“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, locking his own car. “There was a last-minute flap.”
“At least we didn’t keep the detective waiting,” she said.
“Admiral, this is Mr. von Rensel of the NIS. You were introduced at the first meeting, I think.”
The two men shook hands, visibly sizing each other up.
“Mr. von Rensel, thank you for joining us,” Sherman said.
“If we’re going to need NIS, it’d be good for you to be in on this from the beginning.”
“Hope we can help, Admiral,” Train replied, but he left it at that.
Sherman nodded, looking around, and they walked across the street to the front steps of his house, which was a large and fairly elegant three-story affair. Once inside and settled in the living room, Sherman looked at his watch. “Mcnair should be here in just a few minutes. We’re agreed I should tell him about the SEAL, as little of the history as I can get away with, and what happened the other night, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Karen said. “And then I think we should try to find out what they’re really doing. Is this a homicide? Is there an investigation?
Like that. In the spirit of your telling them everything, Mcnair should be a little more forthcoming.’ “And you’ve briefed Mr. von Rensel here.
“Yes, sir. And I’ve called for the records on Galantz.”
“They’ll want to see those.”
“Yes. Another opportunity for a quid pro quo.”
He looked at her, nodding thoughtfully. But she could tell his mind was elsewhere, probably on what he was going to say to the detective. The doorbell chimed., “Action stations,” he said, then got up to let him in.
Mcnair came in, shucking a trench coat. He looked a little like a prizefighter in a three-piece suit, she thought, and she noticed that he frowned across the room when he saw Train.
The admiral was making introductions.
Mcnair looked at Train again, as if acknowledging the presence of a fed.
When they were finally all situated in the living room, the admiral kicked it off. “First, I should tell you that Commander Lawrence and I have talked about the nature and extent of my cooperation with you.”-
“Is Commander Lawrence acting in the capacity of your lawyer, Admiral?”
Mcnair asked immediately. Karen was amused by the way they talked as if she were not even in the room.
“No. Commander Lawrence is officially acting on behalf of the JAG. At the moment, I have not sought counsel. One of my main objectives for this meeting is to find out if I should seek counsel.”
Mcnair nodded, as if this was the most. reasonable position in the world.
Sherman leaned forward. I haven’t requested counsel because you have indicated that I am not suspected of any crimes. As I said, I’ve kicked this around with Commander Lawrence here, and she has advised me to cooperate fully with your, um, inquiries. I have a new development to bring to your attention, which is the other reason I wanted this meeting. But first I’d also like to get confirmation that nothing’s changed as to where I stand in this thing.”
Karen watched with interest. She was sure that Mcnair would have expected to conduct the meeting. It was interesting to watch the admiral turn the situation around.
“Admiral Sherman,” he said, “we’ve been over the pathologist’s report with respect to the estimated time of death.
We’ve verified where you were during the most likely window of opportunity. We’re satisfied that you were where you said you were, and that you could not have been in Ms. Walsh’s house at the presumed time of death. You are not a suspect, per se.”
“Has a crime been committed?” Karen asked.
“Perhaps we can let the admiral tell me what he wants to tell me, .
Counselor,” Mcnair suggested. “Then we can talk about a crime.”
Karen was about to argue when she saw the admiral nodding. She deferred.
Train stood by a window, remaining silent.
“Fair enough,” the admiral said. “As I believe you know, 1-we, actually, Commander Lawrence and myselfwent to Elizabeth’s house Tuesday night. I wanted to call on Dottie Klein. She and Elizabeth were very close. I also wanted to see the house. Somehow, this whole thing wouldn’t be real unless I could go there. That probably sounds pretty strange.”
Mcnair listened attentively, his notebook open.
“So, anyway, as Commander Lawrence has told you, I noticed something odd about the scene, or the scenario, perhaps. Beyond the business about the laundry basket. The slippers. I gave her those slippers as a present, but the fact was, she detested them. One of those awkward things, a present that didn’t work., But the key point is, she never wore them.”
“Yes,” Mcnair said. “commander Lawrence mentioned them. But if she never wore them, why did she keep them?”
“I’m guessing because they had been a gift from me.
Who knows? Like I said, one of those awkward things. But I was very surprised to see them down there. Dottie said it looked as if she had been wearing them. Then, of course, there’s the problem of her taking a laundry basket of clothes to the basement level. I can’t think of a single reason for her to do that.”
“Yes, sir,” Mcnair said. Karen thought she heard a trace of impatience in his voice. I’ve heard all this. Cut to the chase, please: Sherman seemed to catch it.
“Okay. Before I went over there, I came home first to change. I found something in my mail that was pretty upsetting.” He went on to tell Mcnair about the letter, what it said, about later going over to see Galen Schmidt, only to come home and find that his front door was unlocked, and that when he had gone looking for the letter before going to bed, it was gone.
Mcnair made some notes. “The door was definitely locked when you left, Admiral?” , “Yes. It’s set to lock itself You can take a look if you’d like. I would have to make a special point of unlocking it, which of course I never do. This is Mclean, but hardly a crime-free area.”
“And you are positive the letter was gone when you got back?” Mcnair asked.
“Yes. Although I didn’t realize it until after I had gone up to bed. I did some paperwork upstairs, where I have a small study. Then I decided that I’d take the letter into the office, so Karen here could see it. I came back downstairs to look for it. It must have been after eleven. I’d left it on the kitchen counter, with the rest of the mail, before going to see Admiral Sherman. I’d put the envelope in the trash with the junk mail. I couldn’t find either one when I looked.”
“Anything else in the house missing?”
“No. I checked that as soon as I got into the house. As best I can tell, that’s all that was taken.”
Mcnair consulted his notebook. “So you think this guy has come back after all these years to get revenge for sorfiething that happened back in Vietnam, and that he’s started the game by mailing you a warning letter. Then he watched your house to make sure you got the letter, and then, when you left, broke into the house, retrieved the letter and the envelope, and left the door unlocked so you would know he’d been here?”
Karen saw a trace of embarrassment on the admiral’s face.
“I don’t know what else to think,” he said. “I’m very upset about what’s happened to Elizabeth,, and I’m beginning to conclude that her fall was no accident. I’m also worried that whatever happened to her might be my fault, at least indirectly. ” . Mcnair leaned forward. “This thing in Vietnam. You’re implying that something happened over there that would inspire a guy to come back after more than twenty years to do something to you, that soipething including maybe killing your girlfriend?”
Sherman studied his feet for a moment before replying.
Then he looked up. “I Suess I am,” he admitted.