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As promised, Da
Hugs all around.
While Da
I asked about the remains from Lumberton. He said that Silas Sugarman had delivered the transport container to the Charlotte airport and that it was listed on the manifest of our flight.
I knew the drill. The transport container would be off-loaded and taken to the cargo area, where it would be met by perso
The Avis line moved at the pace of sludge. When I reached the counter, the agent could find no trace of my reservation. After much sighing and head-shaking, a car was finally located, a red Chevrolet Cobalt about the size of my purse.
Da
In the past, when consulting to the CIL, I was always billeted in a moderately priced hotel on Waikiki Beach. That meant traveling roughly southeast into town.
Da
We’d barely cleared the airport when Katy slumped against the window and fell asleep. My little navigator. It would be up to me to keep Da
Twenty minutes out, Da
As my internal GPS engaged, I felt a buzz of excitement. Da
Forget it, a pessimist neuron scoffed. You’re traveling on the military dime.
Anything’s possible, an optimist fired back.
Once over the bridge at Kailua, it was like driving in Charlotte. At every little jog, the street name changed. Lihiwai. Kawailoa. Alala. Mokulua.
Hawaiian. You gotta love it.
Finally, Da
The driveway led through an expanse of lawn to a two-story stucco home with lanais bordering three sides. Beyond the house I could see more grass, white sand, and the glittering turquoise of Kailua Bay.
Da
“Home sweet home.” He swept a theatrical arm.
“We’re staying here?” I admit. It was almost a squeal.
A grin split Da
Katy sat up and squinted through the windshield.
“How did you pull this off?” I asked.
“Da
I curled my fingers in a “give me more” gesture.
“The place belongs to a retired colonel. He’s gone a month, visiting his kids on the mainland, and feels more secure with someone in residence.”
Katy climbed from the car and walked toward the house.
“Shall we see if accommodations are up to madam’s high standards?”
Ignoring the faux-British accent, I got out and followed Da
Things were definitely up to standard. A standard about which, given my profession, I had only heard rumors.
The decor was Hawaiian plantation meets modern tech. Arched windows and doorways. Carved woodwork. Luxurious greenery. Stone and Brazilian cherry floors.
The dining and living areas had vaulted wood ceilings and sliding glass doors leading to lanais overlooking a pool. Beyond the pool, thirty yards of lawn swept down to a row of coconut palms and the beach.
The kitchen had every appliance patented in the new mille
Each of the three upstairs suites had a bath with walk-in shower, Jacuzzi, and an acre of marble. King beds. Flat-screen TVs. Ceiling fans. Heart-stopping floor-to-ceiling ocean views.
As Da
“Which room did you like?” I queried when we’d finished.
“The green one’s OK.”
“It’s yours,” I said.
“Now what?” I asked when Katy had gone to the car for her luggage.
Da
“It’s Friday, now almost five. The lab will be emptier than a politician’s heart.”
I couldn’t help smiling at Da
“I’ve unearthed some info on Lowery. It’s not much. Forty-plus years is a long time. How about I brief you, then you and Katy relax over the weekend? Monday morning, we’ll meet at the CIL and start the analysis.”
While I was disappointed at the two-day delay, Da
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
Da
While Da
I opened a few cupboards. Same deal.
The generosity was so Da
When Da
We argued. Da
“Spider’s story isn’t going to please his old man.”
Da
“In December of nineteen sixty-seven, while stationed in Vietnam, Private John ‘Spider’ Lowery took unauthorized absence from his unit.”
“He just split?”
“Apparently. Six weeks later he was arrested by MPs at the home of a Vietnamese hooker on the outskirts of Saigon.”
“They were ranching?” I used the Vietnam-era term for shacking up.
Da
“Was that standard practice?”
Another nod. “The war was in overdrive and the military needed as many bodies in action as possible, so if the offense was only UA the military would deal.”
1968. The Tet offensive. The Battle of Hue.
I’d been a kid at the time, but association with JPAC had familiarized me with details.
In January of 1968, hoping to spark a national uprising, the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, or Vietcong, broke the traditional Lunar New Year truce and launched the Tet offensive. Over 100 cities were attacked. So were Westmoreland’s headquarters and the U.S. embassy in Saigon.
During this urban offensive, the combined Vietcong and NVA troops captured Hue. The marines then counterattacked and took the former capital back, inch by bloody inch.
“Spider was released from Long Binh on January 23, 1968, and boarded a Huey to be returned to his unit,” Da