Silent Witness (12 page)

“You must have a cast-iron gut, Ellen.”

“Hmm? Oh, the coffee. Yes, well, it keeps me going.”
She smiled warmly over her shoulder and crooked her finger. “This is going to blow your mind.”

Cochrane leaned across her shoulder and said, “Fire away, you're on a roll.” His nostrils flared, detecting the a slight spicy fragrance of her perfume. How easy it would be to slide his hands around her small shoulders, turn her around and…No, he couldn't go there. Ellen Tanner was his work partner, and he'd sworn off women. That jerked him back to reality as nothing else could.

“Okay, here goes. Last night I fed into the Pentagon computer the names of Susan's Top Gun colleagues who attended the Ares Conference. That info was run against the scanned photos. People from Top Gun came up as hits with these photos Susan had in her Ares file. Equally noteworthy is that only three—Hodges, Michelson and Bassett—are missing from Tommy's photo packet.” She hesitated, letting her comment sink in, and then continued. “That could signal the possibility that they're either involved in something with Susan or not at all. For me, it was an interesting anomaly. I've collated the two categories.” She pointed to a stack of faxes and photos clipped together. “All three pilots were in photos of what I'm terming ‘problem areas' at certain rowdy-looking defense contractor suites. Furthermore, four different photos show them at the Leopard Radar Corporation suite, where some of the worst action seemed to have taken place.”

Ellen straightened and rubbed the muscles across her
lower back. “I had to ask myself why Susan didn't send any photos of these three to Tommy. You want one more surprise?”

“I reckon I could handle it,” Cochrane said, rummaging through the neat stacks of her handwritten reports and various photos.

Ellen raised an eyebrow. “How about the fact that Brad Kane was at the Ares seminar?”

Stunned, Jim stopped flipping through the reports and stared at her. “What?”

“Yup.” She grinned mischievously. “I checked the official attendance list and he's on it.”

“I'll be damned,” Cochrane rasped. “That good ol' boy told us a big windy. He must have seen Susan there.” Putting the report aside, Jim said, “You've come up with a lot. Nice work, Ellen.” In the worst way, he wanted to trail his fingers along her flushed cheek, but checked himself. His voice deepened with concern. “You're plumb tuckered out. My pa, who's a fiddle player, would say you look as worn out as one of his fiddle strings.”

“Gosh,” Ellen said, wrinkling her nose and smiling, “that sounds pretty tired to me.”

“Why don't you go back to the hotel and take the rest of the day off?” What he wanted to say was:
Hey, let's go to the beach and make a day of it. We can sit and get to know each other….
But kept the thought to himself.

“That's an idea whose time has come.” Ellen walked over to the corner and lifted her knapsack off a wall
hook. Turning, she pointed to another note on Cochrane's desk. “NCIS just e-mailed us that they sent a team over and searched Susan's office at Top Gun on Tuesday.”

“Damn! I was hoping we could get over to her office before they tracked all over everything. It's not likely we'll find anything there once they get done.”

“According to their e-mail, they've packed everything up. The office was sealed on the day she died, which made it off-limits to everyone until it could fully be checked out. I'd really like to go over there with you if you're going to search. Maybe I can learn a thing or two more about investigating?”

Jim nodded. “Let's try to squeeze it in first thing Monday. I'm going to schedule Lieutenant Hawkins in for another interview on July 1, and clean up this 911 call thread that's hanging loose. You should go hit the rack, Ellen.”

She grinned tiredly. “What are you going to do?”

“After work today I'm going to meet Jodi and Merry and have dinner at the zoo. My little girl loves animals.”

Smiling softly, Ellen said, “Isn't that interesting? We're both going to be doing something that Susan Kane loved to do. After taking a nap, I'm going to the beach to unwind, and you're taking your family to the zoo.”

He gave her a dark look, a grin lurking at the corners of his mouth. “Come on, Ellen. You gonna start that psychobabble synchronicity stuff with me again?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Not with you, Mr. Cochrane. I'll see you Monday morning. Have a great evening with your family.”

Jim sat down after Ellen left. It took minutes before his heart would settle. He found himself wishing that he could introduce Merry to Ellen. Somehow, he knew his little girl would get along famously with her. Again, it was not to be, so he tucked that tender desire deep into his heart. He rummaged through her findings and shook his head in disbelief. So Brad Kane had been at Ares. What did he know? Something, that was for sure.

Muttering under his breath, Cochrane got busy reading the information spreadsheet Ellen had put together, relieved and happy they'd finally been given a break in the investigation.

“We're going to find out what happened to you, Susan,” he said, looking critically at each photo. “One way or another. And by default, you just might have given us the biggest clue we need to break your case.”

“A
T LEAST YOU DON'T LOOK
like death warmed over this Monday morning,” Cochrane said to Ellen as they approached his car. Her answering smile warmed his heart. Now, Jim wished he'd kissed Ellen, but it couldn't have happened. Not in a Navy office. Still, he wondered if her full mouth was as soft as he suspected.

“Thanks for the compliment, I think,” Ellen chuckled as she slid into the passenger side and buckled up. “And thanks for picking me up this morning.” She had a rental car, but she liked riding with Jim. This way they got a few precious moments alone together.

“A pleasure, believe me.” And it was. More than Ellen realized.

He was getting used to her colorful fashion choices, and today was no different. She wore a dark blue jumper with a bright pink blouse. A purple scarf in her hair pulled back most of the frizzy red mane from her face. Jim noticed that her nose and cheeks were red, obviously from her being out on the beach too long.

She flashed him a shy smile and hefted her briefcase into the back seat. “I may not look like death
warmed over, but I'm burned. I love the ocean, but I forgot to take a hat along to protect my face.” Touching her nose, she said, “You can call me Rudolph if you want.”

Grinning, Jim pulled the car out into traffic. “Red becomes you, Ellen. So, you had a good day off?”

“Yes. And you?”

“Couldn't have been better.”

“I can see that.”

He gave her a questioning look.

“You aren't as thundercloud dark as usual,” she said. “Normally, you wear a scowl and your mouth is turned down. Sort of like a high school librarian giving threatening looks to everyone to be quiet or else….”

Cochrane was unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face, even though he wasn't sure he liked the comparison to a librarian. “You make me sound like an ogre.” In a way, that hurt, but Jim knew he could be cantankerous as hell. Jodi had often pointed this out, and he was grappling daily to change his demeanor. After glancing at the broad expanse of bright blue sky dotted with tall, slender palm trees, he returned his attention to driving.

“You have your days, Lieutenant,” Ellen replied lightly as Cochrane merged onto the highway and headed toward the Naval air station.

Cochrane enjoyed her teasing. He was beginning to respect Ellen's insights and abilities, despite her less than practical appearance. Her mind was sharp and per
ceptive, and that was something he could admire. Not to mention she was arrestingly beautiful in her own sparkling way. Sort of like the only red flower in a patch of white ones. She touched his heart without trying. Since meeting her, Jim woke up every morning looking forward to the day, which was highly unusual. Today, for example, he'd actually hummed his favorite hill tune as he shaved. Her influence was deep and cleansing to him. Ellen was the nicest surprise he'd had drop into his life for a long, long time. Was it real? A figment of his imagination, conjured up by his loneliness? Was she interested in a relationship? A serious one? Jim wouldn't entertain the thought of any other type.

“Before I picked you up, I dropped over to Susan Kane's condo one last time before the packing boys moved in to take everything away.”

“Oh?” Ellen asked.

Cochrane took a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out for her inspection. “I got a list of phone calls made by Susan before she died. Her phone has a function that records the last five numbers dialed. Not only that, I wrote down all the numbers and names she had on her speed dial. I'm sure Detective Gardella has 'em, but I wanted them, too.”

Ellen studied the list with interest. “Did you find anything?”

“With the speed dial information I identified four of the last calls Susan made.”

“We already know Susan she phoned Ann Hawkins on the night of her death. Was that one of them?”

“Call number four was to Hawkins. Call number one was placed to her friend Becky Jillson two days earlier. Numbers two and three were to Operations at Giddings. It's the last call, number five, I wasn't able to identify. Susan phoned someone after she called Hawkins.”

Ellen's brows shot up with surprise. “That would've been right before she died. Can we get the telephone company to identify the number?”

“I called the last number and got a busy signal. And yes, Ms. Watson, I've already dogged the phone company. It'll take them less than twenty-four hours to tell us.”

She smiled. “Lieutenant Sherlock Homes, thank you for bringing me up-to-date.”

“By requesting a second interview with Lieutenant Hawkins,” he told her, “we'll set the official record straight.”

 

C
OCHRANE SAVORED
his morning coffee. Outside Giddings's Ops building he could hear several jets winding up to take off. Ellen was busy unpacking her briefcase for the coming interview. The more time he spent with her, the more he felt just how special she was becoming to him.

What to do about it? He wasn't sure. His body definitely had ideas, but he wasn't built for a one-night stand. And Ellen deserved better than his knee-jerk desire to throw her on a bed, make love to her and then walk away. No, somehow he had to keep working
through what she meant to him. Clearly, she liked him. But having been burned by experience, he was a crazy ole dog, to even think of having another long-term relationship. And yet that's what Jim was wanting—logical or not.

Rousing himself, he said, “Reckon I almost forgot to tell you I dropped off the original tape from Hawkins's phone to Detective Gardella of La Mesa Police Department. They made us a copy, which we'll keep over at the JAG lab.”

Ellen sat down, pushed some errant curls out of her eyes and looked up at him. “Does Detective Gardella concur that it was suicide, then?”

“He does now. Gardella is closing the case. There are some loose ends he has to clean up, but technically, Kane's case is closed with the L.M.P.D. The M.E. is calling her death a suicide.”

“Isn't Detective Gardella interested in why Susan killed herself?”

With a shrug, Cochrane said, “With his caseload, he's more interested in what happened and who's responsible. Details like why don't matter unless it impacts on the first two.”

“I'm glad we care, then.”

“Eventually, these baffling pieces of information will fall into place. But we can't keep the case open forever. The Navy is going to push hard for a very speedy resolution, which is why we're doing double time right now to see it gets done,” he said.

“Sort of like a big jigsaw puzzle?”

“Reckon it is. The tough kind, you know? The one with thousands of itty-bitty pieces. That's our job, Ellen, to figure out where to put these pieces, and later, to see the bigger picture of what's taken place.”

“I never realized an investigator had to see not only the microcosm, but the macrocosm, as well.”

Jim gloated. “Yeah, we're just all-around cosmic folks, aren't we?”

“Gimme a break, will you?” she laughed.

Cochrane saw Ann Hawkins come through the partially opened door. He stood, gestured for her to come over to the chair and sit down. Hawkins was pale and nervous, her hands shaking as she sat in front of them. Ellen greeted the woman, then closed the door.

For Jim, it was going to be a long day. He yearned for the quiet privacy of his office and having Ellen there with him.

 

A
NN
H
AWKINS CONCLUDED
her testimony. She moistened her lips and added, “Something changed Susan forever at the Ares Conference. I was her best friend. In all the years I've known her, she'd never had a migraine headache. Yet she had a horrible migraine there the morning before we left.”

Ellen frowned. “Could Susan have been faking it for some reason?”

“No, I don't think so. She vomited in the bathroom, and you can't fake stuff like that.” Ann shrugged. “Su
san carried a lot of secrets. If she was feeling bad, I might find out about it after the fact or by the way she looked. She always suffered in silence.”

Cochrane turned off the tape recorder. “You've been more than forthcoming, Lieutenant Hawkins. We appreciate your continued help and your detailed information.”

With a slight, wan smile, Ann nodded. “I'll help in any way I can.”

Ellen waited until the door closed before she turned to Jim. “I feel the behavior of these men at the convention was downright criminal.”

“Reckon we need further proof and actual evidence before we can charge anyone with a crime at the convention,” Jim replied. He knew that Ann's story accusing the three Top Gun officers from the school—Hodges, Michelson and Bassett—would not be enough. It would be her word against theirs, which wouldn't hold up in this man's Navy, let alone in a court-martial proceeding. More hard evidence, provided by other witnesses, was needed.

“Don't you feel that something terribly traumatic happened there?”

With a shrug, Cochrane looked at the list of interviews lined up on Monday. “I'm not ready to draw such a conclusion.”

“You heard Ann tell how these three were drunk and abusive to women. Could there be something from this abuse associated with Susan's suicide?”

He glanced up at her. “All this information is preliminary and way too early to form legal conclusions, Ellen.”

Frustration laced her voice. “I see a connection. And look at some of those photos. They certainly prove Ann Hawkins was telling the truth about party animal antics at that conference.”

He smiled briefly. “You don't pin an investigation on just one person's testimony if you can help it. We're looking for corroborating evidence as well, gal.”

Ellen's heart did a flip-flop over the intimate endearment. His warm gray eyes widened and held hers.

“Do you think Ann was lying?” she asked.

“No, I don't.” He placed the papers back down on the desk. “I think what we should do is a little strat and tact, though.” Jim was bewitched by the tender look in Ellen's green eyes.

“What's that?”

“Strategy and tactics. My pa always said you don't catch a fox without a chicken hanging around.” He drummed the desk with his fingers, thinking out loud. “We need to arrange the order in which we interview these three guys. They'll be shocked at being called in by JAG in the first place. That will throw them off balance. We should interview Michelson first and then Bassett. We'll leave Hodges until much later. I'm going to make Hodges sweat like a hog in the middle of summer. This will make him think his two friends ratted on him.”

“I see.”

Cochrane's smile deepened. “It's called ‘baiting the hook,' Ellen. I have no doubt these three were involved
in some of the shenanigans at the seminar. By putting pressure on Hodges, we might get more than the standard aviation line of bull.” When he locked onto her wide green eyes, he felt his heart open. For the rest of the day she was going to be with him working on other cases. That lifted his spirits. Filled him with hope. Real hope. “Come on, we got work to do, gal.”

July 6, Tuesday

C
OCHRANE HAD JUST SET UP
everything for their morning interview at their temporary office in the Giddings Ops building on Tuesday, when Ellen swept in, out of breath.

Though he pretended to be busy, Cochrane looked up at her. “Mornin', gal.” He saw her cheeks flush over his pet name.

“Hi, Jim,” she said breathlessly. “I had to stop and put down a deposit on my new apartment.”

“Take yore time,” he suggested. “You look like you just ran a marathon.”

Laughing a little, Ellen said, “I was late to begin with. My hotel didn't ring me. That serves me right—I have to buy an alarm clock.”

“You're not late, so relax.” Things were going better than expected with the spreadsheet. With the help of the central computer in the Pentagon, they'd cobbled together identification of the people in the photos taken at Ares. He'd also contacted security at the Barstow Hotel, where the conference had been held. The next step
was contacting the Reno Nevada police for any official complaints registered at the time. All of this was added to the spreadsheet.

The rest of yesterday had been spent on the Iridium phone. They had interviewed some conference participants not stationed in the San Diego area. Ellen had been no small help in that regard. She was not only much more of a computer geek than he was, she was an excellent interviewer and had a real touch in pulling information out of unwilling participants.

“Jim, you aren't going to believe what I found out from the phone company yesterday night after I left our office,” she said, setting her laptop down on the desk. Her heart lifted with joy as he held her gaze. Ellen saw longing in Jim's eyes—for her. No longer did she fight or question his interest in her. It scared her and at the same time thrilled her in some forbidden yet tantalizing way.