meeting with Special Agent Derek Tripp. They planned to present their case that General Samuel Holloway was behind her father’s murder and involved in the theft of the chemical weapons.
After the phone call Special Agent Tripp had received from Bran in San Diego and the CID’s arrest of two suspected terrorists, Jessie figured Tripp would be as eager for a meeting as they were. But instead of CID headquarters, she made the appointment for the Judge Advocate’s office.
She trusted her father’s military counsel, Major Thomas Anson. During the dark days after her father’s death, Jessie had come to consider Thomas a friend.
Freshly shaved, her father’s attorney was even better-looking than she remembered. And he clearly hadn’t lost his interest in her. Which Bran could apparently tell. Every time the major glanced in her direction, his jaw clenched. Jessie flicked him a look of warning, reminding him of the reason they were there.
Having arrived early to discuss the exhumation, they took seats in front of Thomas’s desk while he sat back down in his chair.
“When we spoke before,” Jessie said, “I asked you to arrange for my father’s body to be exhumed. A lot has happened since then. It’s even more important now.”
“As I said then, Jessie, it isn’t that easy. You need a specific reason, grounds to support taking that action.”
“I understand. What you’ll hear when Special Agent Tripp arrives should give you what you need.”
Thomas looked intrigued, but neither she nor Bran were willing to explain until the agent joined them, which was only a few minutes later.
With supershort blond hair shaved on the sides and longer on top, his bearing perfectly erect, almost overly so, Tripp walked in and immediately stepped aside. An older, silver-haired man followed him into the room. A couple of inches shorter than Tripp and a little broader in the chest and shoulders, William Larkin was a full-bird colonel and head of the CID at Fort Carson.
Jessie’s already nervous stomach rolled. She found herself rising as the men approached, saw Bran coming sharply to his feet.
“Colonel Larkin.” Thomas Anson stood behind his desk. “I didn’t realize you would be joining us.”
“Special Agent Tripp thought it would be a good idea for me to hear what Ms. Kegan has to say.” He turned to Bran. “You must be Captain Garrett.”
“Retired. Brandon is fine.”
The colonel nodded. “Ms. Kegan. Special Agent Tripp has told me about what took place while the two of you were in San Diego. As you were, everyone.”
Tripp pulled a couple more chairs around the desk, and they all sat down.
“Now, if you will please tell me what the arrests of two suspected terrorists has to do with the death of your father,” Colonel Larkin politely demanded.
Jessie steeled herself. “It’s complicated. Suffice it to say, our investigation into my father’s murder led us to members of a terror cell involved in the purchase of chemical weapons stolen from the Alamo Depot. In order to make sense of everything that’s happened, I’m requesting that Major Anson, my father’s counsel, have his body exhumed so that we may reexamine the cause of death.”
“Based on what?” the colonel asked.
She started the lengthy explanation when the door burst open and three MPs stormed into the room.
“Captain Brandon Garrett, you are under arrest for treason in the matter of revealing classified information. Please turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
Bran looked at Tripp. “What the hell’s going on?”
Tripp looked as shell-shocked as Jessie felt. “I don’t know.”
“Put your hands behind your back, Captain,” a big, beefy MP commanded. “I’d advise you to cooperate. If you resist, it will only make things worse.”
Tripp turned to Larkin. “Sir?”
“Earlier this morning I received a call from General Samuel Holloway, director of Chemical Materials Activity. He’s asked that Captain Garrett be detained pending investigation into charges of treason.”
The MPs moved forward, a wall of solid muscle with one objective in mind.
“No!” Jessie tried to wedge herself between Bran and the men, but he set her carefully away. “Holloway’s behind all of this!” she shouted. “He’s been working with a man named Edgar Weaver, a prisoner in ADMAX. They’re cousins! Weaver arranged my father’s murder to keep him from finding the real thieves. Samuel Holloway is the man behind the theft of fifteen thousand pounds of chemical weapons!”
Stunned silence filled the chamber.
“Take him away,” Larkin commanded.
“Wait, please!” But the MPs didn’t hesitate, just pulled Bran’s arms behind his back, locked his wrists in handcuffs, and forced him toward the door.