Silenced Justice: A Josh Williams Novel (8 page)

Chris and Josh walked over.

"I want to apologize for my outburst. My friend and roommate Nate here," putting his hand on the shoulder of the black man, "reminded me how times have changed. To be honest with you, I never knew Grey was in the general population until they notified me he was dead," sitting down on the stairs. "You have to understand, I was in charge but not in control. There was rampant corruption with the guards; the inmates did as they pleased. The best I could find out, one of the guards and Al Monson were cousins. If they did it, they hid their tracks well. No one wanted the truth, anyway. I'm sorry to say I didn't look harder," pausing a moment to look at his friend, he turned back at Josh. "You know who Monson is right?"

Josh nodded. "We were just going to see if we could find his daughter and talk to her."

Church looked at the ground, then back at Josh. "I'll save you the trouble. Sheila Monson killed herself two weeks after Grey died in prison. Al found her. It broke him. He died two years later from liver failure."

Chapter 14

September 11, 2009, 8:30 AM

East Providence Police Headquarters

East Providence, Rhode Island

Lieutenant Charles Akerley brought Keira from the scene into the interview room. "Would you like a coffee or something?"

"No thanks, Charley. Vodka maybe," Keira said, trying to smile. "I'll be fine."

"You sure? It's no problem. I can get you anything you want, vodka included," Akerley answered. Friends since childhood, Charlie Akerley and Josh were still close. "We're gonna find out what went on here, Keira. I promise. No one is going to get near you."

Tears formed in her eyes, she began to tremble, and then sob. Akerley put his arms around her. "I got you Keira, no worries."

Akerley sat with Keira, letting her cry out her emotions. As his anger rose, the rage consumed him.
When we find these bastards, I will kill them with my bare hands
.

Josh came in after an hour or so and sat next to his wife. "Thanks, Charlie.” Akerley stood, kissed Keira on the top of her head, and patted Josh on the shoulder.

"You okay?" Akerley asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for staying with her."

Akerley nodded, "No problem," leaning to whisper in Josh's ear. "When you find out who did this, I want a part in taking 'em out." He closed the door as left the room.

Keira looked up, wiping her eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm herself. "What the hell was that all about, Josh? Were they after me, or you, or both of us? This is crazy."

"We don't know yet. One guy is dead. We think he's from Russia or somewhere. The other guy is a gang banger, MS-13. He's not talking, yet."

Keira looked at Josh. "Russia? How do…? What do you mean, not talking yet?"

"He's in the hospital. Sedated. Got a bunch of broken bones and a shit load of other injuries. We'll try talking to him as soon as we can."

"Does he have a lawyer?" Keira asked.

"A lawyer? Who cares if the piece of shit has a lawyer? If there hadn't been so many people around, I'd have shot the prick in the head right there."

Keira tried to smile. "Thanks for trying to be my knight in shining armor, but I'd prefer we follow the law," reaching out, pulling him close.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you," trying to control his emotions. "I would kill someone if they hurt you, I would without hesitation."

Keira hugged him. "Do this for me Josh. If you want to make me feel safe, follow the rules. It's what separates us from them. We play by the rules. You'll figure this out the right way. It's why I love you."

The door to the interview room opened and Chief Brennan started in. "Oops, sorry. I ah…," backing out the door.

"It's okay Chief, she's dressed now." Josh laughed. Keira smacked him on the side of the head.

Brennan poked his head back in. "Someday you're going to have to explain to me what the hell it is you see in him."

"I'm not sure I can, Chief, I’m not sure I can," she answered, smacking Josh again.

* * *

Once Keira finished giving her statement to the detectives, they brought her to Josh's office. Josh got her a cup of tea and sat with her.

"So, you want to go home or are you still going to the office?" Josh asked.

"Are you coming home with me?" she asked.

"I can't, I have to stay and work this. No way Brennan would let me leave."

"Okay then, if carrying on with your day is good enough for you, it works for me as well. I'll go to my office," Keira answered.

"How about you let me take you there? I had one of my guys drop your car off for the oil change. I'll take you to the office and when I pick you up we can stop and get your car on the way home."

Keira smiled, "I can take myself to work, Captain America. You don't have to protect me every moment."

"But--"

Keira held up her hand, "No buts, Josh. We'll meet at home after work and you can fill me in. I'll be fine."

The door to the office opened and Chief Brennan walked in. "The truck is out front, Keira. You sure I can't have someone take you to your office, or home?"

"Don't bother, Chief. I already tried talking her into it," Josh said.

Brennan took a seat next to Keira. "If it's any consolation, I don't think they were after you. Although based on your husband's work product, I can't imagine anyone wasting time trying to get him." He smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

Josh chuckled at the Chief's comments. His cell phone rang and he pulled it from the holder. "Hey, Chris, what's up? Oh yeah, of course you heard. I'll tell you the story when I see you. She's fine, sitting right here." Josh handed the phone to Keira.

"Hi, Chris, no I'm fine thanks. They have everything under control. Sure, stop by. I'll be at my office within the hour," handing the phone back to Josh. "Chris said she'd call you later."

Josh put the phone on his desk.

Brennan stood up, "Josh, can you come to the office for just a minute?” Turning to Keira, "I'll have him right back. You take care and call if there is anything I can do."

"Thanks Chief," Keira nodded and picked up her tea.

When Josh left the office, Keira rested arms on the desk trying to think.
What is going on here? They couldn't be after me; it must be Josh. Something the SIU is
--Josh's cell phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. After the ringing stopped, she turned the display to read the caller ID,
Doctor’s Office
.

What the hell?

The door opened and Josh came back in. Handing him the phone, Keira said, "You had a call, the display said doctor's office. What doctor, Josh?"

The look on his face said it all; he knew she knew.

"I was hoping to tell you this later. Once I had talked to the…" Josh said, sitting next to her.

Keira took his hand, "No time like the present, what's wrong?"

Josh fumbled with his phone, avoiding her eyes. "Remember around my birthday, when I had those headaches?"

"Yes, of course," Keira said.

"Well, I went to see Dr. Phillips. He ran some blood work, it was all negative for anything, told me it was stress related and I needed to learn to relax, get a hobby. If you remember, I took those five days and did some of the Long Trail in Vermont. You didn't want to go."

"I didn't want to sleep in the woods and the mud," Keira retorted. "You asked me to go to Vermont. I pictured a quaint Bed & Breakfast with long, pleasant walks through rolling hills. Not suck-stepping through mud, devoured by black flies." Keira pulled him closer to her. "Stop trying to change the subject. Why didn't you tell me about the doctor? And why are you getting calls from his office now?"

Josh tilted back in the chair, rubbing his hands together. "A couple of weeks ago, the headaches came back. I went to see Phillips again." Seeing the reaction on Keira's face, he bent towards her. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry."

Keira stared at him, "Josh there are no secrets here, remember? Let's not go down that road again. Anything that affects you, or me, we share, period."

Josh could see the disappointment in her eyes.
I am an idiot. I knew this would happen and I still tried to hide it. I am a goddamn moron.

"So, what does the doctor say now?" Keira asked, her voice edgy, the tension rising, her eyes probing him.

Josh walked to his desk, opened his briefcase, and reached for his iPad. Holding it behind the briefcase, trying to cover his hiding spot, he withdrew the letter. He walked back and handed her the envelope. Sitting back down, arms on his knees, hands folded he watched as she read it.

She dropped the letter on the desk and looked into Josh's eyes. "So you were just going to try to do this by yourself?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean…" Josh scrambled for the right words.

"Okay, Josh. I will tell you what happens now. You call the doctor's office, right now, with me here, and make an appointment. From now on we both go to see him, understood?" the tears began to well-up.

"I'm sorry, Keira. I just didn't want you to worry about this," Josh said, pulling her close.

She pushed him back, handing him the cell. "Nice try, not gonna work. Call, now."

Chapter 15

Three days after the incident, the bike driver had recovered enough for an interview. Between the interference of the lawyer and the natural lack of cooperation by gang members, they didn't learn much.

The guy paid him in cash to give him a ride. No questions asked, no names offered. He had no idea the guy was armed.

The dead body proved just as uninformative, but much more intriguing.

No matches to the fingerprints in any database. The man carried no identification, and the body tattoos were a mix of Russian military and prison in nature.

The unknown caliber weapon also was interesting. The weapon had no serial numbers. They never existed. It was unique and unfamiliar.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the FBI expressed interest in the weapon.

Josh had a good working relationship with ATF. He reached out to the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Providence office, Monty Medeiros, for help.

The information stream went dry; three weeks passed.

* * *

Josh sat in the Chief's office for the weekly case status update.

"So we have nothing? It's been almost a month," Brennan asked.

"Nope, still waiting on the Feds to get back to me."

Brennan picked up the phone, "Donna, get me the US Attorney's office in Providence please."

A moment past and the voice of the Chief's aide came over the line, "US Attorney on line one, Chief."

Brennan grabbed the phone, "Watch this," he said, smiling at Josh.

"Bill, how are you?" pausing for the reply. "Well, I need a favor. You are aware of the attempt on one of my officers. We have been waiting on information from ATF. Can you light a fire for me? The press is pushing me for information and I don't have anything."

Brennan smiled and covered the mouthpiece. "I bet we get an answer now," returning to the call.

"Great, thanks. See you next week at the Chief's meeting.” Brennan hung up. "There you go, Lieutenant. I would expect a call from them today."

Two hours later, the phone rang in Josh's office, "SIU, Lieutenant Williams."

"Hey Josh," Medeiros said.

"Monty, what's up? Got something for me?"

"You gonna be around for a while? You've stirred some shit up with this one. Not to mention riling up the US Attorney."

"That was Brennan, he's not known for his patience. But I am here all day."

"We'll be right there," Medeiros replied.

"We?" Josh asked.

"Yup," Medeiros said, and hung up the phone.

A short time later, the receptionist called to let Josh know the federal agents were here. Josh went out to the lobby to get them.

"Lieutenant, this is Special Agent Brad Peterson from Homeland Security," Medeiros said.

"Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant," Peterson shook Josh's hand.

"Josh, please."

"Brad will do for me as well."

As they walked to the office, Chief Brennan came into the hallway. Josh introduced Peterson to Brennan and invited the Chief to come with them.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Brennan, gesturing for the agents to lead the way, followed them to the SIU.

* * *

The group walked into the office, Captain Charland, Services Division Commander, following behind.

"Can I help you Captain?" Josh asked.

"No, Lieutenant, you cannot. Chief Brennan issued an executive order that I am the supervisor dealing with all federal agencies. So I am following those orders."

Josh looked at Brennan.

"Captain," Brennan offered, "I meant for you to deal with them if I chose not to. I will handle this."

"Chief, shouldn't I be part of this? To maintain proper chain of command, should something arise?"

Josh turned away, hiding his smile.

Brennan walked over to the Charland. "Captain, while I appreciate your diligence, I believe Lieutenant Williams and I can deal with this matter. If something arises which requires your expertise, I'll be certain to let you know."

Charland nodded at the agents and looked back at the Chief. "Yes sir, Chief. I'll be in my office if you need me," doing a perfect about-face and walking out.

"The man means well," Brennan said. "But he's not what you would call operational material. He does do paperwork like no one else. God knows we need someone for that nonsense."

Josh sat down and motioned for everyone to grab a seat.

"Anybody want coffee before we start, I can call Captain Charland and ask him to get it," chuckling.

A slight grin emerged on Brennan's face. "You know, Lieutenant, I may decide to put your unit under the Captain's command. It might tame you a bit."

"Oh man, not that. Okay, I'll get coffee...anybody?"

Since no one else wanted coffee, Josh got one for himself.

Brennan watched with amusement as Josh went through his coffee ritual. Adding what seemed like a quart of cream and a pound of sugar to the enormous cup he kept on his desk. "Are you all comfortable now, Lieutenant? Is there anything else you need before we continue with work? You know, the stuff I am paying you to do?"

Josh shrugged his shoulders and sat at his desk. "Nope, I am good to go now, Chief. So Monty, what does the ATF have for us today?"

Brennan shook his head.

Medeiros looked at Peterson, "Okay Brad, your show."

Peterson opened his briefcase and removed an evidence bag with the weapon from the incident on Route 44. Opening the bag, he withdrew the weapon and placed it on the desk.

"Notice anything unusual?" he asked.

Brennan picked up the weapon, "Other than I have never seen anything like it, no."

"Unless you had a friend in the Russian military, it is doubtful you'd ever see one of these." Taking the weapon from Brennan, Peterson said. "It's used by Russian Special Forces, known as Spetsnaz, but this one is unique. It's similar to the Serdyukov SPS 7.62 High Caliber weapon used by their special forces, but with some differences. "

Brennan raised his eyebrows and looked at Josh. "What kind of shit did you step in, Lieutenant?"

"Ya got me, boss."

Peterson put the weapon on the table. "This particular version is all composite material. There are no metal parts, even the ammunition is composite."

"So metal detectors wouldn't detect it?" Josh asked

"Nope, it might even slip by x-ray machines. The disassembled weapon consists of innocuous looking parts."

"Christ," Josh said.

Yup," Medeiros added, "even he'd have a hard time finding it."

"So how'd the dead guy come up with a weapon like this?" Josh asked.

"The bigger question is why someone with this weapon targeted an East Providence Police Officer or his wife," Peterson added.

"I don't think my wife was the target," Josh replied.

"Well, we're not sure Josh," Peterson said. "She's involved with some high profile appellate cases. We're going to need to do an in-depth interview with her."

Brennan chuckled.

"Did I say something funny, Chief?" Peterson asked.

"No, no. It's just, I know Keira and she won't respond well to an interrogation."

"When you interview her I want to be there," Josh said.

"Fine," Peterson answered. "So long as we do the questioning."

Now it was Josh's turn to laugh. "Look, Brad. I know you have a big deal here with this weapon. However, you need to keep something in mind; my wife is a determined, smart, and forceful defense lawyer. She'll smell any attempt at an interrogation and jam it up your ass. All I am saying is ask nice, or you'll get nothing."

Peterson smiled, "Monty told me all about you and your wife. Look, I am on your side. I am inclined to agree you were the target and not your wife. The sooner we can eliminate her as the target the faster we can figure out why they were after you."

Josh nodded, "When you talk to her, tell her that. It will work better."

Peterson looked at Medeiros, "No time like the present for the rest of the bad news."

Medeiros nodded his head.

Peterson continued. "Okay, here's the rest of the story. From what we can find about the guy, he is former Russian military, Special Forces. The Russians are not enthusiastic about providing information. We do know many ex-Spetsnaz guys went to work for Russian organized crime. This guy surfaced in an investigation several years ago. The group operates out of New York with ties to DC, Boston, and Providence."

"Providence?" Brennan asked. "What the hell would Russians want in Providence?"

"Let me give you a brief history lesson about the Russian mob. First, they make the old Mafia types look like girl scouts. Second, they make money any way they can. Gambling, drugs, hijacking, stolen cars, land grabs, credit card fraud, extortion, protections rackets. You name it, they do it. They enforce their hold with sheer, unadulterated brutality."

Peterson let the words sink in.

"If your wife was not the target, then we need to figure out what you did to draw their attention."

Josh listened, then said, "All we have going in here is the usual nitwit drug dealers, a few gang related guys, but nothing of this level. I can't think of anything we're working that amounts to more than local stuff."

"Perhaps there is a link you haven’t found. We'll need to review your current cases, as well as anything over the last few years. There is something here; we've just got to figure it out."

Chief Brennan rose from his chair. "Okay, we'll provide whatever you need." Turning to Josh, "Lieutenant, from this moment this is your top priority. If you need more help, I'll pull some people from Detectives. You keep me informed. Am I clear?"

"Thanks Chief, I will."

Brennan turned to the federal agents, "If there is anything else you need, you just let the Lieutenant know and we'll find a way to get it."

Brennan shook the agents' hands and opened the door to leave. Captain Charland, sitting on the desk of the receptionist, tried to appear busy. "Is there something you need Chief?"

"No, Captain. I think we're all set.” Shaking his head, Brennan returned to his office.

* * *

"I told you if you played nice, she'd cooperate." Josh said as he and Peterson left Keira's office, heading back to the station.

Peterson shook his head, "She is a piece of work. How the hell did you two ever meet, let alone marry?"

"Long story," Josh laughed. "Where do we go from here?"

"I reached out to the FBI Counterterrorism Center," Peterson said. "Maybe they have something new on the dead guy,"

"I may not have too many fans at FBI Headquarters," Josh said.

"Oh yeah, Monty told me the story," Peterson laughed. "I heard there was great merriment in FBI HQ with your little surrender party. Not to worry, these guys are some of the good ones. They hate it when US Attorneys misuse FBI resources. They want to help figure this out."

"Let's hope you're right," Josh said. "I have a feeling before this is over we might need their help."

Three years ago, Robert Collucci, then the US Attorney Rhode Island, indicted Josh. Collucci, driven by blind political ambition, forced the civil rights matter to a federal grand jury. He directed the FBI to make a big show arresting Josh, trying to inflict more trauma. Chris Hamlin, the Lieutenant in charge of SIU at the time, got word of the plan and arranged a nightmarish reception for the agents. When they came looking for Josh, the agents ended up in a giant shit show, orchestrated by Hamlin and carried out by members of the police department and many of Josh's friends. It was not something the agents would forget anytime soon.   

It proved embarrassing for Collucci. Not enough to derail his election to the Senate, but losing the case proved painful to his ego.

As they arrived back at the station, Josh saw the unmarked car in the front lot. Flashing back to his battle with the FBI Civil Rights Unit, he looked at Peterson.

"Friends of yours?"

"I hope so," Peterson answered, "I hope so."

Josh and Peterson went to the Chief's Office. Captain Charland stood guarding the door to the inner office.

"Who's in there, Captain?" Josh asked.

Charland smirked. "That information is on a need to know basis."

The intercom on Donna's desk chimed in, "Is Lieutenant Williams here yet Donna?"

"Yes Chief, and Captain Charland as well," she replied.

The distinct sound of Chief Brennan groaning came over the speaker. "Ah, I see. Ah, oh hell. I'll be out in a minute."

Brennan came into the reception area, "Captain Charland, I am glad you are here," walking over to the Captain, bending down to whisper. "Would you compile a list of arrests by Lieutenant Williams and the SIU over the past three years? Please keep this confidential. Do the research yourself. Please do not involve any of the civilian records personnel."