NOW FOR THEN Chapter 20
"Benson." Olivia glanced at the clock by the bed. **6:00 already!** Her head hit the pillow again with a thud.
"Hey, Liv.” The caller mumbled in the middle of a yawn.
"Hank, what's up?"
"Absolutely nothing. It was a really quiet night. I haven’t checked in with the office yet, but I assume you got some sleep?”
“Yeah. Your office will probably tell you that I went straight back to the hotel, talked on the phone for god and forever with my girlfriend, left my room at 20:15, went to the Castro District, spent $42.51 at Tower Records, made a purchase at a shop called Fur Fantasy…”
“You know, Benson?” He decided to put a stop to it. “I’ve forgotten how obnoxious you can be. And what the hell is Fur Fantasy?”
“Oh, I’m sure Agent Vaughn will tell you all about it.”
Hank sighed loudly. “You’re such a pain in the ass sometimes…”
“Just sometimes?” She laughed. “I wasn’t kidding about my little field trip, but I did get some shut eye. Thanks for handling the surveillance.”
“It’s part of my job anyway. So, when do you think you can come relieve me?”
**Go stand behind a bush or something. Didn’t realize you lose all sorts of ability after you become a fed… Stay down!** Olivia told her smart aleck self, and provided a serious answer, “Give me forty minutes. I need to grab a shower and get the car.”
“Order breakfast first. I’ll see you in an hour.”
“Is the food safe?”
“Yes. Vaughn was just being a shit head.”
“I see you finally reached Damascus.”
“I’m not Saul. But I’m glad sleep had put some spunk back into you.” He said with genuine concern. “You were dead on your feet yesterday."
“You take all the fun out of being a wise ass, you know that?” It was hard to be cantankerous with someone who cared so much. “It really is tougher when it's personal." Olivia admitted, knowing she was much more emotionally invested in this case than she should be.
"Yeah, but you're the best. I have faith in you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I should get going if I’m to be there to relieve you anytime soon.”
“Don’t forget breakfast.”
She responded flatly, “Yes, dear.”
“How she puts up with you is beyond me!”
“Yeah, well, you’d better not ask her that.”
“Afraid she might wise up?”
“Goodbye, Hank.” She hung up and dialed for room service…
Forty-five minutes later, Olivia pulled up several spaces behind a black sedan. Her cell phone rang as soon as she put the car in ‘park’. “Benson.”
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Yes, Jesus Christ, Hank. What’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?” He asked innocently.
“Why the sudden concern about my eating habits?”
“Just wanna make sure you’ve had your Wheaties.”
“Eff you, Hank.”
He let out a loud gasp. “Never mind Rachel, what would Alex say?”
“Just shut up.” She laughed lightly, and got to business, “Still nothing?”
"He spent all night at home. Didn't call anyone. And went to bed at ten p.m. sharp. Are you sure he’s our guy?”
"Are you doubting me, Hank?"
"I just want to make sure. You don’t have to be so defensive about it.”
"Nobody kept real tap on him for two days. He’s had a lot of time to stash Destiny and the General." She justified, feeling the walls going up, and keeping them down for now. “Am I on my own on this, Hank? ‘Cause if I am, I want to know now."
"I never said I wasn't in your corner, Olivia.” Hank asserted, surprised by her reaction, “I told you I trusted your judgment yesterday. I meant it then, I mean it now. Jesus. Am I not allowed to ask for confirmation, especially since I have to put a team on standby on Christmas eve?"
"I don't know, Hank." She said doubtfully.
"I've always been your number one fan, at least until Alex came along, and I’ve always backed you up, Benson, no matter how crazy or off the wall. Nothing’s changed." He maintained, then added quickly. “And I don’t think you’re off on this one. Okay?”
"Okay…”
"Are you sure you’re all right, Olivia?" He tried to hide the apprehension in his voice, but it wasn't easy.
"Yeah, Hank. Why wouldn’t I be?"
"Promise me if Miller does anything funny, you let me know, or you let Vaughn know.”
“You’re kidding me, right, Hank?” Olivia was dismayed, “No way no how would I tell Vaughn. He'll only screw it up.”
“Fine, you call me then,” Hank pressed. “I need your word that you won’t attempt to take him down yourself.”
"I thought you were just an Assistant US Attorney, Hank. Wouldn't calling you be sort of pointless?" The detective knew she was giving her friend a hard time, but she just couldn’t help herself.
"Quit breaking my balls, Benson. Are you PMS-ing or something?”
“Go to hell, Leadon.”
“Will you promise you won’t try to be a one-person arrest squad?" He was beyond exasperation at this point. “Alex will kill me if I let anything happen to you, and I’d have to send her her choice of weapon in a velvet-lined case.”
Olivia sighed, conveying her exasperation, knowing he had had her beaten. "Fine. You'd better be there in a real hurry when I call." She gave him the answer he wanted and smiled to herself. **It’s not good when your sparring partner knows your biggest weakness.**
"Just keep me updated.” He made sure she heard the relief in his tone. “I’ve never let you down before, Liv, I'm not going to start now.”
“Speaking of which, did you get the clearance?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask,” Hank laughed. “Yes, I did. Everything’s set.”
“That’s great! Thank you! Mmmuwah!”
“You so owe me, Benson.”
“Just put it on my tab,” she joked, not really sure how she felt about the arrangement Hank made on her behalf. **This is not about you, Benson.** She reminded herself and left it at that.
“I’ll talk to you later then. Happy posting. Hank out.” Less than a minute later, the black sedan drove off.
Olivia stretched, settled into her station and reached for her cappuccino. She inhaled deeply the rich cinnamon-y aroma and took a sip. Immediately, the visage of a beautiful blonde came unbidden to her mind. Her thoughts drifted to the conversation from the night before, and a sweeping smile lit up her face.
As sappy as it might sound, just hearing her lover’s voice had made a very bad day bearable. All those times Olivia when had sought refuge in the ADA’s office, when she got too involved in a case… Alex always managed to help her through, if not by acting as a sounding board, just by being there. Even when they were squabbling, her friend’s door was always opened for her…
Maybe Alex had felt compelled to express her feelings in response to her fright, or perhaps she had sensed Olivia’s need for assurances and reassurances. **Either way, whatever the cause, it didn’t matter.** The blonde was seldom so emotionally candid with her. Agent Vaughn might have had a severe case of glucose poisoning from all the mush. He might have even been bored to tears. **Too bad.** Olivia wouldn’t have precluded their heart-to-heart on anyone’s account…
The detective didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after seven thirty, the garage door opened, and a green Passat pulled out. **That’s weird. Destiny drove the same make, model and color…** As far as she knew though, hers was still parked at her townhouse. **A two for one deal? Matching cars? Do these people wear matching clothes, too?** Olivia wiped the look of disbelief from her face, and started her engine.
Half an hour later, they were going into a Whole Foods Market parking lot. Olivia picked up her cell-phone and dialed.
Hank got on right away. “Hungry already? I thought you ate breakfast.”
“How do you…” She began to ask but decided against it. “Never mind. I’m going to go in, and see what he’s getting.”
“Oh, before you do though, there’s a…” He hesitated briefly, then hastened, “Device right behind the left rear wheel well of your car, if you’d take it off and put it on Miller’s, we’ll be able to keep track of him.”
Olivia allowed the rancor to show, “And how are you going to keep taps on me?”
“Uh, your GPS device.”
Knowing there wasn’t time for tantrums, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up, and got out of her vehicle. Quickly, she located the tracer, placed it under the Passat as instructed, and walked into the grocery store.
It didn’t take the detective long to spot her suspect. Following Miller down each aisle at a discreet distance, she quickly realized he was going methodically by a shopping list. He first stopped by the bulk dried goods aisle and got what appeared to be nuts, cereal and flour. Then he put a 2 lb. can of soy protein powder in his cart, and added to it a ton of fresh vegetables. Next, they went around to the meat section; he merely looked and scribbled something down in his notebook. A carton of soy milk, and a small vegan chocolate cake were also part of the purchase. After checking the hair and skin product shelves and taking note of the items he chose, Olivia left the store and went back to her car.
“Hank,” she got on the phone while keeping watch. “He has them.”
“You sure? Both of them?”
“Yeah, looks like he’s making a vegan Christmas dinner, and he bought some of the shampoos and stuff I saw at Destiny and her mother’s bathrooms,” the detective explained.
“Are you sure he wasn’t just shopping for himself?”
“This is a guy who ate at McDonald’s, and he bought enough veggies to last ME a couple of weeks,” she tried to keep the hostility from her voice. “And when I talked to him yesterday, he smelled like Kenzo after-shave, not papaya, lavender and tea rose.”
“You and your nose.” Hank laughed, sounding relieved. “Well, at least we know they’re still alive.”
“Oh, he’s done.” From the rear-view mirror, she saw Miller coming out of the store. He unloaded everything into the trunk, closed it, and pushed the cart back to the rack, came back and got in his Passat.
“The tracking device’s working, and my team’s almost ready. We can just take it from here, you know…”
“What? And let you take all the credit?”
“Benson, would you please be serious?”
“I’ll keep him under surveillance, just in case…” She told her friend, and prepared to start the engine. Nothing made sense with this guy. He abducted a retired general and her daughter, yet he was the considerate type who returned his shopping carts. **Mad kidnapper versus eagle scout? What’s his motivation?**
"Okay, don't do anything heroic. I’ll be in touch.”
They drove down the parking ramp onto the street level. After a while, it was obvious to the detective they were heading somewhere other than his house. Just then, the shrill beeping of her cell phone disrupted the quiet of the car. She flipped it open and placed it to her ear, hoping it was Hank. “Benson.”
“It’s me.”
“Hey, do you know where he’s going?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Just to let you know I’m ready whenever you are.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you missed talking to me.” His protectiveness was getting irritating, and she let him know it.
“Look, since I made myself guardian angel, I should take my assignment seriously.”
Ignoring the annoyance in Hank’s voice, she demanded, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he uttered. “Looks like you just got on I-80.”
“Yeah, crossing Bay Bridge as we speak.” Olivia confirmed. Miller had been obeying all the traffic laws so far and didn’t seem to be in any real hurry. “What’s on the other side?”
“Oakland, Berkeley… hold on a second.” Hank came back shortly, “Davis. One of my people is checking something out right now. You’ll be on this thing for at least 15 minutes, anyway.”
“Maybe a little longer.” She tried gauging the traffic and the distance to the other side of the bay. “Didn’t his father live in Davis?”
“Yeah, but Miller sold the house right away.”
“Say, do you have a profiler or a shrink or something?”
“Not on me.” He chuckled. “Okay, it wasn’t funny. Why?”
“Did you know Miller drives the same car as Destiny? I mean, the same model and color.”
“Yeah, he bought it with part of the proceeds from the house.”
“Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
“Maybe that’s all they had at the show room?”
“What did he do with the rest of the money?”
“Last we checked, half of it was sitting in his MMA, the other half in his savings. Hold on.” Someone said something to Hank. Then he asked them to pull Miller’s updated financial. “Okay, we’ve just made it onto the bridge, so we’re only a couple of minutes behind you. And I can tell you a little more about our boy.”
"All right, give it to me." She directed impatiently.
"First off, his mother has a house in Oakland, I think that's where we’re headed."
“I thought she lives in Malibu?”
“She does. Her husband is a real estate developer in the Bay area, and they have a house in town.” Hank explained the circumstances. “Junior keeps an eye on it.”
“I see.”
“His parents divorced when he was ten. Senior got custody.”
“Why? What’s wrong with the mom?”
“Nothing. She was a school teacher. Very kind woman. Junior would have much preferred to stay with her.”
“Don’t mothers usually get custody?” Olivia asked, a little confused. “Oh, Vaughn also mentioned her ex abused her.”
“Yes, he supposedly did. Just her though.” Hank confirmed. “Anyway, she had the misfortune of getting a judge who thought if Junior stayed with his mom, he’d grow up to be a sissy.”
“Oh, so if they had a girl, mom would have had custody?”
“You got it. Still, the judge awarded her visitation rights, so he spent every summer with her, and later with her new family. He really looked forward to the day he turned eighteen, so he could move.”
“So he didn’t like his father…” That explained Miller’s guilt, the detective thought. “How do you know all this?”
“I talked to the half brother.” Hank admitted.
“The fed.”
“Can you quit saying it like that?” He complained. “You make it sound like an obscene insult.”
Laughing, she scoffed, “I guess you’d know if it fits or not.”
“Benson…”
“Tell you what,” Olivia razzed, “If you don’t like it, shoot me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“What can you tell me about the father?” There would be time for friendly harassment later. “I understand he was retired military, and used to live in DC.”
"Yes. VMI graduate. Originally from Richmond, Virginia. Began his career in the Secretary of Defense’s office, in fact.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“You don’t think that’s just a coincidence?”
“I’ve come across way too many coincidences lately.” It was making the detective extremely uncomfortable. “What else?” She asked.
“He was transferred quite a bit, moved all over the place, never got higher than Major though. In 1993, he was forced into retirement, during the base closings. He spent the next decade as a clerk for USPS until his death.”
“Did you check into his connection with the General?"
"Yeah, they worked in the same unit. Apparently knew each other pretty well."
"Miller said his father and the General never met. So he lied about that."
"Maybe he didn't know. He was just a kid when they were in DC. The General got her promotion to Major and transferred to New York not too long after that.” Hank offered a possible explanation. “Why? What are you driving at?"
"What rank was Miller's father then?"
"He was a captain. Why?" Hank asked again, still getting only questions from Olivia.
"The General was a lieutenant. She got bumped up to major and got a plush assignment in the City,” she thought out loud. “I'm just wondering if maybe Captain Miller wasn't in line for that promotion and the General got it instead?"
"What? And the son is seeking revenge for his father getting passed over for a promotion years later? That's kind of weak, Liv." He played the devil’s advocate. “Especially since Junior hates his father.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” The detective held her ground. “Maybe the father took his unhappiness with his job out on his wife, and Junior found out, and is blaming the General for it.”
“Now? Isn’t it kinda late? Oh,” Hank paused briefly. “I just got Miller’s debit card draft record, he made a purchase at Tiffany yesterday afternoon. Jesus Christ, guys like him make the rest of us look bad.”
“Why? How much did he spend?”
“Your pre-tax annual salary including overtime for the next two years.”
“Fuck.” Olivia didn’t know what to say. “Well, I guess it’s either a present for his mom, or an engagement ring for Destiny, or both.”
“If it’s for Destiny…” Hank hesitated, then decided to brave it. “It makes no sense whatsoever that he’d kidnap her and her mother.”
“Maybe he wanted to make sure Destiny would say ‘yes’ and that her mother would give her approval?”
“That’s nuts. Marriage under duress is not legal. And I thought they were in love.”
“That’s why I was asking if you had access to a shrink.” The detective acknowledged. “We may need one for hostage negotiation purposes.”
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to wing this one, Liv.”
She sighed in resignation. “I just wish I knew what makes perps tick, or what makes people crack.”
“Who knows. Hang on a sec, lemme check something.” Hank broke off, and looked through his notes. “The brother did mention Miller’s best friend just got killed by friendly fire. A mis-aimed mortar. You think that might have something to do with his mental state?”
“What was that, Hank?” Somebody who sounded like Agent Akins spoke something in the background.
“According to Akins, it was a female soldier who fired the weapon.” He repeated what the other agent said. “Anyway, that’s all I have for you.”
“I just hope he’s not homicidal.” The detective prepared herself for the worst.
“Oh, since we have some time for chitchat, Agent Akins wants to talk to you.”
“You go ahead, Sir, please,” the field agent refused the phone.
When Hank got back on, Olivia commented, “Sir? Wow, just what kind of fed are you? Or do I really want to know?”
“You don’t. If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” Hank threatened with a smile in his voice. “Anyway, since Akins is part of my team, you’ll be seeing each other again shortly.”
“Okay? She’s been very helpful. I’ve got nothing against her.” She jabbed, “Even though she’s a fed.”
“I know I shouldn’t have said anything,” Hank expelled a loud breath. “In any case, she sent her apologies. And she wanted you to know she was just following orders, and she didn’t have a choice.”
“What are you talking about?” Olivia was puzzled. “Like I said, she had been helpful. Oh, remind me to give her back Destiny’s keys.”
“You can give it to me later.” He advised, then continued, “Vaughn asked her to make sure you weren’t scheming to take over the world… Over the telephone… With Alex.”
“I see…” She controlled her temper, and asked. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think Vaughn was a jackass and a pervert.” Hank said quickly. “And Akins would like you to know she was sorry. Frankly, I think she’s developed a crush on you.”
“No, I have not, Sir!” The field agent protested a little too loudly.
“Tell her I understand she was only doing her job, so no hard feelings.” Olivia realized she couldn’t stay mad, especially since Alex seemed to have taken in stride the possibility of their phone conversations being tapped.
Hank relayed what she had said to the agent, who yelled a ‘thank you’. “Oh, see the orange van about four spaces behind you?”
Olivia checked and spotted a service vehicle. “Yeah?”
“That’s us.”
“What are you? Road crew?”
“Ericson Plumbing, in business since 1975.”
“Okay? Is that the pretext? Aren’t there proper procedures we have to follow?” The detective challenged. “Or do they not apply to feds?”
“Cut it out already.” Hank groused. “We have permission and keys from the half-brother. So we don’t need a warrant. Sheesh.”
“I see.” Just then, Miller put on his blinker, changed lanes, and took the right ramp onto I-580. “Here we go.” She warned, and followed. Soon, they were turning onto I-980 towards downtown Oakland.
“We’ll meet you there. Leadon out.” Before Olivia could say anything, he hung up.
The detective had no choice but to continue trailing the Passat. They drove for a short while until they reached a fairly nice residential area. He pulled into the driveway and opened the garage. When she looked back, the garage door was closed again. She circled the rest of the block and found the plumber’s van on the other side. Hank was in a matching coverall standing by the vehicle looking through some papers on a clipboard. Seeing nobody else around, she stopped about two car lengths ahead.
He walked up by her window and asked quietly, "What's up with our perp?"
"He’s probably unloading the groceries right now.” Olivia provided. “Did you notice anything?”
“They might be in the den in the back of the house. All the other curtains are open, and according to him,” Hank tossed his head towards the man in an SBC uniform on the telephone pole. “There’s nobody upstairs.”
“Where are the rest of your people?”
“One person is covering the side entrance through the sun-room, Akins and another agent are going to work on securing the garage entrances. Maxwell is going to cover us from the front.” He related to his friend. “Phone guy is going to keep an eye on the back yard, but it’s completely fenced in.”
"A six person crisis team?" She couldn't believe that was all he brought.
"Eight, including you and me." He corrected her.
"Wow. I feel powerful." There should be a SWAT team surrounding the house, the detective thought.
"Don't be sarcastic, Olivia. We don't usually work in large groups,” he said, a little peeved, “Here, put this on,” and shoved the orange jacket he was holding into her hands.
Obediently, she put the light coat on, and followed Hank to the side of the van.
"It’s clear. We're all set." His handset squawked.
"Let's go." Hank ordered. They walked around to the front. While he pretended to ring the door bell, Maxwell put the key in the lock.