Lee sighed… I really don’t remember a whole lot about it Roger… it happened… so quickly.
Do you remember what type of car it was and the color?
I’m not really sure… like I said, it happened real fast… I do remember that it was a small car… not one of those big SUV types… that would have done me in… for sure… I believe it was light colored… maybe a mid shade of beige… a lot like my den walls… only not as rich…
Did you get a look at the guy that was drivin?
It wasn’t a guy Roger… That I know for sure... Just before the car hit me… I turned just in time to see a women… behind the wheel… funny what you think… at times like that… I remember thinking that my luck it was a female… not some good looking guy I could hit on using sympathy… if I lived through it…
A WOMAN! … Muffin mused out loud… that sort of fits in with what Berry told me about a suspicious nurse he thought that seemed familiar to him…Yer sayin that the driver of the car that ran you down was a woman and not a man?
That’s what I said… what nurse? … HERE? … you think it was the same woman that was driving the car that hit me?
No… well, I’m not sure… I just want to get as much as you can tell me. Is that all you know for sure?
Pretty much Roger… a lot of it is still real hazy… maybe more will come back to me later… I don’t know… but I’ve told you everything I can remember for now.
Listen Lee, I need to make a phone call and take care of some business. I’ll be back later to check in on you… in the mean time, enjoy the bedside service… Muffin’s smile ran from one ear to the other… these’s a guard outside keeping an eye on things so you should be safe enough… I’ll see you a little later.
Ok Roger… I’m a little tired anyway… I think I’ll get some rest while you’re gone… Roger left with Lee drifting off to sleep.
…
While Vinnie and Berry turned to see who had opened the door, Dave’s head jerked towards the door as if he was expecting trouble… he was still concerned that there might be someone within the department working for the other side… someone maybe even contracted to kill Vinnie… he almost leaped to his feet and reached for the weapon that was usually on his right side... the look in his eyes said he was ready for any action the situation required. He was glad he had resisted the urge to jump up… what the three of them say in the doorway was Chief Dobbin standing in front of two men in dark suits… it was suddenly obvious to all three of them that the FBI had come to take custody of Vinnie.
We’ve been watching the session… we have a complete video… and we are giving the FBI a copy … I’ve already sent a team to bring Sophia Grendandino in for questioning… Agents Clemmons and Robinson are here to take custody of Mr. Balboa… they want to get the process started… the Chief stepped to one side and one of the agents stepped forward.
Mr. Balboa will be under our protection until the Grand Jury convenes to review the evidence. After the trial process is complete he will be put into the Witness Protection Program… We’d like to get the process started immediately… you can come with us Mr. Balboa.
As if on cue, the second agent came forward, walked over to where Vinnie was seated, and gestured for Vinnie to get up and go with them. Vinnie rose slowly and began to cross the room with the two agents… he paused and turned back towards Dave and Berry… ya know, like I told ya, I never got a break from the cops… you’ve been stand up guys… thanks. Vinnie then continued on out the door and down the hall with the two agents, leaving the Chief standing next to the door.
The Chief stepped inside and closed the door behind him… he walked over to Berry, leaned over, and spoke softly in his ear… Mr. Sullivan, I understand you are quite the electronic expert… do you know how to disconnect the recording camera above the door? Berry just nodded getting the idea that the Chief didn’t want anyone to know what he was saying. The chief smiled slightly and nodded back indicating that he wanted Berry to him to do it.
Berry got up, picked up his chair, and walked over to the door carrying the chair. Berry put the chair in front of the door and stood on it reaching up towards the camera… after a few second Berry got off the chair, carried it back to where he had been, and sat down… OK, I’ve disconnected the feed and power source… unless there are other recording devices, we should be free to talk now without being recorded.
Chief Dobbins sat down in the chair where Vinnie had been sitting. You two have been holding out on me.
Dave was the first to speak… holding out on you? We’ve told you everything we know for sure.
You didn’t tell me about The Magician being involved!
Dave looked over at Berry and the two of them we taken totally by surprise by what the Chief had said… and both their expressions showed it… but Ber
ry was probably the most surprised and without thinking he spoke his thoughts out loud.
Now I see why you had me disconnect the camera… I’ve discovered that just the mention of this guy’s name makes people anxious… I have to be honest Chief… we weren’t… I wasn’t… I wasn’t sure how deep it went… and I… I didn’t know how much to say… until I was more sure of the situation. Berry was trying to be diplomatic and avoid directly saying that he wasn’t sure he could trust the Chief.
The Chief got right to the point… I wasn’t sure that I could trust you either. You have some rather shady figures in your background…
Ok Chief Dobbins, I get your point… but it was one of those shady figures that told me about him… that he’s… it appears that he’s behind all this stuff we’ve been investigating… my source told me the stakes are a lot higher than organized crime involvement and gambling money… while it appears that he’s behind a move to get rid of college level competition sports … so he can setup amateur leagues that can host sanctioned gambling… it all ties to politics and a bid to control… well, it appears his ultimate goal is to control Presidential politics… that’s scary stuff and… well… I’m still not sure if there is any real evidence tying it all together.
Chief Dobbin looked directly at Berry cracked a smile of sorts. I’ve been dealing with this guy throughout my career. We’ve had run-ins a number of times and he always comes out clean… with no usable ties to anything illegal… he works behind the scenes and is real careful… I’ve never been able to get anything solid… maybe this time will be different…
I have a couple of things I have found out on my own… I have not been single minded in my career… I’ve made a few powerful friends of my own… people who have proved to me over the years that I can trust them … so I made a few inquiries and some of what I found out me might be helpful… especially since the Grendandino family is involved… He turned to Dave as if speaking now directly to him.
Agustus Rensillere was a close friend with Sophia Grendandino’s father… he backed her father’s family business financially and used his relationship with the family as a means to get things done that were less than legal, but kept him legally out of the actual activities… he could get his plans carried out without getting his hand dirty. I have little doubt that he’s behind the move to restore the Grendandino family business… it could serve him well right now… especially if puppet control of the White house is his real goal… you need to get Sophia to incriminate him… I’m putting you two in charge of questioning her… since we have her on the Loften murder from the Vincent Balboa’s testimony I want you to press her on this… The Chief then leaned back in the chair and looked off in the distance before continuing.
There’s one other detail that might be helpful… seems that Sophia has two sisters. They were all fairly young when they’re father was killed. The oldest, 18 at the time, left the family just before he died… seems she discovered the truth behind her father’s actually family business, and they had a huge falling out. She left, changed her last name, and went out on her own… her name is Maria… goes by Marie Burton now and heads an organization dedicated to anti-violence… specifically in the sports field… she took it hard when her son died playing football in school… I guess that, along with knowing her father employed violence in his business, put her on a path to what’s she is involved in now.
Sophia was the youngest at 15 when her father was killed. She stayed with the family and was taken care and raised by her uncle, who assumed a lesser role in the family business after her father’s two associates took over. I believe that Rensillere is behind her quest to restore the old family business back into power… he needs her side of it to stay clean and keep from getting tied directly to any of his plans… just like when he rose to a position of powers using her father’s organization.
The other sister, Isabella, who was 16 when her father died, was spirited away by distant relatives in another state and it’s said she began concentrating on academic studies. It was rather mysterious… she sort of disappeared. There’s no record of who those relatives were… or of where she was living much after that. I’ve checked all my sources and from what I have learned there may be no one alive that knows where she is now… that could be a loose cannon… you need to find out anything you can about her.
OK, that’s about it. I don’t want anything we have discussed here to leave this room… just the three of us need to know about all of this for now… I am putting a lot of trust in you two and I hope I’m not wrong about that… from now on all information is to be kept between us until I say different… is that understood?
Berry had no problem with that and Dave was more than willing to cooperate with the Chief… words weren’t necessary… they understood very well… they both responded that they understood him completely by nodding their heads.
The Chief got up and began heading to the door when he then turned to Berry. While we’re being honest with each other, I have to admit that except for this room, I’m not sure it’s safe to talk in the department. The only recording device in here is that camera… and since it appears you trust him, I am having Benjiman Johnson check the room regularly for concealed devices…he turned to continue his exit. When you have something you need to tell me, Lt. Lutz can contact me and we can discuss it here. As he left the room he closed the door behind him.
Berry was deep in thought. He was mentally arranging all the information the Chief had given them and was thinking he needed his computer systems to put it all together in a way he could organize it all… into the big picture puzzle he had putting together in his head. He wanted to see how much of the picture was still missing. I’ve got to go back to my office for a little while… I need to access my computer systems to go over this information in detail… once they bring in Sophia it will probably take an hour or so to process the arrest… I can head back this way when you are ready to start questioning her… that ok with you?
No problem, I have things I need to take care of here… I’ll call you when she arrives. Berry carried his chair over to the door and reconnected the camera before they both left the room…