Chapter 10

As we walked up to the Sheriff’s office, Paul was greeting the folks from Homeland Security. But, unfortunately, they didn’t seem too happy about Paul’s laid-back style. Instead, it seemed like they were quite put off. Three of them had blocked his way from the Tahoe and demanded he brings them up to date on the Kidman situation.

As Lieutenant Bordan, Agent Jackson, and I walked by. I called out, “Morning Paul, whenever you’re ready, we can get this boat afloat.” I probably shouldn’t have teased Paul. I could see his hand twitching next to his handgun.

As I led my group into the conference room, I told Steve, “By the way, Steve, The Navy was the first one here. So you win the bet.”

“Yes,” He pumped his fist, “I knew it, Did I or did I not call it Matt?”

“Sure did, Steve. Suzy already knows. But if you want some advice, Give her that sausage recipe anyway. Make her happy, son.”

“Don’t worry, Matt. I’d already decided to give it to her. She’s one lady that its best to stay on her good side.”

Just before I went into the conference room, I glanced out the front door. Paul was still being yelled at by the Homeland people. “Steve, get that coffee ready and bring the donuts to the conference room. This isn’t going to be one of Paul’s better days.” Then I stepped back to the front door and leaned out.

“Paul, if you’re done playing with these children, the real adults are in the conference room.”

When I had spoken up, I had used my Drill Sergeant voice. The Homeland people whirled and seemed to be reaching for their armpits. When I saw this, I started laughing and muttered “Rookies” and went back inside in a normal voice.

Not long after that, we were joined by Paul and the others. From the glares I was getting, it was obvious that the Homeland people didn’t care too much for me.

Once everyone was seated, Steve came in with a platter of cups and a coffee carafe. He gave Paul his mug, which was already filled. There was a plate of donuts also. Paul took a healthy slug of his coffee and leaned back. Before he could say anything, Homeland started in.

“Sheriff, I’m getting a little tired of these delays. Where is Mr. Kidman? Why isn’t he in custody?”

Paul stared at the Homeland guy. and stared, and stared. Finally, before anything else could be said, he leaned forward. “Gentlemen, I am Sheriff Paul Thompson. I am the law enforcement chief for Elk City. I have the sole responsibility for anything that happens inside the city boundaries of Elk City. Over there is Steve Ring. He is my deputy and second in command.” I almost laughed when Steve got a shocked look and then smiled as he sat up straighter.

“Over there, “ and Paul pointed at me, “Is Matt Reynolds, a prominent member of our community and the representative for Mr. Kidman. Before we go any further, I have been polite enough to identify myself and these two gentlemen. Could you, at the very least, return the goddamn favor?” That last had almost been a shout.

I looked over to Brian; He was trying very, very hard not to laugh. Lieutenant Bordan had a confused and slightly embarrassed look. Before anybody else spoke up, Brian was first. “Sheriff, I’m Brian Johnson from the FBI. I don’t know if you remember me or not. I’ve been here before. And to tell you the truth, I acted like a total jerk. I’d like to apologize for my earlier behavior. I know it isn’t an excuse, But I was young, dumb, and so self-important that I believed that the free world orbited around me.” In the last part of Brian’s introduction, he was smiling and looking at the Homeland representative.

“We would like to talk to Mr. Kidman concerning an ongoing investigation in Oregon. I have a material witness warrant for James Kidman. There are some questions we would like to ask him. If possible, we would like to have his testimony relevant to our case.”

Lieutenant Bordan spoke up, “Sheriff, I’m Lieutenant Lance Bordan from the Navy. I don’t have any law enforcement experience. I’m just here to make sure that Mr. Kidman is OK. There are some folks from the Pentagon that want to talk to him.”

Everybody in the room now turned to the Homeland guy and waited. Expectant looks on everybody’s face. From the earlier arrogant blowhard, he had become tongue-tied. “I’m, I’m, I’m...” Finally, he stopped and took a large breath.

When he had gathered himself, he was more composed. “Good morning, everybody. I am Harold Summerfield. I am an administrative agent for Homeland Security. If anybody here knows where Kidman is, I demand they tell me. It is vitally important to national security that Mr. Kidman be taken into custody.”

While Summerfield had started calm, the more he spoke, the angrier he got.

Everybody in the room was quiet, looking at him. I decided that my best option was to remain quiet. I knew that, at this point, Sommerfield’s threats were empty.

Paul spoke up, “OK, what did this Kidman fella do that makes him such a threat?”

“I’m not at liberty to talk about that. It’s enough for you to know that he is wanted.”

Almost involuntarily, I muttered, “Bull.”

Summerfield rounded on me, “Excuse Me, what do you know about it.”

I looked around the room. Everyone here except Lieutenant Bordan and Summerfield knew who I was and what I had been through. I looked back over to Summerfield. “Mr. Summerfield, based on your behavior towards everybody here, An FBI Special Agent of long and distinguished service,” I didn’t know that, but neither did Summerfield. “A sheriff who not only serves a community but does it with only one other person for backup, A man that I have personally watched handle a near riot, single handily.” OK, it was a riot that happened because of me. But, again, Summerfield didn’t need to know the details. “And then there is a Navy Lieutenant who, if you had taken the time to look, could tell that he had been through more shit than you, in your miserable chairborne existence, will even have nightmares about. Need to know? What qualifies you to sit in this room? What gives you the right to pass judgment on these MEN?”

OOPS, I lost my temper. It’s a good thing Suzy wasn’t here.

Summerfield sat there with a stunned look. The blood started to rush to his head, and everybody could see that he was getting ready to pop. That’s when Brian jumped in. “Matt, once again, you’ve reminded me not to piss you off. Mr. Summerfield, if you will allow me to bring this back to a calmer level. I’ll explain why I need to talk to Mr. Kidman.”

Summerfield was glaring at him and then everyone else. “Fine, whatever.”

Brian started, “We, the FBI and Secret Service, have been investigating a benefits fraud issue together. It is a far-reaching situation that we have found is based in Oregon. We have identified one of the major players. He is Mr. Kidman’s brother. We have a grand jury in Salem that we would like to have Mr. Kidman testify in. We would also need him for the criminal trial. This could take a long time, years even. But it is important, and we need to ensure Mr. Kidman’s safety.”

Brian turned to Lieutenant Bordan, “You’re next Navy. What’s your story.”

It was obvious that Bordan was out of his comfort zone. “Well, I don’t know a heck of a lot. All I know is that some folks at the Pentagon want to talk to Mr. Kidman. And I’ve been ordered to make sure he is available to them. I don’t know why, when, or how. Just that when I find him, I keep him safe, and I call my superiors and let them know.”