Dig two graves, p.6
Dig Two Graves, page 6
The next few days went by quickly. Ashley was discharged from the hospital with strict recovery directions while she was home. Dr. Adams had the nurse schedule a checkup appointment with him for next week but told her should anything happen while she was at home, should she start feeling dizzy or faint, that she was to return to the hospital. The nurse wheeled her out to where Joe was waiting with the truck. Joe helped her into it and made sure she had the seat belt strapped on. As they pulled out of the hospital Ashley asked. “Why didn’t you bring the Jeep, Joe?” “I had a little bit of an accident in it the other day, nothing to worry about though.” He said. She looked at him, knowing that there was more to the story, and knowing that he wasn’t telling her because he was worried about her. “My purse was in the Jeep. Did you get it out?” She asked. “Yes, it’s at the house.” He said. She nodded okay. “How are you holding up after all of this?” She asked him. The few days that they had spent in the hospital, she had caught several news stories about what had happened at the fair. She had heard the news report on Joe’s actions there and she had heard them call him a hero. She was sure that his actions had saved her life. “I’m okay.” He replied. “If you ever need to talk about it, I’m here.” She said. He nodded in response. On the drive to his house, Joe watched his mirrors closely for any sign of a tail. He wasn’t going to be caught by surprise again. They had gotten the drop on him once because he had been distracted. That wouldn’t happen a second time. They made it back to his house, and no one had followed them. He helped her out of the truck and into the house. Once they were inside, Joe called for Cassie and got no answer. He called out again, thinking she may be sleeping. Still no answer. Just then Ashley said. “Babe, looks like there is a note here.” Joe walked over and read the note.
Sorry Joe, I tried being back home and doing things right, but it’s just
not for me. There was $200 in your dresser that I took, I will get it
back to you when I can. Don’t know where I’m going, but I can’t stay
here. I hope you understand.
Cassie
“Well, that’s not surprising.” He said. He was a little disappointed, but Cassie was an adult, and if she didn’t want to stay, she didn’t have to. “I’m sorry, Babe.” Ashley said. “It’s okay, she’s always been a free spirit.” He replied. They settled in, and Joe helped Ashley get changed and get comfortable. She was alive and finally back home where she belonged. Joe was happy.
Chapter Ten
Washington D.C.
Kevin Argyle was furious. Things were quickly spiraling out of his grasp. Ramsey was still alive. The mercenary that Carson had hired had fucked up and gotten himself killed. Musfari and his remaining accomplice’s bodies were found in a dumpster in Dallas. Carson was off the radar and not answering his phone. It seemed that the only one still willing to help him out was Lt. Davies. Argyle sensed that was only because Davies was worried about his own neck. He needed to get a handle on this fast, before it fell in his lap, and he didn’t have a way out. Argyle wasn’t worried so much about Carson. Things had gone sideways with Musfari, and Carson had probably been forced to act. He was off the radar and in hiding. Argyle didn’t have to worry about him coming after him or turning himself into the authorities and spilling his guts. He could cover the bodies of the remaining terrorist that were found, that wouldn’t be hard. No, his main concerns were still Joe Ramsey and Lt. Davies. Ramsey was the wild card, and Davies was the weakest link. He sat thinking at his desk when his phone rang. He answered, listened to the man speak, gave his reply, and hung up the phone. Things had now gotten interesting. The man on the phone was an investigator from the Justice Department wanting to meet and speak with him about an allegation of misappropriation of funds. He needed to get everything in place for when the investigator arrived next week. It seems the discovery of Musfari’s body had caused someone in the FBI to do a little digging into the different bank accounts that Musfari had. Argyle had been sure that the funds he had channeled to Musfari couldn’t be traced back to him or his firm, but now he wasn’t so sure. The one thing he knew now was Joe Ramsey wasn’t his biggest problem at the moment. He picked up his phone and tried Carson one more time, still no response. He then called Lt. Davies, no response from him as well. His phone went to voice mail after just one ring. The two men he needed to count on most were suddenly not answering, and now the Justice Department was sniffing around. He needed to get this thing tightened down quickly before he started drowning.
On the drive back to his house Kevin Argyle was feeling numb. He wasn’t quite ready to tell his wife that they may have to make an unscheduled trip out of the country just yet. He would wait until after he spoke with the investigator from Justice before making that decision. He drove along thinking, the city passed by him as he drove. The Potomac River sat off in the distance. Argyle pondered his dilemma. He wouldn’t go down for this plan, couldn’t they see he was trying to make the country a better place? Well, a better place for him at least.
The majority of the population of the country were people who didn’t know what they wanted, they needed a strong ruling hand to lead them, that was his vision. He needed states like Texas to elect liberals into positions of power within the state, that was the only way his plan would work. Now it was all falling apart, thanks to one Green Beret, who couldn’t mind his own business. He pulled into his driveway, got out and hit the button on his key fob to lock his car. His house was a moderately large brick home located in one of the nicest gated communities in the area. It had a 5,200 square foot floor plan. It had five bedrooms, three and a half baths. They had their own personal gym set up in one of the bedrooms. The master bathroom was huge with a double vanity and rainforest shower. As he walked into his house, he could hear his wife, Katherine, in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. He walked into the large living room, tossing his suit jacket onto the back of the sofa, then loosened his tie, and went over to the bar to pour himself a scotch. His wife told him from the kitchen that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. He looked around his house as he finished the scotch, he was going to hate having to leave this place if it came down to that.
Chapter Eleven
Southwest of Ft. Worth, Joe Ramsey’s house
Ashley had spent the past few nights in Joe’s arms. She was happy to be here with him again and out of the hospital. She was healing well, and so far, had had no complications from her wounds or from the surgery. She had read a few of the newspapers and articles online that had reported on the attack at the fair. She had read that the large majority of them called her fiancé a hero. She knew Joe, and she knew that he didn’t consider himself a hero. She had read a couple of articles online that had ridiculed Joe for his actions, stating falsely that Joe had illegally carried a Bowie knife into the fair. Reading that pissed her off enough to leave a very negative comment on the site's comment section. She wasn’t the only one in the comments leaving negative remarks. Joe had kept busy these past few days taking care of her and working on things around the house. In the evenings he cooked her dinner, and they would talk about their wedding while they ate. They both decided to put the events of the fair behind them and focus on the future. Ashley was anxious to be cleared by the doctor to return to work. Joe had been great, he stayed close and helped her whenever she needed it. It seemed that life had returned back to normal for the both of them. There were things that Ashley had noticed though. Joe was more on edge than he had been before the fair. Also, he had been very vague about what exactly had happened to the Jeep. Finally, over dinner that night she asked him. “Joe, how did you wreck the Jeep, and when exactly did Cassie show up?” Joe broke down and told her what had happened on his way home from the hospital after he was discharged, he explained that he didn’t tell her because he didn’t want to worry her, and that he didn’t want her not feeling safe with him. “I’ll always feel safe with you, Joe. There is nowhere else I want to be.” She said.
Later that night as they lay in bed, Joe thought that maybe the mercenary who tried to kill him was a one off. Maybe he could be happy and wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life. Yet, there was something in the back of his mind screaming at him that this thing was far from over. He lay there with Ashley’s head resting on his chest and thought, I’ll be ready the next time they come. He had spoken to Phillip a few times since Ashley had come home and had copied the target package for him. Phillip went over it and over it looking for any clue as to who was behind it. Joe was waiting to hear back from him as to whether he had found anything or not. He lay in bed awake for the next several hours waiting for sleep to come, and thinking about how he would prepare for the next time they came at him. His mind wandered trying to think of a reason they would want to target him. It had to be because he stopped the shooters at the fair, but why would the government be upset that he had stopped an attack on U.S. Soil? Unless someone in the government was behind the attack. That thought sent chills up his spine. Joe finally drifted off to sleep.
Joe’s farmhouse had been in his family for generations. It was an old 2 story Victorian style house. Behind the house sat an old barn that was only used as storage now, and off to the side of the house was the small, enclosed garage that Joe had built for his truck. Off to the side of the barn sat a small workshop that Joe had cleaned out and had begun to re-stock with new tools, he also was in the process of repairing and cleaning the old tools he had found in there. The property took up 10 acres. The back of the property was made up of woods and brush. Joe had planned on clearing some of it and building a gun range that he could use. Running through the wooded area at the back was a small creek. The creek had a nice high embankment that he figured would make a nice backstop for his range. With Ashley here now, his house was feeling a little less empty, and more like a home. Joe was awake and lying in bed when he heard the knock at the door. He looked at his watch, a Casio G-Shock, and saw that it was 6:45am. Who the fuck could be here this early? He thought. He got out of bed, pulled his jeans on, grabbed the 1911 off of the nightstand, and headed for the door. He had the gun at a low ready when he peeped out the window to see who was at the door. He lowered the pistol, tucked it into his waistband, and opened the door.
Phillip came in, said good morning, and asked if he had coffee going yet. Joe started the coffee pot while Phillip laid out a large manilla folder on the table. “I did some digging, reached out to a few friends who owed me some favors. You aren’t going to believe this shit man.” Phillip said. For the next hour Phillip went over what he had found out, and what he was able to piece together. Thanks to the contract work that he had done overseas after his time in the military, he had made more than a few friends in Washington, including a couple in the Justice Department. Those friends had given him four names that they were investigating. Those names were Caleb Jenson, Hamadi Musfari, Brian Carson, and Kevin Argyle. Phillip had done some research and found information on most of the men. Jenson was a crooked Border Patrol agent that had been found dead in San Antonio. Justice had traced several deposits from his bank account to Kevin Argyle. Musfari was a mystery mostly, but Justice had found a deposit to him from Argyle as well, it was suspected that he was one of the shooters at the fair that got away. His body was found burnt and in pieces in a dumpster in Dallas. Carson was a former Marine who after his discharge went private and began doing investigative work for a lobbyist company called Boulder Capital Finance. Argyle was one of the top people at Boulder Capital and had connections to a congressman from California. His friends at the Justice Department wouldn’t tell him anything other than the names, but Phillip had done some research on all of the names and had found the connection between all of them and Boulder Capitol. From what he had pieced together it looked like Boulder Capitol had paid Jenson to bring the fair shooters into the country, probably through Mexico. It looks like they had also paid the shooters to attack the fair. Then they had this Carson clean up the mess. Phillip didn’t have any concrete proof that that is how it went down, that’s just how it looked to him. Joe trusted his friend’s instincts. He doubted that it played out much differently than how his friend put it together.
Ashley had woken up and had made her way into the kitchen. Joe poured her a cup of coffee as she said good morning to Phillip. They filled her in on what Phillip had found out. Joe now knew the reason that a mercenary had been sent to take him out. They were in cleanup mode. By stopping several of the attackers at the fair he had foiled their plan. Just as he was about to say something to Ashley, he caught a small glint of light from the wooded area behind his house. Joe quickly dived over the table, and took Ashley to the ground, just as a bullet broke the window, he had seen the reflection out of. The round missed its mark and buried itself into the cabinet. Phillip sprang into action, he had seen where the shot had come from and was out the door in a manner of seconds, his Kimber Warrior 1911 in his hand. Joe told Ashley to stay on the floor until they returned, then he grabbed his own Kimber, and went to join Phillip. Phillip had used cover and made his way to the side of the wooded area; Joe did the same on the opposite side. They were going to try to flank the assassin. Joe was at home in the woods, he knew how to move through the trees and underbrush quietly. He had grown up hunting in the woods with his father, then his years at Ft. Campbell running training missions throughout the woods on the base only heightened his skill in the woods. Joe had come up on the assassin, who was taking aim at where Phillip was moving up to his position. The shooter had Phillip in his sights. Joe brought the .45 up, aimed, and fired, his round striking the man in the shoulder. He wanted this guy alive. Joe stood over the shooter, holding his gun on him while Phillip approached.
They bound the shooter, then sat him upright. Phillip took the man’s rifle and cleared it and tossed it aside. Joe recognized the man from the information that Phillip had provided for him. It was Brian Carson. Joe began to question him. “Why do you want me dead?” He asked. No answer. Phillip reached down and ripped Carson’s shirt away from the bullet wound where Joe had shot him. Joe grabbed his shoulder and squeezed the wound. Carson growled in pain. Joe asked again. “Why do you want me dead? Who do you work for?” Again, no answer. Joe had enough. He stood up, backed away, and aimed the 45 at Carson’s head. “You don’t want to answer my questions Mr. Carson, that’s fine with me. You and your people have tried to kill me twice now. It looks like I’m going to return the favor.” At the mention of his name Carson reacted. “Wait, just wait.” Carson said. “If I tell you what you want to know what’s in it for me?” Joe looked at Phillip. “You tell us everything you know, everything about the attack at the fair, and everything after. Then we will take you to the Sheriff. You tell him everything.” Joe said. Carson just shook his head. “If you take me in, I’ll be dead before I ever make it to trial. I’ll tell you everything I know, then you let me go, and I’m in the wind. You won’t ever have to worry about me again.” Joe looked at Phillip thinking about the offer, then he said. “You tell us everything you know, then you tell the Sheriff, he puts you in protective custody. Or you tell us everything you know, and afterwards I finish what I started with your shoulder.”
Chapter Twelve
Washington D.C.
Kevin Argyle woke up to his phone ringing. He got out of bed and answered the call. This wasn’t good, the congressman he lobbied for was furious. The Justice Department probe had gotten the congressman involved. He was already facing heat from other members of congress over a controversial bill that looked to ban AR-15 style rifles and other assault weapons. One very stubborn congresswoman from Colorado had put a lot of heat on him in the conservative media. A justice department probe was the last thing he needed, especially when he had no idea what it was about. Argyle had not included the congressman in the plan, because he knew it would never be approved. Argyle assured the congressman that he had nothing to worry about, that he had it all under control, and that the Justice Department and the FBI were just grasping at straws. The congressman hung up after telling Argyle that he had better be right, and this had better be nothing or it was his ass. Argyle walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, shaved, and took a shower. Then he dialed Lt. Davies. No answer. He dialed again. No answer. This wasn’t good. He called the precinct where Davies worked and asked the clerk if he could speak with the Lieutenant. The clerk informed him that Lt. Davies had been placed on administrative suspension and wasn’t there today. Argyle hung up the phone. This was bad, very bad. Carson was off the radar, and now Davies had been suspended. Just then his phone rang. It was his assistant informing him that the FBI was at his office, and they had a search warrant.
Argyle raced frantically to his office. Traffic wasn’t cooperating with him this morning. He weaved in and out of cars, and after 45 grueling minutes he arrived. He rushed up the stairs in the lobby toward the elevators. Just as he reached the elevators, two FBI agents met him and asked him to come with them. Argyle complied, he knew that they didn’t have anything concrete on him, or they would have arrested him already. They led him to a conference room on the same floor as his office. They asked him to wait while they went and got their supervisor. After several minutes the SAIC entered the room, followed by the two agents that had escorted him there. “Good morning, Mr. Argyle.” The senior agent said. Argyle remained quiet. The senior agent smiled and kept talking. “I’m Agent Shivers, I’m the lead in this investigation. I have a few questions for you.” Again, Argyle stayed quiet. Shivers kept going. “We have tied several transactions from one of your holding companies to Hamadi Musfari, whose body we found in a dumpster in an alley in Dallas. We believe he was involved in the shooting at The State Fair of Texas, as all the shooters who were killed there that day are tied to him. We have also tracked transactions from that same holding company to a Border Patrol Agent by the name of Caleb Jenson. Is any of this ringing any bells?” Finally, Argyle spoke. “Gentlemen, my firm has relationships with many companies around the world. I don’t know what any said company is doing with their funds on any given day. I have never heard of the two men that you mentioned, and don’t know anything about the shooting at the fair.” Agent Shivers smiled and said. “I’m going to assume then that you also don’t know a Lt. Hugh Davies with the Dallas Police Department then.” “No, why would I?” Argyle said. “Mr. Argyle, I’m going to be blunt. In this investigation, your name keeps coming up. You are definitely a person of interest. We have no further questions for you today, and my agents are finished with the search of your office. If I were you, I wouldn’t plan on leaving the country any time soon.” Shivers said. He gathered up his folder, and left the room followed by the two agents. Argyle knew now that Davies had been flipped. He walked to his office to find it a wreck. The FBI had confiscated his computers for evidence. They wouldn’t find anything there. The computer in his office was clean. He sat down at his desk, and almost dialed Brian Carson again, but stopped. If they were this far into the investigation, then he thought they may have bugged his office. He sat at his desk for several hours thinking. There had to be a way he could get clear of this.
