The Night Gods II- Chapter XVIII: Connecting The Dots

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The more digging Dick did, the more convinced he became that Eddie Phillips was behind the deaths of maureen Denning and Attache Lewis. There was no evidence of his having left the Washington DC area came up in any of the searches David had performed. The real problem was- how was Eddie Phillips linked to Denning? Certainly a man of the President's standing wouldn't associate with a former serial killer- pardoned or not... even though Dick was convinced that Denning had more than one notch on his belt himself. Clearly, however, they would never have travelled in the same circles, but- there must be a link somewhere- but where?

Senator Ashby shared Dicks suspicions... He had proven to be not only a kindred spirit, but a valuable asset as well- he had access to information that Dick and the Crew would have had to have obtained illegally... a time consuming undertaking. He had become a frequent visitor to the Georgetown townhouse, it had almost become a second home. Although impeachment hearings would be premature at this juncture, he had begun planting the seeds of doubt among his colleagues... in Washington DC, rumor often had as much impact as fact.

Lena had rekindled her friendship with Sean Welbourne, much to the chagrin of his boss. Sean had agreed to funnel as much information to her as possible at their almost daily coffee klatches. No one wanted Denning taken down as much as he did- he loathed the man. Among the first bits of information was a warning about Przybysz. Sean had espied him while he and Lena were having coffee- he suspected they were being followed.

"See that heavy-set guy at the corner table, pretending to read the paper?" He asked.

"Yeah, it seems like I've seen him before somewhere else," she replied. "He looks like a thug."

"He is," Sean said back. "He works for a guy named Lockhart... now he does Denning's dirty work."

"You mean Victor Lockhart?" Lena asked in surprise.

"Yup," Sean replied. "That's the one."

"How does he fit into all of this? Is he behind Denning?" It was beginning to make sense now... Lockhart had been Bret's boss and told him to back off the investigations of Melissa and Mrs. Denning. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place... Lockhart.

Sean shrugged and began to laugh. He touched Lena's hand leaning forward: "Make it look like I said something funny... If that guy suspects something..."

Lena got it- she shook her head and laughed. They chit chatted for a couple more minutes making it look casual. Sean agreed to come by the townhouse later if he was free and could be certain he wasn't being followed. Then they went their separate ways, Lena to the Senate Office Building and Sean to the White House.

As soon as she got to work, Lena informed the Senator about her meeting with Sean. He recommended calling Dick on the secure phone so he could investigate.

"You're shitting me," Dick laughed.

"What?" Lena was confused. "You know him?"

"We're old pals," Dick responded. "He's an old time spook... I knew him years ago. he was in Central America in the late 70's and early 80's... the old Iran/Contra thing. Now he's gone into private practice- I'm not surprised. Guys like us don't have a lot of other job options... Well, I'll be damned. be careful around him, Lena. he's dangerous."

"Sean says he works for Victor Lockhart now, if that helps. Sean says he'll be by later if he can." Lena told him.

"Victor Lockhart," Dick said. "The Victor Lockhart?"

"Yeah," she said. "Sean says he has something to do with Denning now, some kind of advisor or something. Why would Denning want with a guy like that- he looks like a thug?"

"He's had his fingers in some pretty nasty pies, Lena. Whatever it is, it isn't good. let me see what I can find out," Dick said. This threw a new light on things... Przybysz was a dangerous man, but Dick knew him. The deaths of Melissa, maybe- but Mrs. Denning and Lewis weren't his style, they were too sloppy, too amateurish... if he had done it it would have been much cleaner.

"Lena," Dick said. "After work, you and Bret come by. Tell Sean not to come yet- if Przybysz is trailing him, he'll never know. Have the Senator come too, if he's not too busy- if he is, you can fill him in tomorrow at work. Let me see what we can come up with with on this end."

"Ok, we'll be there," she said. "Tell Ann not to bother cooking, we'll bring Chinese."

"Sounds good," Dick said before hanging up.

After work lena, Bret and the Senator joined the others for dinner as planned. When they finished eating, they took their coffee into the living room...

"We've spent the afternoon digging around on Victor Lockhart and David found something that should be particularly interesting to you Senator. Lockhart represents a consortium of businessmen- most in multi-media. It looks like you didn't lose the primary to Denning... you lost to the mainstream media." Dick told the surprised man.

"What are you talking about?" Senator Ashby asked.

"The whole mainstream media apparatus has been pushing Denning from the beginning. He's their man- they own him," Dick said back.

But why?" Ashby asked confused.

"Think about it, Senator," Dick explained. "These companies don't just control the media- they have many other interests as well. Like arms, aircraft, military communications... you beginning to get my drift?"

"I should," the Senator replied dryly. "I'm on the Senate appropriations committee."

"You're too honest... they can't manipulate you. Denning's a power whore- he'll do whatever they tell him," Dick said.

"So that's why Lockhart told me to back off," Bret put in. It must be pretty important, if Lockhart told me himself instead of just sending a memo."

"Exactly," Dick said. "And it is important... Another thing that's equally important- Przybysz. Be careful if you see him- he's a bad guy... But he's not a bad guy, if you know what I mean." Seeing their confused looks, Dick went on with a smile.

"He's a lot like me... a mechanic," Dick told his confused audience. "If it comes down to it, he'll pull the trigger. Remember Metzger?" Dick looked at Jim and Ann. "Like that... otherwise, he'll watch. I've been giving it some thought- I might contact him... might be fun."

"But won't he..." Ann looked startled. She and Jim liked Dick, he had become like family.

"Naw," Dick smiled. "Call it professional courtesy. We've got a lot more similarities than differences... Ok, then, anybody got anything else?"

"I do," Lena said. "Mrs. Womack called me on the secure line. They want to come to Washington... to help. They're devastated over Melissa's death and they don't feel like the police are doing anything- she says we're their only hope. They can stay with us for a while, if that's alright with Bret." She looked meaningfully at her fiancee.

"It's fine with me," he said. "The more people we have on our side, the better as far as I'm concerned... If it's Ok with Dick."

"It's probably best," Dick said, "They're the the best ones to put pressure on DCMP to keep the investigation into Melissa's death open. We'' talk about the best plan of action after we've seen Melissa's letter. Just make sure they're aware of the danger they're getting into."

They already know," Lena replied. "She says they don't care... Whatever it takes."

Whatever it takes... This was to become the Crew's new theme. The juggernaut they were up against was just beginning to dawn on them. It would take all of the courage and all of the resources they could muster to even begin to bring Denning down.

Larry and Cynthia Womack arrived at Reagan International the next saturday morning. Bret and Lena met them at the airport... the rest of their belongings would arrive via moving van. They were planning to stay. Lena knew them from Melissa's funeral. They went straight to the townhouse and after they had unpacked, the four of them went to see Dick. Senator Ashby was already there and he once again expressed his condolences. Everyone was anxious to see Melissa's letter.

"This is dynamite," Bret exclaimed. The letter described in graphic detail how Denning brutally beat and raped Melissa.

"How should we proceed, Mr. Donato?" Larry Womack asked Dick. "Lena trusts you and so do we. We'll follow your lead."

"First, it's Dick. Mr. Donato sounds so formal. We're all friends here... that includes you," Dick said. The DCMP were the ones behind the threatening calls to Lena, so I wouldn't count on too much help from them. However, it's necessary for you to contact the lead investigator. Mrs. Womack, can you handle that? It will look better coming from a mother."

"Yes, of course," Cynthia Womack nodded.

"First off, we need to make copies," Dick went on. "Bret, take one to your boss... he might not let you broadcast it right away, but he needs to be aware of its existence."

"Can't we use this to begin impeachment hearings?" Lena asked the Senator.

"It's not enough, Lena," the Senator said sadly.

"Not enough?" Lena asked incredulously. He beat and raped her... it says so right here in black and white."

"The president can be tried only for 'high crimes and misdemeanors,'" the Senator said. "This is a crime against an individual- not the country. I'm sorry Lena. Maybe criminal charges can be brought though."

"Look," Dick said resolutely. "We'll get him... Or he'll get us. One way or another, something will happen. I have a sneaking suspicion that war of his was just a distraction. Now that Imad is dead, it should be over. If Denning keeps it going- then we'll know for sure."

"But what does that tell us?" Larry Womack asked.

"That he has a lot more to cover up than just Melissa and his wife. If I'm right, the murder of the ambassador was a false flag. We need to watch for another one... A big one, if I'm not mistaken."

(For links to previous chapters- go to Chapter XV)

https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xv-the-boogeyman
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xvi-wars-and-rumors-of-wars
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xvii-blood-of-the-innocent

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