The Captain's Mission

TWO

Phil glanced at the clock on the wall as he entered his company headquarters. Eight o’clock. He and Agent McQueen had talked to the unit as a whole. Both of them had addressed the terrible tragedy and the need to find out what had happened. Phil had encouraged the men to confide in their platoon leaders, squad leaders and the battalion chaplain. Tomorrow they would spend one-on-one time with each man in hopes of learning more.

Kelly had been supportive through it all, which Phil appreciated. Maybe having her in charge of the investigation wouldn’t be a complication after all.

The next priority was to notify Mrs. Taylor of her husband’s death. The wives had been briefed before the company road-marched to the field four days ago about the time of the unit’s return to post. None of the family members expected their soldiers to be released from duty for another two hours.

Still, Phil wanted the chaplain and Taylor’s platoon leader on the road as fast as possible to notify the corporal’s next of kin. Phil wanted to be there, as well.

Currently, the special agent was overseeing the turn-in of weapons in the arms rooms. The serial number on each rifle would be checked and double-checked. She had mentioned returning to CID headquarters once the firearms were under lock and key.

If he had noticed one thing about the special agent tonight, it was that she was thorough. Her attention to detail had given him confidence the investigation would be handled by the book.

Earlier he had feared Kelly might be a distraction, but she understood the work that needed to be done, for which he was grateful. Cute as she was, the woman seemed keenly aware of the SOP—standard operation procedure—for the company and in no way hampered Phil’s leadership or got in the way of the men doing their jobs.

As far as he could tell, she realized everyone was stretched thin from the four-day field exercise prior to live fire, and although she hadn’t verbalized her opinion, she must have known their fatigue could have played into the incident today.

The battalion chaplain was on his way over to the company. A new guy named Sanchez, who’d recently transferred into post.

Together, along with Lieutenant Carl Bellows, a slender twenty-three-year-old who was in charge of First Platoon, the three officers would break the news to Mrs. Taylor. Not something to look forward to doing tonight, or any night for that matter.

Letting out a deep breath, Phil stepped into the latrine and slapped cold water on his face. Tired eyes stared back at him from the mirror. What would he tell Mrs. Taylor about her husband’s death? Hopefully, the chaplain would offer the comfort Phil didn’t know if he could provide tonight. All he knew was that Taylor shouldn’t have died.

As he stepped from the latrine, the first sergeant approached him. “Sir, Chaplain Roger Sanchez is waiting in your office.”

The chaplain stood about five-ten, with a square face and stocky build, and had new-to-the-army written all over him. He held a Bible in his left hand and accepted Phil’s handshake with his right.

“Chaplain, thanks for helping me out this evening.”

“No problem, sir.”

Phil almost smiled. “Is Fort Rickman your first assignment?”

Sanchez nodded. “After Chaplains School.”

“Good to have you with us. First rule to remember, we’re both captains. You only need to ‘sir’ someone who’s above you in rank.”

Sanchez shook his head at his own mistake. “Guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“Well, there’s a lot to learn. Tonight you’ll get some experience in notification of next of kin.” Phil explained about Corporal Taylor’s death and the necessity of informing the family members.

“Taylor and his wife, Lola, lived on a farm his mother owns. The senior Mrs. Taylor—” Phil opened a file on his desk “—Mildred Taylor, the mom, has medical problems, although I’m not sure about the exact nature of her condition. We’ll probably learn more tonight.”

Sanchez nodded and then eyed the framed unit citations and awards on the wall behind Phil’s desk. “You commanded C Company in Afghanistan?”

“That’s right. We got back three months ago.”

The chaplain shook his head. “So there was a long separation for the family prior to Corporal Taylor’s death.”

Phil narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t say tonight would be easy, Chaplain.”

Sanchez held his gaze. “And I never expected it would be. Just to set the record straight, I didn’t become a chaplain for the easy jobs.”

With that one statement, Phil’s opinion of the chaplain went up tenfold.

“Lieutenant Bellows, the platoon leader, will meet us outside. He’ll drive his own vehicle.”

Phil grabbed his hat and motioned the chaplain forward just as the door to his office opened and Kelly McQueen stepped inside like a whirlwind of fresh air and energy.

“I thought you’d be at CID headquarters by now,” he said.

“I’m on my way.” She glanced at Sanchez, then back at Phil. “You said you were going to notify the next of kin?”

“That’s right.” He introduced her to the chaplain. “Lieutenant Bellows is meeting us outside, and the three of us will drive to the farmhouse.”

“First Sergeant Meyers gave me directions,” Kelly said. “The Taylor home is about five miles farther out from where I live. I’ll join you there.”

“Ah—?” Phil hadn’t expected Kelly to go with them. “Do you think that’s wise?”

She stood up a little straighter. “Wise?”

“Meaning it’s late. Both Mrs. Taylors—the wife and the mother—will need time to grieve. We could drive out there tomorrow. I’ll probably need to talk to the widow again.”

Kelly nodded. “Perfect. But I want to see her tonight, as well. I have to stop by CID Headquarters for a few minutes, but I’ll meet you at the farmhouse.”

She smiled at Sanchez. “Nice to meet you, Chaplain.” Turning on her heel, she left the office and Phil to stare after her.

His phone rang. Lieutenant Bellows’s voice sounded fatigued when he answered. “Sir, can you give me about fifteen minutes? Private Benjamin Stanley wants to talk to me about what happened today.”

“He’s one of our new recruits.”

“Yes, sir. Seems he’s pretty shook up.”

Phil glanced at his watch. “Get here as soon as you can.”

The lieutenant drove up in front of the company headquarters just as Phil and the chaplain left the building fifteen minutes later. After introducing the two men, Lieutenant Bellows shared his own concern for the private.

“Stanley’s young and impressionable. From what he said, this is the first time he’s seen someone die. I’ve got Staff Sergeant Gates with him now.”

Phil turned to the chaplain. “Gates is one of Lieutenant Bellow’s squad leaders. He’s mid-thirties and fairly squared away. If he can’t reassure Stanley, I may ask you to talk to him tomorrow. He’s a good kid who loves the Lord and knows his Bible, but he’s still got a lot to learn.”

The chaplain smiled. “I can relate to that. I’d be happy to pray with him. Inviting God into any situation usually brings comfort to those experiencing difficulty.”

Although Phil didn’t personally agree with the chaplain, he knew Stanley would benefit from the outreach.

Phil turned to the lieutenant. “Let me know what Gates has to say. If Stanley’s still upset, we can call the chaplain in the morning.”

“Yes, sir. Some of the other men have been talking about Corporal Taylor. Evidently things hadn’t been too good on the home front since the company redeployed back to the States. Sounds like he and his wife were having problems.”

“At Chaplains School, we talked about how marital problems escalate once the soldiers redeploy home,” Sanchez said.

Phil nodded. “Unfortunately the separations are hard on family members as well as the soldiers.”

“Which will probably compound the grieving process for Mrs. Taylor.”

The chaplain was right. Phil kept thinking about Taylor and his wife as he and Sanchez headed to the parking lot. Phil had instructed Bellows to drive ahead and wait for him at the farm, assuring the lieutenant they wouldn’t be far behind him.

Once on the way, Phil made a quick detour that took them past the CID headquarters. He scanned the parking lot, hoping to spot Kelly in case she wanted to follow them, but her Toyota Corolla wasn’t in sight.

Maybe she had another stop to make. No reason for Phil to be concerned. Sergeant Meyers had given her directions, and she said she would meet them at the Taylor home. From everything he had seen tonight, Kelly could take care of herself.

As difficult as the notification would be, Phil’s mood lifted ever so slightly when he thought of seeing her again. Then he clamped down on his jaw. What was wrong with him? The last person he should be thinking about was the CID agent. Yet, for some reason, Kelly McQueen was the only thing his mind wanted to focus on tonight.

The sun had set hours ago, and darkness, thick as tar, enveloped South Georgia as Kelly left Fort Rickman and headed north along the two-lane road that led through Freemont and past the nursing home where her mother had lived for the last year of her life.

A lump filled Kelly’s throat at the memory of sitting at her dying mother’s bedside. Coronary obstructive pulmonary disease had sapped her energy and left her gasping for air. In spite of the oxygen concentrator that had become her constant companion, her mother’s body had weakened until death seemed almost a welcome alternative to the fragile existence that had held her bound between this world and the next.

Just a short distance beyond the nursing facility, Kelly spied her own home, which sat back from the road. Never expecting to be tied up for so long on post, Kelly had failed to leave a light on when she left the house earlier today. Now the brick ranch looked dark and foreboding and recessed with shadows from the sliver of moon that hung low in the sky.

Passing her house, she sped north along the Freemont Road and into a stretch of no-man’s-land flanked by a thick forest of trees on each side of the asphalt. Kelly turned her lights to high beam and flicked her gaze over not only the pavement but also the shoulder and the edge of the forest.

Deer often darted out from the underbrush, causing accidents and injuries to both car and driver. The only motion she saw came from the branches that swayed in the wind and the flutter of leaves that fell one after another from the canopy of boughs overhead.

She checked her odometer. Five miles into the darkness seemed an eternity tonight. Maybe it was the anticipation of knowing the captain was already at the farmhouse. She wanted to be on the scene when he and the chaplain broke the news to Corporal Taylor’s widow. The initial reactions from loved ones could be telling, especially in a criminal investigation.

At this point, Kelly had no evidence to indicate foul play. A training accident more than likely would be the final determination. Tomorrow she would review Phil’s operations order to determine if there were any safety issues with the plan.

Phil Thibodeaux seemed competent and concerned about his soldiers. Hard to imagine he had made a blatant mistake, but the unit had been in the field for the past four days, and fatigue could be a significant factor. As much as Phil seemed to have his act together, looks could be deceiving.

Her father’s face floated through her mind. Everything about that no-good Cajun had been a sham. Each time he had returned home, he had taken her mother for a ride, wiping out her money and her emotional stability. When he tired of pretending to love her, he hightailed it out of Savannah and headed west, more often than not back to his beloved bayou.

Even as a child, Kelly had questioned her father’s here-again gone-again behavior. By puberty, she recognized him for who he really was—a conniver who thought only of himself. She’d asked God to take him out of her life, but God seemed occupied with other people’s problems instead of hers. When her dad had become abusive to her mother, she’d prayed he would be attacked by snakes and eaten by alligators in the Louisiana swamps he loved more than his own daughter.

God hadn’t answered that prayer, either.

Eventually she decided that since she couldn’t count on her earthly father, she shouldn’t rely on her heavenly one, either. Instead she vowed to never be subservient to a man, like her mother had been whenever her father came back to Savannah with his proverbial hat in hand and a string of excuses for being gone so long.

Kelly shoved her hair away from her face. Luckily she had moved beyond the pain of growing up in a dysfunctional family and being the only one to have at least a smattering of common sense, which she needed to use today instead of returning to memories that should remain buried under a thick layer of Mississippi Delta mud.

She glanced once again at the odometer. Another mile until she would reach the turnoff for the farm, if the first sergeant’s directions were accurate. Just in case he had guesstimated the mileage, she watched for a mailbox at the roadside along with a split rail fence, which supposedly were the only landmarks that identified the long driveway that led to the Taylor home.

Up ahead, the road curved to the right. Kelly eased her foot off the gas. Halfway into the turn, a teenager dashed out from nowhere and ran across the road. For a second, he was spotlighted in the beam of her headlights.

Shaved head, tattoos, body piercings and blood.

Her heart jolted.

Kelly stomped on the brakes and gripped the steering wheel as the tires skidded over the pavement, narrowly missing the boy.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins and rammed her pulse into high gear. Gasping at the close call, she steered the car to the edge of the road and leaned back against the headrest. A roar of disbelief filled her ears at what had almost happened.

Kyle Foglio?

The teen had visited his lieutenant colonel father on post more than two years ago when Kelly had first hauled him in for questioning. Kyle had turned explosive, and the father had sent him back to be with his first wife, the boy’s mother, who lived up north. On one other occasion Kelly had run into the teen on Fort Rickman property, but that, too, hadn’t ended well.

Doing an instant rewind of the near miss, Kelly watched in her mind’s eye as Kyle raised his right hand to his face to block the glare of the headlights. Easy enough to recognize the tattoos and body metal. She had seen him in the bleachers today at the live-fire demonstration, sitting next to a teenage girl, so she had known he was in the area. The kid could be trouble, and Kelly had made sure on his previous two visits that he toed a straight line while he was on post. Not that Kyle had appreciated her intervention.

What she hadn’t expected tonight were the cuts that slashed through the underside of his forearms and the blood that had spattered his shirt. How had he been injured, and why had he run into the underbrush?

Reaching under her seat, Kelly grabbed her Maglite and stepped onto the pavement. The temperature had dropped, and she pulled her navy-blue windbreaker closed and shined the light over the roadway, picking out the droplets of blood that had splattered across the asphalt. The kid should be at the emergency room getting medical treatment instead of running through the woods.

“Kyle?” She shined the light into the woods. An eerie sense of foreboding tingled along her spine. “I want to help you, Kyle.”

Hearing no response, she followed the trail of blood. The smell of Georgia clay and rotting leaves rose from the dew-dampened earth. She pushed into the dense forest where prickly thorns scraped against her hand as she shoved her way deeper into the darkness.

“Kyle?”

Even the cicadas and tree frogs were silent tonight.

She aimed the Maglite into the underbrush. The beam flickered. Giving the flashlight a firm shake, she was rewarded with the return of a powerful beam that eventually revealed a dirt path and a clearing beyond.

Kelly headed for the open space. Her foot stepped onto a bed of fallen leaves. Something wrapped around her ankle. Her heart pounded an instant warning.

Before she could glance down, a whoosh of air and a powerful jerk knocked the flashlight from her hand and propelled her airborne in a topsy-turvy swirl of motion.

A gasp escaped her lips, and her stomach roiled in protest. The forest twirled around her. Heart pounding in her throat, she saw the earth below and realized she was dangling upside down. Her leg burned with pain from the jolt and the rope that tightened around her ankle. What had she gotten tangled up in? Some type of animal trap?

Blood rushed to her head. She tried to reach up and grab the thick hemp that held her bound. When that failed, she grasped her holster and unsheathed her weapon. Her fingers latched onto the cold steel. The only way to get down was to shoot the rope in two.

The sound of twigs breaking and the crackle of leaves came from the dense underbrush. A small animal was skittering for shelter or—?

Footsteps.

Her already erratic heartbeat cranked up a notch.

Friend or foe?

On the ground far below where she had dropped it, the flashlight dimmed and the beam faded into darkness. Her pulse hammered in her ears.

She gripped the gun, her finger firm against the trigger. Was Kyle coming back for her or was someone else roaming through the forest? And if so, why?

Surely Phil would still be talking to the two Mrs. Taylors. Hopefully, he’d see her car when he left the farmhouse and headed back to town, but no telling how soon that would be.

She listened for the sound of a car engine, hearing nothing except the silent forest that seemed to close in around her. The stillness was more frightening than the rustling had been moments earlier. Where was he … or it?

Something slithered through the dried leaves. Her gut tightened with revulsion. She hated snakes.

Another twig snapped. Something larger than a snake was headed her way.

She shivered as a cold chill wrapped her in fear thick enough to taste. Holding the gun, she tried to steady her aim.

Branches parted. In the darkness, she couldn’t identify much more than a huge bulk that stepped toward the clearing.

Never let them know you’re afraid. The thought rattled through her mind. She mustered her courage, raised her gun and took aim.

THREE

“What are you doing in that tree, Kelly?”

“Phil?”

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and even from this distance, he could make out her slender body as well as the barrel of the Sig Sauer aimed directly at him.

“Don’t just stand there. Get me down.” She sounded piqued.

“No, ma’am. Not until you holster your weapon.”

“What?”

“The gun, Kelly. I don’t trust anyone who’s pointing a nine-millimeter at my midsection.”

She harrumphed. “I wasn’t planning to shoot you. I heard a noise and thought—”

The words stuck in her throat, but she complied with his request and returned the weapon to her hip holster.

Phil reached for her just as he had wanted to do the moment he had stepped into the clearing and had seen she was in trouble. “Wrap your arms around my neck.”

She complied without an outburst, for which he was grateful. Her leg had to hurt, and her skin felt cold and clammy. He wouldn’t mention shock, but that was a concern. The dropping temperature and her lightweight jacket didn’t help.

Pulling a knife from his pocket, he sawed through the rope and gently lowered her feet to the ground while his arms remained clasped around her waist. She felt soft and fragile and … well, like a woman.

His own pulse raced as he held her tight against his chest, trying to transmit the heat from his body back into hers. She closed her eyes, and a thread of worry coursed along his spine. “Kelly?”

Her breath fanned his flesh and wreaked havoc with his nerve endings. “Kelly? Answer me.”

Thankfully, her eyes blinked open, but she appeared dazed. Then, before he could say anything to reassure her, she pushed her hands against his chest with such force that he took a step back to balance the shift in weight.

Her erratic behavior sent up a warning flag. “You blacked out.”

She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “You saw me hanging upside down, Phil. Did I look unconscious?”

Relieved by her outburst, he almost laughed. “Next time remind me to leave you in the tree.”

“Right.”

Hearing a hint of levity mixed with her frustration, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit speed dial. “Chaplain Sanchez, this is Captain Thibodeaux. I found Agent McQueen. We’ll meet you back at her car.”

Phil flipped his cell closed and stared down at Kelly. Her blond hair was disheveled, but she was trying to maintain some semblance of composure.

“The chaplain checked the other side of the roadway while I headed this direction,” Phil said. “Now tell me what you were doing out here.”

She quickly explained about almost running into the teenager. “He was sitting in the bleachers with a teenage girl at the live-fire exercise today and looked like he might have cleaned up his image a bit. But tonight there was blood on his shirt, and the inside of his arms appeared to have been cut.”

Phil’s eyes searched the darkness in case the injured teen was still around. “Did he recognize you?”

“Probably not with the glare of the headlights. After the near miss, he had to be as shook up as I was.” She glanced down at her Maglite. “If you’ve got a flashlight or extra batteries for mine, we can search the area.”

She took a step to retrieve the light and almost fell.

He grabbed her elbow to steady her. “Hold up a minute.”

Kelly pulled her arm out of his grasp. “I’m fine, Phil.”

But he knew she wasn’t. He looked down and saw the determination she tried to hold in place. “We’ll search the area in daylight, Kelly. Right now you need to get off that leg.”

She took another step, only to stumble again. “It’s a pulled muscle, nothing more.”

Phil had had enough of her attempt to walk. He leaned over and grabbed her flashlight, then, before she could object, he lifted her into his arms.

“Put me down.” She struggled to free herself.

“I will when we get to your car. Right now, save both of us some energy and cooperate.”

She let out an exasperated breath and thankfully didn’t utter another word until he stepped onto the pavement.

“I can walk across the street by myself.” She wiggled to free herself from his hold.

“Humor me, Agent McQueen.”

“It’s Kelly.”

“Okay. Humor me, Kelly.”

Sanchez stood by her car. He opened the passenger door and stepped aside as Phil placed her carefully on the front seat.

Kelly’s brow wrinkled. “I thought both of you were already at the farmhouse.”

“We got hung up on post. Lieutenant Bellows went on ahead of us. He’s probably waiting at the turnoff to the farm.” Phil bent to examine her leg.

She tried to swat his hands away. “That’s not necessary.”

He sat back on his haunches and stared at her. “Here’s the deal. Either I examine your ankle now or I drive you back to the emergency room on post and have the doctor on duty take a look at you.”

She raised her chin and closed her eyes for a long moment. When she opened them, she nodded. “All right. Check my leg. Then I’m going with you to the farmhouse.”

“If your leg’s not broken,” he said.

“It’s merely a sprain.”

Phil worked his fingers over her narrow ankle until his thumb gently pressed a tender spot. She jerked.