Leopard, p.8
Leopard, page 8
The VP stood there staring at him. “You want me to leave?”
“Yes.” Calvin responded.
“No.” Leslie spoke at the same time.
“We are going to touch on a variety of issues regarding the case,” Calvin advised. “I would think there may be certain aspects of actions you have taken you may not want to share with the Vice President.” He then looked at the VP. “Your plausible deniability on this case may be beneficial.”
“Uh huh.”
Calvin wanted to laugh at the look the VP sent him but knew that would not be wise. She looked from him to Leslie, then back to him. “It is the best road to take under the circumstances.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“It’s fine, Phoenix,” Leslie offered. “I’ll let you know if I need backup.”
Calvin did not miss the slight nod of her head which in his mind was giving her godmother the ‘he’s okay’.
“Alright.” Phoenix slowly began walking backwards. “I’ll be in shouting distance if you need me.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Calvin smirked.
“My eyes are on you.” Phoenix pointed two fingers at him then at her eyes.
Calvin turned to Leslie. “Shall we take a seat.”
“Please,” she said while sitting at one end of the sofa.
Calvin sat on the chair across from her. “First, I was told you were injured during a recent incident a few days ago. How are you doing?”
She reached down to her ankle; his eyes followed her hands.
“Yes, I injured my ankle, that’s why I have on these slippers. It’s healing. My godmother will not allow me to walk on it until she declares it healed.”
“That’s smart.” Calvin nodded. “You should stay off it for at least four to five days. Then you can start putting your weight on it.”
“I honestly can’t take that much time from work or from my investigation. I’m afraid the trail might run cold.”
“I’m here to ensure that does not happen. Your agency has placed you on a leave of absence until your situation is resolved. I’ve been assigned to assist you with your investigation. To do that, I need you to be honest and open with me about your actions and findings.”
“Do I appear to be a person who will lie?”
“I think people have a tendency to withhold information they think is not important, only to find out later it was a key factor.”
“Okay, I can see that.”
“Then we understand each other. I’m told you are the daughter of Michael and Zena Carrington. Your father was a former intelligence operative with a background in counterespionage and security. And your mother was a quantum physicist and materials scientist.”
“Do you even know what that means?” She raised a speculative eyebrow at him.
It was a test, just like the one from the night they met. “A person who merges real science with speculative technology to create a multitude of things from space exploration to energy sources, and some points in between.”
She nodded and looked mildly impressed. “Pretty much.”
“I take it you spent a lot of time with your mother since you decided to design her creations as an aerospace engineer,” Calvin suggested. “It also seems your father’s occupation piqued your interest as well.”
With that a small smile appeared. “I take it you are referring to my pristine investigative skills.”
“Pristine may be taking it a little far. From the report I read, you had to be rescued from an attacker.”
“I did.” She frowned. “However, I would have found a way out of the situation…maybe.”
“This is why you now have me. My job is to keep those situations, as you put them, to a minimum.”
“Are you an agent with the government?” she asked.
“I carry several positions. Be comforted in the fact that if a situation were to arise I can and will protect you.”
Several different emotions played across her face. There was a sign of relief at his words when she touched her forehead with her fingers. The next was a little pinch of her brow frowning. “It’s good to know you can handle yourself if the need arises.”
“What about you? Did your father teach you any of his defense manuvers?”
“In fact, he did.” A small smile appeared on her lips. “My dad would take me to the gun range with him every now and then.”
“So, you know how to shoot?”
“Quite well.” She nodded.
“What else did he teach you?”
“The art of self-defense from unwanted admirers.”
“So, you know how to kick a man in the crotch?”
“Of course. That is the number one lesson all fathers teach their daughters.”
“Are there any more of you?”
“No, I’m an only child by design. What about you?”
“Me?” The question caught Calvin off guard, but in hindsight it really shouldn’t have. “I’m an only child as well.”
“Was it also by design?”
Calvin frowned. “I have no idea. My childhood was so full, it never crossed my mind to ask.”
“My mom was the type of person to plan every aspect of her life,” Leslie said. “Me, I kind of fly by the seat of my pants.”
“I don’t believe that. Maybe in some aspects of your life, but certainly not in the professional,” Calvin countered. “It takes planning and discipline to get a degree in engineering. Then more still to go into aerospace. I get the impression that you have a little of both of your parents in you.”
“I guess you’re right.” She nodded with a small smile. “I miss them both, so much.” She sighed.
“Tell me what happened.”
There was an immediate withdrawal in her body language.
“Why are you asking?”
Calvin sat back. “I need to know what happened in order to assist you in finding the people responsible. Is this something you are not comfortable talking about?”
“Yes, I’m very uncomfortable talking about my parents’ deaths,” she hissed. “It was the most horrific day of my life.”
“I can understand that. My apology for the way I phrased the question. However, the fact remains I need to know.”
“Wasn’t that in your report on me?”
“It was, but I’d like to hear it from you. No one can understand the impact of the death of a loved one through a report. Hearing it from you will put a human element to what occurred that day.”
“Huh, a human element.” She looked away then glanced back then exhaled. “Devastation is the only way I can describe the human element.”
"It’s my understanding you believe it was connected to your mother’s work. Is that a misconception?”
“No, but…I don’t trust talking to anyone about my mother’s work. I don’t know you or anything about you. How do I know you are not with the people who wanted her product formula?”
“I don’t think your godmother would bring me or anyone else into this situation that she does not trust,” Calvin stated. “In fact, I’m under the impression that my life is in danger if I fail you in any way.”
She smiled a little, but he could still feel her resistance towards him.
“Why don’t we switch gears? You tell me how I can help you.”
There was a bit of hesitation before she spoke.
“The truth is I’m not sure what I need. I came across this information, and it seems like I’ve been going down a rabbit hole ever since.”
“Start from the beginning. Tell me about your parents.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing that right now.”
The Leslie from the night they met was creeping into the conversation. There was a sense of mistrust in the air, mixed with too much chemistry.
“Alright,” Calvin stood as he spoke. His voice was calm, but firm. “For me to assist you there will have to be a level of trust. If you do not feel you can trust me, then someone else needs to take this case. I will let the Vice President know that you prefer another agent.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she countered as she attempted to stand. “I don’t know you.”
He held out his hand to help her up. “You are not going to know anyone sent to assist,” he said while pulling his hand away as gently and quickly as possible. Touching her was wreaking havoc on his cool persona. “The one thing you need to establish is whether or not you want help in solving your parents' deaths.” He pointed to a cell phone that was on the end table. “Is that your cell phone?”
She looked to the area where he was pointing and nodded. “Yes.”
He picked up the phone then held his against it and pushed a button. “I just put my contact info in your phone. When you make a decision, call me. I hope your ankle feels better soon.”
Calvin turned then walked into the foyer, nodded at the VP who had been listening to the conversation, opened the door, and walked out.
“Well, that did not go the way I expected,” Leslie said when Phoenix walked into the sitting room.
“It could have been all that sexual chemistry that was floating around in the room. It blocked your senses.”
“There was no sexual chemistry,” Leslie declared almost with a stomp of her foot but then thought better of that.
“Oh please, it filled every space in the room. I couldn’t breathe it was so thick,” Phoenix laughed. “But I’m going to say this, and the decision is up to you. Calvin Johnson is one of the brightest minds we have at our disposal. He is one of the people I know who can sort through Zena’s work and figure out what she was doing, why she was doing it, and why she decided to keep it from the people she was working for. Zena was brilliant and carried integrity like it was a mantle. She had a reason for not turning her findings over and if anyone can figure that out it would be Calvin.” She exhaled then walked over and took Leslie’s hand in hers. “You deserve to know what happened to your parents. And I know you want answers. The man who could help you just walked out of the door. If I were you, I would make that call.” She kissed her cheek then turned to walk away but stopped and shrugged. “If nothing else, you can always make it a booty call.”
“Phoenix!” Leslie did stomp her foot that time, then fell on the sofa regretting it.
Chapter 13
It took a long shower before Calvin finally felt he could get into bed without thinking of Leslie Carrington. There was something about her being in a dress, showing legs, hair loose, coiled curls reaching her shoulders, that made her look more like a real woman than the night they met. That was stupid, he thought to himself while stepping into a pair of shorts to sleep in. Of course she was a real woman that night, just not like what he saw tonight. Her face was a timeless work of art, that was the only way he could describe her. He was so thankful when she dipped into the realm of stupidity. That brought him back to reality and out of the dream world he found himself in while in her presence.
There was one thing for sure, Leslie Carrington was hurting. During the course of the few moments they’d spent talking about her parents, he could see the hurt in her eyes. Devastation. That was the word she had used. Like him, she was an only child. And like him, her universe was surrounded by family and love. That alone sealed the deal for him. No matter what she decided, he was going to find out what happened to her parents. His only challenge was to get her to open up to him.
Pulling up his tablet, he clicked on the file with the police report and pictures from that night. He began to audibly note his findings.
The police report indicated the incident happened at approximately 03:12 hours.
A 911 call reported visible flames at the address. Emergency services responded. Fire suppression was initiated. Upon entering the home, two deceased individuals were located in the master bedroom. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators identified multiple points of origin, indicating the fire was intentional. The strong smell of gasoline was detected near the staircase and entry points. The victims: Michael Carrington, (Male, 47), found near the window, covering the body of Zena Carrington, (Female, 42). Both bodies exhibited severe burns and smoke inhalation. Several melted containers were recovered at the scene.
Pulling the crime scene photos from the envelope, Calvin looked at the remains from the house. There was a concentration of the fire on the right side of the home. He couldn’t help but wonder why. Flipping through the photographs, he came to one with the bodies.
“He was trying to get them out of the window,” Calvin surmised from the photo. That meant they knew the house was on fire. Why couldn’t they get out of the window? Michael Carrington was an ex-operative. He would have had multiple escape routes in the house. That was standard operating procedure for any place they slept. Why weren’t they used? These were questions he was going to ask the detective. He scanned back through the documents in search of a name. Detective Howard Ellison made the report. That was going to be his first stop tomorrow. He closed the file, then opened the follow-up report which was dated three weeks later.
The case remains open with the following findings. The preliminary findings were found to be incorrect. While the standard commercial gasoline was found at the outside entrance into the home, a more concentrated compound with a trace of methyl-toluene was found near the upper level of the home. The chemical composition consistent with industrial solvent or laboratory grade fuel leads to a possible professional element. The burn pattern followed an uncommon trajectory. There was a direct flow from the secondary ignition points.
Someone familiar with controlled combustion. Calvin thought for a second, then noted, possible assassination.
He then looked at the other evidence found at the scene. There was mention of fingerprints on the melted container outside of the home, however, the print was insufficient for the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) database.
“Nothing to follow up on there.”
Next, he looked at the documentation regarding the cellular devices. There was a deleted text message on Zena Carrington’s phone to someone regarding an ‘energy prototype pending meeting with advisor’.
“Who was the advisor and what was the pending meeting about?”
The follow-up interviews with a colleague from DiscoveryU revealed Dr. Carrington was concerned that someone was tracking the work in her lab. The colleague, who asked to remain anonymous, indicated Dr. Carrington had taken what was considered proprietary data from the secure server at DiscoveryU.
“Who is the confidential informant? How did she/he know Zena Carrington downloaded the data? Where is the data now?”
Calvin now had a pretty good idea why the Carringtons were eliminated. The question was, what energy source was Zena working on and why would it lead to her death?
As he read the investigation further, DiscoveryU indicated both Zena Carrington and Michael Carrington had detailed non-disclosure agreements that were deemed classified. They refused to turn over email correspondence or financial data regarding the energy source, citing proprietary data claims.
The conclusion of the report caused Calvin to sit up straight. He had finally come across a possible connection between Leslie’s parents' deaths and his current case. Detective Ellison’s conclusion indicated the following: The investigation was expanded to include possible corporate espionage. The case was listed as a possible targeted arson/homicide. Coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“And I give you the wonderful oz of the FBI, Arnold Vance.”
He switched databases. Pulling up the case number from the police investigation gave him a trail to the agent assigned by the FBI. The case was assigned to the Richmond Field Office, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Hudson. That was a break in the case. Calvin did not know Hudson personally however, the man had been instrumental in helping his friend Elliott during his time with the bureau. He would reach out to Elliott to get his feelings on Hudson. He had met the man once, but Elliott would be a better judge on the man’s trustworthiness.
He trusted Elliott and the boys. They had been together since they were children. Recently, Calvin had created a communication device for The Administration. It was tested by him, Elliott, James, and JC during a trip overseas. It was a basic black wrist band with a single round stone in the middle. The stone had the symbol of a big cat in the center. James had a panther, Elliott a jaguar, JC a lion, and Calvin a leopard. The symbol was their identity code whenever they were in a foreign land or enemy territory. Each band was individualized once it was put on. It had the ability to detect their blood pressure, heart rate, and all other vitals. However, the significant use was to communicate without using devices that could be tracked by others. When Calvin designed the bands, he connected it to a previous program he'd created. It was a secure powerful program for communication between the boys and their siblings who were granted access to it when they reached their teen years. It had a tracking feature, a private server, and access to computer telecommunications allowing them computer access when needed. The beauty of it all was that it was controlled by solar power which allowed them to communicate without connecting to any commercial satellite systems.
Elliott, James, JC, and Calvin could communicate with each other even if they were not in the same room, building, or state. This was how he chose to reach out tonight. He pushed the button on the band then switched his tablet to a secure window.
As anticipated, the guys chimed in on the computer.
“What’s up?” James was the first to appear.
“Working on a case that I can’t discuss but need info on,” Calvin stated.
“Direct as always,” Elliott greeted. “You do know you are interrupting my action over here.”
“Tell Calley, I said hello.” Calvin smiled. “It should only take a minute.”
“That’s about the time it takes him to explode,” JC teased.
“Oh, hell no, that did not come from the ‘I’m waiting until I get married man’,” Elliott responded as all of them laughed.
